Birds
Birds 24.5.22
Three weeks ago, during my routine walk down the beach, I was shocked to see a multitude of dead fish and birds, among them four penguins. I don’t usually have my camera, but that morning I did and so photographed them and posted on Facebook. There was quite a bit of speculation as to the cause; was there a storm at sea or were these the result of drag netting? The weather hadn’t been particularly bad at the time, so it was baffling. One concerned resident gathered six of these Little Blue Penguins and sent them to the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for testing. There had been a lot more washed up along the shoreline, than what I had seen. MPI reported that the main cause of the birds’ death was starvation and hypothermia. It was noted that a starved penguin usually weighs around 700gms while all of these birds were under 500 gm.
Apparently, the La Nina weather pattern has resulted in warming the northern waters where these birds had come from. Warmer water holds less fish and while the faster birds could fly south in search of food, relatively easily, the smaller penguins were unable to do so and thus perished.
It seems so sad to think of all these beautiful little birds dying. In our own garden, we have an abundance of bird life, from the common sparrow, to thrush, starling, blackbird, finch, wax eye, fantail, quail, swallow, mynah, magpie, seagull, parakeet and on odd occasions at night, even a morepork. It is interesting watching their different flight patterns – the blackbirds are full steam ahead, whereas the mynah will hover like a helicopter when landing, the fantail will flitter and the swallow dart. The sparrows are so friendly and along with the fantail, enter the house on occasion. There is a large olive tree outside the front ranch slider and it has been delightful watching the thrush, blackbirds and wax eyes enjoying the ripe olives.
For a while, we were feeding the sparrows bread, but noticed that a few were dying of a paralysis. Looking up the symptoms, we came to the conclusion that this was caused by a nutrient deficiency. Obviously, some birds were eating too much bread and not enough natural food. Needless to say, we stopped that practice. We as humans are not necessarily creating kindness when we think we are.
Another thing I have noticed is that some bird’s nests are now filled with manmade products. As a child I remember finding beautiful nests lined with sheep’s wool, feathers, horse hair or moss, whereas now plastic stands and paper are visible. What is this doing to our bird life? How much chemical are they absorbing in their systems, even from just incubating their eggs.
I am not an outspoken conservationist, just an ordinary person who is becoming concerned with the impact of our living on our environment. We as humans are adapting, but how are our feathered and other friends coping, the ones with more sensitive bodies than ours?