The main driver in the bird microcosm is the Noisy Miner: a bellicose, medium-sized honeyeater that prefers insects and lerp to nectar. Roaming in large, quarrelsome groups, it has become the master of urban yards, local parks and nature strips in 4101. We are complicit in its rise as we create perfect habitat for it, mirroring its preferred environment at the edge of bush-land. It has successfully multiplied with every subdivision and compensatory planting of Grevillea and Callistemon. Our small yards create an endless bush-land edge that these birds thrive in.
A relatively drab bird, it has grey-flecked, light plumage on its under side paired with a grey-brown back highlighted by yellow shading on its wing edges. Its most striking feature is its eyes. These seem larger than life. Set in a black facemask, they are augmented by a golden triangle of skin behind the eyes,. Its sharp, pointed bill matches the yellow skin patch, rounding out its vicious look.
Its strength also lies in numbers. These mini tyrants dominate any other species that gets in the way, even fearlessly attacking much larger birds: Ibis, Crows, Kookaburras. Miners will even set upon their own clan if one of them dares to upset the group’s tightly woven hierarchy. They are sadly also responsible for the demise of small bush birds – rarely do these survive in Kurilpa. Miners will mob, chase and eliminate. There is hope, though, as in every conflict. Smaller birds move through in mixed loosely coordinated flocks in spring and autumn outwitting the Miners by using the cover of mangroves, tall, weedy grass areas and untidy yards in order to survive.
Noisy by name, noisy by nature: its voice is the alarm siren in the dawn chorus, ringing out throughout the day, punctuating the skies as the birds retire to their roosts at dusk. Overhead plane, raptor, copter: its panic calls can be heard announcing possible predators to all. It bares witness to snakes eating possums, kookaburras raiding nests and hawks predating the noisy miners themselves thus helping to contain the ever increasing numbers of these bully birds.
For further information: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2023/release/noisy-miners-bullying-forest-birds-from-urban-area
Bird Nerd
Figure 1Photo credit: Pablo Silber: Bird on Scope 2020
