An outback council has commissioned the use of a helicopter to chase a large flock of birds out of town, with the animals reportedly having damaged trees and powerlines.
The chopper will be flying over Richmond twice a week, and the local ranger will be firing a gas gun in a bid to steer the cockatoos, galahs and corellas into nearby bushland and away from the town's infrastructure.
Richmond Shire Mayor John Wharton said the birds infiltrate the town every four or five years and he did not know why they decided it was the place to be.
"The trees will die eventually if we let them go so we've got to try and get rid of them," Councillor Wharton said.
"There's timber from Richmond all the way to the Gulf of Carpentaria, so it's not as if they're running short of tucker."
Persistence pays off
Councillor Wharton said helicopter bird control was common place in the area and the key to success was persistence.
"We'll have to persist with this for a little while until we get them moving," he said.
"We've got to protect our assets, it costs a lot of money to replace a lot of these assets, especially important shade trees around the school and around the caravan park.
"A lot of people have worked hard to keep those trees alive, these birds are stripping and if we don't address it then we're asleep at the wheel."
Bird expert cautiously optimistic
Bird expert Del Richards said it was hard to understand why the birds had chosen to the township to roost.
"There's plenty of bore watering troughs (for cattle) to not demand that they come into town for water," Mr Richards said.
But he said the intelligence of the birds made him cautious about the shire's plan.
"Both the corella and the galah will probably enjoy that daily exercise," he said.
"But all of their problems really come out of the air, because they can't really fly away from something that has come above, so it might be an idea."
