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Is Queensland's rainforest burning?

September 27, 2019, 5:28 pm
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Binna Burra Lodge's Steve Noakes
The transcript of my story in The Weekend Australian, 28-29 September, 2019. Link to published version.

False alarm: the great rainforest fire that wasn't.

A frightening image. Pristine rainforest that has not burned for millions of years is ablaze as bushfires of unprecedented intensity roar through the hinterland of south-east Queensland. It's difficult to imagine a more graphic illustration of the consequences of climate change. That is what was widely portrayed during the region's fire emergency earlier this month. The only problem is, it didn't happen.

The destruction of ancient World Heritage-listed Gondwana subtropical and temperate rainforests by fire was reported unequivocally as fact. Guardian Australia proclaimed in a headline: “Like nothing we've seen: Queensland bushfires tear through rainforest.” The landscape of Lamington National Park surrounding the historic Binna Burra Lodge, which was destroyed in the fires, was “blackened remnants of what used to be lush rainforest”, reported the Australian Associated Press in a story carried by multiple news outlets.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is working on its sixth assessment report. Australian climate scientist Joëlle Gergis, a lead author of the report, declared: “What I find particularly disturbing is that World Heritage rainforest is burning. It has been hard to watch news coverage of these exceptionally rare rainforests burning…. the potential loss of these areas is something I never thought I would witness in my lifetime.”

Satellite imagery showing dry rainforest areas burning on the edge of Lamington National Park
Social media lit up with expressions of despair about the rainforest losses. Typical of the angst was a tweet on Twitter insisting that any journalist interviewing the Prime Minister who failed to question the climate implications of Queensland rainforests burning “isn't doing their f...ing job”.

But the Gondwana rainforests, those priceless relics of times long gone, did not burn. No news coverage showed rainforest burning. The 20,600ha Lamington National Park in Queensland and the adjoining 31,700ha Border Ranges National Park in NSW encompass the largest expanse of subtropical rainforest in the world. As on countless occasions over the centuries, fire raging in surrounding eucalypt woodland did not destroy the rainforest.

To be sure, bushfires of such intensity in the region are unusual, especially in early spring; 16 homes were lost in southern Queensland. Unlike south-east Australia with its hot and dry summers, the subtropics are usually afforded a degree of protection by high humidity, an absence of prolonged periods of scorching temperatures, and generous rainfall which - as in much of the country - has been in short supply lately.

Binna Burra Lodge is not encircled by rainforest, as was claimed repeatedly. The lodge is surrounded on three sides by eucalypt woodland; it came close to being lost when a control burn 20 years ago got away. On this occasion, explains Binna Burra chairman Steven Noakes: “The fire went tearing up a steep slope through eucalypt woodland and we're perched on a ridge at the top. With those winds there was nothing we could do.” A camping ground and tea-house that adjoin rainforest survived the inferno; flames did not extend beyond the lodge into rainforest.

A few kilometres across Lamington National Park from Binna Burra, O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat was evacuated during the fire emergency. Unlike Binna Burra, O'Reilly's is surrounded entirely by rainforest. O'Reilly's manager, Shane O'Reilly, says there was no need for evacuation; the nearest fires were 15km away: “The rainforest here doesn't burn. It was pretty much eucalypt country that burned... There's a lot of emotion surrounding this. A story is being propagated that it's more of an issue about rainforest than it is.” O'Reilly adds that an international scientific symposium at the lodge in 2011 heard the rainforest had not burned for at least three million years.

Patrick Norman, a Griffith University PhD student and former Lamington park ranger, has analysed satellite data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite over burnt forest. The images indicate about 400ha of rainforest burned, but this was primarily dry rainforest at lower altitudes known as vine scrub. Burned areas also included wet scleropyll, a forest type comprised of tall eucalypts with some rainforest plants.

Says Norman: “Drawing a line between rainforest and wet sclerophyll is a tricky task. By and large, the rainforest that burned was on the drier end of the spectrum. I am quite confident no warm or cool temperate rainforest was burned.” The affected dry rainforest mostly burned lightly, with the ground layer impacted. Norman cautions that if the forests burn again in the foreseeable future there could be more serious impacts.

Burnt dry rainforest, Lamington National Park- Pic Patrick Norman
Kaye Healing, the Queensland Rural Fire Service acting South-East regional manager, played a central role in fighting the fires, which continue to smoulder. Healing says while fires “burn crazily” through eucalypt woodland, they tend to “walk through” vine scrub and wet sclerophyll forest. Says Healing: “When it gets to true rainforest, the fire self-extinguishes. You've got a closed canopy in true rainforest and it holds moisture. The rainforest is not on fire. The fire is in dry eucalypt forest and woodland.”

