There is no rest for our Hotline Volunteers. There seems to be one wildlife stress event after another being phoned into the WILVOS 5441 6200 Hotline.
At the moment, the local wildlife hospitals are receiving hundreds of almost comatose lorikeets. At a certain time of year lorikeets suffer from what is known as Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome or LPS. Though reports have come in from across Australia, at the moment the main areas affected are southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. If found early enough, the birds recover with correct care and nutrition. Of course, not every sick lorikeet is suffering from LPS. It may have been attacked or hit by a car, so it is very important to get these birds to a wildlife hospital for the correct diagnosis.
Research is being done into causes of LPS. If many affected birds come in from one area, people are encouraged to note what trees are favoured as a food source. Though mainly nectivorous, they do ingest some insects, fruit, seeds and nuts. Their feeding trees are different to those where they roost at night, but all information is helpful. Citizen Science has been of great assistance to wildlife researchers over the years.
Not all is doom and gloom! A Little Lorikeet came into WILVOS care last week. They are almost a quarter of the size of a rainbow lorikeet and are such petite little birds, with a red mask. Though a fledgling, this one was unable to fly initially. Little Lorikeets are rarely seen, as often they fly with a flock of rainbow or scaley-breasted lorikeets. They love to feed high up in the eucalypts and this little one’s carer was very happy to see four of them in trees near the Coolum golf course. The last one to come into care was seven years ago and I had the pleasure of rehabilitating that very entertaining bird. It had a number of injuries but with antibiotics and lots of TLC it soon became a bundle of vitality. At first this little one would leave his little tunnel and run to the corner and ‘hide’ at medication time. Though not outwardly stressed by the handling and treatment, I also put a soft white cloth in the corner and he would then go and climb under it. It was a joy to see him progress to an aviary and the eventual return to the wild. He never did lose the habit of snuggling when picked up.
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au