Ferals,ticking rules etc [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

["Andrew, David" <>]

Briefly, the 10-year sustainable population 'rule' is a British (and possibly American) thing. When I was producing Australian Birding magazine I tried to develop some guidelines along British lines (as generally they are pretty sensible) but gave up for lack of interest. Nonetheless, it seems to remain the informal consensus. 

cheers

 

David Andrew

 

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From: Geoffrey Dabb [
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010 5:26 PM
To:
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Ferals,ticking rules etc

‘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

 

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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

www.environment.gov.au

 

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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

 

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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))

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From:

Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 1:02 AM

To:

Cc:

Subject: Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl update

 

Hello Peter,

 

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.

 

Philip.  

 

-----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?

 

Peter Ormay

----- Original Message -----

From:

To: ; ; m("canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds"); href="">

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, 

Environment Tours; Vertego Environmental Consultancy

GPO Box 3268, Canberra, ACT 2601

ph: 61 2 6249 1560  

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