Eastern Rosella in backyard. Photo: Kim PryorKurri Landcare Inc. with the support of the Kurri Weston Greening Group (KWGG) recently installed eight specially designed parrot nesting boxes in the Fourth Street Central Park along Swamp Creek at Weston.
The boxes seek to exclude nuisance birds like Indian mynahs, starlings and sparrows by a skirting blind and allow parrots entry with a climbing ramp they alone can manage.
The boxes have a hinged lid for cleaning and nest material and are installed nearly five metres up a gum tree.
The design and manufacture of these trial boxes was arranged by Weston Aluminium environmental officer, Chris McClung, through KWGG.
“Our mining industry’s need for pit props underground, in the hey-day of mining in the Cessnock LGA and trees for firewood saw the elimination of most old growth trees and their nesting hollows. Many of the parrots left the area,” said Kurri Landcare President, Colin Maybury.
“While the forests of this area are returning well it could be 100 years before there are enough nesting hollows to entice eastern rosellas, king parrots, grass parrots, galahs and cockatoos to return,” he said.
The huge eucalypt trees along the creek at Weston will become a test ground for this exercise and the Cessnock Men’s Shed at Nulkaba have expressed an interest in taking in this project.
It is envisaged that should the boxes perform satisfactorily the Men’s Shed will manufacture the boxes to the design of the Victorian Department of Primary Industry specifications.
Kurri Landcare will install them throughout the district on suitable private land holdings. There will be a small fee for the box and its erection. It is to be hoped sponsors will also assist monetarily and their names will be fixed to the nesting boxes.
“This is a valiant volunteer effort to return these colourful Australian birds to this area, perhaps, in the numbers they once enjoyed. What a wonderful sight to see again these beautiful red, blue, white, yellow, pink and green birds wheeling through the tall trees to their nest amongst the tall gum trees,” Mr. Maybury said.