A MARINE VISITOR.

Otaki Mail, 8 November 1922, Page 4

A MARINE VISITOR.

•Sir,—lt will no doubt be something of a surprise to people on this coast to learn through your paper of last evening that a young , albatross was captured on the river frontage at Foxton on Thursday. The'albatross is rarely seen in close proximity to land and it is only when far at sea that the King of marine avifauna is observed. The Foxton specimen with a wing spread of 6ft is evidently a juvenile of the tribe,, for the adult bird w-ill easily give a measurement of 12ft .showing Hie enormous power with which these birds are equipped. Nature provides wisely, lor to gain its livelihood the albatross has to scour immense areas of ocean waste, frequently battling with the elements in their fiercest, form. The breeding grounds of these birds have been observed on (he remote islands in the lar southern altitudes, and no doubt they are to he found also in corresponding latitudes in the north, it would bo interesting to Know, therefore, how the Foxton find managed to stray so far from its natural haunts. Probably a succession of stormy winds were responsible, but it is remarKable how strong seabirds are on ihe wing in the bice of the fiercest gales. Almost- every species of the petrel will fly straight into the wind’s 1 eye without apparent effort. These birds, however, hug the water, whilst the huge albatross at much higher levels will do the same thing, moving through the air like some swiff mechanical contrivance. Between the petrel and albatross is the mollyhawk anl nelly, each about the size of a goose. 'lbis pair are astonishingly keen of eye. At. one moment there may not he one in sight, but if something in the shape of food is sighted mi the surface of the water these birds seem to drop out of the clouds, and before one has realised it, there is anything from half a doezn to a dozen disputing ownership of the morsel. Probably no field offers greater opportunities for observation i than tiie seas that surround us, for here Nature loves to revel without molestation.—l am, etc., NATURE LOVER.