CBD Rainbow Lorikeets

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Woko
Woko's picture
CBD Rainbow Lorikeets

On a recent trip to Adelaide's CBD I came across this breeding pair of Rainbow Lorikeets with at least one youngster in what I think is an Ash tree Fraxinus sp. 

For me this highlights a couple of things: 

  • the importance of preserving hollows for native birds & other animals that use hollows for breeding & shelter, even if the hollows are in introduced trees
  • before clearing introduced vegetation, ensure that it's not providing habitat for birds & other native creatures. It's critical to establish alternative indigenous habitat so that the animals using the introduced habitat are able to migrate to the alternative habitat. In the case of hollows this might mean leaving the hollow standing (if that's what hollows do) for a hundred years of more until native trees are able to provide new hollows. A long term view is so important
  • How many more breeding hollows would there be for native animals if there were more indigenous or other native trees used in our cities' streetscapes
zosterops
zosterops's picture

Nice breeding record and Fraxinus sp. indeed, probably F. excelsior or angustifolia. 

I've seen Ranbow Lorikeets nesting in old oak, elm, plane and Phoenix canariensis palms in Melbourne so they seem pretty adaptable. 

Many hollow-bearing trees regardless of origin are often removed as unsafe or unsightly, dead or nearly dead specimens in particular are often deemed unacceptable (and indeed sometimes are objectively unsafe).  

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