We all tend to hate things that upset our bird friends.
After finding out that foxes on Raymond Island (Paynesville, Gippsland Lakes) are killing all but the lucky few young cygnets on the island, I want to hire the army’s SAS to hunt the mongrels.
As for outlawing rotten cats, I think nature will provide the answer in a few thousand years before any government will.
Nature has given the black swans some wisdom. To learn to hatch and stay away from Ray Island for a few months until the junior burgers are less vulnerable. I have noticed daily, along the foreshores of Paynesville and Lakes Entrance, the constant terrorising of black swan broods by dogs whose owners think its wonderful watching birds running for their lives.
BUT! This is the best training a cygnet can get. I’ve watched cygnets from a day old to fledged as they learn the signals from mum and dad about the dangers lurking. At first it’s a case of ” oh what now ” ? till it becomes instinct and a 2 month old cygnet sensing a dog approaching triggers the brood to head for the water when dull ignorant human me wonders what’s going on until moments later the dog appears.
The repetition of unleashed dogs does interfere with my swan quality- time but I see now that it does wonders for the survival learning curve for cygnets without the real threat of being eaten.
For those full-on bird terrorising dog haters among you, : I was told recently of a dog that entered the water chasing a swan brood which lured the dog out a great distance into the lake until the dog was exhausted. The dog did not return.
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