A bird invasion, predicted to be three times worse than last year, has wreaked havoc in local fruit orchards.
Ms Sarah Kuchar has been left with just a handful of edible apples after a flock of about 1,500 lorikeets tore through her Stockwell property.
Despite ramping up control efforts with a permitted decimation cull, the orchard was stripped almost bare within a week.
The orchard produces about 30 tonne of apples per year, and through shed door sales and weekend markets, brings in about $65,000 annually.
Ms Kuchar said while the loss is devastating, she is grateful it isn’t the family’s primary source of income.
“The annoying part is they didn’t even save any for us,” Ms Kuchar said.
For the full story, grab March 5 edition of The Leader.
