‘Listing’ of
ferals
A few months ago David mentioned
to me a convention that a species needed to be self-sustaining for 10 years
before inclusion on a national list. I cannot find any reference to such
a rule, although it might be a useful one depending on the purpose of the list.
HANZAB does not pronounce on the
matter, but gives the history of introduction and colonisation of and by breeding
species.
Christidis and Boles give their
rule as: “Introduced species accepted into the list are those whose
populations are naturally self-sustaining, without the need for additional
releases or escapees to remain viable”.
ACT authorities, COG for
example, are free to create their own list, the basis of the present one being
Steve Wilson’s examination of records up to 1998. Steve did not
state his criteria but he seems to have excluded, relevantly, only species that
were themselves escapees with no record of breeding. In relation to the
peafowl, he did not include it on his list on the ground that the species was
not established here, the 2 reported males in the suburbs being ‘obviously
escapees’.
Ticking rules
I would be very interested
to see any authoritative statement of rules on what may ticked or indeed any
statement of ticking rules at all, beyond those adopted for a Twitchathon or
similar event, or by one individual for their own guidance. I do
not know of any rule that to be tickable a species must be on the C&B list –
or any update thereof – but I suppose someone could decide, individually
or in a group, to conform to such a rule.
If there were such a rule, it
would be a separate question whether, in relation to a listed species, escapes
or members of non-viable populations were tickable. It is a further question
whether, with respect to a viable population that is not the population recognised
as viable for the purpose of the national listing, the ticker is free to make
their own assessment of viability. It seems a bit much to expect a
central authority to make determinations on the viability of various individual
populations when the species is already on the list.
From:
Mark Clayton [
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010 3:18 PM
To: 'Ian Fraser'
Cc: 'Canberra Birds'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Re: Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl
update [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Ian is quite right, it is the Kangaroo Island population that is
referred to in Christidis and Boles. There was a lot of discussion on the
Birding-aus site some time ago concerning what was tick-able and what was not.
>From memory, Rottnest birds were considered tick-able – that’s
where I ticked them.
I have seen two of the three species of Peafowl in their natural
habitat, in Sri Lanka and Thailand. Interestingly when I was out birding with
two ladies in Las Vegas recently, we went to a park that adjoined some sort of
horse stable. The Peafowl were all around the stables and in the park and had
been breeding there for more than 60 years yet no-one had really considered
adding them to the state list. They had chicks when I was there; there were
also a few pure white ones in the group but I don’t think they were true
albinos.
Mark
From:
Ian Fraser [
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010 12:24 PM
Cc: Canberra Birds
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Re: Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl
update [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
My understanding is that the Kangaroo Island population is a
'genuine feral' one. (I'm biased by having seen them of course!). They were in
paddocks well away from homes, and were very wary indeed when approached, even
in a vehicle, rushing to shelter in mallee patches.
Ian Fraser
Andrew, David wrote:
Hi
there
I
don't normally enter the introduced birds debate, but I believe the Rottnest
peacocks (as opposed to peahens) were recently sterilised or culled; as I
understand it their status as a wild/feral population was always dubious as
they are basically tame birds (cafe scavengers) and their reproductive output
hasn't been quantified.
Having
recently moved to Canberra I was intrigued by the Narrabundah peafowl and from
what I've learned they would qualify as a genuine feral population!
regards
David
Andrew
Migratory
Birds Taskforce
Department
of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA)
GPO
Box 787
Canberra
ACT 2601
AUSTRALIA
Tel:
+61 (0)2 6274 1879
From: Mark
Clayton
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010 12:01 PM
To: 'Barbara Preston'; 'Philip Veerman'; 'Peter Ormay'
Cc: 'Canberra Birds'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Re: Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl
update
Barbara,
Peafowl are feral on Rottnest Island off Perth and these are, as far as I am
aware, the only “genuine” feral population in Australia and are
considered “tick-able” for the Australian list if you are using
Christidis and Boles as your Australian authority. I have no doubts that there
are other feral populations in Australia and
indeed feel that the Narrabundah birds, because they are a self sustaining
population, could and probably should qualify as a tick-able feral population.
When I was working at CSIRO years ago a colleague told me of a female Peafowl
he saw in Monga (then) State Forest with 9
chicks. To the best of his knowledge there was no housing within miles.
Mark
From: Barbara Preston
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010 10:47 AM
To: Philip Veerman; 'Peter Ormay'
Cc: 'Canberra Birds'
Subject: [canberrabirds] Re: Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl update
Have peafowls ever been known
to become feral?
Lots of country folk have had
them over the last century or so. I've seen them in old photos, and my
parents had them (almost always a breeding pair) for 30+ years in
their large garden 30k from the nearest town, but I did not ever know of the
peafowls leaving the garden (and small ajoining horse/roo paddock).
(After my mother died a few
years ago my father got sick of their honking/hooting/squwarking and
cleaning up their droppings from the paving beside the house and shot them
(an adult pair and a couple of young males at the time, I think))
_______________________
Barbara Preston Research
ABN 18 142 854 599
21 Boobialla Street
O'Connor ACT 2602
Phone: 61 2 6247 8919
Fax: 61 2 6247 8779
Mobile: 0439 47 8919
email:
_______________________
Sent: Monday, February
08, 2010 1:02 AM
Subject: Spam:******,
[canberrabirds] Peafowl update
You may be right but who knows. Surely there are many foxes and
feral cats and raptors and dogs, not to mention still some tigers which will
certainly eat them, where peafowl are native. They are likely to be adapted to
high predation rates, so what we have here will probably be little problem for
them.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Peter Ormay
Sent: Sunday, 7 February 2010 12:55 PM
To: John Layton; 'Vikki'; 'Geoffrey Dabb';
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Peafowl update
Peafowl
is one species I would not be concerned about becoming a nuisance feral in Australia. I don't think they
would stand a snowflakes chance in hell surviving outside the built-up area
with so many foxes and feral cats about. I'm surprised that chicks have
survived in suburbia there. I suspect they go from dog free yard to dog free
yard over fences and some people feed them. Do any COG members live in
the area and know if they are fed?
-----
Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, February 07,
2010 7:09 AM
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds]
Peafowl update
I recall that, a few years ago, one bright young man tried to
control peafowl numbers in old Narrabundah by using his automobile as an agent
of control. He succeeded in putting a small dent in the population and as a
result there were those who wished to put one in his head.
John Layton.
From: Vikki
Sent: Sunday, 7 February 2010 4:42 AM
To: 'Geoffrey Dabb';
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Peafowl update
Hi all
It looks like a Peafowl eradication program will shortly have to be
employed if these ferals continue breeding.
Have we learnt nothing from previous plagues of introduced species?
Cheers
Tony Warren
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Ian Fraser,
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