Rainbow lorikeet's 'very inventive' nest highlights 'scary' reality
A Brisbane man was stunned to see a pair of rainbow lorikeets had created a nest in a storm water drain.
Photos of a rainbow lorikeet that built a home in a storm water drain on a Queensland street this week have highlighted a “scary” reality facing much of Australia’s wildlife.
A Brisbane man said he initially “felt sorry” for the male bird and its partner because they “were so hard up to find a nest log that they were checking out the storm water pipe” on his kerb. On Thursday afternoon, he stopped to take a photo of the male lorikeet from across the street when he “heard the unmistakable sound of chicks calling from inside”.
“I feel so blessed that they have a brood of chicks in there!” he posted on a Facebook page dedicated to native birds while also inquiring if any other members had seen this behaviour before.
“Dad flew off and then mum stuck her head out,” he added before telling worried commenters not to “be concerned about water flushing them out after rain” or cars on the relatively quiet road. “The plastic pipe is completely crushed flat by a massive paperbark tree root upstream,” he explained.
Photos of rainbow lorikeet worry Aussies
The man’s photos of the male rainbow lorikeet walking out of the storm drain have attracted thousands of likes and hundreds of comments from bewildered and anxious Aussies.
“Still sounds dangerous at ground level with rain inundation from the road,” one person said. “Wow, that’s a bit sad. I wonder if council or a wildlife group nearby could possibly barricade the area so local cats/dogs can’t access their nest,” another commented.
“So sad that they have lost habitat but happy they are so resourceful,” a third member wrote.
Not enough tree hollows for wildlife
Speaking with Yahoo News Australia, Professor Richard Fuller with the University of Queensland’s School of Environment described the images of the rainbow lorikeet as “fascinating and scary!”.
“Rainbow Lorikeets, like many Australian birds and mammals, nest in tree hollows – and these birds have presumably been unable to find a suitable site,” he said. “Good hollows only form in large trees. As the trees grow, they shed their lower branches, creating lovely sheltered hollows suitable for the nesting of many Australian wildlife species.
“But our cities have relatively few large trees and there is a lot of competition among parrots, bats, possums, gliders, owls, ducks and many more.” Professor fuller said retaining large trees in urban landscapes is necessary to provide more nesting sites, and Aussies can build a nest box to fit to a tree in their own backyard.
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John Grant, spokesperson for WIRES, told Yahoo he had never seen a rainbow lorikeet nesting in a storm pipe before, but wasn’t surprised following the devastating bushfires three years ago and a persistent loss of habitat.
“We have seen a lot of wildlife becoming very inventive,” he added. “We’ve had to put up a lot of pots and boxes to replace all the tree hollows that were burned out during the bushfires. The more of the habitat is cleared … there not enough tree hollows to go around sadly.”
What can you do to help? WIRES says:
Retain live and dead hollow bearing trees.
Retain fallen trees on the ground, and in creeks.
Protect vegetation which produce hollows.
Build and install several different type nest boxes.
Download plans for building nest boxes for specific species in need and plans for nest boxes for a number of bird species.
Plant local native species that produce hollows.
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