cowra comments -march 2012 - birdlife · richness.” while isabela burgher’s topic was...
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COWRA COMMENTS An occasional newsletter of the Cowra Woodland Birds Program
ISSUE ELEVEN – March 2012
The Cowra Woodland Birds
Program is a series of projects
aimed at reversing the decline of
woodland birds in the region. The
projects are focused on scientific
research and the management of
birds in their woodland habitats.
They involve the local
landholders and managers, the
Cowra Shire Council as well as
local birdwatchers and members
of BirdLife Southern NSW
(previously known as Birds
Australia Southern NSW & ACT)
and other birding clubs.
2012 CWBP committee
John Rankin - Chair
Sue Proust - Vice-chair
Neale Coutanche
Garry Germon
Nick Nicholls
Joy Pegler
Madeleine Rankin
Julian Reid
Rosemary Stapleton
Maret Vesk
Malcolm Fyfe – survey
co-ordinator
Contact: John Rankin
Phone: (02) 6342 9282
or
BirdLife Southern NSW
Phone: (02) 9647 1033
Postal Address:
CWBP,
BirdLife Discovery Centre,
Newington Armory
1 Jamieson St
Sydney Olympic Park 2127
Newsletter editor:
Maret Vesk
Regent Honeyeaters make Rebecca jump for joy (see page 3)
What a great way to finish the year – more Regents seen on
Friday 14th October, this time near Woodstock! The sightings
were during the surveys carried out by the ANU team (&
helpers) from the Environmental Stewardship / Box Gum
Grassy Woodland Project (funded by the Federal Government)
prior to the CWBP surveys. On Saturday night, we heard more
details of this project from Geoff Kay (Senior Research Officer
of the project). The team will be back this October &
volunteers are once again invited to join in the fun.
Already, 2012 is shaping up to become another busy and
productive year. During the January survey weekend, the
Saturday evening “do” was held at the Cowra Bowling Club
where our two B.Sc. Honours students from the ANU Fenner
School of Environment and Society gave brief presentations on
their project "Bringing Woodland Birds Back to Agricultural
Landscapes" (funded by the Lachlan CMA). Sarah Chubb’s
thesis was “The noisy native: a miner menace? Noisy miner
habitat preferences and influence on woodland bird species
richness.” while Isabela Burgher’s topic was “Woodland birds
& connectivity.” We are very delighted that both the girls
gained First Class Honours.
The evening continued with the viewing of the inaugural Art &
Photography Exhibition with over 70 photos & works of art
produced by our surveyors on show. What a fantastic display
by this multi-talented bunch! The prestigious “CWBP
Photographer & Artist” for awards (as voted by the surveyors)
went to Chaddy (Warren Chad) for his wonderful photo of a
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EVENTS
14/15 April 2012
BIGnet meeting in Cowra 21/22 July 2012
13/14 October 2012
Contact Malcolm Fyfe on
(02) 6253 0772 or
On April 14/15 we will be
hosting the next BIGnet (a
network of all Bird Interest
Groups in NSW & ACT)
meeting - 10 years after the
first meeting of BIGnet in
Cowra when the survey site
selection was starting and the
first bird surveys were being
planned. The Saturday
afternoon session will be
devoted to “Woodland birds
and their habitats” and is a
joint seminar with BirdLife
Southern NSW (ex-BASNA).
We also hope to see many of
the landowners & surveyors at
the seminar and also at the
informal barbeque in the
evening. The venue is the
Pridham Conference Centre
which is located on Binni
Creek Rd, Cowra 2794 – just
3km north of the town centre.
Surveys are based on the standard
Australian Bird Atlas 2 ha survey
method with data being collected by
some 50 volunteers. The survey
method entails the recording the
number of species seen and the
number of each species, during a 20
minute search. We also record
separately any additional individuals
and species adjacent to and flying
over the 2 ha site.
These surveys are carried out once
every season – January, April, July
and October. The surveys are carried
out on either Saturday or Sunday
morning, between 7am and 11am,
usually by 2 surveyors. All the survey
results are entered into CWBP
Database and the BA Atlas.
The revised Bird Routes of
Cowra District has been
reprinted and is available from
the Cowra Visitor’s Centre.
Buff-banded Rail while Fiona Lumsden claimed the Artwork
prize with her exquisite “Birds of the Blue Mountains” original
poster.
Read the full details of this memorable occasion on page 5.
