bark stripping?

[Denis Wilson <>]

I agree with Mark that "teeth marks" suggests Glider activity.

They are famous for chewing which causes sap flow (a process referred to as "tapping") - clearly analogous to harvesting processes humans use to obtain Rubber.
They mostly do  this on Acacias, but they certainly do it with Eucalypts, and even Casuarinas.

The marks on trees are routinely used by ecologists to monitor the presence of gliders in areas being surveyed for endangered species, etc.

Denis Wilson

On Mon, May 7, 2012 at 1:24 PM, Mark Clayton <> wrote:

G’day Jude and Peter,

 

I will disagree with Peter in regards to Y-t B-C’s as the birds stripping the bark. The cockatoos usually take a big chunk out of the tree and the “hole” is very obvious. Cockatoos are also noisy when in the area. I suggest it may be either Grey or Pied Currawongs with Grey the most likely. They often tear loose bark off trees while searching for invertebrates. There is also the possibility that it could be a Sugar Glider, also looking for insects, or possibly sap which could explain the horizontal “teeth” marks.

 

Please let us all know if you solve the problem.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

From: Peter Ormay [
Sent: Monday, 7 May 2012 12:43 PM
To: jude hopwood; COG
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] bark stripping?

 

Hi Jude,

The stripping of bark to get at grubs sounds like Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo activity to me.

Regards

Peter