JUNIOR SECTION*

Forest and Bird, Issue 156, 1 May 1965, Page 20

JUNIOR SECTION*

The Gannet is a Spectacular Bird

By

C. J. R. Robertson

Common round the northern shores of New Zealand, the gannet is a spectacular bird both at sea and on land. For the fisherman the sight of diving gannets generally means shoaling fish and a good catch, while for those people fortunate enough to have visited one of the nesting colonies there is the vivid memory of birds massed together in a noisy and colourful spectacle.

The gannet is a member of the booby family, which is related to the families of shags, pelicans, and frigate-birds. The Australasian gannet is one of three closely related subspecies in the North Atlantic, South Africa, and Australia.

As a sea bird its main environment is out at sea, and nesting areas are generally on some 12 off-shore islands from the Three Kings in the north to Little Solander in Foveaux Strait. There is an exception, however, at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay, where the only mainland nesting colonies in the world are easily visited by active members of the public.

From June to September each year the adult gannets return to the nesting grounds, after their winter wanderings round our shores, and begin nesting for another year.

Both parents gather seaweed and other vegetable matter for the saucer-shaped nest. The nests are closely packed together except where the birds nest on cliffs. The distance between nests is determined by the pecking distance of the birds, and squabbles are common when birds stray out of their own area. The single egg is usually laid from September to November.

After six weeks of incubation by both parents, a small black naked chick is hatched. From 10 days old a white fluffy coat of down rapidly appears, until at a month and a half the chick is thickly covered.

The parents have to work very hard to satisfy its great appetite and they travel many

miles in search of small squid, mullet, and garfish, which make up much of the gannet’s diet. The chick is fed by the parent regurgitating partly digested food into its • hungrily opened gape. When two months old the chick starts to lose the down and develop its juvenile plumage of speckled black and white, with black bill and grey-black legs and feet. By the end of January the four-month-old chicks, now up to 2 lb. heavier than their parents, are ready for a migratory flight which will take them across the stormy Tasman Sea to the eastern coasts of Australia.

They spend the first two and a half years of their life in Australian waters gaining their adult plumage before returning to New Zealand and their home colony. Only about 15 per cent of the young birds survive this dual crossing. After roosting round the nesting colony for one to two years they start breeding when about five years old.

Sometimes compared with the goose, and called in Britain the Solan goose, the gannet is about 3 ft. long, with a wing span of 5 to 6 ft., and weighs 5 or 6 lb.

The adult is predominantly white, with buff-gold feathers on the crown and back of the head, while the main flight feathers at the rear of the wings and the central tail feathers are black.

The strong, sharp bill, with slightly hooked tip, is greyish blue. The dark grey-green of the leg and web is transected by light yellowgreen lines running down the leg and along the top of each toe.

The adults are most commonly seen round our shores during winter, and closer to nesting colonies from October to March, when groups of up to 20 or more may be seen flying in formation in search of food or milling above shoals of fish. The chicks are most commonly seen at sea or cast up on the shore on the north-east coasts of the North Island between February and June, as large numbers of them move north before crossing to Australia.

For those who are in Hawke’s Bay on holiday a visit to the gannets between November and January can be a thrilling experience. The photographer will be well rewarded for his patience as he records some of the distinctive nesting and individual displays while endeavouring to do justice to the panorama of

closely packed nests and the continual bustle of activity.

Each year many thousands of visitors make this excursion to see one of New Zealand’s most famous natural exhibits. So that this distinctive bird may continue to inhabit our shores the birds and their eggs are fully protected by law.