Healing says similar conditions were experienced before, for instance in the early-1990s: “I'm not going to get into a climate change conversation but climate varies between floods and drought in this country and historical records show that.”

Claims about Australian rainforest burning for the first time also circulated late last year when 121,000ha of land around Eungella National Park near Mackay were scorched. At the time, the ABC published a photograph of a fire-stricken area; the caption said it had been a “rich green subtropical rainforest”. Although it was pointed out that the area had in fact been grassland and shrubs, the captioned photograph remains on ABC websites. 

The wrongly captioned photograph at Eungella
The ABC reported that Eungella rainforests were reduced to cinders and would take hundreds of years to recover. Rural Fire Service manager for the Mackay region, Andrew Houley, a former forester, says rainforest that burned around Eungella was largely regrowth on cleared land. Recent images show tree ferns and some other rainforest plants regrowing. 

However, the heat was so intense that about 10-15m of the edge of pristine rainforest in places was destroyed before the fires stopped. Houley adds: “Headlines say the fires are once in a lifetime but these weather patterns affect us every 25 years or so.”

Tree ferns regenerating at Eungella - Pic Rosanne Houley
A crisis facing rainforest is underway not in Australia but in south-east Asia, the Amazon Basin and central Africa. Huge tracts of forest are being intensively logged or bulldozed for livestock or crops. Extensively damaged rainforest remnants and felled trees are then burned. In some countries, such as Indonesia, sound environmental laws are in place but are largely unenforced or ignored. In others, like Brazil, governments are unapologetically pursuing polices to develop rainforest. Australia is fortunate that its World Heritage rainforests are standing tall. 

Rainforest under attack in Africa's Congo Basin





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Yandina Creek Wetland: September 2019 survey

September 29, 2019, 8:33 pm
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Australian Pelican over the wetland
Steve Popple and I conducted an afternoon and early evening survey of Yandina Creek Wetland for BirdLife Australia on September 28. This was the first BLA nocturnal survey and we were rewarded with brief views of a busily calling Large-tailed Nightjar after sunset. This is a rare species in south-east Queensland and Yandina Creek is the most southerly site at which the nightjar occurs. Unfortunately it didn't avail itself of a photograph. There was no sign of the Eastern Grass Owls which I had found in the area in past years.

Also of special interest was a pair of King Quail on the track. They showed themselves briefly but again avoided the cameras. A pair of Black-necked Storks were a little more co-operative; as in times past, this is proving to be the most reliable site in the Sunshine Coast region for this iconic species. The male bird in this image is fishing.

Black-necked Stork

We were particularly pleased to see good numbers of migratory shorebirds about. We had an estimated 150 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.Most were in a single large flock seen just before sunset in an area we had surveyed earlier and not found; they clearly had gone undetected in another part of the wetland.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
About 20 Marsh Sandpipers were also of note, as was a single critically endangered Curlew-Sandpiper.

Curlew-Sandpiper (R, pic by Steve Popple)

Marsh Sandpiper
Five recently arrived Pacific Golden Plovers, most still sporting breeding plumage, were seen, along with 8 Latham's Snipe.

Pacific Golden Plover

Latham's Snipe

Among other shorebirds, the presence of about 80 Red-kneed Dotterels was noteworthy; it's highly unusual to see so many of this primarily inland species in coastal Queensland.

Red-kneed Dotterel
Large flocks of Grey Teal were wheeling over the wetland as we found ourselves drenched by the first decent downpour of rain on the coast in weeks. Whiskered Tern was a new species for the wetland: Species Number 168. 

Grey Teal
Other nice birds included Glossy Ibis, Nankeen Night-Heron and Little Grassbird. A fair number of Australian Pelicans and cormorants indicated quite a few fish must be present.

Glossy Ibis

Little Grassbird
Raptors included two White-bellied Sea-Eagles that were actively patrolling the wetland.

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

We found a dead Grassland Melomys, Melomys bertoni, a new species of mammal for the wetland. In the past I've found Water Rat Hydromys chrysogaster and Swamp Rat Rattus lutreolus here.

