THE JUNIOR SECTION*

Forest and Bird, Issue 171, 1 February 1969, Page 23

THE JUNIOR SECTION*

ALONG THE TRACK

(Thirty cents will be paid for each item published in "Along the Track". Please give your age when you write.)

Whangarei Sometimes my father takes us to Waro Limestone Reserve, about 12 miles north of Whangarei. The limestone rocks are in all shapes and sizes. Some look like old castles and some like wild animals; others are piled on top of each other. We found deep holes and caves under the rocks. All kinds of trees grow in the reserve. We saw karaka, totara, puriri, titoki, fuchsia, kohekohe, lancewood, towai, and tree ferns. Some trees and climbers even grow on the rocks. Once we found a beehive under a ledge of rock. The next time we visited the reserve we found that a storm had broken the honeycomb and the bees had gone. We saw fantails, grey warblers, waxeyes, and thrushes in the bush. We also saw a fantail’s and a thrush’s nest. —Alister Harlow, 8 years Huntly— live on the west side of the Waikato River, about 6 miles from Huntly. At the end of our road is Lake Rotongaro. One morning as we were feeding our cattle we came over the crest of a hill and surprised a blue heron. These birds live near the boundary of our farm in a small swampy plantation. We think that they might be nesting there. Last August we had some blacked-backed gulls on the farm. I should like to know if these birds are protected. How many types of hawks or falcons are there in New Zealand? I should also like to. know if any are native, and if they are, how are they identified from other species ? My brother came across several pied stilts’ nests and found all the eggs in them smashed. At first we wondered if a hawk had broken them, but some one said that the pukeko had a habit of tramping through nests. Is this a likely cause? John Campbell, 15 years [Black-backed gulls come within the Second Schedule of the Wildlife Act as partially protected wildlife. They may be killed only when injury or damage to any property or land has arisen. The occupier of the land or any person authorised by the occupier may kill on the land. There are two native birds of the falcon family in New Zealand: harrier hawk (kahu), which has large, long, rounded wings and slow flight, and bush hawk (karearea), which has smaller, pointed wings, a dark back, eye-stripe, and fast flight. The damage to pied stilts’ eggs may have been due to several causes and could be determined only

by observation. Pukekos are known to feed on young birds and eggs; so also are harrier hawks, hedgehogs, and some forms of gulls.] Wellsford — We visited Little Barrier Island on a dark day, but I had been ashore only about 2 minutes when I saw two little black and white tomtits flitting from branch to branch. About half way along the track to the warden’s house, in a small clump of. bullrushes, in some mud were some freshly made kiwi tracks. As we approached the house we saw native parrakeets, bellbirds, and tuis. When we entered the gate to the house the place became alive with birds. I wondered why there were so many there, but after lunch I realised why there were so many birds : the warden’s wife came out with a bucket of sugar-water syrup and poured it into a long ponga trough. Immediately hundreds of bellbirds, tuis, and white-eyes flocked to the trough. They were so tame that when I put some syrup into my hands they came and sat on my finger to drink it. After my mother had taken photographs of me with the birds on my hands we went inside and the warden showed us a weta and a kiwi egg. The weta was 10 in. long. We then walked through the back and saw many tomtits and heard the very rare stitchbird. When we arrived back at the house it was time to return to the boat. When we were about a mile out to sea I looked back and the island had gone, covered up by mist and cloud. Leigh Johnson, 12 years Marton-— A few days ago I was walking past a creek when a blue heron flew past. After a fewminutes in the air it hit a barbed-wire fence and caught its wings. I think it may have broken its neck. When I freed it, it just dropped to the ground. I gave it to a friend of mine and she said she was going to stuff it or give it to a museum. Recently I found two chaffinches’ nests. One had two chicks in and the other had three. The nests are very neat. —Susan Tidy, 13 years Whangarei Last summer our family went on the cream trip round the Bay of Islands. I was very lucky to see the first blue penguin in my life. The boat was stationary and when the penguin dived we could see all its movements, for the water was clear. What I found most interesting about the bird was that it appeared to be flying in the water and not paddling like a duck. Susan Shand, 11 years

* Sponsored by the J. R. McKenzie Trust.