JUNIOR ALONG THE TRACK

Forest and Bird, Issue 138, 1 November 1960, Page 18

JUNIOR ALONG THE TRACK

TIRAU— While looking for frogs in the swamp one afternoon my sisters, brothers and I were walking around when one of my sisters pulled a piece of wood off a cabbage tree under which was a wasp’s nest. After we all had a look at it we made off as quickly as we could. After a while I saw a whiteeye, which was the first I’ve seen this year. I was six feet away from it when it flew away. It had a greenish back and yellowish chest. I also saw many native ferns, two fantails catching insects in the air, one minah, and three blackbirds, also several dead sheep on which hawks were feeding. We were unsuccessful in finding any frogs.— Patricia Jenkins, 12 years. PUKETITIRI— In the May holidays I went to Masterton. On the way we stopped and saw the takahe. The takahe is a large bird. It is like a pukeko. It has a large red beak and large red feet. The rest of it is bluish. Not many people have seen the takahe. It was once thought to be extinct. The takahe yelp klowp, klowp, klowp. In the cage with the takahe were wekas, a kaka, a morepork, a native pigeon, and some kingfishers.— Cynthia Whittle, 11 years.

PlRONGlA— Recently, while travelling through Hamilton, we chanced to pass around the shores of Lake Rotorua. As usual in the shooting season, the water was swarming with ducks and swans, but I was rather surprised to see a pukeko strutting around on the shore. It seemed almost as quiet as the ducks when approached. It seems as though this bird had sufficient intelligence to take refuge in the sanctuary while the shooting season lasted. Do you think this is so? — D. R. Hosking, 11 years. NEW PLYMOUTH— On the 25th April my mother, father, three brothers, and myself paid a visit to the Egmont National Park which is not far from our home. We arrived there in the afternoon about half past one all ready to go into the bush. We went into the bush a wee way and saw a lot of native trees and beautiful ferns. We heard many different birds. Some were fantails, grey warblers, waxeyes, yellow hammers, goldfinches, bellbirds, woodpigeon, chaffinches, etc. One of the trees was about 500 years old. It was a giant rata. We had our field-glasses with us and were able to observe the male and female pied tit. The male was black with a white breast, white under the tail and under the tummy. We were very fascinated with the ways in which the bird flew. They would fly from the branches and dive down on to the bush floor. — Carol Peters, 11 years.

HAWERA— On our recent holiday to Pukearuhe we discovered in one of the coastal caves a strange penguin. The back and sides of this strange bird were a pinky brown colour with white breast and throat, continuing up to form a strange “eyebrow” tipped with a yellow feather. The top of the head was flat, and the eyes a muddy yellow colour, while its beak and feet were pink. It had no tail to speak of, and the only sound it made was a squeaky hiss. It appeared to have been there for some days by the footprints and seemed to be rather sick and very savage. As we had had a very rough sea a day or so before, I think it must have been washed up. Later, we defined it as a yellow-eyed penguin, found only in the South Island. We were very lucky to see this strange bird, for when we revisited the caves later it was gone. — Cynthia Greensill, 13 years.

TIMARU— One evening early last spring I was walking across a paddock of swampy streams inhabited by dozens of pukekos when suddenly I came upon a tiny pukeko chick lying on a sheep trail. The poor wee fellow was as cold as stone. After a rather bumpy ride home we put him on a hot-water bottle, which relieved him enough to enable me to put him in with the ducks. For the first day he had nothing to eat and the ducks pecked him whenever he came near them, but at night when the ducks had retired from their run into their warm straw box he put his head down, waggled his wings, and uttered a queer wheezing noise. About 8 o’clock next morning I ran down to have a look at him, but he was nowhere to be seen. I searched high and low for him but he did not appear. Then I had a look at the ducks but they looked peaceful enough except that one sat a lot higher than the others. All of a sudden the wheezing noise started up again, and an impish head popped up from under a duck. From then on it was easy going to keep him. He mainly ate chick food, lettuce, Farex, and worms, all of which he held in his long toes. His colour gradually changed to a

beautiful blue and his beak and legs to a bright red. The trouble he got into with our magpie (also reared from babyhood on chopped-up worms, 100 a day) by pulling its tail was really funny to watch. The three ducks and the pukeko are now back out at the swamp, and the magpie is still making himself a lovable nuisance about the place.— Justin Calder, 12 years.

MASONS FLAT— Sunday while walking through our bush I heard a shrill bell-like note, I looked up and sitting on a branch above me I saw a bellbird. It was yellowish green in colour. It was smaller than a tui. That afternoon I went down to our creek where I saw two pukekos. They were both about 20 inches high. They had long legs, and were blue and black with a white tail. I found out later that they eat the soft roots of water plants. I have seen a pukeko’s nest. It is very untidy, about a foot high. I found it among the rushes in our swamp.— Fay Brooker, 10 years.

WANGANUI— It was cold and rainy when I noticed Patch (a big black and white cat) dive through the hedge with a sparrow in his mouth. I caught him and took the bird off him, but at the same time I did not expect him to live. He was cold, wet, and badly scratched and mouthed. I brought him inside, wrapped him in cotton wool, and put him near the warm stove. After an hour or so he seemed to perk up a bit and show signs of life. We left him over-night in a warm position, and to my delight, the next morning he was flying around trying to get out. We then took him down to the back-yard and let him go. I often wonder if he is still alive, and if so, where he is. Dexter Morgan, 12 years.

LOVELL’S FLAT At a beach near Balclutha I saw two . parent black oystercatchers with a young one. As they ran away ' the young one was separated from its parents. It then ran to the foot of a nearby cliff which was a mixture of yellowish and bluish-grey soils. The young bird ran straight to a grey part which was almost the same colour as itself, and it was very hard to see it against this soil, which it so nearly matched. I thought it was very clever of the young bird not to go to the yellowish part of the cliff, where it would have shown up very clearly— Heather Instone, 13 years.

WELLINGTON— Where I live there was a valley which was covered with manuka. There were fantails, waxeyes, and kingfishers. Now only 25 per cent of it is left, for there is a tip there. I am now transplanting the native plants from there to our property. I am finding more birds come round our house now. On our one-acre piece of land we have about 950 trees.

When the takahes were on show I went to see them. You get leaflets about them. In the pen with them are the kakas, wekas, pukekos, kingfishers, moreporks, and a pigeon. Takahes are like large pukeko. Paul and Prudence were on show. The man said that they are found on the west side of Te Anau, where there are about 250. They were first found in 1849.

When I was at Waikanae while climbing the Tararuas I saw a great amount of damage done by deer and pigs. While there I saw a very large wood pigeon. We heard a tui, a bellbird, a bush canary, and pigeon. Also, we saw four giant rimus and totaras — Huxford, 10 years.