Gang Gangs regularly work on creating hollows by chewing bark off around the base of branches in this Brittle Gum. Some branches have fallen off as a result. I guess that over time the exposed wood rots, making it easier to excavate. Given the shortage of suitable nesting hollows, this might not be happening fast enough!
Thanks - we have been checking yours and other hollow activity sightings from the Cook area - but so far no confirmed nests - though so far this year we have 22 from Canberra and 3 from Queanbeyan - Thanks again for your help - basically for every ten hollow sightings we follow up on we find a nest.
It is interesting that they seem quite serious for a while but then don't go on with it. Not sure if this year has been any different with the continuing colder temps.
We do have some pairs behaving strangely this year, seemingly going through the motions and not yet nesting - but then we have others who already have chicks (incubation is 4 weeks) that started nesting in late October. Gang-gangs seem to delight is disproving any theories that I come up with to explain their behaviour so I'm pretty clueless to explain what is happening in Cook.