HAVING a problem with rats on your cane farm? How about creating a cosy home for a natural predator, which will control pests while you sleep.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and NQ Dry Tropics have joined forces to assist Burdekin cane farmers to harness the power of the barking owl, which has a definite appetite for rodents.
“A single barking owl can eat three rats a night, and as many as six when feeding young,” DAFF extension officer Terri Buono said.
Several local farmers, including John Quagliata, an Airville district cane farmer, have seen the benefits of installing owl boxes near their sugar cane paddocks.
Funding from the Queensland Wetlands Program, NQ Dry Tropics and the support of DAFF has enabled John Quagliata to rehabilitate a wetland on his property.
The project aimed to encourage local wildlife to the area through revegetation, improve water quality and biodiversity in the wetland by constructing a recycle pit to treat farm run-off and provide habitat including snags for fish and a nesting box for owls.
“Even though it is unknown how many owls inhabit the Burdekin, a study of owl populations in Queensland sugar cane areas by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (now Sugar Research Australia) in the 1990s, found that owls were very effective predators of rats,” Ms Buono said.
John Quagliata has planted and maintained more than 2,000 trees around his wetland and believes the installation of an owl box will encourage owls to nest near his cane paddocks and eat rats.
“With my wetland and young trees looking so good, it would be a bonus to see a family of owls on my farm,” John said.
Six of the nine Australian species of owls have been observed in the Burdekin including the barking owl, southern boobock, eastern barn owl, masked owl, eastern grass owl and the rufous owl, which is listed as a vulnerable species in Queensland.
“All owls found in the Burdekin, except the eastern grass owl, rely on tree hollows for nesting and shelter. As it takes a eucalypt 120 years to form a hollow, an owl box can provide a home for owls while revegetation is establishing, or in areas where there are few trees.
An owl box should be the last resort, it is far better to retain vegetation, by avoiding clearing and ensuring cane fires do not escape into natural bushland or riparian areas along creeks.
Scott Fry, a project officer with NQ Dry Tropics, has been responsible for the recent installation of owl boxes on Burdekin farms.
“We hire a cherry picker to install the boxes seven to fifteen metres off the ground,” Mr Fry said.
An owl box should be built using specific dimensions and constructed from a durable timber. The box needs drainage holes at the bottom and an opening at the front. The outside of the box can be painted to match the tree it is being placed in, but the inside should not be painted.”
Boxes can be built to different specifications to attract other wildlife, such as gliders and other bird species.
“As the boxes I currently use have been sourced from the wet topics, it would be great to see local people or a community group build and place the boxes,” Mr Fry said.
Given the advantages that owls can provide in controlling rats, it would be beneficial to see more farmers and the community undertaking similar projects especially in areas under drip irrigation.
