Butcher birds and Kookaburras

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MuzzaD
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Location: Perth WA

Problem here with Goshawks and night owls. Like to see them and would not consider harming them. We have to coexist with our native wildlife to enjoy our hobby. So, strung fishing line 45cms above aviaries and on prevailing sides. Unobtrusive to the eye. Have seen a few feathers but no obvious damage to birds. They now seem to hunt out in the paddocks, as plenty of wild mice etc.picked up idea when enjoying the seafood at Cicerellos in Fremantle. Their harbour side eating area has line across the area but fairly high. The seagulls have worked a way around this but on the aviary you can place it closer so they cannot get under it .
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CathyCraftz
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Chuck rocks or sticks at them? Worked for the noisy miners that frequently disturb my zebras.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
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Ian Hamilton
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You really cant go advising that Cathy. Its quite irresponsible.

You may not like Kookaburras or Butcher birds, but a lot of people do like them & we need to 'tolerate' them to an extent, suffice to say they are native fauna & you may find yourself in trouble with the law.

Further, where are your rocks & sticks landing ? ....on next doors car roof or bonnet ? ..... through the neighbors window ? ..... or worse still in embedded in a local neighborhood child's head.
Last edited by Ian Hamilton on 29 Jun 2018, 23:00, edited 1 time in total.
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finchbreeder
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Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

With the goshawk which is currently bugging my mothers birds. She will call the local raptor relocator, and it will be trapped and relocated. This happens about every 12/18months. The bird is not harmed, is checked over by an experienced carer, and if necessary looked after and fed for a period before being relocated further out of town. This last because it is usually a young bird trying to establish it's first territory and may be a bit thin due to lack of foraging.
LML
LML
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shnapper20
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You cant knock off a native animal 😈 Kookaburra's and butcher birds etc are not a problem if aviary built correctly. ..finches get used to them when they have safe areas to go to...
I would have to agree with dave after a while the birds learn to get under shelter until the culprit gives up. However young birds do hang onto the wire or worse fly into the wire breaking their necks in an endeavor to escape. My holding aviary has no cover and I constantly lost young birds . I had a bird trap for years but it didnt always catch the culprit . I now have an electric fence over the wire I havent lost any birds (to predator related deaths) since I installed it, I havent killed any predators just tickled them, and I was surprised at how easy it was to install.
electric wire on aviary.jpg
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CathyCraftz
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Rod_L wrote: 05 Apr 2018, 15:20 Catch them in a ladder trap or other trap and scare the crap out of them. Hopefully the terrifying experience will get them to stay away.

The only way to permanently get rid of currawongs from an area is to remove all the big trees in the area and that is not recommended. They live in family groups so if you could catch the majority of them and take them for a drive 20km away and release them in some bush with big trees, they should stay away. Unfortunately as stated by Vettepilot new ones eventually move back into the area so you would have to do this once or twice a year.

You could try electric fence wire above and around the aviary. Have the wire about 4 inches from the main aviary and if they land on it they get zapped. Not killed just zapped, because we get told off by the mods if we do bad things to wild birds, even when they are causing problems :)

You could try a predator kite and your birds might get use to it but then again they might freak out more.

Small dogs will chase and bark at the birds and drive them off.
Dogs will chase and bark at the finches too, not recommended. Trapping a native bird is illegal, and both currawongs and kookaburras are native to Australia.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
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finchbreeder
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Trapping a native bird is illegal
Only if you intend to harm it or keep it. Not if you are a licenced person who intends to look after or relocate it. So our Raptor relocator is fully licenced.
May be people of these sorts in the area where the problem is occuring too??
My Jack Russell - RIP Janee - used to bark at the currawongs, but was kept from getting too close to the avairys by a fence. Win win.
LML
LML
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Ross Mc
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So if you have your aviary fully covered in 4mm vermin mesh are the predator birds still going to be a problem or do I need to to hook up an electric barrier a la Schnappers aviary?
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vettepilot_6
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Ross Mc wrote: 30 Jun 2018, 18:59 So if you have your aviary fully covered in 4mm vermin mesh are the predator birds still going to be a problem or do I need to to hook up an electric barrier a la Schnappers aviary?
Vermin mesh is aprox 6mm...like I have said..if birds have a safe place to hide..they eventually get use to them..and mesh stops any mishaps..unless no covered areas. .my young holding aviary only has front open and back section has a drop section preventing finches and prey birds seeing each other 😉
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Ross Mc
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Thanks vettepilot. I’ll have a roof on one part which will have tea tree brush in a walled section and then a linking roofless flight with walls on three sides and stainless 6.5 mesh over all exposed areas. Currawongs, goshawks (a resident white one) and butcher birds are thick on the ground, but I should be alright? Hope to have a small mix of canaries and some yet to be decided finches. I’ll post a pic next week of the groundwork. Going to be a fancy faux bois vaguely Victorian styled aviary
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