SEABIRDS OF TAUPO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20454, 4 January 1930, Page 11

SEABIRDS OF TAUPO.

OCCASIONAL VISITORS*

CONTESTS IN THE AIR.

GULL VERSUS THE HAWK

BY TE KARA. %

Although Lake Taupo is as far removl3| from the sea as is possible in New Zea-t land its wide waters are not without occaw sional visitors from among the coastal birds.

Of these one species, the black-backc<J gull (Larus domiuicanus), known to thej Maoris as Karoro, has for some yeara| at least bred successfully at different spots about the lake. Another species, thej dainty little red-hilled gull novaehollandiae, .Stephens), known to thej Taupo Maoris as Tara-punga, is a regiw lar visitor to the lake, and has been} known to nest for many years in ths neighbouring region of the TongariroJ National Park. Theso birds are muchj more numerous than their larger and may commonly be seen about the| lower reaches and delta of the TongarinJ River, near Toka.anu, as well as at th{| Taupo end of the lake. Toward midFebruary they frequent the lake beacH near Taupo in flocks of from 10 or 15 up to 40 or 50, and at that time of the} year a good proportion of young birds 4 distinguished by the mottled brown mark* ing of backs and wings, may be seen« Like their brothers of the sea coast theyj *

are comparatively tame. They readily accept offerings of breadcrumbs or fish* cleanings, and as readily quarrel among themselves over the division of the spoil* The tara-punga resembles some humans in that his quarrelsomeness, compared with that of his. larger relations, seemfl to vary in inverse proportion to his size*

No Resistance Offered, When approaching a group of rocky] islets in the lake one day some five ago my companion and I observed hal| a dozen black-backed gulls circling at some height above the rocks, on one o| which we had decided to land for lunch* From the behaviour of the birds as our! boat approached we guessed that they were nesting in the vicinity, although j. was not aware of any record of the| karoro ever doing so at Taupo. On thaj islets we found three nests, one contain* ing two eggs and the others three each* Some of the eggs were chipping, and from a hole in one protruded the tip o8 a young gull's beak. We boiled our on one of the rocks not inhabited by thq birds, but they continued their distrust* ful circling overhead during v our stay iij the neighbourhood. As we were lunching we observed hairier hawk soaring over the mainland* and as he approached one of the gulla commenced to wing higher and . higher; in great circles. Within a few moments he was above the visitor. Suddenly hq swooped upon the lazily flying harrier# which until then had appeared not to notice the gulls. Without offering any; show of resistance be fled before the onslaught, until pursuer and pursued wera lost to sight in the haze toward the cliffy of the western lake shores.

The Enemy RoutedWithin the next few days we made in* quiries among the Maoris living a(j Whanganui and Waihaha, on the western! shores, but could obtain no information as to whether the gulls had previously nested in the vicinity or not. Every] summer since, however, they have nested) at various spots on the lake. One day last summer a launch-man ob< served a gull in one of the little-fre-quented bays of the lake, and gathered from its behaviour that it probably had a nest close by. A little later he observed two harrier hawks hovering over* head, and realised that their presence! probably accounted for the gull's uneasi* ness. Gradually the gull circled up* ward, manoeuvring for strategical advantage of height, and having gained his objective swooped upon the hawks. Oni fled, but the other was too. late to escape at once. Turning on its back itj was seen to strike viciously upward with taloned feet, wings flapping clumsily tha while. The fearless karoro was too experienced in the ways of aerial combatj to come within range of those raking claws, however, and the hawk soon "straightened out" and sped ignominiously in the wake of his deserting friends Gannet, Tern and Blue Heron.

The gannet (Sula serrator) is about, aa surprising a visitor as one could expect ta see at, Taupo. It is doubtful if it ever; alights on land except at the mating and nesting season. Its awkwardness when it does alight, and the difficulty iia lias in rising from the ground unless as* sisted by a good slope or Strong breeze* are considerations against the likelihood of its going inland. One was observed in Tapuaeharuru Bay, about a mile from;' the Taupo wharf, on December 8, 1928, however. It was on the water whcrf seen, and as the launch from which i(j was observed came near it rose and flew; toward the eastern shore. It apparently was not injured or exhausted. Exhausted Bird Pound.

The only other account of a gannefi at Taupo, as far as I have been abla to ascertain, is one given me by an old resident of the district, to the effect thatf some twenty odd years ago a Tokjianu resident found an exhausted bird in a field there. The wanderer was secured and an attempt made to get it to taka food, but it was. in too serious a plights and soon died. On several occasions in 1927 and 1523 a solitary bluo heron (Demigretta sacra,; Gmelin) was observed on the lake shores near Taupo. Known to the Maoris as Matuku-moana, this bird belongs to the same family as the bittern, the Matukut hurepo, whose feathers liaTO been so much favoured by trout fishermen for, the making of flies. As its Maori name| indicates the blue heron is a coastal bird tf the bittern of the sea.

In this connection one may perhaps be forgiven for expressing the admittedly irrelevant hope that the day may not ba too far distant when anglers and the compilers of angling catalogues will refrain from miscalling the unfortunate bit* tern the "Matuka," and give the unof-s fending bird its correct name, ''Matuku."i Among these occasional visitors from the sea-coast must be included the Whitefronted tern (Sterna striata, Gmelin),so well known on salt water from ita habit of hovering over schooling fish.White in colour, with pale grey wings and back, and the top of the head and back of the neck black, it is an easily; identified bird, sometimes called by fishermen the "kahawai bird." Six of thesa terns were observed on a couple of occasions in February, 1928, 011 a rocky spio in the lake not far from the Taupo wharf. They appeared, very restless and kept moving about, I do not know of this bird having been recorded at Taupo before, or since, and it is probable ithat, like tho gannet and blue heron, it is-a rare visitor to the remote waters of the lake. One wonders why these birds should ever leave the more abundant food supplies of the coasts to wander inland.! Have they, when observed here, been en route from one coast to the other, or have they, like the tourist, merely been in search of relaxation and the adventures of travel ?