A few points from a Victorian (help! have I now been in Oz that long?).
Musk Lorikeets (MLs): a couple of years ago I had some correspondence
which led me to hypothesise that unusual nos. of MLs in the Sydney
region correlated with lower nos. down here in Melbourne. This summer's
events refute that: MLs have been numerous in Melbourne this summer.
Perhaps their overall nos. have been increasing: there have been
complaints from apple growers in the Goulbourne valley about their
impact on fruit.
Lorikeets and Swift Parrots: yes, what is food for one is food for the
other but here in SE Melbourne there has been an increase in both Musk
and Rainbow Lorikeets over the last 20+ years and the Swift Parrots have
not been definitely recorded for 8 years (when before that they used to
be around in some years for months at a time). The local birdos have a
strong suspicion that the Swifties have been driven out (despite the
area being an obvious landfall from Tasmania) by planting policies which
have encouraged large nos. of lorikeets.
"Keep planting those lone eucs.". Yes - but don't overdo it. An excess
of flowering gums will lead to larger honeyeaters and lorikeets
dominating an area. So plant the sheoaks, wattles, lilly-pillies ... as
well to give the insectivores some food and the smaller HEs somewhere to
hide from what must, from their point of view, be giants.
Chinese Elms: yes yuk but see comments on too many gums. Local Council
planning schemes in Victoria certainly allow authorities to give
guidance to developers on planting. But my priority on commenting on
drafts by Bayside CC has been to resist their proposing plants which are
on the list of invasive weeds in Victoria ! I've also tried to suggest a
balance between gums and other species (in opposition to the "designers"
view of a harmony between nature strip and garden trees, i.e. all eucs
in some areas, all decidious in others...).
Lotta continua !
Michael Norris
Hampton, Vic
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a message to
Include ONLY "unsubscribe birding-aus" in the message body (without the
quotes)
|
