JUNIOR SECTION*

Forest and Bird, Issue 142, 1 November 1961, Page 16

JUNIOR SECTION*

All correspondence relating to the Junior Section should be addressed to: —Huia, Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, P.O. Box 631, Wellington. Dear Juniors, Do you notice that we are getting more and more contributors in each issue of our magazine ? I should like to thank David Dawson once more for his valuable contributions. Cynthia Whittle, of Puketitiri, many thanks for the account of the bush at your school. I think Cynthia’s idea of an exchange of plants and seeds between schools is an excellent one. If any more schools would like to exchange plants or seeds you may write to me and I shall put you in contact with one another. Graham Dewes, also of Puketitiri, has given us an interesting account of growing seeds from leaf mould. Arthur Goodall, thank you for your knowledge test. I always enjoy a knowledge test. Don’t you, Juniors? I wonder if any of you have had any luck yet with your bird boxes. Have you been able to attract more tuis and bellbirds around your homes by feeding them? Cheerio. HUIA.

LEAF MOULD Last year the standards got some leaf mould for our nature study. We got the leaf mould on the floor of a bush in the district. Not many trees grew, only about one dozen. It took about nine months before any trees started to come up out of the leaf mould. When the trees were about 3% inches high some of us planted them out in our bush behind the school. We plant trees to attract the birds. We try to get as many with bright berries on them as possible.— Graham Dezves, 9 years old, Puketitiri School.

BIRD TRAILS Juniors! I’ve got an idea that I’m quite keen about because I think it will be useful later and fun to do in the meantime. I do hope lots of you will join in. Let me explain. In every district ——there are birds that are of interest to bird watchers. So the idea is for as many Juniors as possible, either on their own or in groups, to write in about their own district and tell us what birds are to be found and where to find them. David Dawson’s article which was originally written as a letter will give you an idea of what to do. As you see, he lists the birds that may be seen in different places around Christchurch, and in the case of the Sumner Estuary birds, he describes how they may best be observed at high and at low tide, and also how some of the oystercatchers migrate. Notice especially that even a stranger to Christchurch could make several birdwatching trips by visiting the places mentioned. The plan is to print in our Junior Section, when possible, really good articles (with the name of the person or group who prepared it, of course). Soon (I hope) we’ll have far too many for our Junior Section, and when that happens we may print a special Bird Trails supplement, which would be sent to anyone who is interested. As our collection grows, when you or other members go on holiday to some new place, you will know by turning to your Bird Trails supplement what birds you may expect to find and where to look for them. And, dear Juniors, don’t forget to be most careful not to disturb the birds when you are observing them. So what about joining in and sending along yours ? —HUI A.

BIRD TRAILS AROUND CHRISTCHURCH By DAVID DAWSON Having lived in Canterbury for fourteen years 1 know a fair amount about its birds, but please do not take me for an expert. 1 live in Shirley, the northern suburb of Christchurch, and shall give you a list of the native birds in my district. The common ones are waxeyes, grey warblers, and fantails. Also to be found, more rarely, are kingfishers, grey ducks, pukekos (in swampy areas) and the three kinds of gulls, which can be seen during most of the year on playing fields, etc. The oystercatchers you saw opposite Sumner in April were actually sting on the high-tide roost which most of the estuary birds use when they cannot feed. In winter there is a partial migration, but they fly in small flocks of a dozen or so birds. There are a few oystercatchers on the estuary even during the breeding season, which starts in September. So on that August day when you say none were visible they were probably on the far side. This high-tide roost makes it very easy to count and observe the estuary birds at close quarters.

Besides oystercatchers, godwits, stilts, white-faced herons, blue herons, whitefronted and Caspian terns, black swans, the three kinds of gulls, and banded dotterels are all common on the estuary. One day I saw a wandering tattler, only seen a few times in New Zealand before, among the godwits; and sometimes a shoveller or spoonbill duck can be seen with the greys. If you want to see the waders close up, go down the spit from New Brighton to the end of the road, and come up from below the skyline to watch them from the sandhills. It is well worth the trouble, especially if you have binoculars; but you must pick a high tide.

Sometimes a bittern may be seen from the main Christchurch-Little River road, in the rushes by Lake Ellesmere, and Canada geese, little pied shags and white swans may be added to the estuary list here. For bush birds Akaroa domain, and Kaituna bush, both reached by the same road, are ideal. Nearer Christchurch there are some patches around the summit road.

