Farmers issue warning over 'dramatic' threat decimating crops: 'It's not insignificant'

Orchard owners in Australia are facing a worrying trend of birds feasting on their already drought-threatened harvest, an unfortunate sign of increasingly extreme weather events.

What's happening?

In South Adelaide, Australia, orchard trees have been swarmed by lorikeets being driven toward them in search of food. A severe drought has been affecting the region, leading the little birds to descend upon the blooming apple, cherry, and fig trees.

Sean Dooley from Birdlife Australia told ABC News Australia: "It might be drought-related to the extent that some of the street trees that would normally flower in the Adelaide suburbs didn't flower in 2024 to the same extent that they normally would, so more rainbow lorikeets might have been forced to travel further than they normally would."

He also noted that the number of lorikeets in the region has doubled in the past 25 years. According to a report from The Guardian, lorikeets, which are native to the country, are "urban adapters," meaning they thrive around humans, and have been expanding their ranges for some time. That now includes expanding outward to the orchards.

Why are birds attacking orchards important?

Birds abnormally feasting on the orchards is a bad sign that the drought conditions are intense and altering normal wildlife behavior, which is hurting the farmers' crops and sales. Fruit Producers SA executive officer Grant Piggott told ABC News Australia the lorikeets have had a "dramatic" impact on apple and cherry harvests.

"It's potentially in the thousands of tonnes across the Adelaide Hills zone … so it's not insignificant," he said. One farmer told the outlet he missed a row of trees with protective netting and lost at least "90%" to the birds.

That kind of crop loss can financially impact farmers with the loss of sales and requires additional resources to protect what they have, like netting, or adjusting growing season plans, not an easy task with the increase of extreme weather events around the globe. 

What's being done about birds attacking orchards?

Lorikeets are considered a pest in many parts of Australia, but they have some suggestions in place on top of netting, like scaring the birds away or offering alternative food sources so they don't become reliant on the crop. 

Taking steps to reduce reliance on dirty energy, like taking public transportation or opting for a greener home, can help reduce the impact of pollution and, in turn, weather events like droughts. 

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