Kookaburra in my lounge room...
Oct 26th, 2012, 12:54 AM
#1
Kookaburra in my lounge room...
…well sort of.
Chaotic, physically and emotionally challenging….this pretty much sums up our past few weeks. Insanely frustrating, uncertain and needlessly stressful…this pretty much sums up the past 12 months.
But finally, the dust is settling.
The nq8’s will not be returning to Q8 (thank you Allah). We’ll be staying on in Perth for another 2-2.5 years. Quirky as it is, Perth is good. Flies, intolerable heat, inexplicable inability to merge, obscene rental market and cost of living aside, we’re staying…for awhile.
We’ve got ourselves a new neighborhood, a house with more gadgets than I can wrap my head around and a kookaburra that I can hear from my lounge room. Life is pretty good in the suburban wilderness.
Chaotic, physically and emotionally challenging….this pretty much sums up our past few weeks. Insanely frustrating, uncertain and needlessly stressful…this pretty much sums up the past 12 months.
But finally, the dust is settling.
The nq8’s will not be returning to Q8 (thank you Allah). We’ll be staying on in Perth for another 2-2.5 years. Quirky as it is, Perth is good. Flies, intolerable heat, inexplicable inability to merge, obscene rental market and cost of living aside, we’re staying…for awhile.
We’ve got ourselves a new neighborhood, a house with more gadgets than I can wrap my head around and a kookaburra that I can hear from my lounge room. Life is pretty good in the suburban wilderness.
Oct 26th, 2012, 03:14 AM
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Glad you are happy with life.
I am also happy that you seem to be able to enjoy the feral Kookaburra. Why do people keep disrupting the environment for such petty reasons as they like Kookaburras? (Substitute anacondas, buffalo, cats, or any other introduced species you care to dislike out of its place)
For those who don't know, Kookaburras are endemic to eastern Australia as are Rainbow Lorikeets but Perth has plenty of each.
I am also happy that you seem to be able to enjoy the feral Kookaburra. Why do people keep disrupting the environment for such petty reasons as they like Kookaburras? (Substitute anacondas, buffalo, cats, or any other introduced species you care to dislike out of its place)
For those who don't know, Kookaburras are endemic to eastern Australia as are Rainbow Lorikeets but Perth has plenty of each.
Oct 26th, 2012, 04:01 AM
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So happy to hear that you are staying in Australia because I so love reading your trip reports. Now that you are there for several more years, I'm sure you will find lots of additional places to explore and it will be happy reading for all of us on this forum.
Oct 26th, 2012, 06:37 AM
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Nice that you are able to stay put and the uncertainty is behind you. You obviously know how to make the most of your surroundings, and good of you to share your knowledge with others.
We see Kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets almost daily when we stay with our daughter outside Margaret River. So no matter where they come from, or 'belong', they are part of the wonderful fabric of WA for us.
We see Kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets almost daily when we stay with our daughter outside Margaret River. So no matter where they come from, or 'belong', they are part of the wonderful fabric of WA for us.
Oct 26th, 2012, 02:08 PM
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I love kookaburras! We have one that sits just outside our bedroom window on the electricity wire, it poos on the car (what quantity and what do they eat!) and wakes us up sometimes at 5 AM. I still love him/her.
Great to hear you are staying Melnq8. We will have to have a Get together while you are still here!
Great to hear you are staying Melnq8. We will have to have a Get together while you are still here!
Oct 26th, 2012, 02:16 PM
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" they are part of the wonderful fabric of WA for us." Yes and that is fine as long as you don't start lobbying for their protection at the expense of native species. There are a number of hollow nesting Western Australian species under threat from direct competition form these imports. People quickly acclimatise to the new paradigm but the wildlife are not so lucky.
