Regent Parrots and almonds

[djflotek flotek <>]

Interesting.

On the same token, the Eastern Koel should perform a similar function to avoid, or at least give it political edge against stone throwing heathens, garden hoses and potentially ending up being the target of some sort of local government abatement program.

---

Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 12:07:17 +1100
From:
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Regent Parrots and almonds

On my way home from the WW I was listening to Australia's best radio program (Bush Telegraph, on Radio National) which interviewed Prof, David Watson from CSU Wagga  about the interaction between birds and almonds.  

Almond growers reckon that Regent Parrots are a huge risk to their crops and want the parrots controlled (I suspect a euphemism for shot).  Watson's team have investigated and found that while birds do liberate some almonds that might otherwise be harvested and sold they also do a good job in removing nuts that have not been harvested but (eg) fallen into cracks in the trees and are a focus for fungal diseases.  The cost of preventing the fungal diseases etc is 4 X the cost of the liberated nuts.

Watson also noted that the almond orchards may be a factor in survival of the Regent Parrot and has suggested the almond growers could leverage off this to charge a premium for Regent Parrot friendly almonds!  With a picture of a very attractive bird on the package!

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/