Starlings et al
- To: Medit-plants
- Subject: Starlings et al
- From: J* &* B* E*
- Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 08:30:55 +0800
People laugh at the Western Australian Department of Agriculture for
maintaining teams of men on the border, armed with shotguns and on the
lookout for starlings, sparrows, mynahs, and probably blackbirds too -
but so far it has worked, we don't have any of them. They can't cross
the desert and don't like the tropics, so they follow the people trail
which is easier to control - i.e. they hitch a ride on a truck, train or
ship. It may sound silly to fly into a panic over a sparrow or (worse!)
two, but it is worth it. We have enough introduced pests as it is.
Thank goodness our first settlers were not so nostalgic as to go to the
trouble of bringing in birds from "home"!
Beverly
--
Julius and Beverly Elischer
Perth, Western Australia
Ph. +61 8 9386 5244
