Chris spoke enthusiastically
about his life in the Australian bush and illustrated his talk with numerous
slides. He apologised unnecessarily that some slides were showing their age, as
they supported his comments splend-idly. He was reared on the farm ‘Rockwood’
near the town of Condamine. It was a property rich in birdlife due in part to
its location where eastern and western ecotypes meet but also in large measure
due to the good management of grassland and retention of large areas of scrub.
The birds are not so abundant now in this area, due to what might be termed
‘industrialisation’.
Young Chris
lived a Huckleberry Finn sort of existence. Being an only child, he had to rely
on his own resources for amusement. This took him far from the farm house into
the bushland at a very tender age, with only his dog for company. His success
as a fisherman and hunter provided useful supplements to the home larder.
Irruptive
occurrences of bird species are common in Australia as food supplies fluctuate.
But Chris described how bird communities in his area have changed both qualitatively
and quantitatively in a more permanent way. Most evident in facilitating the
expansion of populations of the larger parrots has been the expansion of grain
growing. Birds such as corellas, cockatoos and galahs have become very numerous
and more widespread than previously. On the other hand, Chris has noticed a
decline in the numbers of bustards and brush turkeys. Both are insect eaters.
In addition
to habitat loss impacting on some species, feral animals such as pigs, foxes
and cats have taken their toll. The ecological and economic role of the dingo
is ambiguous. In sheep country dingo predation can be devastating to flocks. On
the other hand, up in the Burdekin where there were pigs rampaging through cane
crops the dingo are doing a good job keeping pig numbers down. Chris showed us
a remarkable picture of a wild dingo coming within a few metres of him as he
worked on his compost.
Thank you Chris for a most informative and entertaining
talk.
(Report by Neil McKilligan)
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