Today on my morning walk I saw three species of cuckoo - pallid, fantail and Horsfield's. There are more than one pair of each around, I suppose it shows there is a healthy population of host species around, and lots of insects to eat. We also have sugar gliders living in honeysuckle on our house, so there are lots of animals looking to take advantage of nesting birds. Sometimes I think cats are the least of their worries.
Peter
Cats? What cats?
Where do you live Greg?
Samford Valley Qld.
Near Bathurst NSW
Interesting, over the last few days I have noticed more Fantail Cuckoos than ever before. I hear several calling out to eachother day and night.
(there was a program on ABC radio national this morning about feral cats and how they will decimate our wildlife )
Woko, what cats?
20 million feral cats in Australia. Who's cats? Not mine.
M-L
I think in some parts of Australia (like where I live) there are less predators of birds than pre-settlement. The loss of quolls, possums and dingoes, and reduced number of snakes, means most birds don't have too much threatening their nests or killing them while they are feeding. This seems to be leading to greater numbers of cuckoos. Of course the biggest threat to birds is development and habitat loss so it is probably a good thing if numbers can increase in some areas.
And so often with development come cats belonging to thoughtless owners. Laratinga Wetlands at Mt Barker, SA, are a case in point. There's a buffer zone of about 70 metres between the new houses & the weltands but no cat prevention or eradication programme to go with it. Shame, oh ceaseless shame!
Woko this was a thread about cuckoos but you have tried to turn it into a thread about cats, there are enough cat threads on biby. I wonder if you dream about cats when you sleep?
Only when I catnap, Greg.