If I was a betting man, that's where my money might be. The combination of
Chris and Andy's greening of the city over the last 50+ years and the
concomitant reduction in forestry cover on the slopes (particularly western)
could be the reason. Somewhat ironic but not for long as LGAs move to shift the
FF 'menace' such was the case in Sutherland and that pinnacle of Australian
indigenous flora - the RBG.
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Shute
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2016 6:10 AM
To: Andy Burton <>
Cc: Chris Lloyd <>; Birding Aus
<>
Subject: Musk Lorikeets in Sydney and species diversity
This sounds like good news for Musk Lorikeets, but I'm wondering if the numbers
visiting increasingly attractive Sydney suburbs might also be driven by
deforestation elsewhere. That seems to be the situation with flying foxes.
Peter Shute
Sent from my iPad
> On 17 Dec. 2016, at 5:13 pm, Andy Burton <> wrote:
>
> Haha, I’ve been lurking Chris, and involved in other projects.
>
> Re the change in vegetation, particularly canopy:
>
> In the Lane Cove, Roseville, Lindfield, Killara area, especially around
> Fiddens Wharf Road, the timber getters had moved in during 1804 and had taken
> all the timber that they wanted by 1819. After this there were various
> horticultural and animal husbandry projects set up by individuals. Post WW2,
> the ridges were built on and ridgetop birds e.g.., White-throated Gerygone,
> disappeared. Where I live, on the ridge overlooking the short Blue Gum Creek
> tributary of the Lane Cove River, there were three small dairies and a rifle
> range alongside the creek. It is still possible to see where the rifle range
> existed until it was decommissioned in 1965. At the risk of stating the
> bleedin' obvious it is not possible to have a rifle range in the middle of a
> forest, and so it was not until 1965 that eucalyptus regrowth commenced. That
> forest is now dense and quite mature, as are the areas where the dairies (and
> their cattle) were. At about the same time many of the tributaries of the
> Willoughby, North Sydney, southern Kuingai and Ryde municipalities were
> reserved allowing for the regeneration of vegetation along these narrow
> reserves of the valley bottoms. At about the same time a local nursery must
> have marketed Flooded Gums Eucalyptus grandis to the local populace and so in
> places, that species has joined the regenerating Blackbutts and Blue Gums.to
> create a new canopy. It is my belief that this is what has recently attracted
> Musk Lorikeets to the area and for a few years I have predicted that the
> species will become a common breeding resident throughout most of northern
> Sydney.
>
> Andy
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