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Blue-faced Honeyeaters and banana plantations

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Subject: Blue-faced Honeyeaters and banana plantations
From: LLoyd Nielsen <>
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:03:08 -0800
Ed Parnell wrote:
I was wondering whether anyone knows of any measures taken to prevent Blue-faced honeyeaters having an impact on banana plantations? I presume they must be quite a pest, but are they protected in any way?


This surely has to be a vague urban myth. I have spent most of my life in Qld where a great majority of the bananas are grown and where Blue-faced Honeyeaters are common and have never heard of this nor have I seen or heard of these honeyeaters attacking bananas - they will feed on nectar when the plant flowers. Each bunch of bananas is covered with a plastic sleeve once they form (green) and birds would have one heck of a job getting at them.

And Tony, I have been buying a bunch of about half a dozen bananas from a favourite roadside farm stall each week for $1 a bunch ever since the cyclone hit last March - mind you they have been up to $15 a kg in the supermarkets in Mareeba just 10 km away but I think they are down to about $6 kg at present. The latest is that the new N Qld banana crop should come in this month which should see prices come down more.

Lloyd Nielsen
Mt Molloy  Nth Qld


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