Grassland Melomys
We noticed that Unitywater has reopened several more floodgates at the eastern end of the wetland which had been shut for several years. As a result, the southern half of the wetland now has some water in it. This is a welcome development. As other floodgates reopen with time, the site will be fully restored. Ebird list of the 68 species recorded.

More floodgates opened



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On fire, feathers and rainforest: more on Queensland's bushfire emergency

October 3, 2019, 5:42 pm
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Rufous Whistler: victim of Bribie Island fire: Leisl Born
Hundreds of birds dead; fire in rainforest at Iron Range; the fate of the Sunshine Coast ground parrots; more debate about the Gold Coast hinterland fires. Further information here about Queensland's bushfire emergency following publication of my article last week pointing out how the media falsely reported that the Gondwana rainforests of Lamington National Park were ablaze during the September fires. That does not assume the unseasonally widespread and intensive bushfires are not cause for concern; far from it.

Before last month's fires, extensive areas were scorched when control burns being conducted by Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service and other state government personnel in late-August broke containment lines. It was the end of a particularly warm and dry winter and strong winds were blowing: not the most auspicious time, it's fair to say, for control burns to be lit. All the more so considering that's when the nesting season for many birds gets under way.

Kangaroo fire victims on Bribie Island

On northern Bribie Island, 2,400ha burned. The Department of Environment and Science says the cause of this fire is under investigation but aerial images clearly show neat lines of fire across the island, indicating control burns. The aftermath of the fire gives a rare insight into the direct impact of an intense bushfire on wildlife.

About 40 Eastern Grey Kangaroos were found dead along the beach during and after the fire. It appears some attempted to flee into the ocean and drowned; others may have died of shock. During a stroll along Currimundi Beach, a few kilometres north of Bribie Island on the Sunshine Coast, local resident Leisl Born found the bodies of 43 small birds killed in the fire along 200m of beach. They included Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Rufous Whistler and White-cheeked Honeyeater.

White-cheeked Honeyeater and other Bribie Island fire victims: Leisl Born
The birds were carried to Currimundi by currents from Bribie Island. Others were found further north at Port Cartwright and elsewhere. If so many birds were found over 200m, the death toll presumably was many hundreds. Leisl reports the victims were in various states: “Not all were burnt; some were completely crispy, others were singed and others looked normal… I would have missed so many.” It seems the birds attempted to escape the fire by heading out to sea, or injured and dead birds were carried there by strong winds.

The control burn lines were so extensive it is likely that wildlife was unable to head south to escape the flames, leaving the sea as the only potential escape route. In that respect, a control burn could conceivably have more damaging consequences for wildlife in some circumstances than a single out-of-control bushfire.

Control burn lines on Bribie Island

Further north at the same time, 150ha burned in Noosa and Tewantin national parks, again evidently as a result of uncontained control burns. Fires came close to homes, causing alarm to residents. The area was a refuge for a remnant population of the endangered Eastern Ground Parrot and other scarce species such as Eastern Grass Owl and King Quail. Again, the authorities might have considered that the start of the Ground Parrot nesting season was not a good time for control burns.

Eastern Ground Parrot
Three weeks later, thousands of people were evacuated and one home was destroyed at Peregian Beach when a huge bushfire – this one deliberately lit by teenage vandals - tore through wallum heathland in Noosa National Park. Much of the wallum had not burned for at least 15 years. It was a tinderbox waiting to explode. There is little habitat left in key sites frequented by the ground parrots and the birds may well have perished. Perhaps control burns earlier in winter could have been conducted in past years.

Fire at Peregian Beach
While debate whirled around the fate of Lamington National Park, fires penetrated rainforest in Iron Range (Kutini-Payamu) National Park on Cape York, a reserve of great significance as a biodiversity hotspot. As with the Gondwana rainforests, the Iron Range rainforest would not normally be at risk from fire. However, Cyclone Trevor earlier this year caused extensive damage, opening up the canopy and allowing fire that would not usually extend beyond surrounding savannah woodland to burn some of the depleted rainforest.

The Department of Environment and Science says 900ha of the 53,161ha national park burned, though how much of this was rainforest is evidently unknown. A departmental spokesperson says: “The rainforest within the park was severely impacted by cyclone activity and as such there is a significant amount of debris that has now carried the fire through rainforest.”

Cyclone-damaged rainforest at Iron Range
Ecologist Gabrielle Davidson, who runs the Iron Range Research Station, told the ABC: "I had always known that the season was going to be a terrible one but I had no idea that it was going to be this bad. One of the fires I was fighting [was a] thin trickle down the forest edge in a green patch of grass. It [has] gotten into the forest, taken off in the forest, jumped a firebreak, come back out, spread through a lot more grass and then taken out quite a large amount of forest.”

