General News
4 February, 2021
Corellas cause damage to golf greens
CORELLAS may be in the firing line after causing havoc at sporting grounds in Terang throughout the new year.
CORELLAS may be in the firing line after causing havoc at sporting grounds in Terang throughout the new year.
Terang Cricket Ground curator and Terang Golf Club secretary Colin Venn said the significant damage may result in a cull being the only option to prevent further damage.
He said the corellas, which have become an increasingly common sight in neighbourhood trees and median strips, have been descending on the golf club and cricket ground each evening.
“They have caused damage to a number of greens,” he said.
“They’ve ripped up tee boxes and caused general damage around the course.”
He said it takes hours of volunteer work to try and repair the damage to make the ground safe for players.
“Some of the holes on the greens are dinner plate sized and rather deep,” he said.
“They have really long beaks so they can gouge in, dig holes and rip at the grass.
“We fill it up with sand and they just rip it out again.”
Mr Venn said corellas were an issue three years ago, but he believes the numbers have since tripled.
“We think there are over 1000 birds coming back to the park late each evening,” he said.
“It’s like watching the squadrons return to base after a day of bombing.
“If we’ve had a tripling in three years, then you’re looking at the numbers getting untenable.”
Mr Venn said the club had been in contact with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to begin the process of application for a cull.
“Three years ago we got permission to reduce the numbers but we didn’t have anyone with public liability cover for the person who was going to do a little bit of a cull,” he said.
“We do have someone with public liability cover now so we have begun the process of application.”
Mr Venn said the decision was not one the clubs have taken lightly, with members already utilising various methods to try and prevent the corellas from doing additional damage to the grounds.
“We have tried a bird scarer, which emits the sound of a predatory bird because the corellas don’t like the sound of hawks and falcons,” he said.
“The distress signals seemed to work at the start but because they are so smart, they get used to it.
“We tried it on the cricket ground two weeks ago and that didn’t seem to have an impact in keeping the birds off.
“The greenkeeper has scarecrows and is also trying short bursts of the sprinklers early in the morning and late in the evening but, again, because they’re so smart they hop away and wait for the sprinklers to stop.”
Mr Venn said the club had tried spraying for cockchafers this week in hope it would prevent the birds from digging but was concerned this may not prevent damage.
“The general belief is they are looking for roots because they get the moisture out of them, or that they may be digging as a way of keeping their long beaks maintained,” he said.
“We’ve ended up sending a couple of people down there but it becomes fairly onerous to be manning there both morning and night to try and keep them away.”