Problem Birds and the Struggle to Live

Someone was asking the other day about bounties on keas, and in the discussion that followed much of interest emerged concerning other native birds and their acquiring certain habits which do not endear them to us. Some of these habits, in fact, have become so annoying that some birds are helping to bring about their own destruction. We who are interested in bird protection must face the reality of an awkward' situation and try to reach a satisfactory solution, which unfortunately is anything but easy. The kea is one of our most spectacular birds, with unbounded and fearless curiosity. Its strong beak, used to tearing hard wood in its endless search for food, enables it to tear not only edible material but anything else which comes between it and a possible food supply. Cars parked in remote mountain areas have often been stripped of fabric, insulation has been stripped from power lines, and even detonators have been taken.

Sometimes the antics of these birds seem very amusing, but they can hardly be so to the sufferer of extensive damage. However, it is more for its supposed sheep attacks that the kea has gained notoriety and forced itself off the "protected list”. In pre-European times keas were vegetarian and insect eaters, but some of them apparently turned from picking over dead sheep to worrying and even attacking healthy ones. Conclusive evidence of such attacks and their frequency is hard to find, but the loss to a farmer of a single sheep can be a serious matter.

However, the kea spreads seeds in remote mountain areas where few if any other birds go and so it plays an invaluable part in high country forest regeneration. Most of the native birds have decreased in numbers since the clearing of bush and land drainage began, but a few species have in-

creased, most notably the black-backed and red-billed gulls and the harrier hawk. These three birds have not much in common, but they are all scavengers and do a useful task in keeping our beaches clean, especially near where slaughter house waste runs into the sea, and countryside and roads clear of dead animals killed by storms or run over by cars. However, there are times when these species develop bad habits: gulls congregate on rubbish tips and scatter the rubbish round nearby properties and hawks at times take farm birds. Even the native pigeon has sometimes acquired a taste for orchard fruit and certain ornamental trees. Orchardists and garden lovers do not regard the colourful kereru kindly when they see him gorging himself on their favourite shrubs or marketable fruit.

The pukeko, too, having lost much of his favourite swamp land food supply, has developed an appetite for potatoes and other farm crops in certain areas, and a few birds of this species can in a short time inflict severe damage on a crop. Can you blame the pukeko when he discovers such a find? If he can think at all, he may decide the crop was grown for him, as other birds discovering a new food source could. What then must our attitude be to these problems caused possibly from desperation? Some native birds are adapting their food and life habits to survive in a changing world. Some of us would tend to ignore the issue and say that it is a small price to pay for the good they do, but when we ourselves suffer the damage or loss, we are forced to think otherwise. Furthermore, as time goes on and more land is cleared the problem could well become more serious. Next time we will discuss some possible answers to these questions, but in the meantime readers’ comments would be most welcome.

ALONG THE TRACK

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Mangamahu.— -About two days ago I saw an old nest up in a willow tree overhanging the river. The next day I saw that it was occupied by a pair of magpies. I have never seen this before, as most birds build a new nest every year and I was wondering if you could please explain this strange phenomenon.

About three miles from home the road runs between native bush and the river. One day as I biked along the road I saw five or six native woodpigeons sitting in the willow trees bordering the river. One that was perched in a white pine was facing towards the road and I saw a white patch out of the corner of my eye and turned round to see a pigeon sitting in the tree. I had seen its white breast.

In the native bush where the pigeons are there are many young white pines 20-30 ft. high and they look very pretty with their green leaves and easily seen whitish bark. This bush extends right back over the hills and joins another not a mile from where the pigeons are. In the second bush there grows the largest white pine I have ever seen. It stands about 40-50 ft. high and is about 3 ft. 6 in. through the base of the trunk. Also in this bush there is much moss, all various shades of green. One species looks like green seaweed. —Kelvin Hainsworth, 11 years. Several birds will re-use a nest of their own or of another species, but your observation of magpies is unusual and very interesting.—Ed. Te Kuiti.— lt was at St. Stephen’s School that I found a young thrush on the ground without a tail. He seemed to realise that he shouldn’t fly away until his tail had grown. The first morning he ate four worms and some pieces of bread and meat. Of course he could flutter from place to place, but he could not guide himself. At one angle I could see right through his two nostrils. When you whistled at him he stretched his neck out to breaking point and was very interested. He would chirp back at you, and then all of a sudden fly on to your head or shoulder. I let him go when his tail had grown sufficiently. — T. Morgan, 14 years. Grahams Beachy— Recently Dad told me that he had taken out at least seven kingfishers from our troughs. The troughs had been sprayed with bloat cure, which was floating on top of the water. The bloat cure had obviously got on to the bills and into the nostrils so that they couldn’t breathe. This may be one way of saving one of our native birds, the kingfisher, by advocating to the farmers not to put bloat cure on troughs. We thought we only had one kingfisher on our farm. We didn’t know they were so common. —Jane Andrews, 12 years.

