Dear Craig and all
I have doubts that RWBulbuls have much, if any, affect on native birds.
I lived in Darlington, between Chippingdale and Newtown, from 1983 to
2002. For the first 6 or so years, there were regularly a small number
of Bulbuls visiting my tiny backyard. I never noticed any agression
between them and the few native birds that were then also present - Blue
Wrens and White-plumed honeyeaters. Then the Pied Currawong population
centred on Sydney University built up to humungous numbers (I once saw
one flying off with a nestling Blue Wren in its beak), my neighbours
cleared out scrubby back yards and cut down trees (gentrification), and
slowly over the next 5 or so years, the Bulbuls vanished. During my last
5 years or so in the area, I saw no Bulbuls. The same has occurred in
the Darling Point area where a birding friend lives - lots of Noisy
Miners and Pied Currawongs and now no Bulbuls.
Here in Gloucester we have yet to see any.
I've seen them in Israel which is one of their natural habitats, always
in pairs, one singing on a TV aerial, not in huge flocks. I wonder if
anyone has records of them in large numbers, such as say the Common
Mynas that I once saw in Hawaii Big Island in thousands, no
exaggeration. Which is what we are going to get here if we don't start
to do something to control their numbers. They are much more of a threat
to native species that the Bulbuls.
--------------------------------------------
Birding-Aus is now on the Web at
www.birding-aus.org
--------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message 'unsubscribe
birding-aus' (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
