Making Indian Myna Traps at a workshop. Photo: Joanna Dufty / Northern Slopes Landcare Association.
Moree residents can build and take home their own Indian myna trap at a free workshop at Moree Showground this Saturday.
Northern Slopes Landcare Association will run the cage-making workshop from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, September 5. Trap-building materials, lunch and refreshments will be supplied.
Northern Slopes Landcare Association’s Joanna Dufty said Indian mynas were becoming increasingly noticeable across the region.
“The cheeky little twerps, they are making themselves well-known,” Ms Dufty said.
She said there had been a stronger push over the past 12 months to control their numbers as people became more aware of their impact on native birds and wildlife.
“They get into the hollows of the trees and they make an awful mess,” she said.
“Once they’re finished with it, no other animal can actually use it.”
Ms Dufty said the workshop was designed to do more than give people a trap. Building the cages together gives participants time to discuss what they have learnt and share trapping techniques.
“It’s not just about the presenting person,” she said.
“It’s about the community communicating with each other about what they’re finding that works.”
That can include experienced trappers helping people who are building a cage for the first time.
“There’ll be some very advanced people that have done lots of this kind of stuff before, and then they’ll take somebody that’s maybe a beginner … and they’ll actually teamwork,” Ms Dufty said.
Previous workshops have also given Landcare an idea of what can be achieved when people continue using their traps.
Ms Dufty estimated about 40 cages had been made through an earlier program, although she stressed the figure was from memory.
She said her mother and another participant had caught about 300 Indian mynas between them.
“That’s just in a small village that they’re doing it,” she said.
Participants will receive instructions for a basic trap, but Ms Dufty said people often make changes as they learn what works.
“The plans are just a basic plan,” she said.
“People have changed bits and things. Some worked well, some haven’t worked well, but there’s always room for improvement.”
The workshop will also cover how to identify and attract Indian mynas, trapping methods and what to do with the birds after they are caught, including humane euthanasia.
Other birds can sometimes enter the traps. Ms Dufty said this did not happen often, but any non-target birds should be released.
Participants are encouraged to bring gloves and a pair of pliers if they have them, with the remaining materials supplied.
Younger participants should attend with an adult. Ms Dufty said the workshop was probably not suitable for primary-school-aged children because of its length and the need to stay focused for a long period.
Registration is requested to help with catering and can be completed through the Northern Slopes Landcare Association event page.
For more information, contact Jo Dufty at [email protected] or 0498 802 370.
