Sparrows and Parrots

Dead Sparrows

A mysterious decline in Hobart's sparrow population requires prompt analysis, a wildlife expert said yesterday. Veterinarian David Obendorf urged people who discover newly dead sparrows to collect the carcasses and deliver them to authorities. He said the Department of Primary Industries and Water needed to conduct autopsies on the birds to determine whether they were suffering toxic reactions or viral infections. Dr Obendorf said it was imperative Tasmania investigated the cause of the decline because other species, including livestock, could be affected. "I suggest people, if they know the birds are freshly dead, contact the Department of Primary Industries and Water and ensure there is a post-mortem," he said. Bird watchers around Hobart have recently noticed a large decline in the city's sparrow population.

Bird lovers at Sandy Bay, Kingston, Blackmans Bay, Coningham and Mt Nelson want to know why sparrows are no longer thriving in backyards and are being found dead on the ground. Dr Obendorf said people could not be complacent about the deaths simply because sparrows were an introduced species. "We need to take this seriously, especially if there are reports from a number of quarters of mass mortalities." He said it was impossible to know whether the deaths were related to Newcastle Disease, which usually affects domestic poultry flocks and is not thought to be present in Tasmania. Dr Obendorf said questions were also being raised in Northern Europe where a range of songbirds -- including sparrows, starlings and blackbirds -- were dying in large numbers.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in London last week launched a "Save Our Sparrows" campaign in response to a huge decline in bird numbers. Dr Obendorf said the fragile status of the birds in Northern Europe placed greater importance on Australia's sparrow population. He said Australia could not simply disregard the birds as pests and must safeguard them if they were being wiped out in other countries. Birds Tasmania chairman Eric Woehler said sparrow numbers could be down because of Tasmania's cold and wet winter. "The conditions may have resulted in a reduction in food for the birds," he said. *Mercury

Swift Parrots

The State's Premier Nathan Rees is being asked to intervene to stop logging at a New South Wales Far South Coast forest after sightings of an endangered bird species. The Greens say the swift parrot has been reported in the Bermagui forest, which is set to be logged in coming weeks. The rare blossom-feeding birds are using the forest to find food on their annual migration from the Tasmania's eucalypt forests. Greens Upper House Member of Parliament, Lee Rhiannon, wants the Premier to ensure Forests New South Wales does nothing to disrupt or destroy the area where the birds are feeding. "Normally the birds migrate further inland before they come to the coast and sometimes they even reach Queensland," she said. "It is a very significant development considering there's so few of these species left. "Logging of its winter feeding habitat near Bermagui is simply unacceptable." *ABC