Chris Oddie at a local wildlife sanctuary which is supporting the program. (Photo: Quintin Handley)
Story by Quintin Handley
Chris Oddie is a grandmother, a retired cook, and a passionate member of the Lithgow Environment Group (LEG). She lives in Lithgow in a home she and her son have renovated. With other members of LEG, she became increasingly concerned about the growing number of invasive Indian Myna birds proliferating in Lithgow. Mynas were listed among 100 of the world’s worst invasive species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in 2000.
Key Points:
Indian Myna birds are more harmful than they seem. When they arrive in an area they habitually kill the chicks of native birds, break their eggs, and steal their nesting sites. They also carry dangerous diseases which can be deadly to both native wildlife and humans.
The Lithgow Environment Group carefully weighed up the ethical dilemma of how to reduce the risks these birds pose to humans and wildlife and made the difficult choice to engage early in an eradication program before numbers of the birds expand to unmanageable levels.
A community run program has now removed hundreds of these invasive and dangerous birds from the Lithgow Area in the last eight months.
The negative impact of the Indian Mynas on local wildlife cannot be overstated. They have been known to kill the chicks of native birds, destroy their eggs, invade and evict them from their nesting sites, and prey on rare native insects and lizards. Additionally they carry dangerous diseases which can be deadly to both native wildlife and humans.
While trying to decide how to protect both humans and wildlife, LEG looked into a program initially designed by the Canberra Indian Myna Action Group. They were founded in 2006 to combat the spread of this harmful species in the ACT. Their Myna eradication program has since been exported, adapted, and adopted by other groups around the country to suit their local needs. There are now more than thirty such groups in New South Wales alone. The Canberra based group has removed over 80,000 birds from their area in the eighteen years of their program and seen a significant increase in local bird populations during the same time period.
LEG faced internal debate surrounding the ethical consequences of beginning such a program, mainly focused around whether it was possible to remove enough birds quickly enough to make a serious positive impact. After investigating the results attained by the Canberra based group, LEG concluded that it was possible to run a program that could effectively reduce the local numbers to a level where the environmental benefits outweighed the ethical concerns raised by some members.
There have been precedents around Australia where it has been critical to eradicate introduced species to save local native species.
We wrote about one such precedent in Katoomba Area Local News last year:
“After a ship ran aground near Lord Howe in 1918, an unfortunate stowaway invaded the pristine island: black rats. They decimated the island’s main crop, the Kentia palm seed, and its rare birdlife” (No Man is an Island – The Naturalist, Katoomba Local News).
Fortunately an extensive rat eradication program has resulted in the recovery of the island’s rare birdlife.
After LEG secured a grant from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, Chris put up her hand and began running a community program from her backyard last September. Spearheaded by LEG and run entirely by volunteers, with support from Secret Creek Wildlife Sanctuary and Lithgow Men’s Shed, the program has been ethically and humanely trapping and culling hundreds of Myna birds in Bathurst, Hartley, Wallerawang, Portland, Meadow Flat and Lithgow.
In the wake of their removal native birds have been quickly reoccupying areas, and the local ecosystem is being restored to its natural balance. “There are more native birds coming back,” said Oddie, of the recovery of local wildlife observed by her volunteers in the vicinity of their trapping programs. Superb Fairy Wrens, Black Cockatoos, and Regent Parrots are all birds subject to the Myna’s destructive habits, and soon repopulate areas free of the Indian Mynas.
Strategies we can all take to deter Indian Myna birds
“Mynas like tidy lawns, manicured hedges and hard surface areas, so creating a more bushlike native garden will help keep them away. They are attracted to fruit trees, palms and pines. Removing pet food and covering compost bins will deter both mynas and miners.
Attract more native birds by offering water in bird baths, building myna-proof nesting boxes (PDF 443KB) and planting locally native trees and shrubs – the most deterring habitat is dense tree canopies and thick shrubbery.”
