THE MUTTONBIRD SEASON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14528, 20 May 1909, Page 2

THE MUTTONBIRD SEASON

'ho iiuvtioiibinlm are leiuniini, from Inu islam! roosts (sa.va our Muff corrcspon-<-ii'"Li, and liy i| lo ' m \ 0 i Moxt v ,- f ,ol; tlio seasons operations will bavo entirely ended. hi» fur as can he learneil it will turn out « Kwil season 1 * work. In all but exceplomil cases, wheie exceptional conditions ""I'l'oncd to prevail. iI, L . tl ; v ,U are reported lo have been plentiful. 'J | le jiluti-owiicd I**ll J "1a,." 81 , varioll<!v nslill . aletl at , 1 U) L°, ilsW ' "'' "I the rate of £70 per "«'■ I hat include, the season's lake both oi jioiiw! and ou.M.le „„„.„„,,„;„„. „ will imposible 1,, al ,. ivi) a| , ft , tj . •lo mini omlying i,i lllu! , r; f ~.u o Mllie ,:,,, I '°, Mil '"""I "-oris, a, far as adveimuers f,„ m ~!„,„ m ' %J™ return before the end of the , onH 0° Ihursday last i|, o c, ,„•,,,„ •' anchored oil Wluueotcpmdtaha, ~,? brought away the, lhilier panv Thin- ', plan, of ,t being a p„ ( , r ,„•; , being occasioned by any want of birds \1 in consequence of the Wand i, a vj„„ \'Z infested wit.li rats. Buller himself who h a very old stager on the eo ; ,st. allege, ,\,'l unl,l very recently rats wore quit,, ~'„: known there. I'rom time immemorial u, O rodenl was familiar on the inainland of Stewart Island but, not on ii« otfshoro islands. Buller has got n.ther exalted ideas of the rats mental faculties. It hives oir he, says, from island lo island, sc-b.clim' winds (111(1 tides with a disc-riininstiim worthy of a certificated master mariner Although he dislikes tho rat (or its ravages he derives considerable satisfaction frcm Uio retleclion that these ravages are an outcome of superior nautical skill. With men like. Hnller the sea, is everything and if you can perform a- feat in seamanship you cover a multitude of -.liortcomiugs. Now. however, that the parent birds have betaken themselves lo winter quarters —wherever they may be—the island is completely deserted, and a colonv of cats ban been left behind. With no other food to fall back on. it is more than probable that they will he able lo give a good account of the vermin during; ihe winter months. From llreaksea the steamer went round lo Fori- .Adventure, and, having cleared out the take at Kid ranee Island, proceeded to the liltilf, where, on Friday evening, she linid«l passengers and cargo. N'ow that the fisheries have extended to the utmost, ends of the island, these muttonbird panics cannot be called isolated, as they were a few years ago. To a considerable extent, however, they remain in seclusion. These p'riods extend over six weeks to three months, and during that space they avo to a largo extent shut off from tho cutsido world. On many of the islands fairly good buildings have been erected, also bark structures for the storage of the birds. After nightfall the pursuit is continued by means of torchlight— torches being prepared from tho bark of trees. Flitting about in that way produces weird shadows, reminding one of the superstitions willt which old Maori legends invariably clothe its islands. The weather throughout has proved good, and, so far as known, the health of tho islandcjs has been all that could lie wished. Kakas and pigeons have boon very plentiful. Indeed, it is said that on no occasion within memory of the oldest "birder" have these been 60 numerous. • The kaka proved cxexceedingly voracious. Whenever he could lay bis falons on a bird carcaso ho devoured it eagerly, an experience theretofore unknown. Still fhey were not tinwelcomed visitants. They paid ample toll for their depredations.