For example, no-one in my home village raises a Cassowary chick for Christmas dinner anymore. Not that I would want them to but they were so common here a 100 years ago that this was a regular practice. The chick would be captured about now and raised with the chooks (chickens). We no longer have Chameleon Geckos in the forests around the village thanks to the feral and wandering cats. This was a large ground dwelling gecko. Sure we had predators here before but the feeding of cats and their wide range of food types allows them to maintain higher population densities than the native predators they have replaced.
Sorry to hijack your thread Mel. I'll now step down from my soapbox unless challenged on the above.
For example, no-one in my home village raises a Cassowary chick for Christmas dinner anymore. Not that I would want them to but they were so common here a 100 years ago that this was a regular practice. The chick would be captured about now and raised with the chooks (chickens). We no longer have Chameleon Geckos in the forests around the village thanks to the feral and wandering cats. This was a large ground dwelling gecko. Sure we had predators here before but the feeding of cats and their wide range of food types allows them to maintain higher population densities than the native predators they have replaced.
Sorry to hijack your thread Mel. I'll now step down from my soapbox unless challenged on the above.
Oct 26th, 2012, 03:16 PM
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And I too am so pleased to read you are staying in Perth a couple more years but what a strain the uncertainty of the last few months must have been for you. Will look forward to your continued contributions.
Enjoy the kookie - we used to stay with friends in Warners Bay, Newcastle, and every morning we woke to the exhilirating (to a Kiwi) morning chatter.
Enjoy the kookie - we used to stay with friends in Warners Bay, Newcastle, and every morning we woke to the exhilirating (to a Kiwi) morning chatter.
Oct 26th, 2012, 03:46 PM
#9
Yes, a GTG would be great.
<Why do people keep disrupting the environment for such petty reasons as they like Kookaburras?>
I guess I'm ignorant to the impact of kookaburras, Alan, as I don't understand this comment. I didn't realize they were introduced (from where?) Are Rainbow Lorikeets introduced too?
While I fully appreciate the concern for native species, I find it difficult to reconcile killing off one species for the sake of another. I understand it, I just have trouble accepting it.
<Why do people keep disrupting the environment for such petty reasons as they like Kookaburras?>
I guess I'm ignorant to the impact of kookaburras, Alan, as I don't understand this comment. I didn't realize they were introduced (from where?) Are Rainbow Lorikeets introduced too?
While I fully appreciate the concern for native species, I find it difficult to reconcile killing off one species for the sake of another. I understand it, I just have trouble accepting it.
Oct 27th, 2012, 02:18 AM
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Good to hear you are staying. We you still be frequenting NZ to keep us all up to date?
You can train kookaburras to come when called, and with a bit more patience to eat out of your hand.
We would feed "ours" every couple of weeks and they would come when called.
I agree it is not much fun killing things, but I will and do hunt vermin. I will be doing my bit in NZ next year hunting possums. The hunting is great fun, the killing not so much. Last time it was a beautiful starry night,driving around the farm looking at deer and cattle. Then any possum we saw was dispatched.
Great fun for us, great business for the tourist operator (not the only thing they do), good for the farmer, great for the environment, good for the local possum factory, good for India where the meat is sent "for dog food"(I don't fully believe that only dogs eat it). Good the for other possums reducing competition. Good for the 11 possums we sent to possum heaven. Everyone wins.
Pity there is not more recreational conservation here.
Another Hijack for conservation.
Enjoy WA
You can train kookaburras to come when called, and with a bit more patience to eat out of your hand.
We would feed "ours" every couple of weeks and they would come when called.
I agree it is not much fun killing things, but I will and do hunt vermin. I will be doing my bit in NZ next year hunting possums. The hunting is great fun, the killing not so much. Last time it was a beautiful starry night,driving around the farm looking at deer and cattle. Then any possum we saw was dispatched.
Great fun for us, great business for the tourist operator (not the only thing they do), good for the farmer, great for the environment, good for the local possum factory, good for India where the meat is sent "for dog food"(I don't fully believe that only dogs eat it). Good the for other possums reducing competition. Good for the 11 possums we sent to possum heaven. Everyone wins.
