Dear Ricki
With Fawn-breasted Bowerbirds they will relocate themselves if disturbed "too
much" and provided there is another suitable site nearby that is within their
territory. If you move the items to a nearby "good site" the males here in PNG
think that another male has placed them there and they pull them apart, reject
them or ignore them. It is better to let them take them from a site near the
current site that is not a "good site" and let them choose another site.
The Great Bowerbirds in Chillagoe (West of Cairns, Qld) put up with more
disturbance than the Fawn-breasted Bowerbirds here in PNG do. They had a bower
in the main street (Chillagoe is a lot quieter than Broome) and another on the
fence line of a residence one block from the main street. So I think that
under some circumstances you could build near them and they would stay or
return after the building is finished. They need to be able to see cats and
dogs coming towards their bower so if you are trying to manipulate a site -
predator detection potentials need to be considered.
All the best with the project.
Mike
Dr Mike Tarburton
Dean: School of Science and Technology
Pacific Adventist University
PMB, Boroko
Papua New Guinea
> ----------
> From: on behalf of Ricki
> Coughlan
> Sent: 23 March 2005 4:56
> To: birding aus
> Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Relocating Great Bowerbird bowers
>
> Hi all
>
> A local school here in Broome is constructing a new a building which will be
> on the site of a Great Bowerbird's bower. They have requested my help
> regarding what they can do minimise the impact on the bird's life. Current
> ideas which they've floated are:
>
> - Leave him alone and let him find a new place;
> - Try to relocate the bower into a new position on site that is safe;
> - Remove his display items and hope he makes a new bower.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with this type of matter who can shed some
> light on this for me? Great Bowerbird bowers are much larger than those of
> the Satin and Regent Bowerbirds which many readers on the east coast might be
> familiar with, but I am hoping that the same types of behavioural responses
> might be shared with our birds here. Insights or experiences with Great
> Bowerbirds would be very useful.
>
> I'm open to any suggestions but direct experience would be favoured over
> speculation. Thanks for your help
>
> Happy birding
> Ricki
> Broome WA
>
> www.ricki.bigpondhosting.com
>
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