In this issue:
What's new?
Horizontal ringtail box
Vertical possum box
Batbox changes
Another possum guard fails
| The Chatterbox #8 October 2003 |
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| Our horizontal possum box has changed greatly over the years. Originally a small box used by both brushtails and ringtails, it has gradually grown in size to better accommodate brushtails, to the extent where it is no longer suited to the smaller possum. To address this, we have introduced a separate ringtail box, smaller overall with a smaller entrance. An optional entrance protector is available to prevent brushtails enlarging the entrance. |
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| A vertical possum box has been introduced. Originally conceived as a low-cost alternative to the more generously proportioned horizontal box, it has the advantage of being able to be upgraded with a long-life, removable lid. |
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| Our batboxes have always been offered as research lines, on the basis that there is, as yet, no accepted "Australian" batbox. For some years we have offered a one based on a British design by Stebbings and Walsh, but is has proven to suffer badly from ant infestations. Since the belief is that ants are encouraged by the presence of a floor on which to lay their eggs, we have changed to the American design, characterised by two parallel faces with a gap at the bottom. | |
| The illustration is of a double compartment box to this design at Lota with a resident large-footed myotis. Photography by Robert Ashdown. |
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| And finally yet
another setback in the interminable quest for an effective possum guard for bird
boxes. This guard involved 200mm of 100mm diameter PVC sewer pipe. A bed of gangnails was
fitted (futilely) to the top of the pipe to discourage top entry. A box fitted with this guard was tried by kookaburras for several days but
finally abandoned, so it failed on two different counts. Photography by Ewa & Tim
Meyer. |
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Indian mynas have probably been consolidating in south-east Queensland for the past 20 years. They are now exploding in numbers. The impact that they will have on our local birds will be similar to experience overseas. Consider the story of the American bluebird – a small, insectivorous cavity nester. The following is from The Return of the Bluebird by Andre Dion (1981). "More than a half century ago Frank M. Chapman, one of America's leading ornithologists, predicted that the starling, which in America was then confined to a small area within about 100 miles of New York City, would eventually become a serious threat to the bluebird. His prediction came true within a remarkable short time and, because of its even more aggressive nature, the starling became a greater threat than the house sparrow. Bluebirds usually found it almost impossible to nest successfully in any area where starlings were abundant. This situation has greatly increased the bluebirds' dependence on their human friends to supply them with starling-proof boxes." This situation led, in 1926, to the creation of "bluebird trails" containing volunteer-monitored nestboxes. By 2000, many of these had merged to form the Transcontinental Bluebird Trail containing over 11000 nest boxes. Australia cannot afford a similar solution. We have three times as many hollow-users as North America and a much lower human population density. Further, although the Indian myna is supposed to be a bird of urban areas, it is also well established in many of the rural areas of Australia, making the problem much larger. Nevertheless, we ought to try something. Last issue we announced the release of the Matchbox and MynaVac Trap, both targeting the Indian myna. We are now embarking on the search for an effective myna guard. |
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The objectives of this project are to develop a nestbox which satisfies the following criteria. ? Prevents Indian mynas from entering the box. The last point is important. For a guard to be truly effective, it should block the pest species but offer no impediment to desirable species. To date, we have installed 20 boxes of two different designs. One seems particularly effective at allowing lorikeets to breed. Myna breeding has not yet started at the time of writing. We expect it will take a minimum of two years to either perfect a design or exhaust all possibilities. |
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