Council declares war against terrifying backyard invader

3 hours ago 2

The invasive Indian myna bird poses a significant threat to native species, the agricultural sector and human health. Picture: Jim Thomson

An Aussie council has declared all-out war on a common backyard pest that’s breeding at such an alarming rate just two could spawn a staggering 90,000 offspring in just six years.

The Mackay council has sounded the alarm over the Indian mynah which has taken over backyards, suburbs, parks and nature reserves – killing off native competition.

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said Indian myna birds had established large populations all along Australia’s eastern seaboard with a number of councils now using trapping programs to reduce the number of pest birds in their area.

According to the Australian Wildlife Society, the “little brown bird might look harmless, but the World Conservation Union (IUCN) takes it very seriously. They put it on the list of the 100 most invasive species in the world and describe it as an extreme threat to Australia”.

It said the Indian mynah is an introduced pest and different to the native bird noisy miner (see note at end to tell the difference).

The Indian myna bird attacks native species like kookaburras, forcing them from nests and killing their young. Picture: Jim Thomson.

Mackay Indian myna Bird Action Group committee member and Birdlife Mackay’s John Morris said there was now stronger awareness of the scale of the problem.

“These pests pose significant threats to native bird species – harassing and evicting them from their nests, killing native young and destroying eggs,” Mr Morris said.

“They also pose a significant biosecurity and economic threat to our local agricultural sector and human health.”

In Mackay residents are being urged to join a community initiative to eradicate the highly invasive species – by installing traps in their backyards to broaden its success.

MIMBAG has several traps built by members of the Mackay Men’s Shed Inc which will be loaned to residents free to try and catch as many mynah as possible.

An Indian mynah trap.

Mayor Williamson said “like the cane toad, the species was brought into Australia to try and control insects. They first arrived in the 1860s to control pests in market gardens in Melbourne”.

“They were then introduced to northern Queensland to try and control pests in sugar plantations.”

The result has been a nightmare for native wildlife, with the mynah species a prolific breeder, seeing each mating pair lay up to 15 eggs per year, overtaking entire towns.

He said modelling shared by the Dubbo Indian myna Control Program detailed the exponential population growth from just one breeding pair.

“From those two birds, their young and future generations can produce more than 90,000 birds within six years,” he said.

“Those figures are really alarming and show the importance of community action.”

Mr Morris said “what we need now is for members of the community to come along to learn more about how to trap the birds and get involved in our community trapping program”.

He said MIMBAG was in the process of becoming an incorporated group, which could allow it to access funding for things like additional traps and cover the costs of humane euthanisation.