Arising from Wednesday’s COG meeting, some ideas about the issue of domestic bird feeding. About the spread of Koels and whether increase in provision of food sources for Red Wattlebirds (by having more nectar producing plants), has contributed
to that – maybe – like it has for Rainbow Lorikeets. How that situation compares to providing artificial food, well maybe, but it is a limited link. Among many changes we create. It is probably less than the issue of increase in provision of food sources for
Koels, as in fruit bearing garden plants has likely contributed to the Koels increase locally.
About the issue of bird feeding, I am currently ploughing through reading a 327 page book called
The birds at my table by Darryl Jones. It goes into the history and practice of this, covering things relevant to Wednesday’s talk. Testing any of these ideas is very difficult because there are so many variables. Darryl is based at Griffith Uni in Brisbane
but most of the book is about Europe, UK & USA. He also wrote Magpie Alert, that I reviewed in 2002 for
CBN.
Philip
