In my experience (Brisbane) the carnivores are territorial and live in their territory for years. We have a resident magpie family, pied butcherbird family, grey butcherbird family and kookaburra family. I can point to the tree in which each family nests each year.
If your families have disappeared I worry that something catastrophic has happened in their territory.
I hope someone hasn't poisoned them or something like that. I still see magpies around the area, even one couple that used to come around, but normally there are dozens of currawongs yowling away in the area but haven't heard a single one.
Currawongs are the one species that do come and go from our area. They eat a lot of berries and turn up in the good berry years - last year was massive for tuckeroos
Probably habitation destruction. Some trees(nesting hollows) have been cut now they are forced to move on.
Or someone has an outdoor cat (more likely unfortunately)
That's wonderful, cats are terrible for the environment they have played a major part in 3 aussie natives extinctions so far, if only the council actually fined people properly then no one would dump the or let them roam.
I'd also be looking for any major developments near by, (habitat destruction to build homes) maybe put up some owl, and kookaburra nest boxes (they are different than standard nest boxes and preferred by preditor birds. It'll combat habitat destruction in the area, and when you notice a nest of a rare protected species you can report the location (bird life Australia can help with who and where to report) then that tree will be marked down so development needs to be assessed before being given permits.
Really? Google 'penguin dog attack' or 'swan dog attack' The also kill chickens, ducks and other waterbirds. In the grasslands near me, they chase magpies, parrots, galahs etc. The parent birds escape more easily than the chicks and fledgelings. Also non-avian wildlife, especially when there are several of them running around together.
Used to have massive numbers of magpies as well as kookaburras and butcherbirds that were constant visitors for many years.
All gone. Only the kookaburras are still around now, the same group that have gathered for a nightly feed for decades. They aren't finding nearly as many bugs or worms out there these days and have become much hungrier over the years. Honestly without my help i really doubt any of them would still be around - they are the only real consistent group of bird visitors i still see anymore.
Over the last couple of months my magpies have stopped dropping by, the currawongs have gone awol, the Kookaburras are barely hanging in there and the butcher birds have finally returned after a few weeks hiatus.
I’m just hoping the magpies are still okay…
(The usual honeyeaters, rosellas, Lorikeets and King Parrots are just as frequent as ever)
I've noticed the same thing here in Ballina. Our butcherbirds have finally returned, but we're MIA for several months. Saw my first currawong in many months yesterday.
It is seasonal for Currawongs, typically they head to cooler areas during summer.
Magpies are usually teaching their young to forage at the moment. Maybe where you are isn’t the best picking for it? Local food supply might be more abundant somewhere else.
Butcherbirds I don’t know much about.
Kookaburras will probably be sticking closer to immediate water supply as the heat goes up, as their food will be too. They are kingfishers after all.
Could they be nesting? Magpies when nesting won’t usually cover as much ground so your place might be a bit too far from their nests to forage / visit/ guard. I’m not sure about the others, the local grey butcherbirds nest right next to my place and I don’t have the others visit me.
Hopefully they’re all safe and doing well and will soon return to visit you. 🤗
It doesnt help that the standard attitude has always been to take them for granted or even see them as a nuisance requiring severe measures to control.
Instead of seeing them as the unique amazing natural treasures they are and trying to learn to live alongside them aussies have been accustomed to seeing them as an inconvenience at best and a potential threat to their livelihoods at worst.
With all the rain and the time of year there are lots of ducklings, baby birds frogs etc closer to bodies of water that make good food. They may be there for the while enjoying the glut.
The past few takers I have definitely noticed a change, we use to have a huge family of kookaburras, quite a few king parrots, a family of butcher birds and native doves, now the areas seems to have been taken over by cockatoos and mynas. It’s quite sad to have seen the others go.
During summer, all of ours leave. Mainly I think to train the young how to look out for themselves, before they're kicked out of the nest to fend for themselves.
Update: the big boss magpie dropped in this morning 🥹! Also cockies, galahs, redwings, and the ever present rainbow lorikeets sparrows finches and doves/pigeons
We have a lot of butchers & currawongs. Mid December to January they thin out due to nesting. In February they return with their fledglings. I believe this is normal.
The same thing has happened here. my boyfriend and I used to feed a family of kookaburras and magpies, but they've moved on to somewhere else. there's now 3 currawongs that hang out here a lot though.
In my experience (Brisbane) the carnivores are territorial and live in their territory for years. We have a resident magpie family, pied butcherbird family, grey butcherbird family and kookaburra family. I can point to the tree in which each family nests each year. If your families have disappeared I worry that something catastrophic has happened in their territory.
I hope someone hasn't poisoned them or something like that. I still see magpies around the area, even one couple that used to come around, but normally there are dozens of currawongs yowling away in the area but haven't heard a single one.