Pity there is not more recreational conservation here.
Another Hijack for conservation.
Enjoy WA
Oct 27th, 2012, 03:25 AM
#11
Yeah, those possums are bad news in NZ. I guess I did my part, I bought some possum nipple and willy warmers as gifts and have a nice possum fur hat.
Hopefully, the visits to NZ will continue Peter, although the trip reports may not. I only managed to get halfway through the latest one before I lost my mojo...permanently it seems. Pretty bad when the writer isn't even interested.
Hopefully, the visits to NZ will continue Peter, although the trip reports may not. I only managed to get halfway through the latest one before I lost my mojo...permanently it seems. Pretty bad when the writer isn't even interested.
Oct 27th, 2012, 09:48 PM
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Mel, those birds were introduced from the eastern states.
Peter, there is plenty of recreational conservation here. On the Atherton Tablelands TREAT hold public plantings every weekend from late January till April. I came across a group doing weeding in the Lake Eacham National Park on Wednesday. Every Friday here in Yungaburra locals gather to maintain and extend the series of walking tracks along the creek. They also plant trees and do other environmental conservation measures. Friday morning is also the time for the volunteers to work in the nursery which produces about 30 000 rainforest seedlings each year.
If you mean recreational hunting for conservation purposes I am highly sceptical. As you said the hunting is so much fun. The Pilbara now has feral pigs so the bogans working in the mines can have something to do for recreation and the landholders are spitting chips. This has not been recreation but vandalism.
Hunters under supervision have reduced numbers of ferals in some parks to a level where professionals can wipe them out or keep the population suppressed. I will be very surprised if the New South Wales experiment with hunters in National Parks works. They will claim it does work based on the numbers of animals killed but the ferals are highly successful in large part because of their fecundity. To show that it is of any use it needs to be demonstrated that the feral populations have diminished and the damage they are doing is reduced more than the extra damage to the protected estate the hunters and their vehicles do.
Peter, there is plenty of recreational conservation here. On the Atherton Tablelands TREAT hold public plantings every weekend from late January till April. I came across a group doing weeding in the Lake Eacham National Park on Wednesday. Every Friday here in Yungaburra locals gather to maintain and extend the series of walking tracks along the creek. They also plant trees and do other environmental conservation measures. Friday morning is also the time for the volunteers to work in the nursery which produces about 30 000 rainforest seedlings each year.
If you mean recreational hunting for conservation purposes I am highly sceptical. As you said the hunting is so much fun. The Pilbara now has feral pigs so the bogans working in the mines can have something to do for recreation and the landholders are spitting chips. This has not been recreation but vandalism.
Hunters under supervision have reduced numbers of ferals in some parks to a level where professionals can wipe them out or keep the population suppressed. I will be very surprised if the New South Wales experiment with hunters in National Parks works. They will claim it does work based on the numbers of animals killed but the ferals are highly successful in large part because of their fecundity. To show that it is of any use it needs to be demonstrated that the feral populations have diminished and the damage they are doing is reduced more than the extra damage to the protected estate the hunters and their vehicles do.
Oct 28th, 2012, 02:36 AM
#13
Koalas were introduced to WA from the eastern states too, but I guess they don't count since they're only found in wildlife parks.
There's quite alot of volunteer conservation efforts here in WA too.
There's quite alot of volunteer conservation efforts here in WA too.
Oct 28th, 2012, 02:39 PM
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I did mean hunting for conservation. Planting trees etc. is not nearly as much fun.
Hunting alone will not eradicate a pest species, that's a given. It is just one of many methods.
The fox bounty seems to be attracting many hunters. Programmes like this, that reward and/or encourage responsible hunters are a positive.
Hunting alone will not eradicate a pest species, that's a given. It is just one of many methods.
The fox bounty seems to be attracting many hunters. Programmes like this, that reward and/or encourage responsible hunters are a positive.
