Natural History Week at Ashburton Lakes

Forest and Bird, Issue 296, 1 May 2000, Page 41

Natural History Week at Ashburton Lakes

ost of the participants on Forest and Bird’s natural history week this summer were North Islanders, who declared they were ‘just blown away’ by the wild magnificence of its location among the ice-sculpted mountains and valleys of inland South Canterbury. From our base, in the low-key but comfortable Alpine Lodge on Mount Potts Station, we were able to reach a wide range of sites in a mini-bus piloted by Eugenie Sage, regional field officer with Forest and Bird. We then spent most of each day exploring on foot. Mark Davis, as guest ecologist, provided valuable commentaries on the glacial landforms, changing vegetation patterns under farming pressures, and priorities for conservation. Andy Dennis joined us on our way through the Castle Hill area of North Canterbury, to explain the karst formations. Peter Howden and Edith Smith, from Ashburton Branch, provided an evening showing of Don Geddes’s outstanding slides of local birdlife. We also studied the extensive red tussock wetlands (an increasingly rare plant associa-

tion) near Lakes Heron and Clearwater. It was exciting to see the threatened crested grebe surviving on some lakes, in spite of lakeside grazing by livestock. Hopefully, Lake Emma’s shoreline, now protected by the Department of Conservation, will provide more breeding sites for aquatic birds. The Maori onion, bulbinella, with its golden spires, made a stunning display in all the wetlands. The drier sites were also carpeted, but with the brightyellow flowers of the introduced weed, hieracium. Transport by four-wheel-drive vehicle up to the Erewhon skifield area provided an opportunity to look for alpine plants. On the huge shingle slips we discovered flowering specimens of such comparatively rare species as Notholaspe rosulatum, Leptinella atrata, Ranuculus haastii and Lignocarpus carnulosa. An interesting range of native plants and birds, together with great scenery, fine weather, good food, and Eugenie’s excellent organization combined to make this trip a wonderful success. — Margaret Peace, Marlborough Forest and Bird.

The week of field studies was organised by Eugenie Sage, a Forest and Bird field officer based in Christchurch