Many thanks to all who replied to my message about this 10 days
ago.
A new question, mainly for interest and not urgent but
politically relevant: do introduced birds feed on mistletoe
fruit and spread mistletoe to any great extent ? Bulbuls are
rare here so blackbirds, mynas, starlings and spotted
turtle-doves are, I guess, the species which might feed on
mistletoe fruit.
As a result of the valuable response to my earlier posting I was
able to say that it takes 3 years for a mistletoe to flower and
a few years more before it will have a substantial amount of
fruit. I spoke to the Council Committee and it was sympathetic.
The full Council meeting next Monday will, I believe, support a
motion to say that mistletoe control on street trees must ensure
a sustainable mistletoe population continues (leaving room for
more negotiation about the details of how it is done).
Michael Norris
Bayside Friends of Native Wildlife
Melbourne, Victoria
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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