Oct 28th, 2012, 05:40 PM
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Mel, much of the conservation effort in Australia is done on private lands and or by private individuals. We don't have the tax base for it to be otherwise. The nature of our landscape requires this too if we are to be effective. While benevolence in donations of money is not high in this country I think we do quite well in volunteering.
Mel my definition of feral animals is ones on the loose, not in cages. So in that regards I count domestic animals not restricted to a lead or within their house yard as feral. Therefore also, wildlife parks and their animals do not fall in the category as they are restricted. There is the possibility of escape. Do the suburbs around the Perth Zoo still have populations of Palm Squirrels. We don't need more feral rodents.
I see I did not respond adequately to your implied question about impacts. Kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets are both aggressive nest hole breeders, replacing native species in Western Australia. Kookaburras also eat many small birds, which is fine when they are in normal numbers within their range and the little birds have somewhere to hide. We turn many of our landscapes into poor representations of English parks or African savannahs. Old stags are removed and with them the nesting hollows. Shrubs are removed by stock or for stock in rural areas and in our parks we remove them for public safety so lurkers cannot surprise us. Then add competition for a reduced number of hollows, increased predations and still people wonder what happened to all the beautiful fairy-wrens/Carnaby's Cockatoos they used to see near their homes years ago.
peterSale, "encourage responsible hunters are a positive," .. and of programs which encourage hunters to be responsible? [rhetorical question]
As way of background: I am a serious birdwatcher and also used to hunt a lot. For one calendar year nearly all of my protein came from the wild.
What is the qualification test for duck hunters in Victoria? Don't they get three goes each of twenty seconds to identify the species involved? You don't get twenty seconds on a duck flushed from cover before it is out of range. The test is not good enough and the level of skill is appalling which is why so many endangered species are shot. Not just endangered ducks either but egrets which are all white and black swans which are not nearly in the same size class.
Next time you come up this way contact me and I'll show you people who get quite kick out of their non lethal conservation work. Not trying to convert you but you did say, 'the killing not so much,' so it is possible that satisfaction may last longer. While the adrenaline rush might be missing for you in the activities I listed, I can still satisfy that hunting urge by the monitoring of rare and endangered species; trying to gain an insight into their niche so as to enable their conservation. A skilful hunter has a head start in such activities.
Mel my definition of feral animals is ones on the loose, not in cages. So in that regards I count domestic animals not restricted to a lead or within their house yard as feral. Therefore also, wildlife parks and their animals do not fall in the category as they are restricted. There is the possibility of escape. Do the suburbs around the Perth Zoo still have populations of Palm Squirrels. We don't need more feral rodents.
I see I did not respond adequately to your implied question about impacts. Kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets are both aggressive nest hole breeders, replacing native species in Western Australia. Kookaburras also eat many small birds, which is fine when they are in normal numbers within their range and the little birds have somewhere to hide. We turn many of our landscapes into poor representations of English parks or African savannahs. Old stags are removed and with them the nesting hollows. Shrubs are removed by stock or for stock in rural areas and in our parks we remove them for public safety so lurkers cannot surprise us. Then add competition for a reduced number of hollows, increased predations and still people wonder what happened to all the beautiful fairy-wrens/Carnaby's Cockatoos they used to see near their homes years ago.
peterSale, "encourage responsible hunters are a positive," .. and of programs which encourage hunters to be responsible? [rhetorical question]
As way of background: I am a serious birdwatcher and also used to hunt a lot. For one calendar year nearly all of my protein came from the wild.
What is the qualification test for duck hunters in Victoria? Don't they get three goes each of twenty seconds to identify the species involved? You don't get twenty seconds on a duck flushed from cover before it is out of range. The test is not good enough and the level of skill is appalling which is why so many endangered species are shot. Not just endangered ducks either but egrets which are all white and black swans which are not nearly in the same size class.
