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hmm . . . I know they are 'feral pests' that may
out-compete some natives (if actually around and competing), but maybe I would
rather a currawong cull - given we have boosted their numbers so
much through inappropriate exotic plants etc, and so many other native
birds are being reduced to being just currawong food producers. Eastern
spinebills and other native honey-eaters love my exotic species camellias though
the winter (esp C. grijsii & C. miyagii - both with especially
nectar-laden and perfumed flowers for months) . . . . I appreciate exotic plants
(as long as they are not weeds - in the wrong place), and maybe the odd exotic
bird is OK.
Spotted turtle doves do remind me of my decades in
Brunswick - I loved them when they were a relief from starlings and sparrows
(blackbirds were OK, especially with their evocative call at 4.00 in the
morning when I was nursing a baby, hours before the comforting rumble of the
trams), but I loved it even more after the native plantings of so many of us
(and the Brunswick council) through the 1980s finally brought a good number
of honeyeaters and other small native birds.
Continuing that train of thought: I think there
should be more concerted campaigns for dense plantings of natives that
support native birds. There are so many bird-unfriendly private gardens and
areas under council/public control around Canberra and country towns (Wagga
comes to mind), and there are still many farm treelines recently planted with
pines and berry bushes (currawong paradise) - notable on the central western
slopes, around Oberon etc.
cheers
Barbara
__________________________________ Barbara Preston Research ABN: 18
142 854 599 21 Boobialla Street O'Connor ACT
2602 AUSTRALIA Phone: 02 6247 8919 Fax: 02 6247 8779 Mob: 0439 47
8919 Email: _________________________________ Executive
member, Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) www.aare.edu.au. President, National
Education Forum (NEF) www.nef.edu.au
_________________________________
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