Ohope.— The first reports of shining cuckoos heard in this district were from Hikutaia Domain, Opotiki, on 27 September and at Hillcress, Whakatane on 28 September. I collect fungus and have found about fifty-two different specimens. Yesterday I found a whole lot of ‘Lorchel’ in the bush quite near our house. The cap is up to 3 in. tall, light brown wavy folds. It is hard to find and poisonous. We went for a walk up a lonely creek and saw what we think were two native rats. They were in high branches of a willow tree which is growing in the bush. Their colour was light brown and I could see their ears were pointed. I am sure they were nibbling the willow shoots. —Trina Brown, 9 years. The rats were probably the introduced ones, as native rats are not thought to leave the ground or cat vegetation.—Ed. Dannevirke.— One night at about 5 o’clock I watched an emperor moth come out of its cocoon. I collected it off a pepper tree, though my first cocoon came off a blue gum tree. The moths were both the same except that the moth off the pepper tree was slightly darker. I went into my bedroom and heard clicking noises coming from the cupboard in which I kept the cocoon. I looked into the cupboard and saw a piece of the cocoon was moving in and out. After about half an hour there were only a few fibres left and I could see something moving inside the cocoon. The cocoon now had a hole in it, which had been made by a piece of hard, flat, darkorange scale on the back of the moth’s head. The moth then crawled half way out, but the hole wasn’t big enough. He cut a little more away and came out. His wings were small and shrivelled up, but they soon grew. This whole operation took about two hours. This is a very beautiful moth; it is pink and has a wing span of 4 in. There are circular markings on the wings and it has large fern-like feelers. —Chris Ginders, 10 years. Palmerston North.— On Sunday we went to Moanaroa Beach, where there was a terrible wind and found a seagull’s nest with three eggs in it. Then we came to more nests with three eggs in them, but the last nest only had two eggs in it. Lynley found three darling baby seagulls. The eggs were light green and light grey. The baby seagulls were light grey. —Shirley Ottervang er, 8 years. How interesting to see the nests and the baby birds. You did not touch the eggs, did you? Because the parents don’t like their eggs to be picked up or their nests to be handled. Ed. Kaiapoi.— We have four black swans, 16 Canadian geese, five pairs of pheasants, and 52 guinea pigs, which I myself look after. Last year I went to one of your evenings in the museum lecture theatre, and was shown some coloured slides of very pretty birds of the native bush. It was very interesting. Brian Grofski, 12 years.

Christchurch.— On 30 December our family set out to walk the Milford Track. On our way down I saw on a river bank near Lumsden some pied oyster catchers, gulls, and a tern. We left Te Anau for Glade House by launch, from which rata could be seen in its magnificent bloom.

The first day of our walk we tramped through beech forests. I saw a rifleman, black fantail, bellbirds, and a New Zealand scaup on the Clinton River. When we arrived at the huts late that afternoon I fed keas butter off my finger.

The second day we climbed 2,300 ft. to the top of the Mackinnon Pass, where we got some spectacular views. On the way down I saw mountain daisies and mountain lilies. Birds I saw were wekas, rock wrens, which are now rare, and a robin. Some of the party saw a blue duck, which is not common. From the huts we walked to see Sutherland Falls.

