Hi Ashwin,
Thanks very much for this info!
As someone hoping to get down there this summer I'd love to know more about the
situation if anyone can shed more light?
Cheers
David Stowe
On 08/12/2011, at 11:53 PM, Ashwin Rudder wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I thought it might interest a lot of you, especially those planning on
> going after the Orange-bellied Parrots at Melaleuca this summer, that the
> feeding tray infront of the hide has been removed. The stumps remain, but
> the wooden platform has been broken up, and now resides under the floor of
> the hide, along with the whiteboard that has the band combinations for the
> individual birds. Why this has happened I have no idea, and the two
> permanent residents' response when I asked them was "Who knows?". I can
> only speculate that the people in charge of the recovery program have
> decided that the impact on the birds of people in the hide was greater than
> the benefits of having birders voluntarily reporting the bands that they
> saw.
>
> What worries me is more that the birds now no longer have a very reliable
> food source. I hope the birds have not been abandoned as a lost cause. I
> was further worried to see three Starlings near one of the nest boxes. The
> parrots have quite enough to worry about elsewhere in their range, surely
> it would not be hard to eradicate a few starlings now, rather than let them
> proliferate and become a major problem, out-competing the parrots for the
> nest boxes.
>
> For those still heading down, the birds are still there. They are nesting
> in, or inspecting a number of nest-boxes that are prominent, and in easy
> view. Early-ish morning, I found to be the best time, and the easiest way
> to see them is to hear them flying overhead, and watch for where they land,
> then follow. But I would definitely consider ensuring you go down for more
> than just a single day. Further, there are other birds to be seen, and I
> had excellent views of Striated Fieldwren, Beautiful Firetail, Southern Emu
> Wren, and Olive Whistler.
>
> Best regards,
> Ashwin Rudder
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