Double Barred Finch and bar shouldered dove

Hmm Peter, I have asked that question before, but never got answers, "can you have same gender attrackted " birds?

Great pics, and I too am an avid fan of the bar shouldered dove.  Another birds affected by the large scale destruction of Mt. Cotton.

Its sort of south east of Brisbane city, in the Redlands shire.  A beautiful area, and so full of wild life of all types.  The destruction of this area is criminal, IMO.  Animals I've seen just in a back yard include wallaby, koala, possum, echidna, goanna (2 types), huge, ancient python (road kill, head on the verge on one side of the road, tail lost in the grass on the opposite side.  I cry when I think how long it took to grow so big, and how it died in agony in just a few minutes).  The bird life is incredible.

Birdie I apologise for using your post, I hope you don't mind.

So So Sad

Beautiful photos. I grew up in Gympie Qld and always LOVED seeing those little finches.

Qld has a disastrous conservation record, and even that's probably putting it mildly. Good on you Karen for getting involved and seeing what can be done. Best of luck to you.

Cheers,

Scott.

Great shots Birdie.

On the note of development. Why does it not surprise me? We have less than 1km from our front door around 1000 Ha of woodland and grassland previously a defence area, now opened as Jordan Springs, Penrith's newest address. The councils and governments totally ignored the environmental significance of this area, which holds remnants of Cumberland Plain Woodland, of which only some 6% of the original amount remains. So well done to all the governments who think profits and chummy mateships with the developer companies far outweigh the importance of preserving of natural areas.

My local community with the help of the Western Sydney Conservation Alliance had fought for years and years for nothing.

http://www.wsca.org.au/

It's a hard battle where money talks loudest.  The partnership between councils and developers is set in stone, I'm afraid.  I tried to get onto a group protesting the Berrinba Wetlands development but there is very little activity going on there at the moment.  Apparently we have a divided council, with 2 councillors resisting the further development.  But I fear the $$$$$$ will win the day.  They want the south opened up, and are prepared to take smaller steps over the next 20 or 30 years to achieve their goals.  In that time, people can be removed from places of power (doesn't seem to take much these days) and new ones put in place who will help these developers achieve their goals.They do say what steps you can take, but just the obvious (letters to politicians and councils).

I hate being so negative about all this, but I'm not trying to be.  I am simply trying to show that these people have what it takes to go as far as they want to go, and apparently they have the time as well.  A few people protesting don't have much going for them.  Any who want to get into power to help change the rules are likely to end up like Pauline Hanson - set up for a fall, jailed, or worse.  She was their warning to anyone thinking about trying to stop them.  Buying up the land involved if possible?  All they'll do is tax you out the back gate again.  This is a big and very dirty war. 

Woko, I think your way is the best way.  Plant natives that grow locally and get the backyards thriving with life, as much as possible, especially on acreage properties that have the space for animals to be at home in.  I personally think all waterways should be avoided and left development free.  Mind you, I think all beaches should never have been developed either.

I share your thoughts, birdie. The short term mentality of it all & the inability to think further than the next massive development or election is quite interesting. The fact that the fat controllers don't have any vision of what it'll be like when Nature is completely stuffed shows what inadequate, incompetent people they are, in my view. They seem to be quite content to dig their own & everyone else's graves.  

Another view I have is that power is even more important than money to these hoons. Money is a way of them getting power & control. If in some way we can threaten their power then maybe there would be change. Theoretically, at least, that's where democracy comes in. However, the populace is so dumbed down by the control of the fat controllers over the media, education, consumerism & other aspects of our lives that it's very hard to get enough people on board to threaten the power of the hoons. It can be very frustrating &, worst of all, paralysing. I know that I felt much like this when I worked in a government bureaucracy. My way of coping with it & producing something beneficial (I hope) was to adopt a low profile, say things to make management think I was supporting their destructive games & then do my own thing. This is where guerilla tactics come in. We have control over our own immediate environments & that's where we can act to restore habitats & encourage wildlife. At the same time we just might provide models for some others to emulate. But we'd need to keep the results quiet because as soon as the fat controllers heard about them they'd rationalise their vandalism of the environment by saying that it doesn't matter because people are replacing the bushland in their backyards. So it's quite a delicate balancing act knowing what to advertise & what to keep under the rug. But I know my guerilla tactics at work, if nothing else, gave me a sense of control over my immediate situation & the energy to do productive things.

To take on politically & directly the fat controllers of government & business takes a lot more knowledge & skill than I'll ever possess. But it's important to support the people who possess such knowledge & skills & who share pro-Earth values. Perhaps we need to look closely at what we can offer to protect the environment & consider where we can best offer it.

Yes, it's not all doom & gloom, folks. There are a few people at the top of businesses who are doing good environmental things. There's even a Tassie businessperson who will, I hope, take over Bob Brown's senate seat. Within councils there are environmental officers who are battling away against entrenched anti-environmentalism & who need our support. With computers & printers we can produce small newsletters about environmental issues in our neighbourhoods which can be distributed in letter boxes & so introduce a different way of thinking to people. Thinking globally & acting locally has a lot of merit, I believe, especially in the face of the juggernaut of Earth destruction which seems to be holding sway at present.