Organised by Tamworth Birdwatchers, this was the second workshop in as many months, with 17

enthusiastic participants fronting up to do their bit to combat the feral bird problem.

Group member Jean Coady said the workshop was extremely successful, with 17 cages built on the

day to trap feral birds.

“We had a really good roll-up and quite a few members on hand to help participants make the traps,” Mrs Coady said.

“Already we’ve heard back from several participants saying they’d had success trapping the birds.”

Since The Leader has highlighted the feral bird workshops, Mrs Coady said the group had been inundated with requests for cages. 

“We’re out there making them as often as we can to keep up with the demand,” she said.

She reminded Leader readers that traps were still available for purchase from Collins Bros in Bridge St, made by members of Tamworth Birdwatchers.

The next stumbling block the group needs to overcome is the establishment of a euthanasia area at the Tamworth landfill.

“We wrote to council in February asking if setting up such a facility at the tip would be possible for those people who don’t feel they can humanely dispose of the birds themselves.” she said.

“If we had something like that, I believe a lot more people would be trapping the birds.

“As it is now, the Indian mynas are on the move and are flocking in the CBD. They’re going to leave a mess and they’re noisy devils.”

Residents can do their bit to attract native birds by making good choices when seeking out plants,

trees and shrubs for the garden. 

“Birds need shrubs and small trees to shelter in, not just big, wide expanses of grass and tall trees,”

Tamworth Birdwatchers member

Bruce Terrill said. 

No further workshops have been planned at this stage, but the Tamworth Birdwatchers will have a

presence at the Peel St markets in September, where they will have information about attracting

native birds and how to eradicate the feral variety.