Dear bird list
Here in Gloucester we have very healthy populations of House Sparrows.
You can't have coffee in the main street without them hopping about the
pavement. I know of 3 areas where they breed, one is in two tall bushy
exotic cypresses in Barrington St southern end, the other is in another
cypress in Manning St and the third in roof tops in the main street.
There may be more sites. In the 12 years I've been living here, there's
been no indication of a decline. I remember recording House sparrows in
Mungo NP 2002 - a large flock miles from anywhere, are they still there?.
We also have a healthy and increasing population of Common Mynas in
Gloucester. I'm participating in a myna study project run through Uni.
of Newcastle. Mynas and rosellas have both successfully reared chicks
in nest boxes set up in road side, woodland and park trees, but so far
no direct observations of mynas disturbing rosella nests although there
has not been frequent/constant watch on the boxes. Extra nesting
materials (bits of plastics, feathers, paper, etc) have been added to
boxes before/after first use but no signs of myna destruction of rosella
nests and no observed interactions. Just keep looking.........
Penny D-B in Gloucester, Mid-North Coast inland, NSW
We suspect possums are a greater danger. One box contained E.Rosella
chicks that had all died - possibly due to heat during a very hot day in
October - temps nearly 40c.
When I came to Gloucester in 2002, there were small flocks of mynas near
my house, at northern end of town, but now there are big winter flocks
of ove 50, particularly south Glouceser around the Sales Yards and a
market garden set-up where we recently trapped 44 mynas over 4 weeks.
The mynas got aware of the dangers and stopped entering the trap so it's
been closed and will not be in use again until well into April, and is
going to be set up in the meantime in Krambach to trap some there -
there is a big population here as well.
Sparrows.
I saw two Sparrows near the rubbish compactor at Morayfield Shopping Centre.
I remarked to a chap that they were the first I had seen for a long time.
He said the Indian Myna (now called the Common Myna) eat the Sparrow eggs in
the nest.
Does anyone know if this is true, and if so, what other bird eggs are these
introduced pest eating.
I saw a Cane Toad come out of a Rainbow Bee-eater tunnel nest with an egg at
Toorbul Wader roost
about three years ago.
I clean up the Toads at nesting time as best I can but the nesting Bee-eater
numbers are dropping
off around Toorbul and Bribie Island.
Sometimes the track to the bird hide at Buckley’s hole is black with little
toads leaving the water
and the snakes line up for a feed.
I have been told they are not poisonous until they are about three months
old.Is this true.
Peter Boyd
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