30/06/2025
Heather Twidle has stated a petition (https://chng.it/PYJkkQkM2X ) to save Adelaide's tree martins by removing the nets from the Leigh Street trees where the flock roosts.
Leigh St in Adelaide is the chosen autumn roosting site of a rare flock of up to 10,000 tree martins, a tiny, migratory bird whose numbers are declining. Instead of embracing these birds as a wonderful example of successful urban wildlife, the Adelaide City Council led by Dr Jane Lomax-Smith AM has instead chosen to net off the trees (with wide-aperture netting that is lethal to wildlife in its own right) and force them to find new places to go.
We don’t have a lot of research into these tiny birds, and this could have actually posed a fantastic opportunity for observations, but now these birds have been displaced from the shelter of these trees and are being forced into confrontations with an urban landscape they don’t understand. Dozens of them - as many as 50 at a time - are flying at full speed into large glass windows of nearby shop fronts on Rundle St. Wildlife carers only became aware of this less than two weeks ago and have been a regular presence ever since, collecting the dead and dying birds en masse. Every bird is seen by a vet, and survivors are brought into care, but with only a handful of carers and thousands of birds, these resources have been totally overwhelmed. Fatigued carers have even suffered abuse from council staff as they try to alleviate the suffering of these birds. The sad reality is these nets have been up since August of last year and we simply don’t know the true toll, but it could be as high as 10% of the flock.
There are ways to reduce the conflict between humans and nature without resorting to measures which have killed hundreds upon hundreds of birds in agonising ways. Injuries documented in the last week alone include multiple open fractures, severe head trauma, broken beaks and ruptured eyes. Many die of shock before they even reach a vet for humane euthanasia.
The Council, led by Dr Lomax-Smith, have obstructed all efforts by various parties to provide alternate solutions. They are perfectly content for wildlife to continue to pay the ultimate price for human convenience - we disagree. Dr Lomax-Smith claims other options were explored but we know from media releases at the time that they were only considered and not implemented. Please let Dr Lomax-Smith know you think animal cruelty is not acceptable in this day and age. If the nets come down, the birds can return to the safety of their longstanding roosts, and the killing will stop.
Save the tree martins - remove the nets from their trees!