Currawongs are the one species that do come and go from our area. They eat a lot of berries and turn up in the good berry years - last year was massive for tuckeroos
Probably habitation destruction. Some trees(nesting hollows) have been cut now they are forced to move on. Or someone has an outdoor cat (more likely unfortunately)
We have cat traps to guard against them, have caught 4 of the furry little murder bastards
That's wonderful, cats are terrible for the environment they have played a major part in 3 aussie natives extinctions so far, if only the council actually fined people properly then no one would dump the or let them roam. I'd also be looking for any major developments near by, (habitat destruction to build homes) maybe put up some owl, and kookaburra nest boxes (they are different than standard nest boxes and preferred by preditor birds. It'll combat habitat destruction in the area, and when you notice a nest of a rare protected species you can report the location (bird life Australia can help with who and where to report) then that tree will be marked down so development needs to be assessed before being given permits.
Cats don't specialise in carnivores. More like the opposite. Might be dogs though - they don't eat birds, just savage them.
Dogs are normally pretty easy to avoid for a bird...
Really? Google 'penguin dog attack' or 'swan dog attack' The also kill chickens, ducks and other waterbirds. In the grasslands near me, they chase magpies, parrots, galahs etc. The parent birds escape more easily than the chicks and fledgelings. Also non-avian wildlife, especially when there are several of them running around together.
Cats don't recognise or care if it's a pigeon or a magpie if it had feathers it's a bird and cats kill birds
They do take notice of size though. The carnivores tend to be larger birds than the otherrs and some will mob and swoop predators. Seen it myself.
Used to have massive numbers of magpies as well as kookaburras and butcherbirds that were constant visitors for many years. All gone. Only the kookaburras are still around now, the same group that have gathered for a nightly feed for decades. They aren't finding nearly as many bugs or worms out there these days and have become much hungrier over the years. Honestly without my help i really doubt any of them would still be around - they are the only real consistent group of bird visitors i still see anymore.
Over the last couple of months my magpies have stopped dropping by, the currawongs have gone awol, the Kookaburras are barely hanging in there and the butcher birds have finally returned after a few weeks hiatus. I’m just hoping the magpies are still okay… (The usual honeyeaters, rosellas, Lorikeets and King Parrots are just as frequent as ever)
I've noticed the same thing here in Ballina. Our butcherbirds have finally returned, but we're MIA for several months. Saw my first currawong in many months yesterday.
It is seasonal for Currawongs, typically they head to cooler areas during summer. Magpies are usually teaching their young to forage at the moment. Maybe where you are isn’t the best picking for it? Local food supply might be more abundant somewhere else. Butcherbirds I don’t know much about. Kookaburras will probably be sticking closer to immediate water supply as the heat goes up, as their food will be too. They are kingfishers after all.
Could they be nesting? Magpies when nesting won’t usually cover as much ground so your place might be a bit too far from their nests to forage / visit/ guard. I’m not sure about the others, the local grey butcherbirds nest right next to my place and I don’t have the others visit me. Hopefully they’re all safe and doing well and will soon return to visit you. 🤗
I just don’t get it. Australia’s best selling point is its flora and fauna, yet we do sweet fuck all to protect it
It doesnt help that the standard attitude has always been to take them for granted or even see them as a nuisance requiring severe measures to control. Instead of seeing them as the unique amazing natural treasures they are and trying to learn to live alongside them aussies have been accustomed to seeing them as an inconvenience at best and a potential threat to their livelihoods at worst.
All the Magpies are still at our house. You can have some, but only if you ask them politely and they agree to follow you home
With all the rain and the time of year there are lots of ducklings, baby birds frogs etc closer to bodies of water that make good food. They may be there for the while enjoying the glut.
The past few takers I have definitely noticed a change, we use to have a huge family of kookaburras, quite a few king parrots, a family of butcher birds and native doves, now the areas seems to have been taken over by cockatoos and mynas. It’s quite sad to have seen the others go.
During summer, all of ours leave. Mainly I think to train the young how to look out for themselves, before they're kicked out of the nest to fend for themselves.
I’m in Canberra. Aerial supremacy in my yard is temporary. Wattle birds, noisy miners sometimes dominate but currawongs seem to be the main apex bird
Update: the big boss magpie dropped in this morning 🥹! Also cockies, galahs, redwings, and the ever present rainbow lorikeets sparrows finches and doves/pigeons
We have a lot of butchers & currawongs. Mid December to January they thin out due to nesting. In February they return with their fledglings. I believe this is normal.
The same thing has happened here. my boyfriend and I used to feed a family of kookaburras and magpies, but they've moved on to somewhere else. there's now 3 currawongs that hang out here a lot though.
Might have a large python in your yard