Keeping an eagle eye on natural pest management

More often than not wedge-tailed eagles are considered pests by farmers because the birds of prey are notorious for killing lambs.

But a Lake Muir farming couple who are using the big birds to manage pests and protect their enterprise believe they are the most useful tool in minimising damage to crops caused by other birds and vermin.

Alida and Jason Parke first noticed eagles scaring off crows that were attacking lambs 10 years ago and have since adapted the presence of the predators to frighten destructive Muir’s corellas away from crops instead of conventional methods.

“Gas guns weren’t working, so we then started to observe what the eagles were doing,” Mrs Parke said.

“They are a natural predator to the corellas and wherever the eagles were the corellas dispersed.”

Both species are protected so to avoid breaking the law the Parkes turned to placing dead kangaroos around cropping areas to attract the eagles, which in turn kept birds away during sprouting and heading of crops.

Mrs Parke said the tactic had vastly reduced crop losses of up to 20 per cent caused by Muir’s corellas, white-tailed black cockatoos and mountain ducks.

On one occasion a test patch of canola was completely stripped by a flock of about 200 cockatoos.

“The modern term for it is natural pest management,” Mrs Parke said.

“It’s a good control and we don’t have to do anything except feed them once a week.”

Australasian Raptor Association president Victor Hurley said although he had not heard of the practice, there were other examples of using bird behaviour to the advantage of farmers.

“On almond farms over here (in Mildura) ravens feed on almonds during harvest and also when harvest finishes they feed on what are called mummified almonds on the ground,” he said.

“So growers use offal from the local abattoir to lure ravens out of the orchard.”

WA Museum curator of ornithology Ron Johnstone, who has spent more than 40 years studying birds, said farmers had changed their attitude towards wedge-tailed eagles and it was “fantastic” to have them around.

“A lot of farmers used to wage constant war on wedgies,” he said.

“But now many of them don’t bother and it’s nice to have some around because they take cats, foxes and rabbits and little eagles especially are really good hunters.”