New project at “Spring Forest” 2012-2013
We are not averse to getting our hands dirty- weeding &
planting at “Spring Forest” is on the cards! We were successful
in getting funding from the Federal Government’s Caring for
our Country – Community Action Grants 2011- 2012 for our
project “Restoring woodland and riparian refuges and their
linkages for threatened birds”. The aim is to rehabilitate the
large paddock adjoining Morongla Creek to improve
connectivity between the creek (which flows into the Lachlan
River) and the nearby woodlands to enable bird (and other)
species to move more easily between habitats. We have already
established a bird survey site (Spring Forest – 3) in the riparian
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zone and look forward to seeing the changes over time. First action is to get rid of the weeds – and
there is no shortage of them! Exotic grasses and forbs and trees such as willows and poplars are all
thriving. Once the weeds are eradicated, we hope to direct seed most of the paddock and eventually
plant tubestock along the 1km creek side.
Just a few of the weeds that must be tackled...
Regents in the Cowra Region
John French
With a very wet summer of 2010/11, followed by above average autumn & winter rains, the gums
around the Cowra area were in full flower for the CWBP Spring Surveys on October 15th & 16
th.
Malcolm Fyfe had also put out a “call to arms” for any surveyors who could possibly help out with
an extra bird survey on the Friday preceding our usual CWBP surveys. This was to assist the
Australian National University scientific team with their own surveys for the Federal Govt. funded,
Environmental Stewardship / Box Gum Grassy Woodland project. Fiona , myself , Rex & Chris
from the CWBP & other enthusiastic volunteers from Canberra Ornithologist Group, joined Geoff
Kay and his ANU team for a get together BBQ on the Thursday night, which I’m sure was to soften
us up for the “see you all here tomorrow morning at 4.45 am.” OUCH!
Some sightings of the now “Critically Endangered” Regent Honeyeater had been reported around
Cowra prior to the October survey weekend. A single bird had been sighted at “Pinehill” & “Spring
Forest” properties just off the Boorowa Rd, and another single bird at “Fernhill” south of
Koorawatha. Previous stories from some of the old Cowra locals tell of the forest being so loud
with the calls of Regent Honeyeaters that it was hard to hear yourself think. With all the flowering
gums, Fiona & I had talked about the possibility of a “Regent sighting” this season.
We re-joined the ANU survey team at the pre-arranged un-godly 4.45 am, and after a quick brekkie
of coffee & cereal & toast, I linked up with one of the ANU Team scientists, Rebecca, who was my
“boss” for the day. Off the surveyors & scientists went in their fleet of white Hilux’s.
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At about Rebecca‘s & my 3rd survey property, (approx. 15 km south of Woodstock), Rebecca
dropped me off at my survey site whilst she continued off to her site, about 800 m away. Upon
completion of my survey site, I waited for Rebecca to pick me up. Shortly, I noticed her car coming
back up the paddock at a pace considerably quicker than she had headed down. She opened the
window and said, “John…..Regent Honeyeater…..do you want to see if we can find it again?”
“Yes”. I jumped straight in and off we drove. We went to the survey site where Rebecca had first
sighted the Regent clearly in her binoculars, which was feeding in flowering Yellow Box. We spent
about 15 mins looking for the bird. We tried call-back (controversial I know…but hey…this is a
Regent Honeyeater we are talking about) all to no avail. As time was getting on and we were on a
tight surveying schedule, we decided to head off to the next survey site, feeling a little disappointed.
As we got to the paddock gate (about 300 m away from Rebecca’s sighting), I got out to open it. I
then heard a familiar call (having just tried call-back) & noticed 3 birds chasing each other around a
stand of flowering Yellow Box. It was my turn… “Rebecca….Regent Honeyeaters” … and so the
chase was on again. Shortly thereafter, we both ID’d the 3 birds as Regent Honeyeaters. I even got a
dodgy photo of one of the birds in a dead gum.
Rebecca was so excited, as today’s sightings were her first Regent Honeyeaters. We watched the
birds continue to chase each other for about 5 minutes until they moved off. I then took the
opportunity to get Rebecca’s best “Oh What a Feeling Toyota” jump photo.
We then continued on our way to the next survey site with Rebecca doing her best impression of
Alice in Wonderland’s “Cheshire Cat”.
Upon the completion of our survey sites, we then headed back to the ANU Survey Team H.Q. and
met up with the rest of the crew. The word had already got around (courtesy of mobile phones) and
Rebecca was still smiling & telling all about her first “Regents”.
