Dear group,
I live in Brisbane, in an eastern suburb called Morningside, which
technically is an urban area, but also has a council forest a few acres in
size, as well as a large cemetery, together which provide a wonderful
habitat for a large range of local birdlife.
This week has been a very disappointing week in the Morningside Cemetery. I
have been watching a local magpie pair nest for the past two months, and
about three weeks ago the babies left the nest. In this short time, the
entire brood of 4 babies have been savaged by dogs. In fact just yesterday,
i was photographing the last remaining baby, and today I found it dead, just
like the other three. It really got to me, because surely baby magpies
shouldn't naturally die at such an alarming rate, only few weeks after
leaving the nest?
These are some of the photos I took yesterday arvo, and the final one is
the baby magpie carcass I found this morning:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/OzHomeARt/live-baby1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/OzHomeARt/live-baby2.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/OzHomeARt/live-baby3.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/OzHomeARt/dead-baby.jpg
I think the main problem is that Morningside cemetery has a become a
favorite spot for dog owners who wish to illegally allow their dogs to run
unleashed around the area. There are signs around the cemetery which clearly
state the law and the fines involved for allowing dogs to run free around
the cemetery, and there are also signs which tell dog owners the specific
times where the dogs are not allowed to be there, which is most of the day
after 7.30am.
But most dog owners seem to totally ignore the law, and I see many large
dogs allowed to run free through the cemetery throughout the day.
There a dead baby minors literally strewn everywhere, and dead baby magpies
on all the dog walking paths. The Magpie family I had been watching had 4
babies this year, and within the last 3 weeks, all of them have been savaged
and killed by dogs who were not on leashes.
I was so disappointed by these deaths that I wrote to the local newspaper
and described the problem to them, in hope that they could inform dog owners
of the extreme vulnerable state of baby magpies at this time of year.
I was wondering if anyone on the list has experienced this kind of problem
or has any positive suggestions for tackling this kind of problem?
Thankyou!
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www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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