0600-0700 ABC tv re-aired the Ann Jones program from a couple of years ago about a day of bird watching around Melbourne, recommended for a look on iview. This contained much of interest including birds at Werribee (with
Orange-bellied Parrots), urban Peregrines, and why Willie Wagtails sing at night. An item of particular interest to me concerned pardalote-attacking Noisy Miners, said to rely on lerps. This contained a possible answer to something that had puzzled me:
why do Miners promote psyllid infestation if they feed on lerps on an industrial scale? The suggested answer was that miners take the sugary lerp but, unlike pardalotes for example, do not take the sheltering psyllid nymph, which is left to continue its sap-sucking
career, pardalote-free. Perhaps, but does not match my rather sparse observations of miner lerp-collecting, and in view of the implications might need a little more research. Canberra would be a good place for it. Canberra Nature Map has a couple of good
recent pictures of the tiny psyllid, although these are far outnumbered by the lerp pics.
