Feathers fly as bird watching takes off

Rascals: Prof David Watson will work on a $1.4 million project to find out just how much damage birds such as this sulphur-crested cockatoo, cause. They may be pretty, but at certain times of the year native parrots can be a major pest for Australian fruit and nut growers.

They cause up to $300 million damage each year, according to estimates by the Bureau of Rural Sciences.

A new, three-year $1.4 million project aims to find out just how much damage birds cause, why, and how it can be minimised.

Charles Sturt University ecologists began last month by conducting a bird monitoring course for workers at Select Harvests almond orchards near Boundary Bend, in northwest Victoria.

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