By Darcy Watt
As August settles in steadily, Bathurst residents, among others are reminded to keep a lookout for invasive bird species in the community.
The Indian Myna or Common Myna bird is known to be one of the world’s most invasive species and they are present here in Bathurst. As well, Pigeons, Starlings and Sparrows are also known to our area where they cause considerable damage to infrastructure and agriculture.
According to information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Bathurst agricultural businesses ranked second only to Construction for the number of businesses in the area.
This information is relevant to invasive birds as many of these introduced species can destroy a crop, spread diseases and damage infrastructure through nesting.
More information from Bathurst’s 2012 Pest Bird Management Strategy can be found through the following link.
https://www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/images/stories/environment/biodiversity/Pests/Pest_Bird_Strategy.pdf