Another interesting feature of our district is the cirl bunting, an introduced bird which is rather rare. It can be seen in Hoon Hay Valley and other places on the peninsula. It is very like a yellow hammer, but the male has black on his head and throat and sings “A little bit of bread” instead of “A little bit of bread and no cheese,” which the yellow hammer sings.

THE SILVEREYE, WAXEYE, WHITEEYE, RINGEYE, OR HEIGHT BIRD By DAVID DAWSON Most of you will already know this little olive-green bird. To add to the confusion of names above, many people call it something else, not knowing its usual names. Next time you see one, look a little closer. It is quite a pretty bird. As well as the green you will see dark grey on its head and back, yellow under its tail, chestnut on its flanks, and, of course, white round its eyes. Even though these birds are so common they have been in New Zealand only since 1856. They are regarded now as native birds, though they introduced themselves from Australia. You will see them in flocks almost everywhere, but in city areas they are much more commonly seen in the winter. They probably nest in scrub areas during the summer and move into towns in search of food. The nest is a beautifully made cup, suspended from the surrounding twigs. A flock of them will search all over a tree for insects. They like aphids especially; hence the name “blight bird”. Also eaten by them are nectar and some soft berries and soft fruit. Luckily the good they do is greater than the harm. If you feed birds in the winter you are almost certain to attract flocks of these little fellows. They will eat bread, porridge, sweetened water, suet or fat, and many table scraps. You will have great fun watching them gorging themselves or bickering over the food and also will be helping to keep them alive, as they find the winter very hard. Because of this it is no good attracting a flock around and then stopping your feeding. You must feed them right through the winter.

CROSSWORD CLUES Across 1. The black gull is one of the two smaller New Zealand gulls. 2. The orange-fronted parrakeet is a rather rare bird of the South Island bush. Give its initials. 3. The bush hawk or New Zealand — is a faster flyer and is fiercer-looking than the harrier hawk. 4. This bird migrates each winter to Siberia. In summer it can be seen along our coastline. 5. The stilt is a common wading bird with a yapping call. 6. There are three New Zealand native birds with three-lettered names: the tits, tui, and the . Down: 1. The -——■ — creeper is a bush bird about the size of a grey warbler. 2. The laughing owl is a very rare native owl. Give its initials. 3. The or little grebe is a small water bird. 4. We have three -.s, the most common of which is sometimes called the sea swallow. 5. The — dotterel is a common shore bird. 6. The blue penguin nests around most of our rocky coasts. Give its initials. 7. The 'royal albatross is the only albatross which nests on the New Zealand mainland. Give its initials.

KNOWLEDGE TEST By ARTHUR GOODALL 1. What is the Maori name for the parson bird ? 2. What is the English name for the kea ? 3. Is the kiwi a flightless bird?. 4. Does the kiwi build his nest in trees ? 5. Can the weka fly? 6. Which birds are natives of New Zealand —bellbird, robin, kingfisher, sparrow? 7. Do these birds belong to New Zealand swallow, eagle, lark ? 8. What does the kingfisher eat ?

Junior Along the Track (Three shillings will be paid for each item published in "Junior Along the Track". Please give your age when you write.) PETONE 5 September my friend and I were going to a rugby party which was to finish off the season. We were riding along when we spotted children standing on the road looking down. As we went past I saw a bird lying down on the ground. I called to my friend to stop, which we did. We found a waxeye lying in pain. We found out from the children that it had fallen down from the power lines. My friend thought we should take it to a forest and bird enthusiast who lives down the street. He said it would be best to put the bird in a box with cottonwool around it to keep it warm. We did that, and then rushed to the rugby party. When we got home we found the waxeye dead, but we had done our best.— Christopher Hetherington, 12 years.

ASHBURTON— One afternoon when I was down the back of our farm walking along the limestone river I saw a small bird, away up in the sky, which was being attacked by two bigger birds. After a while a skylark flew down with two magpies chasing it. When it reached the ground the magpies carried on fighting; so I ran and shouted and scared them away from the skylark. As I got closer I saw that the side of its head was bleeding, so I took out my handkerchief and soaked it in water and bathed it. When I got home I fed him. It soon got well and flew away.— Eldred Grigg, 12 years. WHAKATANE— We have a lot of trees and flowers. When we get the mail we see lots of quail. There are blackbirds too. The fantails are very cheeky. There are not many thrushes. We have a big farm. There is a horse too. There are a lot of birds near my birds’ house. I haven’t seen a pheasant or a blackbird there yet, but Mummy saw a bush hawk one day.— Peter Batenburg, 7 years.