Next time you come up this way contact me and I'll show you people who get quite kick out of their non lethal conservation work. Not trying to convert you but you did say, 'the killing not so much,' so it is possible that satisfaction may last longer. While the adrenaline rush might be missing for you in the activities I listed, I can still satisfy that hunting urge by the monitoring of rare and endangered species; trying to gain an insight into their niche so as to enable their conservation. A skilful hunter has a head start in such activities.
Oct 28th, 2012, 08:06 PM
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Alan, I fully agree with your definition of feral. I trained as an Environmental Scientist many moons ago.
We do need to train hunters more, no doubt in that. More and more are becoming responsible and/or fewer irresponsible ones are keeping their guns.
I would like to see more hunting like the possum hunting in New Zealand, where hunters are taken by commercially licenced guides to help eradicate vermin. As I said above it is a win for all. I am certainly not for willy nilly types.
New Zealnd also has a a 24 hunt where teams are taken onto farms and give 24hrs to kill as much vermin as possible with great prizes and honour are offered and it is carried out is a supervised manner. Thousands of rabbits, hares etc. are dispatched. Again it will not fully eliminate the vermin but will slow them down a bit.
I too enjoy bird/animal watching and the little hunting I have done makes it easier.
I love the way these threads drift off topic.
We do need to train hunters more, no doubt in that. More and more are becoming responsible and/or fewer irresponsible ones are keeping their guns.
I would like to see more hunting like the possum hunting in New Zealand, where hunters are taken by commercially licenced guides to help eradicate vermin. As I said above it is a win for all. I am certainly not for willy nilly types.
New Zealnd also has a a 24 hunt where teams are taken onto farms and give 24hrs to kill as much vermin as possible with great prizes and honour are offered and it is carried out is a supervised manner. Thousands of rabbits, hares etc. are dispatched. Again it will not fully eliminate the vermin but will slow them down a bit.
I too enjoy bird/animal watching and the little hunting I have done makes it easier.
I love the way these threads drift off topic.
Oct 29th, 2012, 01:02 AM
#17
Appreciate the info Alan, and I don't know about the Palm Squirrels, never heard of them. I have been spotting the Rainbow Bee Eaters on my morning walk though, I'd not heard of them before last week.
Drifting off topic can be interesting, and in this case, informative and educational.
Drifting off topic can be interesting, and in this case, informative and educational.
Oct 29th, 2012, 02:25 PM
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I have thousands of photos of Rainbow Bee Eaters that I took at the Desert Park in Alice Springs in 2010, and then thousands more that I took while on the Yellow Waters sunrise cruise in 2011 with my new camera. Well, maybe a slightly exaggerated number, but I just had to preserve their beautiful colours and tails for myself and to share with others. I was told the length of the tail identifies the sex of the bird, but I can't remember which is which. Regardless of that, they are beautiful birds with beautiful colouring that I feel very lucky to have seen. Although they are reputed to be common throughout Australia in woodland and forest areas these are the only places I have seen them in my many trips to Australia.
And I too find it interesting and often very informative when threads take a temporary deviation.
And I too find it interesting and often very informative when threads take a temporary deviation.
Oct 30th, 2012, 12:13 AM
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dottyp the males have the long central tail feathers.
Today my friend took hundreds of photos of a Victoria's Riflebird displaying. Also an exaggeration, it was less than two hundred I am fairly confident. This is a small black bird of paradise which dances for his girlfriends. The black has a velvet sheen on the back, a blue cast on the wings and the throat, nape and tail feather will be teal or sapphire depending on the angle of the light.
Today my friend took hundreds of photos of a Victoria's Riflebird displaying. Also an exaggeration, it was less than two hundred I am fairly confident. This is a small black bird of paradise which dances for his girlfriends. The black has a velvet sheen on the back, a blue cast on the wings and the throat, nape and tail feather will be teal or sapphire depending on the angle of the light.
