NSW's mouse plague is likely to lead to a boom in other wild animals, experts have said, with populations of reptiles like snakes and lizards, predator birds and possibly frogs and insects set to rise.
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Farmers in the area have reported seeing more predators since the plague took off.
At Highfield Farm near Mount Adrah, farmer Louise Freckelton said she has seen a marked spike in predatory birds since the mouse populations began to explode.
"I've been seeing tawny frogmouths and kites and magpies just devouring mice," Ms Frecklton said, adding she was thrilled to see more birds breeding.
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"The mice are terrible but we're lucky that where we are they're not as bad," the lamb farmer said. "Our poor wildlife has been through hell and highwater and they're part of the solution, they need this bigger breeding year."
CSIRO researcher Steve Henry said we're likely to see more of most species while the plague is ongoing thanks to more food and the same favourable conditions that allow the mice to thrive.
"The conditions are good for everything else as well as the mice," Mr Henry said. "There will be lots of frogs, lots of insects because the climatic conditions are good for an increase in most species."
CSU ornithologist Dr Maggie Watson said reptiles were the most likely to see a significant boom.
"You're going to get a pulse of the reptiles for sure - snakes, lizards goannas, some blue tongue lizards eat mice in certain areas," she said.
"You should see more reptiles just hoovering up all that free food."
Mr Henry said booms in these other species won't result in out of control populations as have been seen with the mice.
"You don't get a plague of snakes or birds of prey, they can't reproduce that quickly, but numbers do go up," he said.
With species like snakes and frogs soon headed for hibernation, it is like spring when numbers will increase.
Dr Watson warned that the 'boom bust' cycle that operates in Australian wildlife has, however, been derailed in recent decades and the breeding boom in species is likely to be far less than is needed,
"When these plagues happened in past decades, whatever the species, huge amounts of pesticides were introduced into the system, so rather than birds of prey or other animals getting this population boost, they were killed off," she said. "Now we don't have enough birds of prey to come in and actually have a really good breeding season."
She added damning of natural waterways meant frogs would probably see less extreme population growth as well.
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