Reintroductions

[pdg]

Hi Greg, it's a reference to the dribbler, and hopefully you never have to hear it.

Hi,

This is a reply to a post from GregH in another topic. I wanted to add that same reply to this discussion because it is more or less a reply to the discussion. I haven't changed anything, so it might sometimes be a bit strange t read as a reply to post on this discussion. Also, I am not a native speaker/writer.

I found the story about the gouldians in Hervey Bay the most surprising. I'd like to see that one day.

Someone mentioned that gouldian numbers are rising again. When I spotted the gouldian finches near Timber Creek, I contacted Mike Reed (who wrote the birdwatching guide I mentioned earlier) to thank him for writing the guide (for without the guide I probably wouldn't have seen any at that time of year) and he emailed me to say that the gouldian numbers were indeed rising again in the NT. So that is good news!
As far as Mareeba is concerned, I asked the people working there (one of my visits) if there were really any gouldians breeding in the wild. I didn't get a straight answer and was only told what I had already read on the internet and read again in the links shown in your discussion: that gouldian finches were spotted once + a photo of a banded gouldian finch fouraging on a man made feeding table.

Forgive me my criticism, but if that bird is used to eating at that feeding table/spot, so would his young or they would al least be around the feeding table somewhere. There is a high possibility that they would visit that table quite frequently at least part of the year and therefore it would be possible to take more pictures and have much more sightings. This is not the case, on the contrary. If it would be the case, they would let the world know with much pride and would probably have more visitors who had photos of the gouldians they spotted. I've been there four times. I like the place a lot and I'm happy to visit. So are many other bird lovers who pay for a one (or more) day birding trip. I presuppose that if any of them, for several years, would have seen a gouldian finch in the wild in Mareeba it would have been first page news. But this has not been the case either. So if you ask me, are there any gouldians in Mareeba, I'd say I don't think so, but I don't know!

But, actually I think this is for me partly what magnificant Australia is all about! The mistery related to the size of the country. That it is still possible to be unsure if there are any gouldians somewhere in a region in Queensland. An older man (breeder from a Cairns club) told me he had seen gouldians in Northern Queensland about 15 years ago. Others say they might be around somewhere else. This is for me what it is all about: the wildness of Australia and therefore also the consequence that there aren't any correct data on the number of gouldians or the places they can be seen. I just hope they are out there somewhere and only hope, with you, that I will spot some in Queensland one day, real wild ones!

Also I think it is not necessary to introduce the birds in the wild from breeder populations and not the best option or most logical one. I think much more engery should be put in preserving the habitat of the bird (and other animals that go with that habitat), where the known populations are residing now, but also to make sure that strips or parcels of their kind of habitat are linked (or almost) all throughout the North of Australia. This way the existing wild populations get a chance - with a little help from concervationists and all concerned Australians - to migrate when tey would be doing better. Helping place nest boxes to counter the competition from longtails and masked finches is also a good solution I think, because the lack of good nesting sites as a result of smaller habitat is a consequence of human endeavours.

[GregH]

Well I suppose it's wishful thinking on everyones behalf and perhaps a touch of commercialism that ensures sightings of the Mareeba gouldians - a bit like the Tassie Tiger. As you said there is a lot of space out there so maybe they are there. Sadly it's not just a matter of space but unaltered habitat and that's an impossibility. The Australian landscape that faced the European settlers 200 years ago was not pristine - it was a managed anthropogenic artefact. It was in a state of dynamic equilibrium and by removing Aboriginal Australians the ecosystems are changing to another state. Unfortunately it's one that doesn't favour finches and other granivores. I read somewhere that if the fire management of northern Australia were returned to the pre-European state the trees would take more than 50 years to develop the hollows favoured by Gouldians. Given that these birds seldom live beyond 2 years in the wild it's likely that their survival will be severely constrained by the existing lack of nesting sites.

[meepmeeps]

interesting topic, makes me very angry knowing not enough is being done to reverse what man has done to their natural habitat. i believe a scheme should be put in place and funded by the people who stole their lands to replace trees where they are needed even if it is in another part of Australia. Gouldians are far more important than those who keep raping the land needlessly or just to make a fast buck. Australia has already seen far too many creatures go extinct in a short period of time, i'd hate to see the gouldian go the same way as the Dodo. more could be done.... if they tried

[Tiaris]

The process of habitat destruction occurred over a long period of time. Much of it was done by Aboriginal land management via regular burning which had been occurring for thousands of years up until white settlement. Since white settlement much of the regular burning has ceased and cattle grazing over time has altered the landscape dramatically again for worse. Not so easy to identfy individuals responsible and make them pay. Mostly they did not realise they were doing anything wrong at all - just getting on with making a living like the rest of us & not knowing they were harming anything at all. The problems of habitat destruction are mostly seen by others in hindsight long into the future. Other parts of Australia outside the Gouldian's range are totally different climate and habitat to their wild range - not suitable at all for Gouldian rehabilitation.

[vettepilot_6]

Although sadly they may become extinct in the wild...there is hundreds of thousands been bred worldwide...just hope there will be still thousands been bred as pure normals just in case