In this issue
Feature Story
Birdstrike!
Above: Wonga pigeon at Narara
-Richard Cassels
Finding a beautiful bird dead below your window is awful. Even worse is the distinctive, surprisingly loud “bang” of a fast-flying bird colliding with a fixed glass window pane.
There are two things you can do if you witness a bird strike.
But first, some information.
The most common victims of window strike at Narara are fast-flying pigeons, particularly the handsome grey and white Wonga Pigeons, the slim, long-tailed, blue eyed Brown Cuckoo Doves and occasionally the gorgeous Emerald Doves.
These pigeons have amazing terrain avoidance “radar” that enables them to fly through trees and bushes at sensational speed. This is particularly if they are being chased by a raptor like one of Narara’s Grey or Brown Goshawks.
You can see amazing footage of a Northern Goshawks shooting through woodland here:
- Flying with the fastest birds on the planet: Peregrine Falcon & Goshawk – Animal Camera – BBC
- Goshawk Flies Through Tiny Spaces in Slo-Mo! – The Animal’s Guide to Britain, Episode 3 – BBC Two
With both pigeons and hawks, this “radar’ is highly visual; unfortunately it cannot detect glass. So in most cases the unlucky bird either sees a mirrored reflection of daylight or sky, or looks through one window to another behind it, thus thinking there is a tunnel ahead.
What to do
- Check if the bird is alive. If it is, first option is to leave it alone and hope it was just stunned and will fly away when it recovers. If it’s alive and injured, which is rare, contact WIRES or ARC. If it’s dead (check for a few minutes at least), bury it in the garden with a small ceremony!
- And then try and work out why it thought it could fly through your window. If it seems to be a reflection problem, hang or stick something on the outside of the window, such as a stained glass bird or butterfly. If it’s a tunnel problem, put something like a venetian blind inside and across one of the windows.
Then hopefully it won’t happen again.
Below: pigeons at Narara. (1) Emerald Dove (2) Brown Cuckoo-Dove. All photos RC.
Events
Open Day tours at Narara Ecovillage, Sat May 28
SATURDAY 28 May 10.30-12.30, followed by Climate conversations for 6-106 year olds!
We’re excited to have people onsite again and showcase in person what we’ve achieved as there’s been soooo much change during Covid!
Come and hear from Founder Lyndall Parris how the community started, and join a tour to get an overview about how this intentional community works.
Tickets
- $15 per person – book your tickets here
- Kids free!
This month
- Tours of the village
- Coffee cart – drinks & food
- Play the Earth Care Game with re-inventor Lisa Wriley zooming in at 1pm!
If you can’t make this date, you can either wait till next month or also organise a private tour with a resident member! Simply email info@nararaecovillage.com with Private Tour in your subject.
Let’s have intergenerational conversations about climate & the environment, Sat May 28
-Tanya Mottl
Lisa Wriley played the Conservation Game in New Zealand as a child, and this inspired her lifelong career as an environmental educator.
She was so influenced by the game that she pursued the Kiwi inventor, has reinvented it as the Earth Care Game, AND is re-releasing a bi-lingual NZ version called Conservation for re-release.
- Come and join us after the Open Day Tours in a very casual get together led by Lisa.
- You can bring your 6 year olds or your 106 year olds!
Donation suggestion – $5/adult (money will help purchase the Earth Care Game for schools.)
SAVE the Date! Ecovillage Experience Weekend, Sept 30-Oct 4
- Sept 30th to Oct 4th (Long Weekend)
- More details to follow – watch our Facebook page!
Village News
BREAKING … Helping Local Endangered Birds
-Lorraine H
Narara Ecovillage is restoring winter feeding habitat for Australia’s critically endangered Swift Parrots and has secured a grant for $17,503 from Local Land Services through the Save our Species program for the Swift Parrot. This will involve the planting and maintenance of 80 Swamp Mahoganies, plus Casuarinas, Acacia and Gahnia species.
Congratulations to Patrica Meagher (Horticulturist) Guy Dutson (Ecologist with Swift Parrot experience) and Tony and Teresa Farrell (Bush Regenerators) on their successful application for this exciting project!
More details will be published in the next Newsletter, including how NELN members and the general public can be involved.
Do a Thing a Day
Start a movement in 3 minutes!
This very short video shows how to start a movement, including a crucial role which is often overlook
Find people who have already started movements near you
Community groups directories can help you find local groups engaged in a wide range of activities. Here are two Australia-wide directories, but there are many local ones.
Contact the Network News
Editors network.news@neln.org.au