THE GERMAN OWL

Southland Times, Issue 23180, 22 April 1937, Page 4

THE GERMAN OWL

Increasing Numbers DOES IT MENACE NATIVE BIRDS? (Specially Written for The Southland Times.) [By G. JAQUIERY] Is the German Owl a menace to our native birds? On careful consideration, swayed neither by the enthusiastic native bird lover or the defender of the actions of acclimatization societies, the answer should be yes. The little owl (Athene noctua) is a bird of the same family as the Mopork (Nino novae zealandiae) and has a similar diet. Both birds in nature have a similar duty to perform—a culling out of those species of other animals or insects necessary for their control and proper balance as members of a community. The Mopork through aeons of time had been built into an efficient instrument of nature to perform the work it had to do. In this respect it was necessary for the harmonious development of a fauna and flora which owing to the long isolation of New Zealand from other lands had evolved unique series of plants and animals. It is the failure to recognize the dissimilarity of the fauna and flora of our Dominion from that of other countries which has been the cause of many blunders in acclimatization. The Little or German owl, with its various species ranging through Europe from the Baltic to India and in Asia to Siberia, has proved its hardihood and ability to fend for itself. Whereas the Mopork is noctural the Little Owl is diurnal and has a larger clutch of eggs, and these two points may easily be the factors which have resulted in the steady diminution of the Mopork and the rise in numbers of the introduced bird. Thus the Mopork is steadily being suppressed and the laughing owl is never heard of in Southland today. The numbers of introduced owls is now much larger than the numbers of Moporks were 10 or 15 years ago, and around Invercargill they appear to have reached their maximum development. Sanctuaries. Invaded Destruction of bush and the introduction of pests of various kinds has sadly reduced our native birds—birds which apart from their sentimental value are economically of great importance to the forest. There has so far been a refuge in the sanctuaries on the islands of Foveaux Straits for many New Zealand birds no longer seen on the mainland in any numbers. The sea has proved a bar to the land mammals and the islands are usually uninhabited by man. The little owl having wings cannot be kept out and is the one pest which cannot be kept in check. It is therefore the greatest potential" enemy to our fevz remaining sanctuaries where birds once common on the mainland still exist in numbers. In the Eglinton Valley this Easter increasing numbers of robins and parakeets were observed, and. the little owl was not heard. It is hard to say what will happen when increasing numbers of owls forced out by the necessity for new nesting sites and food reach the great sanctuary of the national park. A determined attempt to lessen the numbers in and around settled parts could possibly put off the evil day. In the early nineties the rabbits existed in large numbers around the sounds country, but have now completely disappeared, and it may be that the owl might find it a hard country also; but on the other hand its inherited hardiness might prove it fit to cope with any conditions in this country. The Little Owl was introduced into this Dominion by the Otago Acclimatization Society in the years 1906-9-10. Mr Philpott, one time curator of the Southland Museum, thought that though it was becoming common here it would not prove inimical to our native birds as it hawked about the edges of the bush. Since his day there has been a great increase. The owls are now found in the bush, and birds have diminished. The bats once common around the city seem to have completely disappeared, though one species thought to be extinct has been found in small numbers by Mr Stead on one of the islands in the straits. The introduction of an alien bird may eventually be the cause of economic loss through its predilection for a certain type of food not usually taken by the native. Not enough is known to say what differences if any exist in the diet of the native owl as against that of the exotic species, and an alteration in the numbers of injurious insects may take place. We do not know, for instance, why a native beetle has come into town in the last ten years to bore the black pine floors of new houses, it is much bigger and worse in its effects than the white pine grub, and can completely ruin a black pane floor in three years without betraying its presence. The Risk of Pest Control There are many instances on record where the introduction of one pest to control another has resulted in another and worse pest. The Government is alive to the dangers of acclimatization and exercises a much greater control of importations than it did formerly, yet little or nothing is being done in connection with the owl to minimize the dangers which exist. The owl being here has no doubt already caused a rearrangement of the native fauna and if unchecked will in the course of time cause a new balance and settle down into its appointed place with the disappearance or diminution of native species. . ■ . To sum up then it was wrong to impose an alien predatore on to a fauna ill-fitted to resist it. It is impossible to say yet what repercussions may occur to birds and insects if nature is allowed to work the balance out afresh. Apart from the damage which native birds on the mainland must suffer from a large .-increase in predatores it will be nothing short of a calamity if the remaining sanctuaries are invaded by a new and stronger enemy. With a limited area it is possible that a species could be exterminated. A large scale attack on the little owl could minimize the danger to native birds. On biological grounds, and from the evidence of largely increased numbers of a bird which preys partly on small birds, including native birds, it can safely be said that the Little or German Owl is a menace.