Noisy Miner - Conservation Status

Conservation Status

Being abundant throughout its significant range, the Noisy Miner is considered of Least Concern for conservation, and its extreme population densities in some areas actually constitute a threat to other species. The strong correlation between the presence of Noisy Miners and the absence of avian diversity has been well documented. The role played by the Noisy Miner in the steep decline of many woodland birds, its impact on endangered species with similar foraging requirements, and the level of leaf damage leading to die-back that accompanies the exclusion of insectivorous birds from remnant woodlands, means that any strategy to restore avian diversity will need to take account of the management of Noisy Miner populations. Some habitat restoration and revegetation projects have inadvertently increased the problem of the Noisy Miner by establishing the open eucalypt habit that they prefer. A focus of many regeneration projects has been the establishing of habitat corridors that connect patches of remnant forest, and the use of Eucalypts as fast-growing nurse species. Both practices have sound ecological value, but allow the Noisy Miner to proliferate, so conservation efforts are being modified by planting a shrubby understory with the eucalypts, and avoiding the creation of narrow protrusions, corners or clumps of trees in vegetation corridors. A field study conducted in the Southern Highlands found that Noisy Miners tended to avoid areas dominated by wattles, species of which in the study area had bipinnate leaves. Hence the authors proposed revegetation projects include at least 15% Acacia species with bipinnate leaves if possible, as well as shrubby understory plants.

Translocation of Noisy Miners is unlikely to be a solution to their overabundance in remnant habitats. In a Victorian study where birds were banded and relocated, colonies moved into the now unpopulated area but soon returned to their original territories. The translocated birds did not settle in a new territory. They were not assimilated into resident populations of miners, but instead wandered up to 4.2 kilometres (2.6 mi) from the release point, moving through apparently suitable habitat occupied by other miners—at least for the first 50 days following translocation. Two birds with radio tracking devices travelled 18 kilometres (11 mi) back to their site of capture. Although Noisy Miners are protected across Australia, and a permit is required to cull them, culling has been proposed as the most humane and practical method of reducing their impact, particularly where combined with rehabilitation of the habitat to suit a wider variety of bird life. An unsanctioned cull took place on private rural property over 1991 and 1992, which reportedly resulted in an increase in species diversity.