Aussie Finch Forum

Birds in my area have had such a good year were seeing birds in town that normally dont venture into gardens.I`ve had a few pairs of Diamond and Peaceful doves around the yard and up to 10 Crested Pigeons in the driveway.Went out the back this morning and had some zebs on my aviary.Rarely a day goes by that a flock of budgies doesnt go over head .Yes we are still getting rain and having just been to Adelaide i can state that Alice Springs is far greener than down there.
Wasn`t there a release of Gouldians somewhere in Qld several years ago ? I think Birdkeeper mag had photos of birds that were spotted several years after release .

Early in this discussion there was mention of the Save the Gouldian Fund. STGF is not involved in release of aviary bred gouldians. All the funds are invested in research and enhancement programs for wild gouldian populations.

Quite frankly astounded to hear that there's a population of feral Gouldians in Hervey Bay suburbia. Can anyone confirm they're still there, and give us a status update?
Hope they're doing well.

Fascinating thread, was thinking about this just the other day in relation to gouldians. I have seen documentaries on release of other endangered species (mammals, primates), , and they do a gradual release where the animals are introduced to gradually less human contact, with more natural habitat and with other animals of the same species already acclimatised to looking for own food etc.) I can see that being achievable with bird populations. What cannot be taught are the dangers of predators. That I guess is where survival of the fittest comes in. If large numbers are introduced some will survive and breed "smarter" or more wary stock etc. It may seem cruel to introduce bird into the wild knowing that many won't survive, but that is the way of nature. And if it meants survival of the species in the bigger picture, rather than extinction in the wild, isn't it a price worth paying?
The issue of genetic purity and disease still need to be addressed. Maybe there could be registered breeders for that specific purpose, ensuring that the birds bred and released are as genetically pure as possible. Not sure how to overcome the issue of illness though as clearly captive birds immune system would be underdeveloped, but also they may have been exposed to illnesses etc not present in the birds natural environment.

Even were i grew up in carlingford near paramatta has a stack of redbrows in the reserves. Always has and good to see.

The chances of Gouldians being legally released into the wild is very poor.
The main reason is that those obtained would most likely have a mutation gene in their system
Scientific people hold little reference to verbal guarantees so it becomes very hard indeed.
Maybe wild stock taken and used to breed in captivity but who will allow the taking of those wild birds especially while in such small numbers.

Still see redbrows around Sutherland (Sydney) and zebbies are quite common at Kurnell in the national park

E Orix wrote:The chances of Gouldians being legally released into the wild is very poor.
The main reason is that those obtained would most likely have a mutation gene in their system
Scientific people hold little reference to verbal guarantees so it becomes very hard indeed.
Maybe wild stock taken and used to breed in captivity but who will allow the taking of those wild birds especially while in such small numbers.

This happens from time to time Orix, there are successes and failures............A project such as this needs a Champion to drive the outcome. There will be necessary compromises, many "experts & stakeholders" will have varied opinions as to an acceptable outcome which often complicates or stagnate these projects. One such hurdle, as suggested by flap, is the expectation that all the bred individuals will survive and successfully breed. Within our Society, there is a grave misunderstanding of ecosystems and biology, especially finches.....Gouldians are pretty much a "boom & bust" species. Most people and bureaucracies could not fathom the mortality rates which would need to be accepted as part of a "successful" captive-bred release program.

There are scientific people who are pragmatic and there are many who are not, but there does need to be some scientific rigour around purity of stock...........few members of the birdkeeping public could demonstrate this adequately, let alone understand it!.......though there would be a couple around the traps.......even lurking around here on the forum

I was going to throw in the precautionary principle of conservation management, bureaucracy and politics into this rant .....but I'll stop now before I explode

Assuming there was a suitable habitat available for release (which I doubt or the problem wouldn't exist), I can't see why we (as aviculturists) wouldn't get behind a captive breeding initiative. I know I'd be honoured to set up a suitable aviary and breed wild stock for release. I assume many others would also be more than willing. In captivity and with many breeders the number bred could be large, hence the survival rate of those released can be low yet still be economically viable. I suspect I'm being incredibly naive?

Old farts are still seeing Gouldians regularly , at sundown they can be seen flying out of town and heading inland .

Whether they be escapees or wild I dont know .