We arrived at Milford Sound on the third day.. On the final stage of our 32-mile trip I saw some tomtits, wood pigeons, pied fantails, and a male and female paradise duck.

It was a wonderful trip in which I could observe a lot of our native birds which I might never see again. The memories of the rare rock wrens, the majestic peaks, and the miles of native bush will never leave me. —Barry McKessar, 13 years. New Plymouth.— l was coming home from the river when I heard a quail. I looked into my neighbour’s place and I saw it. I have seen many other birds—wood pigeons, fantails, sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes, magpies, and starlings—and I have heard moreporks. Two weeks ago Dad found a waxeye’s nest in some manuka. We had some starlings nesting in our roof three or four weeks ago. They kept us awake nearly half the night just chirping. We have got a wood pigeon nesting in our puriri tree. — Wyn Maxwell, 11 years. New Plymouth.— One day when we went to the Forest and Bird meeting I took along a sparrow with a sore wing. Afterwards we let it go. At school we have a kowhai tree and every day we see two tuis there. — Joanne Morgan, 9 years. Christchurch. — I went to Stewart Island with the Forest and Bird campers. On the second day 1 went to Ulva Island with the bird-watching party and we were fortunate to see and hear tuis, bellbirds, parrakeets, brown-creepers, and tomtits. We saw all of these birds many times along the track. Once when we stopped to watch the birds I went on a little way and saw a weka feeding on a dead deer. Later when our group was having a rest we heard a noise like that of a broody bantam coming from under a tussock of coarse grass. Our leader walked quietly down the slope and discovered it was a weka on a nest. It was well hidden under

the tussock, the overhanging plant almost completely obscuring the parent bird. The nest was surprisingly near the track, but if the weka had not made little cooing noises we would not have noticed it. We don’t know how many eggs or chicks there were in the nest because we did not disturb it. On our way back we saw three kakas in the high branches of a totara tree. The bush was very beautiful. —Paul Morrin, 10 years. Alexandra.— Today we saw a nest of the pied oystercatcher. It had three eggs in it. It was in the middle of a gravelly irrigation paddock. This afternoon we all went for a picnic near Bannockburn and saw an oystercatcher chick about two days old near a creek. We also saw a pair of stilts. — Bernard Child, 7 years. Most interesting, Bernard. You did not, of course, interfere with the eggs, did you?—Ed. Whakamara.— The rifleman is New Zealand’s smallest bird. The Maoris call it the tititipounamu, which means shining green one. It does a useful job in all forests, keeping trees healthy by eating insects. This little bird likes beech trees, but is also found in rimu and tawa trees. It breeds on lower ground, then moves up to higher land. It usually nests in a hole or a crevice in a tree. The entrance to the nest is so small that you can hardly see it. Four or five eggs are laid during and after August. The little rifleman sometimes follows flocks of white-eyes or other little birds like the fantail or tomtit. It follows these birds because they disturb insects. The rifleman is gingery yellow with a bit of green on its back. —Max Goldsack. Paeroa.— Many native birds have been visiting our orange trees, which are in full blossom. While Dad does the milking I sit and watch them flutter round in pairs. More often the tuis and bellbirds come together. While walking along the creek, with the clear water tumbling over the pastel stones, I noticed a small shag preening its feathers on a piece of driftwood. I watched it for a while, then let it know of my presence. It immediately dived into the water, stirring it up, and disappeared in an instant. —Fiona Hartley. Napier.— Our neighbours have a holly tree outside their house and in June the red berries come out. Nearly every morning I see two tuis that live in the gum trees outside our house fly over our place and land in the holly tree to eat the berries. At our school there are some kowhai trees just outside the playground. When the flowers come out you see wood pigeons, tuis, and bellbirds eating the nectar out of the flowers. —Dennis Mitchell, 9 years.

* Sponsored by the J. R. McKenzie Trust.