“Woodland Birds and their Habitats” Joint BIGnet & BirdLife Southern NSW seminar
All surveyors are invited to the BirdLife Southern NSW (BASNA) 2012 SEMINAR in Cowra on Saturday 14th April at the Pridham Conference Centre, Binni Creek Rd, Cowra from 1.00pm to 5.00pm. The Seminar is also part of the BIGnet meeting which is being hosted by the Cowra Woodland Birds group over the weekend. We hope you can also join us at the informal BBQ in the evening to allow people to 'meet and greet’ – bring your own grog! And if you haven’t registered yet, please do now! Caterers do need some time to get it all organised.
1.00pm - 1.30pm Registration
1.30pm Welcome - John Rankin, Chair - Cowra Woodland Birds Group
Chairs: Rod Kavanagh and Sue Proust
1.35pm Recent research projects of CWBP: Tree line habitats and bird conservation in an
agricultural landscape; Noisy miner habitat preferences and influence on woodland bird
species richness; Woodland birds & connectivity – Sue Proust & Maret Vesk.
2.00pm Highlights of a fifteen year study of the birds of Green Wattle Creek in the Lower Hunter -
Mike Newman
2.25pm Woodland Birds for Biodiversity (project of BirdLife Australia) - Mick Roderick
2.50pm- 3.20pm Afternoon Tea (provided)
3.20pm Biodiversity, birds and business – David Marsh
3.45pm Eucalypt plantings on farms benefit woodland birds - Rod Kavanagh
4.10- 4.50 pm General Discussion
6.00pm BBQ at Pridham Centre – cost $25 (BYO)
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CWBP Surveyors’ Photography & Art Exhibition
John French
Prior to the January survey weekend festivities, a call was put out for our volunteer surveyors to
“show off their wares” by way of an Art & Photography Exhibition which was to held at the
Saturday night dinner at the Cowra Bowling Club. All surveyors would then have the arduous task
of voting for their favourite “Photo & Artwork” on the night, with the prestigious “CWBP
Photographer & Artist” awards up for grabs.
Well….what an absolutely fantastic response we had from the masses. A total of over 70 photos &
works of art were put on display. Just goes to show what a talented group we have volunteering
here at the CWBP.
During the evening, various budding “Steve Parish & John Gould clones” had been seen working
the crowd…moving from group to group……….quiet whispers….. exchanging quick winks &
nods……. promises made ….. a tenner here….a twenty there.
Then….the time for voting began. Just who would be declared “CWBP Photographer & CWBP
Artist” of the night?
The votes were tallied…..and the winners were:
• Photo…….Chaddy (Warren Chad)… with his wonderful photo of a Buff Banded Rail.
(Chaddy was in Tasmania at the time, but he was ringing & texting his bribes all
night….time now to pay up Chaddy)
• Artwork…..Fiona Lumsden… with her exquisite “Birds of the Blue Mountains” original
poster.
(Rumour has it that Fiona was seen at the end of the night leaving in one of the vote talliers’
(John F) car… and he had a big grin on his face.)
As a matter of fact…..we were all winners on the night….with the wonderful display of creativity &
passion from all the artists.
A special mention must go to Malcolm’s grandchildren who put in their lovely original artworks &
also to a late entrant (Ian) who missed out on voting rights, but his photo of “Barn Owl vs Magpie”
certainly had the crowd talking.
Thankyou to Neale Coutanche & John Rankin, who did a lot of work behind the scenes to organise
& set-up the exhibition, Rosemary Stapleton for her “Artwork Prize” donation, and of
course….special thanks to everyone who put in their photos & artworks for display….which made
it a very special night.
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January 2012 surveys
One of the more enjoyable aspects of updating/managing our database is seeing what new birds
have been sighted – especially those on Sundays because the observer doesn’t get to skite about
their NEW birds on Saturday night. This time, a nice sighting by John, Fiona & Daz of a Nankeen
Night-Heron at Bennett Springs – and it obligingly posed for John’s camera!
Joy’s observations at the big dam (and associated wetland) at Beulah continue to amaze me – this
time there were 356 Plumed Whistling-ducks jostling for space! You may not know, but last
October, Joy saw only 350 Plumed Whistling-ducks at the same site – did some breed, did some
new birds arrive or was there a counting error?
Of course, if you have a specific query about a particular bird – where it was sighted or how many,
drop me a line & when I get a spare moment, I’ll try to find it out for you.
And if you are a whiz at Access or Excel – let me know so I can pick your brains! Maret
Congratulations to Mikla Lewis OAM
– honoured on Australia Day for her services to conservation and the environment.
Photo by Mark Ley