Rosella tales

Posted on by Alice McGlashan

Our two nesting crimson rosella families are doing very well. One family has three chicks probably hatched last weekend, and the other has two almost feathered chicks clearly hatched quite a while ago! The young chick family started with 5 eggs, the older chick family started with 6 eggs. I’ve stayed well clear of the area for the past two weeks, however I took a quick peek as it’s important for me to know if my strategies are resulting in nesting success. 

One nest box has no nearby trees, so a wildlife camera to watch any action is not possible. I have a wildlife camera on the three chick nest box. Did you know that previous year siblings help with keeping the nest-sitter fed? I didn’t! It looks like a juvenile diligently feeds the nest-sitter ever morning – and gets grouched at sometimes too. The adult mate comes later and calls the sitter off for brunch/lunch, and then a gain mid-afternoon. 

So we are finally having success with parrots nesting in boxes, after trying for three nesting seasons. The first year, I only had a 2m high A-frame ladder and the nest boxes probably weren’t considered high enough by the parrots. I know this is a thing. 

The second year, I purchased a very long ladder and shifted all the boxes to ~ 5m high positions up trees. All five of the small to medium parrot sized boxes had an egg laid in each in quick succession by (I think) all Crimson Rosellas, and within a day or few the nest boxes were raided and eggs eaten. No parrots successfully nested in any nest box last year.

I didn’t know then about the numerous brushtail possums on our property, that had been soft-released by Wildcare over many years, and that they like eating eggs, nestlings and adult birds. I estimate there are ~20 on our 5 acre property after seeing 2-3 in a single frame on my different wildlife cameras located across the property, and also from walking around and counting them on warm summer nights. I didn’t know to put possum protection on all nest box tree else they would be raided, except for one duck box that was raided the first year. 

This year before nesting season I installed 1m wide thick plastic guards above and below all nest boxes to prevent raiding and occupation by brushtails, and occupation by ringtails. All of the small-medium sized parrot nest boxes that had brushtails or ringtails using them at some point in the past year did not get any interest from nesting parrots. Three new, clean smelling nest boxes had eggs laid, one was raided by a sugar glider and was abandoned, and the other two are the ones with chicks now in them.

This box was raided the evening before, the possum guards are too far apart and don’t protect fully against Sugar Gliders crossing from the close nearby tree.

Some of our duck nest boxes were raided this year by crows, so I’ve begun to paint all the nest boxes in woodland bark colours. From many years of birdwatching I know that the survival of a nest depends strongly on it being not noticed by predators. Camouflage is vital part of this. Since the sugar glider raid, I have been quite heavy handed with installing anti-possum guards on some of the nest boxes with eggs laid now that I have discovered that sugar gliders love to eat eggs, as well as do the brushtail possums. The possum guards look to be working so far.

I will do lots of experimentation once nesting season is over, with possum protection of trees & nest boxes, nest box placements, and with many wildlife cameras watching the antics of our probably dozens of resident sugar gliders trying to gain access to the nest boxes. Wood duck, kookaburra and white throated tree creeper nest box updates coming in the next few weeks…

It’s no wonder the nest boxes installed as ‘environmental offsets’ in place of cleared habitat trees, intended for endangered species such as orange-bellied parrots, are found to be not used by the intended species. There is much more to encouraging the use, and also ensuring the success of any nesting efforts, of a nest box by a fussy target species that is vulnerable to predation, than just sticking a nest box up a tree and walking away.

A happy, sad, happy duck story

Posted on by Alice McGlashan

A happy, then sad, and now hopefully happy story about ducks and gardening with nest boxes. So last Christmas I bought lots of different nest boxes and put them up around our new bush home. Then I scooted off to work in the Central Desert region for many months, meanwhile my husband has been getting pretty friendly with the local wood ducks. On my first day home a week ago, I poked my nose into all the nest boxes, and found a ringtail possum in the glider box, and a brush tail possum in the black cockatoo/wood duck box. Cool, I thought.

Then a few days later I saw a wood duck disappearing into the wood duck box for a short while, then she flew away. I poked my nose back inside the box later that day, and alas discovered one partly chewed duck egg, and just the remains of one other.

Likely a brush tail possum’s entree me thinks, no chance Mrs Wood would be back after destruction of her eggs. So I heaved the massive box down and put it on our porch for a day, pondering a plan B.

The following morning I hear Mrs Wood’s Waaaark wak wak wak and felt sad, thinking she’d discovered the nest box gone. Later that morning after the rain stopped, I looked inside the nest box on our back porch for some reason?? and discovered a new duck egg!! She’d seen the nest box on our back porch, walked over and sat in it, and laid that egg.

Onto Google I immediately went, in search of ideas for possum barriers for trees, then hightailed it to Bunnings for some thick polycarbonate plastic. Rigged up two possum tree guards (above and below) late that afternoon and heaved the nest box back up the tree, together with a couple of wildlife camera traps to catch any possum or duck action, and crossed my fingers for the next day. Would she? Surely not!

Well she did! (isn’t that quite incredible?) There are now two duck eggs in the wood duck box, and she’s visited the box twice today according to my wildlife camera. All my fingers and toes are crossed that everything goes well for Mrs Wood and her eggs, it would be lovely to see ducklings soon. Goes to show that wildlife and people can work together 🙂

Disturbing the natural balance

Posted on by Alice McGlashan

This is our second Madam Wood, fighting for the lives of her 18 developing eggs last night. She lost, and almost paid with her life. In a second video clip the possum dragged her out of the nest box, and she fled into the dark night. The Woods returned at first light this morning but decided to abandon their nest. I don’t blame them. The eggs were icy cold this evening when I discovered the carnage of broken eggs and the camera footage. I had put possum guards on the tree, but the possum had discovered a high altitude branch crossing for the first time last night. 

Human impacts on nature can come in many forms. We live next door to a wildlife carer who rescues and soft-releases brush tail possums at her home and has done for many years, they are not returned to where they were found. This is not uncommon for rescuers to do this I understand, also relocation programs where land is to be cleared is another example. We have at least 20 living on our 5 Acre woodland property, some nights it appears as if there is a possum up every tree. Things are seriously out of kilter, ecosystem arboreal predator carrying capacity-wise. 

The irony is that by saving each life and releasing many brushtail possums over time at the one location with free food at home base, the lives of many more animals are lost or offspring eaten. These numerous possums also compete against other animals for the few remaining large tree hollows. The ecosystem is out of balance. I haven’t seen any bush birds nest successfully on our woodland property in the two years we’ve been here. 

Of four active duck nest boxes this year so far, three have now been raided by brushtail possums. This is the latest and the only one with a full clutch of eggs part-way through incubation. At least I can move these boxes to more protectable trees, now I know the extent of the possum threat. The other bush birds don’t stand a chance. 

I don’t dislike possums, but there are consequences for releasing large numbers of one species into an ecosystem already, at or over carrying capacity.