IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19041, 11 December 1923, Page 2

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

THE GRAYLING. By J Drummond, F.L.S., P.Z.S. The grayling, sometimes known by its Maori name, upokoro, has appeared again after many years’ absence. Mr A. Sharky reports from Ross, South Westland : “We thought that these native fish had been exterminated by brown trout and people who use dynamite when the fish take a rest in deep, quiet holes in crooks and rivers,” Mr Sharky writes. About 15 years ago, grayling took refuge in flood time in a groat basin in the Mikomii River, in which a gold dredge floated. Pot-hunters then destroyed the fish in vast numbers. For every one bagged, perhaps a thousand were taken away by the river, or died on the bottom, to be washed out to sea by the undercurrent. There have been no grayling in the river since. About the middle of October, many grayling were seen under the Kanieri Bridge, in the Hokitika River. They fed there until a flood camo along, and then they disappeared, but they reappeared in small numbers in Doneily’s Creek and the Totara River. A local fisherman caught two dozen with rod aud line, Mr Sharky, in his younger days, caught hundreds of grayling on the line. ms experience shows that the only suitable bait for them is the little red wire-worms, which live in rich soil in the banks of streams. He states that grayling lie in deep holes all night, and at daylight drift down quietly among stones at the tail-end of each hole, where the current is stronger. There they may be see nibbling at shiny green vegetable growth on the stones, among which they obtain food. They make their second appearance tor the year in March, when “the oil fairly oozes out of them.” When he was a member of a flying survey party, Mr Sharky found grayling in deep holes near the sources of rivers, in the middle of winter, also where a. river emerges troin a far inland lake. At Lake Mapounka, whep the sun arose after a night’s hard frost, he saw grayling emerge from the lake into the head of a creek to shallow waters, and stop there for hours, as if they enjoyed a sun bath In March, 1882, in "that creek, with worm bait, ne caught a grayling which he believes holds the record. Weighed and measured by Mr F.' Bird, Resident Magistrate, it turned the scale at 2|lb, and was 20 inches long and six inches in girth. Mr Sharky adds enthusiastically: “Grayling have a finer flavour than any other, fish in the world. When they came out of the lakes and go down the rivers, in March and October, they fairly would fry in their own oil. They are piucKy fighters it pounders. It is Tegrettaolb that we see them so seldom now in vVest Coast rivers ” Mr S. F. Whitcombe, formerly Traffic Manager of the New Zealand Railways, heard a shining cuckoo in Dunedin two days in succession at the beginning of November. “Down here," he wrote from Pounawoa, Gatlins district, Otago, on November 20, both the shining cuckoo and the long-tailed cuckoo a-rc very much in evidence. Their peculiar notes are heard frequently during the day. Bclbirds, tuis, fan tails, pied and black robins, tom tits, riflemen, bush canaries and grey warblers continually flit through the, forests. Some wood pigeons are nesting near here ; I can hear them cooing from our little bush at the back of the house. It is a great pleasure to see native birds all around us. At Belleknowes, Dunedin, about a month ago, 1 saw the first albino blackbird I had seen since I left England. It was a. female, and was hopping about on the back lawn at about 7 a.m. Its head, shoulders, upper part of tho wings and breast were quite white ; tile rest of its bodv was just mottled, in the same way as a good many pukeko, or swamp-hens, were mottled in the Tarawa Swamp, between Lumsden and Kingston, about 20 years ago.” A male move-pork owl serenaded Mr H. F. Chaffey and Mrs Chaffey at their hill residence, Asbestos Cottage, near the head-waters of the Takaka River, Nelson, on the evening of November 14. It sat on a post in front of the cottage window. It began with a gutteral “por, por, por. por,” repeated quickly from 15 to go times, as if the owl was trying to break’ a record. It finished with a “more pork," drawn out and well pronounced. Apparently out of breath with the effort, it took a spoil for a few minutes and then repeated the performance, trying to utter the “por, por, por, por quicker if possible. Mrs Chaffey shook a doth at him but he took no notice of it. A cup oi water, thrown over him, induced him to depart. Commenting on this nocturnal visit, Mr Chaffey writes: “We would be over-run -vith mice if it was not for the more-ports; they keep these pests down considerably. The female morepork, I think, was setting on eggs, as this particular hunting-ground is hers, and we seldom have a visit from the male. The ‘por, por’ notes, which are repeated manv times, may indicate, that he has just‘caught and‘eaten a young bird or a mouse, probably the former, as several birds are feeding their young close to our cottage, notably three lots of hedgesparrows, a pair of young thrushes, fantails and tomtits. White-eyes hatched in manuka, close below the dog-kennels a week or two ago, and I am afraid that the male more-pork got away with these youngsters, which is regrettable, as the severe winter killed a large number of whiteeyes ; last spring there were 20 or oO about here, but there is only one pair now,” Describing the habits of other birds as observed on the mounts n-side, Mr Chaffey writes: “Hedge-sparrows are destructive to black currants, especially when tho young hedge-sparrows are in leadingstrings. They plant the young under a currant "bush, get up into the husband pick off the berries, which fall to the ground. They usually pick off many more berries than they ‘or the' youngsters can eat. They soem to prefer the small, green berries just forming. Without wishing them any particular harm, we hope that out friend the more-pork will attend to the matter, and see that their number is reduced. White-eyes, which increase very rapidly, have two, if not three sets of vonng in the spring and autumn. Their flimsy nests are put together quicker than other birds build. Aonng white-eyes are out , and about fending for themselves soon after they are hatched. If whiteeyes were not considerably reduced occasionally by Nature, they might oecome so plentiful as to be a pest. The more-pork is the natural enemy of forest birds, and doubtless, was intended to check the : r abnormal increase; but now we have the stoat and weasel also. The great falling off in bird life in these forests a few years ago, 1 believe, was caused by stoats and weasels, who climbed the shrubs and trees and pulled the bottoms out of nests, and took the young. Most native birds, apparently, have become wise. They ha,vo built in more inaccessible positions. For another thing hares have become fairly plentiful, and the vermin have something else to feed upon. Not long ago, when I was eating my lunch in the Cobb Valley, I heard a * squealing. Looking in the direction 1 froin which it came, 1 saw a leveret pass an opening in the snow-grass, utterings the cries of distress. A few seconds later, a weasel passed the opening, in pureuit. and we know the result.” Mi W. W. Smith, New Plymouth, an experienced observer, states that several grey warblers may be seen feeding one young cuckoo. He explains that a young cuckoo, when almost fully grown is voracious. and appeals to all passers-by to reiieve its hunger. The small quantity taken to it hv its little foster-parent each time dees not satisfy it. He has seen grey warblers visiting and feeding young cuckoos in succession. This is done, apparently, when tho young cuckoos are unusually hungry.