On Sunday morning I found a small flock of Fairy Martins flying around on the
upstream
side of Burke Rd Bridge over the Yarra.
I was very pleased, because they used to be quite common here every summer,
but over
the last ten or twelve years they have been absent. There used to be plenty of
nests
under the decking and against the girders, but they were discovered by House
Sparrows
which occupied old nests and took over half-built ones. Feral Pigeons also
colonized
the girders as a roost and may also have had some discouraging effect. Finally,
the
opening of the Yarra Track under the bridge brought humans where they could see
the
nests, and most nests were knocked down by air-gun or shanghai shots.
I crossed the footbridge to the Kew bank and walked under the bridge, and
found a few
new nests on south-facing girders and under the bridge decking - and while I
watched
two were visited by Fairy Martins. Next time I will check on the north-facing
girders
from the Ivanhoe bank. Now that House Sparrows are so much scarcer, they may
have a
better chance of breeding successfully.
Anthea Fleming
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