FEATURE
farm of some 206,000 acres (82,400 hectares), which is several hundred miles west of Sydney and north-west of Melbourne, as the memorial site for him. Together with Ray Ackroyd they fastened a metal plaque to the tree - a Curly Mallee (Eucalyptus gillii). It remains there to this day and is maintained by the staff on the Tandau farm. Most writers on the project refer to mallee trees and forests, but this does not refer to a species of tree, but the growing pattern of certain eucalyptus species as well as gum trees (Corymbia sp.) and myrtle (Angophora sp.). In the semi-arid climate of the area these trees grow with multiple stems springing from an underground tuber to a height of no more than 10 metres (33 feet). They form the dominant vegetation throughout the semi-arid areas with reliable winter rainfall of southeast Australia measuring some 250,000 sq. kilometres. The pair of Major Mitchell Cockatoos, who made the nesting cavity in the tree their home have over the years produced many young. Ray Ackroyd visited the
tree known as John’s tree, in August of this year after a few years absence on conservation work elsewhere and found that the nesting cavity is still being used by the pair. It is estimated that about 33 chicks have been reared in this nest since the tree was tinned. Ray considered replacing the tin with heavy duty plastic, but initial trials seemed to suggest that tin is better in the long term. The trial plastic became very brittle under extreme weather and started to crack, particularly around the points where the nails were driven through. However the wood of the trees is very hard and it is not easy to fix the tin to the trees. Therefore Ray is now considering using a different type of plastic and using wire fixed top and bottom to tie them to the trees. He also discovered the park management team at the nearby national park had commenced a trial with large pine nesting logs on concrete poles. However these are expensive and do not appear to appeal to the cockatoos. They seem to prefer smaller nest sites. Ray felt it would be better as well as much
BIRD SCENE 15
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