Well, birding-ausers, is this the beginning of the end for the camphor
laurels of the Sunshine Coast? The "Cooroy Rag" reports on plans to
re-open............................. Let's hope that every camphor
laurel taken out is replaced by a native food source for the birds that
have come to rely on them for at least part of their diet.
Andrew Thelander
Cooran
Hello Andrew,
This is very good news. Yesterday I drove down from the Great Sandy
Straits through your area to Beerwah, and your area is absolutely
infested with camphor laurels along streams. They look lovely, but
are out balance in the environment. Glad to hear about the reveg
programme at the same time. They sure do have a big job ahead of
them. I had Barb Dickson in the car with me, and we were discussing
the role of pigeons in spreading these trees, when we pulled up in
Gympie right next to a White-headed Pigeon picking at seeds under a
camphor laurel.
Groundsel bush is another pest which worries me. I do monthly counts
at the Donnybrook wader roost for the Qld Wader Study Group, and
every year I have greater difficulty getting to the roost, because of
expansion of the groundsel closer to the high water line. It's almost
impossible to penetrate when carrying scope & tripod. The site is
conservation park administered by QPWS, but they don't have the money
or the manpower to keep it under control. It just gets worse every
year, and the seeds spread like dust. It's an example of good
intentions bringing about a bad outcome. The land was acquired for
protection of the roost, but once the cattle were withdrawn, the
groundsel took over above the high water line. Looking on the bright
side, no one goes to the site, because it is so hostile to penetrate.
Regards,
Jill
--
Jill Dening
Sunshine Coast, Qld
26º 51' 152º 56'
Ph (07) 5494 0994
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