Bloody Kurrawong

[wagga]

The Kurrawongs will disappear from your area as soon as the warm/hot weather arrives.

[natamambo]

We had three hanging around our yard yesterday, very intent on visiting. Just swooped around and around the trees surrounding the block. Boy, did the aviaries go quiet - not a sound from over 2 dozen birds! Fortinately we were working on the new aviary so they didn't come in. Heard them at dawn this morning off in the distance but no sign of them at the house at all today.

I've been living in this area for over 40 years, have never ever seen them around here before. I hope it's not a sign of things to come.

The drought and the recent fires messed up all sorts of birds, same as the rainbow lorries, grassies, corellas & stuff like that, we never had them until 10 years or so ago and the black cockies have only reappeared in the last 5-10 years having been driven away by the 68-69 fires which destroyed all the old roosting & breeding trees in the National Park just up the road.

[BENSONSAN]

Lol i no there a pain but there a great bird!! I love the currawongs. Great sound to them aswell. They harrass my birds but i keep mine covered in clear plastic sheets. Anyway hope no one losers any birds to the currawongs. All i can say is at least there natives.

[BJohn]

I think the stick insects used to be largely responsible for "New England dieback" which was an overwhelming widespread death of large numbers of eucalypts in the New England area. Hopefully the explosion of Currawong numbers in recent years will soon result in some environmental benefit with a resurgence of native vegetation up there again.

dieback refers to the introduced plant disease caused by 'Phytophthora cinnamomi', a fungal disease of the root system. It is not specific to eualypt sp. In the west (esp darling escarpment) it is often referred to as 'jarrah dieback" but this is a common misconception. Phytophthora Dieback spreads via the movement of
spores through wet soil and from plant to plant through their root systems. Human activity in infested areas is the main method by which diseased soil is moved from place to place.

[mattymeischke]

I think 'dieback' is a general term, and causes range from Phytophthora and stick insects to changing water regimes and salinity.
The New England dieback was not (to my knowledge) substanially attributable to Phytophthora.

Apropos Currawongs, we rarely see them here but one has lately been hanging around.
He looks a murderer indeed as he lurks with his head low, and does frighten the birds but has so far done no damage except to a mouse nest he found.
So they have their positive side, perhaps?