As with Bribie Island, Queensland Government control burns at Iron Range before the September fires were controversial. The research station's founder, Keith Cook, told The Cairns Post that control burns in July penetrated the cyclone-damaged rainforest: “It's a ticking time bomb up there. And then (Parks and Wildlife Service) dropped incendiaries all around and it just burned… The problem was it went straight into the rainforest.”

Burned rainforest at Iron Range: ABC
Meanwhile, the ABC's 7.30 Report this week ran a story on whether the Lamington National Park rainforests had burned to any significant degree. The program was presumably prompted by my story a few days earlier in The Weekend Australian and relied on the same satellite data I had access to: Griffith University PhD student Patrick Norman estimated from this data that 400ha of subtropical rainforest burned on the fringes of the park.

Most of the burned rainforest was dry vine scrub, not the ancient Gondwana rainforest that was claimed to have been lost when the historic Binna Burra Lodge was reduced to cinders. Moreover, according to Patrick, the extent to which the vine scrub was damaged is not clear from the satellite images. The 7.30 Report footage of the aftermath showed low level burns on the forest floor; the Rural Fire Service describes that kind of fire as “walking through” this type of rainforest and says it has occurred in past bushfires.

The damage to tree crowns appears to be limited. The ABC found a moderately sized rainforest tree that was evidently felled by the fire, but there was no visual evidence on the program demonstrating widespread destruction of the vine scrub.

Fire damage to Lamington National Park vine scrub: Patrick Norman









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Rufous Scrub-birds and Border Ranges National Park

October 12, 2019, 6:08 pm
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Rufous Scrub-bird
I finally managed to achieve a long-standing aim to photograph a Rufous Scrub-bird. I found a vocal pair with a territory spanning a walking track in Border Ranges National Park during a two-day visit this week. While the male remained pretty well secreted, the female crossed the track occasionally. Over many hours I managed a few images but in the overcast gloomy conditions, they were not as sharp as I would like. Still, with this species, I'm not complaining.

Rufous Scrub-bird

I concentrated on the same area I visited in 2012 at the same time of year, when I and Kathy Haydon saw six scrub-birds during a morning. Conditions were much drier this time and apart from this pair, I heard just two other single birds calling briefly. The bird in the image below was running; its short uplifted wings can be seen.


Rufous Scrub-bird
I was also interested to check out the status of Marbled Frogmouth in the upland rainforests of the Border Ranges. I found five birds with little effort at three sites – every placeI looked – suggesting the birds are not uncommon in this higher, cooler habitat where Antarctic Beech is not uncommon. 


Marbled Frogmouth

Antarctic Beech
Sooty Owl was also noted. Other birds included Bassian Thrush and Paradise Riflebird. White-browed Scrub-wren was endearingly tame.


Paradise Riflebird
White-browed Scrubwren
On the way home I had singing Rufous Songlark at Rathdowney. Ebird list.

Rufous Songlark


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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 1, Warwick to Deepwater

October 24, 2019, 9:05 pm
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Diamond Firetail
We embarked on a seven-week road trip on October 21, 2019 through NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. First stop was the Sandy Creek Pub, a quaint little hotel a few kilometres out of Warwick. Free camping with hot showers! 

On the road - Sandy Creek Pub
I checked out the surrounding roads early morning but nothing much other than plenty of parrots, including Red-winged looking good and Cockatiel with recently fledged young.

Cockatiel

Red-winged Parrot
We headed south to Kingfisher Camping Ground near Deepwater for a two-night stay. A very nice, spacious camping area set amid the rolling hills of this granite rock-strewn landscape. Unfortunately, like much of the country, the area is in the grip of the worse drought on record; creeks and swamps were dry and trees and shrubs severely stressed. Hungry livestock entertained.

Kookaburra Camp, Deepwater

Kookaburra Camp, Deepwater
Macropods were abundant and most unusually they were feeding throughout the day - a measure of how dry the conditions were. Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Wallaroo, Swamp Wallaby and Red-necked Wallaby were common.

Euro

Red-necked & Swamp Wallabies

Birds were in good numbers nonetheless. Of special interest was a group of 8-10 Diamond Firetails feeding on the lawn near our camp in the early morning and late afternoon; they were the only finches seen.

