NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 86, 8 October 1938, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

MOTOR-CARS & BIRDS

DISCOVERY OF PIPIT'S NEST

(By B. H. D. Stidolph.)

1 Under some circumstances the motor* car is not a very satisfactory conveyance from which to observe, bird-life hut there* are occasions when it isjpos» sible to make interestingrecords when travelling by car. When passing through bush country, the noise; of,. the engine, especially on hills, prevents'the traveller from • many, birds' notes; , though the movement of birds, especially -.■;. the larger. ottes,; may be -noticed. In one or two, ways, the c&r afctuilly leads to the discovery of nests, when the sitting, bird, hearing the noise; of the approaching/,. vehicle, leaves th» nest. The other day; for. instance, trie writer was proceeding by : ear-along a road over the Maungaraki JJange;s. A pipit was seen to fly. froiri a bank on the roadside and an examihatiba of the spot revealed- its nest. about five feet from the road- itself, .snujgly placed among the grass growing on the bank. Such a situation is. a. -favourite one for, the- pipit and this was not the first time that the nest of this bird has b^en discovered in- the, same way. This nest contained three eggs, very much like, those of the skylark, trie : deep brown marks and blotches being "'" so thick as to almost obscure, the. groun«| colour. ■ '\ .■■. ' ■ •*' • * - *.. ■ . »•■-'■' ■.. • •?■ THE INQUISITIVE STOAT.; ] The'discovery of the nest was'quit* pleasing but it Was .rather disturbing to find,- when the car came to a standstill not many - yards away from;- the nesting site, a stoat sneaking away jUp . the: bank. When it reached the fae: side? of- the fence it peered over the grass to Obtain a better view of .things before it : moved more rapidly to? 'a secure retreat among some climestbr.e rocks on: the 'hillside. Some years &80 the.writer was? interested :iri the movemerits of a stoat seen on" a road, and, 7 judging by the actions bt the;anfma]» it, too, was curious, as it watched, with evident interesit the appearance of "the human intruder.Only a few -JratrdS aWay,: a pipit was running about on the road, and; although the: stoat w&B infull view, the;: bird seemed'to Pay . little regard fbr it_spreserice.:.'.-." Afte* ; having spent^severai minutes- in. satisfying its .'■ curiosity the .stoat".made its ! way up the bark on the roadside',; and proceeded: thence into the neighbouring paddock,1 to disappear ultimately in a hole in "a stump. There is a belief i that the stoat' is largely nocturnal; .ia its habits,, but, this animal frequently may be seen abroad. during the da|sV WATCHING THE HARRIER. .; In a car. it?*is possible- to approach . more closely some of the many specie* than is otherwise"' the-'case.'The bar* rier, to take a bird tiiat through constant persecution T;h£is Uearht \to fear man- and to .give him a wide?vberth*:*, may be watched at- close quarters if the occupants? of a ; car; after?, the vehicle has stopped,''.-* remain• inside. Under such conditions the harrier-may;, be seen catching frogs or tadpoles frona a pool or swamp near the road, but ? immediately anyone leaves -itlie^ cat the bird flies away.:On othfer occ^iOns - the harrier- may .'.be seen^'pursuing?^* ?• rabbit .or a hare, and a. few months ; ago the writer saw one "of 'these} hawks fclevteHy catch an insect in its talona ?tot.miny feet-in fro^tio^^f^^H^. instances indicate to some extent how the.car m^ibeVused ; 'iife;¥h:^ccewbry- * td? r bird studyv It.' isaljsb possible ??** gain some idea of ihe spie&d of. birds on the wing by' timings those fixing parallel with the car with the^speeder meter, although due allowance; should be made -for,a: margin of ferror.', Chi the whole; however,;--;-a -cyclist ■;*»/■? pedestrian has fair better, opportunities for tird study than a,motorist;:^hosa attention islfbcussed On7;the7';ro*_ui* ahead. xx.-- \ -7*7 .'"'*;? X;y '"xxx- ?"■;■■" xx r' '?""' ■'*;' »'■ ■ - XX^x^'X''X:\XxxxyXyXyXyxX*xXX BIRDS KILLED BY CAB. ? On the other hand, the haotbr-car.it toeing an increasing toll of bird-life. 'IU these days of speed,'it is'not surprising that many birds feadly judge the approach of a car: and pay-; the penalty with their Olives.; ;;&*■. towns the? chief sufferers appear to be : the* übiquitous spariw, though; ;• ;th« blackbird and song thrush also >cOm« to grief -at times. On the " country highways such birds, as the skylarks yellow hammer, greenfish, andxa feW other introduced birds are kiHed.AU. of these species are introduced ' ones. -The only-- native species > which o the , writer .has known to ,fall .victims of fast moving motor traffic' are the pipit*, blue penguin, X aiid the- pukeko J The: pipit delights in frequenting .roads and now and again a bird fails,to take off in*-tißieto avoid acar. Thepukefco and penguin are sometimes trapped-as? they attempt to rUri across the road in front of? a motor vehicle. Of course, intoy. species of birds are liable tbvbe^ccldently killed by cars but ' those. ttien.l tioned are the kinds that most '-.often,.--' fall the victims. Bush-frequenting species are riot likely to, meei^w^a.' such an untimely fate; it is the birds of th^ open and CdUntryside .that ;sUffer mofct severely; _ ■■;."■.'' ; ; ',-; :XyxJ 'XxX SILVEIUEYES^EfT'^G.:: ?, The pair of silver-eyeswhich^ecided to build a nest in the writer's garden, high up in a: matipo, for some Unknown reason deserted it when it was well on the way tb'completioh, -and built another nest ,in the; same land of tree about: fifty feet, away. The birds were actively engaged, in building the first nest until a severe; wester- ' ly gale was experienced, and,it serais rather strangei^dr to"-indicate; sonM cbnectioU with the Wind, that the-nest was abandoned thefday; after the gale. The site was {certainly .exposed to the westerly wind arid the fact that the secoivd nest has been built jiiya^ar more* sheltered position- suggests twit the birds had good reasons for selecting a more satisfactory site. In, any case, this nest was completed in afeyr days and the hen bird is now sitting and whenever.anyone passes by -she peers over the ririi.? At the;?hreak< of day, the male bird may be heard singing his love song, but otherwise one would hardly know that *.the: '".-l^t*jta existed. Not: many. ; yards */away. ;• hedge sparrow has been ; casually; putting the .finishing touchesto airiest located low down. iri. a tarata,. and in this case, too, the birds: are verj; quiet workers;-- '.*', -xXy?'XX-XXX'-xX-xyX'x ;:;;\

"ix- x

rx y