Ed Parnell wrote:
I was wondering whether anyone knows of any measures taken to prevent
Blue-faced honeyeaters having an impact on banana plantations? I presume
they must be quite a pest, but are they protected in any way?
This surely has to be a vague urban myth. I have spent most of my life
in Qld where a great majority of the bananas are grown and where
Blue-faced Honeyeaters are common and have never heard of this nor have
I seen or heard of these honeyeaters attacking bananas - they will feed
on nectar when the plant flowers. Each bunch of bananas is covered with
a plastic sleeve once they form (green) and birds would have one heck
of a job getting at them.
And Tony, I have been buying a bunch of about half a dozen bananas from
a favourite roadside farm stall each week for $1 a bunch ever since the
cyclone hit last March - mind you they have been up to $15 a kg in the
supermarkets in Mareeba just 10 km away but I think they are down to
about $6 kg at present. The latest is that the new N Qld banana crop
should come in this month which should see prices come down more.
Lloyd Nielsen
Mt Molloy Nth Qld
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