Diamond Firetail
No Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters were seen, oddly enough in this seemingly ideal habitat. Fuscous was the most common honeyeater while Brown-headed was nice to see.

Brown-headed Honeyeater

Fuscous Honeyeater
Australian Little Eagle put on a show a couple of times, including a shrieking but unsuccessful attack on some item of prey.

Australian Little Eagle
Restless Flycatcher and Scarlet Robin were among the birds that entertained us around our camp.

Restless Flycatcher

Scarlet Robin

A few White-winged Trillers were along the road in (one of which was stalked by a feral cat) and the first Brush Cuckoo of the season put in an appearance.

White-winged Triller

Brush Cuckoo


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Road Trip Spring 2019: South-east Aust PART 2, Warrumbungles to Eskdale

October 29, 2019, 8:31 pm
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Black-eared Cuckoo
Following our visit to Deepwater (following post) we headed south to Tamworth for an overnight stay, then on to Warrumbungle National Park for two nights at Blackman Camp. We last visited the Warrumbungles in 2013, soon after the area was razed by particularly devastating bushfires. I was interested to see how it had regenerated.  
. While plenty of trees and shrubs had sprouted, as expected, huge numbers of trees remained blackened trunks, killed by the fires. So many trees with hollows were lost that authorities have built and placed scores of nesting boxes.

Fire-killed trees

Warrumbungles
Conditions were drier even than around Deepwater. Emaciated kangaroos were digging into bare earth in search of grass roots. A brief shower during our visit was so unusual that it prompted an Echidna to surface in the heat of the day. Along roads around the park, crops had perished and livestock removed as the drought intensifies.

Echidna
Best bird was a Black-eared Cuckoo in a patch of cypress pine just west of the national park boundary. Other cuckoos included Channel-billed and Pallid. 

Black-eared Cuckoo

Channel-billed Cuckoo

Pallid Cuckoo

A few White-browed Woodswallows mixed with White-winged Trillers and Rufous Songlarks were along the road. Speckled Warbler, Red-capped Robinand Yellow Thornbill were among the birds in woodland remnants. 


Red-capped Robin

Speckled Warbler

White-browed Woodswallow
A small flock of Turquoise Parrots flew through the camping ground late one afternoon. A White-winged Chough was enamoured with our car window and a couple of Emus were seen.

White-winged Chough

Emu
We moved on to the delightful town of Parkes for an overnight stay. South of here a stop at Lake Forbes was productive with several hundred Pink-eared Duck and at least 40 Freckled Duck seen. 


Freckled Duck & Grey Teal


Pink-eared Duck & Grey Teal
We moved on to Wagga Wagga for another overnight stay. Along the Murrumbidgee River, several Long-billed Corellas – here at the eastern end of the range – mixed with flocks of Little Corellas. At the town golf course I had three encounters with Superb Parrot – a pair and two singles – but they were flighty and could not be photographed.


Long-billed Corella
We continued south across the Victoria border to the delightful hamlet of Eskdale, where we had a couple of nights staying with our dear friends Bill and Sandra Watson. A Peregrine Falcon put on a show in the late afternoon and a pair of Grey Fantails were attending a newly constructed nest.


Peregrine Falcon

Grey Fantail on nest


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Road Trip Spring 2019: South-East Aust Part 3 – Glenrowan in Victoria

October 31, 2019, 4:21 pm
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Turquoise Parrot
Following our visit to Eskdale (next post) we continued on to the northern Victorian town of Glenrowan, famed both as the birthplace of Ned Kelly and as the place where he finally met his match with state police. We did a bit of an historic tour and checked in to the Glenrowan Tourist Park for an overnight stay.

It was immediately obvious that this was one very birdy site. Just outside the reception area, Rufous Songlarks and White-winged Trillers were calling all over the place while mixedflocks of White-browed and Masked Woodswallows wheeled overhead. A small flock of White-browed Babblers foraged in the undergrowth.

White-browed Babbler

Masked Woodswallow
Glenrowan is famed as a hotspot for Turquoise Parrot and I found a fine male foraging around our campsite. I saw another single bird later but there did not appear to be any others about.

Turquoise Parrot
Gang Gang Cockatoo also put on a goodshow with birds coming in to drink and feeding in the trees on some kind of nut.

Gang Gang Cockatoo male

Gang Gang Cockatoo female
Other birds about included Brown Treecreeper and Crested Shrike-tit.


