NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 122, 19 November 1932, Page 11

NATURE NOTES

j AKATAEAWA BUSH

PLEA FOR PRESERVATION

(By ». H. D. Stidolph, 8.A.0.TT.)

The road from Upper Hutt to Wai« kanae passes through some magnificent forest scenery where the highwajr grasses over the range of hills forming . the watershed of streams which empty; into the Hutt and Waikanae Rivers. . The forest on the Wellington side be- " longs to the State, but that on the Ifanawatu side, it is understood, i» privately owned. A mill has ' now; started operations in the gully far below the road on the private, property and it is feared that much of the beauty of this magnificent area of forest will now be despoiled. There is no finer scenery on. a highway anywhere in the Wellington district, and. every effort should be made to preservethe forest bordering the road for all time. Although the Crown area is a jßtate forest, it is inconceivable that milling operations would extend to a forest such as this—essentially its ' greatest asset is as a. scenic reserve. It can be asumed, therefore, that this area, is substantially secure, but the position regarding the forest on the Manawatu side of the range is precarious. The extent of the operations, of the mill now working is not known, 7 but every effort should .be made, mr spite of the economic conditions prevailing, to ensure that the forest bordering the Toad is left intact. Even if it is not possible to purchase- the area at the moment, perhaps some arrangement could be arrived at which would remove any possibility of the bush being milled. The preservation^ «f the forest' is essential also as a .water catchment area, without any aa~. count of its aesthetic value.

One of New Zealand's most eharniing native birds, the bell-bird, is fairly; numerous in. this Akatarawa bush. Its joyous notes can be heard in. many; places and if the traveller stops for a few moments he will probably see the bird itself, as it flies' across the road. The bell-bird is now well represented ia all forested areas at least in the southern half of the North Island, and according to recent reports has reappeared at Day's Bay, from which! locality it had apparently disappeared. It appears to keep to tie extensive forested areas, however, visiting tha adjacent countryside in some places more readily than, in others. The tui: idoes not appear to be very common at. Akatarawa, probably only one of this; species being noted for twelve bell*. birds. It favours the more open, country, where small pieces of bush supply], the necessary shelter for breeding purposes and allow/it to make excursions into, gardens and plantations in search} of food. Another inhabitant of the; Akatarawa forest is the cheerful, active whitehead, which ineessantlyj searches the foliage of the trees for, insects. It is always on, the rnove^ always happy, and always alert, arid is one of the most valuable birds of the forest. The pert little tomtit is also; present, and like the whitehead, confines its attention to insects, caterpillars, and grubs, 'which, its ever* vigilant eyes'never fail to detect. Alihough generally distributed, the tomtit' is never present in any given area ia 1 large numbers. '. It .has its particular territory and greatly ■ resents the intrusion of others of its species. ;

New Zealand's ". magnificent representative of the. pigeon family is another inhabitant, of the ' Akatarawai bush, although, not very numerous.',, It can sometimes be seen as the traveller, passes along the xoad, making its way; with noisy flight .from one. ire© to an-v other. One of the prettiest1 of native birds, the Ted-fronted parrakeet, ia occasionally seen or heard near the top,, of the hill, but this species is decidedly; raTe, as it is in most parts of the mainland. . The best place to see the red* fronted parrakeet in numbers is on. Kapiti Island sanctuary, where this beautiful bird flourishes and finds much enjoyment in seeking food amongst th« flowering plants growing in the care-* taker's rock garden. As many as thirty can be seen at times on a comparatively small area. The smallest' of all New Zealand birds, the rifleman, wren, finds a_ safe retreat at Akatarawa, where it spends practically ats whole life engaged in a minute examination of the tree trunks and branches; in. search of insect food. This bird is not present on Kapiti and steps should be taken, to transfer it to the island/ as' the conditions there should be ad-i mirablo for it. > The fact that it is a fairly common bird should be no reason, -for the bird being left to its fate okthe mainland. Both the shining an 4 the long-tailed cuckoos are visitors t». JAkataTawa during the summer months^I and there, as elsewhere, victimise the igrey warbler and whitehead Tespeetively, fostering their domestic caTes .upon, these birds. Introduced birds, euea' as the chaffinch and blackbird, are also * found in the heart of the bush, ami j appear to Eve on friendly terms wit^i I the native species.

Borne years ago it was reported tha4. a pair of huias were seen, near th«ridge over which the Akatarawa-Wai-kanae road crosses. The birds were observed by an opossum trapper, but apparently nothing further has beea heard or seen, of the species in this part of the country. Other reports ofi !the presence of huias in the countrf behind Paefeikariki were also receive* about the same time, but a search! failed to disclose the whereabouts of the birds. There are many square. mileß of bush country, however, between Paekakariki and the TaraTua' range in which the huia could exist for a long time without being seen, al* though, the chances of its survival arti growing less each year.