NATURE AND MAN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 166, 17 July 1939, Page 6

NATURE AND MAN

FLIGHT OF SEA-BIRDS OBSERVANCE IX COOK STRAIT

When I took a trip from Wellington to Picton recently about twenty seagulls decided to go with me. In the bright sunshine of a perfect midwinter afternoon, they made a beautiful escort for the “Tamahine”. Sometimes they were only a few feet away from the rail of the main deck, so that I could .see clearly the operation ?f flight and the pale eyes keenly scanning the sea for edible jetsam, which they knew wound be thrown at intervals. What a wild clacking and yodelling they made when some food was tipped out from the speeding steamer! How quickly they caught up with the vessel to resume their' persistent Oliver Twist habit of expecting more nourishment I To them, the “Tamahine”, with all its marvels of machinery, was merely a useful sort of thing, specially evolved in the course of time for the benefit of seagulls, and the destiny of the man himself was mainly to help ‘hem to get an easy livin:. When the ship was do;ng about fifteen knots, those birds kept up with an case which looked like laziness. They needed only two flaps of the wing to the second. When there was rather a long wait between snacks they seemed to be bored, and would do some ouick uiv elings. Now and then I expected a collision as they crossed one another, but they were too nimble to clash. However, one did nearly bumb into another; it was a miss by an inch or two. I fancied I saw a swear i.i th l glint of a savage eye, as if the owner had flashed this thought: "What in the do you think you’re doing? Why don’t you I-n • the v or’d big enough for both of us?" Thus tnc gulls would go to Picton. and return next day in same manner. Charming as the flight of the gulls wn>. it vas far surpassed by th? wheeling of a mollymav. k. This rover had apparently a contempt for the “Tamahine’s” speed. He came up without effort on widespread pinions, as if to have a casual glance a: the vessel. Was this his thought: "What is this loiterer on the high seas? What is it trying to do? Why is it so lazy?” Then he would swoop away in long loops of turning his tail scornfully to the "Tamahine”. glide a mile to the rear, sit for a few moments on I he water, and then return In a graceful zig-zag. Yes. the mollymawk was the winner. A Kink of Democracy. Kapiti 1.-dand. which was crouched like a prehistoric monster in an opal haze on the horizon, was a reminder a kink in the democratic system of Government. My thoughts flew back to the long campaign before the authorities could be induced to declare the island a sanctuary for native birds. Then another strong fight was required before the goat nuisance on the island was properly tackled.. Kapiti was out of the ordinary political field: the native birds had no votes, and their friends were scattered through many electorates: therefore Kapiti was not a “live issue” in the political sense. No sane person who values personal liberty could yearn for the autocratic schemes of certain European countries, hut one may well wish for an jccasional strong-man action on rx»-

half of some national mailers which are outside the usual political pale. That is the kind of action which plenty of New Zealanders would like to see for the real saving of the remnants of the great Kauri forests, including those on Great Barrier Island which should be a. sanctuary. Thoughts of Birds A sunny day usually xures some men and lads of leisure to the Wellington wharves from which they throw fishing lines. Before a hook hits the water seagulls, especially th? red-bills, join the groups in the sure expectation of some tit-bits. The I other day I happened to be the only stroller on an outlying wharf. When I paused at the end for a peep at the blue-tinted mountains across the harbour. two red-bills flew hopefully towards me. They walked around me; I had no bait, no line. They were puzzled. They looked questioningly at each other, and seemed to be passing opinion? about me. such as these:— "What sort of a dud is this? why doesn't he start something? What right has he here, if he doesn’t produce Ihe goods?” Well, they waited o n for a miracle, which did not happen. although I wished heartily for magic power to conjure up a few i.->r them. \\ li.ti* the Hard Hand tor \andals? There is a law against the spoliation of native bush by vandals, who drag away ferns all the year round and tear down the flowering vines of clem- ( atis in the spring, but how' many of the culprits are caught and punished? At a recent meeting of the Bluff Progressive League it was reported that i aiders were destroying trees and greenery on the Bluff Hill. “People are ruthlessly destroying the shrubbery in gathering foliage for decorative purposes,’’said one member. “W« arc losing it in car loads at a time. It is a pity this is going on. The difiiculty is in educating the public. It is that our native busn be preserved in the interests g? eTie province.” Another remarked that many persons stripped the red pine trees of bark for the purpose of tanning fishing nets. The trees died and fell, doing much damage to the undergrowth..