G’day, With all the talk of Barbary Doves being caught down south I though it might be worth mentioning that here in Alice Springs, Land for Wildlife just held one of their feral Spotted Turtle-dove trapping workshops.
PWSNT almost eradicated the Spotted Turtle-dove from Alice Springs a few years back with a dedicated program of trapping and shooting. They lost their funding just as they got the population down to a few hundred. The population has now climbed over 8000 and in current conditions they are flourishing. As the native doves we get here are so small, Diamond and Peaceful Doves, they really don’t stand a chance against the STDs. Peaceful Doves in particular are now very scarce around town.
So now community groups and citizens take responsibility for feral dove control and the eradication program is a work in progress but has many enthusiastic supporters. The traps are easily built and unobtrusive in the backyard and do no damage to native by-catch. The Alice Springs Desert Park kindly receives the birds from people who have caught them and their vets dispose of the birds with humane CO2 euthanasia and the birds become part of the behavioural enrichment diet for captive raptors and carnivorous mammal species kept at the Desert Park – it’s a very positive solution all round.
Could a program of citizen trapping be useful in other parts of Australia? Do the laws prohibit the trapping of avian pests by citizens in other states? Disposal is another issue, but I am sure there are similar Wildlife Parks and rehabilitation centres that would welcome a ready supply of fresh doves.
If anyone is interested in the possible application of a program like this in their area then you can have a read of the information I have put on my blog about this morning’s workshop –
http://comebirdwatching.blogspot.com/2011/02/feral-spotted-turtle-dove-trapping.html
There are links in the text to the archived PDF factsheets for building your own trap and the identification and handling of feral birds.
I’d be interested to hear the debate as I know that Indian Mynas are a big problem around Melbourne along with the STDs and I believe Barbary Doves are still on the loose in Adelaide.
Cheers, Chris Watson Alice Springs
PS. The Barbary Dove was successfully eradicated from Alice Springs by PWSNT and none have been trapped or reported since 2006.
Thanks for that Anthea, Bravo to them!! It is a shame that people who go in for quail shooting did not do this and leave the quail alone. Being a vegetarian I have no idea about the relative flavours but I do know that the Spotted Doves are incredibly easy to trap in a ‘cat cage’ or any sort of cage or crate, don’t learn to avoid such things like Mynahs and some other sp do, are incredibly easy to pluck – the feathers almost fall off and have amazing breast muscles. I used to trap them for obligate carnivore pets I had and they loved them. It also reduced the number of birds stealing my chook food and spreading diseases and parasites to them. Wendy
A friend’s family (Southern European origin) are in the habit of trapping Spotted Turtle-doves in a simple cage-trap. The birds have their necks wrung and are plucked and gutted. Into the freezer and later appear at a barbecue … Delicious, I’m told.
Perhaps this should be encouraged in Alice Springs.
Pity that Common Mynahs aren’t edible.
Anthea Fleming ===============================
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The Adelaide ones are doing very well with nobody doing anything to stop them.
Tony