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
The Mid-Mountains Garden Festival is celebrating its 40th Birthday, showcasing nine local gardens across Lawson, Linden, Woodford and Hazelbrook. These inspiring gardens can be viewed today and next weekend. Read more in Mid Mountains Local News: https://bit.ly/3zkILnO (link in profile)
Our newsletter is now out! Find out about the Mid-Mountains Garden Festival this weekend, about Biodiversity Discovery Day at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre on Saturday, about how to create habitat for threatened Glossy Black Cockatoos (thank you to Merryl Watkins for this fabulous photo!), about how to build a raingarden, and lots more. You can read it here: https://bit.ly/4eovRnQ (link in profile) #biodiversity #glossyblackcockatoo #gardenfestival #festival #gardens @merrylwatkinsphotography @midmountainsgardenfestival @bluemountainsculturalcentre...
Are you keen to find a new career path that can fill you with joy and contribute to restoring the health of our planet at the same time? There`s a growing need for skills to support circular and regenerative economies! Join us on Skillshare Saturday 7 Sep with our free Upcycling Fashion program from 9am to 3pm and Bushcare from 1.30-4.30pm. Bookings essential for Fashion Upcycling (link in profile): https://bit.ly/3XddWJs Contact Karen Hising to come along to Bushcare at khising@bmcc.nsw.gov.au or call the Bushcare Office on 4780 5623
Have you seen the video of the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative`s 18 month grant program? It`s been a massive collaboration from the Lower Mountains to Lithgow. Check out the 150,000 litre underground water storage we`ve built with StormBrixx, the bushfire sprinkler demonstration wall we`ve installed at the Planetary Health Centre, the Hydraloop greywater recycling system being trialled by Sydney Water that`s on display at the Centre, and more, as we work together to restore the health of our planet and reduce the risk of future extreme weather events becoming disasters. View full video (and lots more) at our Planetary Health YouTube channel. (link in profile)
We need your help! Would you fill in this 4-min survey to help the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative report back to the funding body and enable us to seek more funding (link in profile): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9XC9TG8 Over the last 18 mths we`ve delivered a massive program to help the community prepare for future fires, extreme wet weather events and heatwaves. We`ve built a Circular Water Demonstration site to showcase how we could increase water storage around our city as well as the latest research in building bushfire sprinklers and new technology for recycling grey water; we`ve organised over 60 presentations/workshops/events; we`ve built 6 neighbourhood news sites with links to emergency services, What`s On Calendars, Community Directories, Real Time Air Quality Monitoring and hundreds of stories written by local people about local solutions. Thank you to everyone who has helped and participated. Now we need your feedback to guide future programming and apply for more funding and sponsorship. Please take 4 mins to do the survey or email planetaryhealth@bmcc.nsw.gov.au to give us your feedback....
Have you seen the video of the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative`s 18 month grant program? It`s been a massive collaboration from the Lower Mountains to Lithgow. Check out the 150,000 litre underground water storage we`ve built with StormBrixx, the bushfire sprinkler demonstration wall we`ve installed at the Planetary Health Centre, the Hydraloop greywater recycling system being trialled by Sydney Water that`s on display at the Centre, and more, as we work together to restore the health of our planet and reduce the risk of future extreme weather events becoming disasters. View full video (and lots more) at our Planetary Health YouTube channel. (link in profile)
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The recent MAGNIFY event at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre was designed to help locals, young and old, think about the wonderful contributions insects make to our lives and show how we can support them, and their vital role in our environment. Read more in Katoomba Area Local News (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/insects-and-ecology-take-centre-stage/ #insects #magnify #biodiversity #artforachange #interactive #inspiration #ecosystems @amelie_ecology...
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The Planetary Health Precinct was buzzing on Friday. We attended the Inaugural Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA) Conference organised by the @bluemountainswhi during the day, and in the evening were inspired and uplifted by Andrew Skeoch from https://www.facebook.com/listeningearth at our Deep Listening to Nature event.
Springwood resident Dr Kate Umbers, Senior Lecturer in Zoology at Western Sydney University, is someone who sees the magic and beauty in our invertebrates, dedicating her life to studying and helping to conserve them. Read more in Springwood Area Local News (link in profile): https://springwoodlocalnews.com/magical-creatures-in-the-garden/
Quintin is a student studying history at the University of Sydney and a graduate of Penrith High School. He is currently writing for the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative’s Local News and wishes to pursue a career in journalism.
Pollinators are critical for life on earth. As we face a biodiversity crisis in which we’re losing plants and animals at an alarming rate, the Rotary Club of Blackheath and Planting Seeds have collaborated on the B&B Highway pollinator program.
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