Local knowledge

For many years the electricity pole across the street has been home to small birds in Spring where small holes in the concrete pole have provided the entrance to perfect nesting sites. In the past Striated Pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus) were the regular inhabitants but in 2016 the site was taken over by House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) a feral intruder in the area (click HERE to view).

Recently the infrastructure on the pole has received several upgrades as first a high voltage spike and then a severe storm damaged it. Serious maintenance was required to be done. During that maintenance all the holes in the pole were blocked (see photo above) and I despaired at being able to ever see birds using the pole as a nesting site again.

Yesterday the distinctive call of a Striated Pardalote was heard ringing from the very top of the pole. In one of the metal crossbeams, hidden behind a heavy duty earthing wire is a pre-drilled hole in the crossbeam wall and in that opening Striated Pardalotes have started building a nest, pictured right.

The view of the hole from the road is obscured but hopefully later in the season we might get a family photo.