KHANDALLAH — At the bottom of our garden we have native bush and so have many bird visitors. One of these is a blackbird with a white wing. He enjoys eating our dog’s bones. Brandy gets very cross and barks but the bird flies only a short way and then comes back for more. We feed the birds each morning. The waxeyes feast off our white japonica bush.— Susan Jane, 6 years. WANGANUI— Recently I made a visit to Mt. Ruapehu, travelling by bus from Wanganui along the Parapara-Desert Road route. How beautiful the natural bush and foliage is with its mountain streams dashing merrily over the boulders giving moisture and beauty to the native ferns, pungas, and lovely rimus, matais, and other native trees ! We stopped several times along the route, and it was wonderful to stand on a swing bridge and hear the bellbirds sing, a fantail squeak and twitter excitedly. Imagine my delight as further in the bush I saw what I thought was a pigeon, with grey on wings and back and a white front. At first I thought it was a city pigeon lost, but perhaps it was a native. I hope so anyway. After reaching the chair lift, and being well surrounded with snow, I saw one brave little sparrow hopping about. It seemed to adopt me and I fed him some of my lunch. I wonder what he does at night and what he usually eats when people aren’t around? — Beris Curham. OTOROHANGA— Now the cold winter has come my sister Jeanice and I love to feed the birds. We tie fat on the trees near the house for the whiteyes. One day there were 19 of them on one tree. We put bread and honey water out but the greedy mynahs eat a lot. We put extra out so the yellowhammers and sparrows can get some. We live in town but we see fantails, yellowhammers, blackbirds, goldfinches, chaffinches, greenfinches, riroriros, thrushes, meadow pipits, starlings, kingfishers, and mynahs. These are all the birds that we have seen on our section. One day when we were out on a farm we saw two pukekos perched on a tree. We have a young kowhai tree and are getting more native trees this year for bird food. —Margaret Mowbray, 7 years. NELSON I would like you to put this short story in your magazine for Junior Along The Track. It is about tuis. We live about 27 miles from Nelson, out in the country. There are several gum trees. around our house which we often see the tuis in. Usually about dinner time each day we hear the tuis singing. Then suddenly there is a loud flutter and. they fly past our kitchen window. The tuis are quite common out in Tasman, but in some places where there are no gum trees they are scarce. One day last summer I saw two tuis having a fight (or else they were just playing chasing). I was outside playing tennis when they flew past in front of me, making a small wind. At present there are flowers on the gum trees; so we see the tuis the most now. At school we have been doing projects about birds and my group have the tui to do. I have a camera which I often use for taking photos of birds and such like. That is all I can tell you. I hope it is all right for your magazine.— Leonie Ogg, 12 years.

OUR SCHOOL BUSH By CYNTHIA WHITTLE, Puketitiri School The bush at our school is part of the native bush that once covered Puketitiri. There are only one or two patches of this bush left. Many years ago, the bush was fenced around, but this fence soon became under poor repair. Within the last five years stock have had access to the bush and ruined the undergrowth. In the last three years, more interest has been taken in the bush, and it has been fenced around by the school committee. There is now a small patch of ferns about twelve feet square. There are other different kinds of undergrowth growing. There are only one or two large trees, one being a rimu- which is about one hundred feet high. There are other small trees —some lacebark, one pepper tree and various other small shrubs. There are also two or three red-beech trees. Last year we planted one hundred small trees. There were all kindstotara, lacebark, pepper tree, lancewood, and many others. Yesterday we planted about four dozen small lacebark trees. Last year one person brought some leaf mould to school, from his own bush. We put it in a box on our nature table. Within a few weeks some small plants appeared. We planted them out, and now have quite a small collection of young trees. Perhaps there are some other schools who will read this, and we would be very grateful if they could help us by giving us small trees, or even seeds of trees. Theie are tuis and bellbirds in the bush, and we would like to attract more native birds, e.g., pigeons.

ANSWERS TO KNOWLEDGE TEST 1. Tui. 2. Mountain parrot 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. No. 6. Bellbird, kingfisher, N.Z. robins. 7. N 0../ 8. Lizards, insects, crustaceans, small fish.

* Sponsored by J. R. McKenzie Trust.