> Why is it you want to grow exotic fruit for birds, why not native
> species of fruit.
1. I didn't plant the Mulberry for the birds, I planted it for the fruit
(for me) and to shade my chook run.
> I work in the Sydney region as a Bush Regenerator and we pull out lots
> of Mulberry seedlings and cut out large trees that have seeded in
> natural bushland.
>
2. Mulberries are NOT a weed problem in my immediate area.
> Plant native species to feed native fauna'
>
3. I have planted over 1500 trees in my property in the last twenty
years. Of these, less than twenty are of introduced species (mango,
papaya, nectarine, orange, lemon, fig, apples, persimmon and
pomegranate, and a mulberry). I have planted Red Cedar, Water Gum,
Acacia fimbriata, Buckinghamia celsissima, Blueberry Ash, Acmena
smitthii, Pittosporum undulatum, Pittosporum rhombifolium, Hakea
salicifolia, Callistemon viminalis, Melaleuca linarifolia, Melaleuca
amillaris, Casuarina cunninghami, Hymenosporum, Brachychiton,
Eucalyptus, Ficus sandersoni, Lophostemon etc. etc. I have also planted
quite a few Grevillea, one of which attracts large numbers of
Yellow-faced, Brown-headed and White-cheeked Honeyeaters and huge
numbers of Eastern Spinebill.
I reserve the right to grow my own fruit, which is done in a much more
sustainable way than most orchardists do it. It also tastes a LOT
better. I do not use poison sprays but employ mechanical means and
natural predators (including birds) to combat and control insect pests.
Let those who do not eat exotic fruit grown in Australia throw the first
stones.
> .Having sat next to a Mulberry tree for hours at a time to record who
> are eating this exotic fruit, the count has been redominatly feral
> birds like Bul Buls, Spotted Doves, then Silvereyes and Currawongs and
> we all know 'the more they eat the more they breed'
>
4. There have been no Bulbuls ever seen on my property in the time I
have been there. Spotted Turtledoves are an uncommon sighting at my
place and don't seem to come when the Mulberry is fruiting. The
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes breed every year at the same time the
Mulberry is fruiting and, I believe, time their breeding to take
advantage of it. This is the first season the Silvereyes have been seen
feeding on mulberries. Pied Currawongs sometimes come and take fruit,
but not regularly. The regular birds eating mulberries are the
Cuckoo-shrikes, the Orioles, the Koels and Channel-billed Cuckoos.
5. I have already formally withdrawn my advice to plant mulberries to
attract birds and have admitted it to have been a rash thing to say.
Can we drop this thread now?
Paul Osborn
Research Scientist
BHP Research - Newcastle Labs
PO Box 188 Wallsend, NSW, 2287
Ph: (02) 49792705
VPN: 8843 2705
Fax: (02) 49792022
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