Bird Catcher Tree

March 1, 2011

Today we received yet another bird that had been caught by the deadly Bird Catcher tree. I know I’ve written about it before, but every time I see a bird all stuck together by the superglue sap of the Parapara tree, it makes my blood boil. A kind lady rescued the bird she found this morning, but the skeletons hanging in the tree show that many others weren’t so lucky. They stick there and slowly starve to death. We have to rub the feathers with baby powder (like we did for this owl in the photo), and sometimes it takes several hours to free the bird. In the process they’ve often lost a lot of feathers, so they need care until new ones grow. The lady who discovered the bird this morning is 73 years old, so Michael and I will go to her property and cut the tree down and chop it to bits… and then visit to kill any regrowth over the next few months. Please, google Parapara tree, learn what it looks like, and destroy any that you see in your neighbourhood. Visit your local plant centres, and if they still sell parapara show them this photo, explain that it kills native birds, and ask them to discontinue selling them. Thanks for your help.