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Many thanks to all who responded to my question,
gave references etc. I was especially impressed with Terry Gourlay going out to
get a feel for the taste of Casuarina sap and sharing his impressions with us!
The Red Wattlebird I saw visiting the sap slowly oozing from a
Casuarina tree seemed to appreciate the taste far more than Terry, and
kept coming back to the wound despite me standing close by.
Anthony Overs suggested the possibility of
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (YTBC) doing the stripping. Often the
wounds appear on sections of minor branches. But more importantly, the
underlying wood looks very smooth and undamaged, so I think some creature
with a more gentle touch than YTBC is involved.
The landing of 2 Crimson Rosellas at such
wounds and taking the sap was what made me aware of what had happened.
One of the Rosellas also chewed small pieces of sap-soaked bark off
and swallowed them. Over time, perhaps larger areas of bare wood could
result? But I am not certain at all whether Rosellas or some thing else is
getting things started. Only a few trees showed such damage or were utilised for
their sap.
I am very pleased that Geoffrey Dabb has agreed to
at least get good photo documentation of the wounds themselves. We will report
in due course if we are able to find out more on the "who dunn'it"
question.
Michael Lenz
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