Crested Shrike-tit



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Road Trip Spring 2019: South-East Aust Part 4 – Devonport to Port Arthur

November 7, 2019, 8:33 pm
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Swift Parrot
After visiting Glenrowan we continued south to Port Melbourne to board, with caravan in tow, the Spirit of Tasmania ferry for an overnight crossing of Bass Strait. We had a comfortable self-contained cabin and the bar and restaurant were fun. We arrived in Devonport early the next morning and headed east to the coastal holiday town of Bicheno for a two-night stay.  The area wasn't overly birdy but the first Tasmanian endemics were photographed: Yellow-throated Honeyeater and Yellow Wattlebird.

Yellow Wattlebird

Yellow-throated Honeyeater
We did a day-trip to the beautiful Freycinet Peninsula where we had the Tasmanian race of Echidna up close.

Tasmanian Echidna

Freycinet Peninsula
We moved further south to Orford for two nights in the local caravan park run by a couple who should definitely not be in the hospitality business. The endemics continued with Black-headed Honeyeater, the 600th bird species in Australia that I've photographed, and Yellow Rosella.

Black-headed Honeyeater

Green Rosella
I sorted out Tasmanian Thornbill from the more numerous Brown Thornbill without much trouble along Wielanta Road. The Tasmanian race of Striated Pardalote (Yellow-tipped) was common. Owling at night was unsuccessful due to the cold, windy conditions which would plague us over the next few days.

Striated (Yellow-tipped) Pardalote

Tasmanian Thornbill
Black-faced Cormorant, White-fronted Chat and Kelp Gull were among birds about.

Black-faced Cormorant

Kelp Gull

White-fronted Chat
Several Hooded Plovers were seen near a fenced off area where they are breeding successfully.

Hooded Plover
We continued south to the historic town of Port Arthur, where the holiday park was pure delight for our four-night stay. I immediately noticed loud parrot noises near the caravan and realised small flocks of 30+ Swift Parrots was feeding along a 200m stretch of flowering Tasmanian blue gum. They were to remain close by during our stay, sometimes feeding on the ground. We saw flocks also in the Port Arthur Nature Reserve and at Fortescue Beach.

Swift Parrot

Swift Parrot flock on ground
Black Currawong kept the endemics ticking over and Bennett's Wallaby and Red-bellied Pademelon were common in the campground.
Black Currawong

Red-bellied Pademelon
About 10 Cape Barren Geese were seen along the road in and Forest Raven was common.

Cape Barren Goose

Forest Raven

Port Arthur


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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 5 - Eaglehawk Neck Pelagic

December 5, 2019, 12:16 pm
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Southern Royal Albatross

From Port Arthur I joined a pelagic trip on November 9. I'd messed up the dates for another trip organised by Paul Brooks that I'd been booked on so was fortunate that Bernie O'Keefe and Hedley and Irena Earl made room for me on this one, which Paul also joined. We headed out of Eaglehawk Neck and past the imposing Hippolytes with its attendant Australian Fur-Seal colony.

Australian Fur Seal

Hippolytes
A blustery south-westerly of up to 25 knots was blowing with a 2-3 metre swell in conditions which would have been marginal for the south-east Queensland pelagics but are commonplace in Tasmania. It took us about 2.5 hours to reach the shelf.

Shy Albatross
One of the things we miss in Queensland is big numbers of albatross and it was sheer joy to once again be among these beautiful birds. Although I've been on numerous southern pelagics in years long gone, it's been quite some time between drinks. I was impressed by the chumming methods used on the boat. The deckhand was devoted to the task, dividing his time between cutting up and dispensing chicken skins, and pulverising fish scraps in a berley bin attached to the back of the boat. The results were impressive.

The first of several Southern Royal Albatross appeared soon after our arrival off the shelf and a couple of Antipodean (Gibson's) Albatross were seen. 

Southern Royal Albatross

Southern Royal Albatross
Antipodean Albatross

Antipodean Albatross
Shy Albatross was, as expected, easily the most common with a maximum of 40 or so at one time around the boat and many more during the day. We had 2 Black-browed Albatross and 3 Campbell Albatross while out wide. 

Black-browed Albatross

Campbell Albatross

On the way back we had a Buller's Albatross up close and distant views of a Light-mantled Albatross as it disappeared into the distance before anyone could get onto it.

Buller's Albatross
White-chinned Petrel was common. Good numbers of Short-tailed Shearwater were about, possibly indicating a late return amid suggestions that the species suffered severe declines while on migration during the northern summer. 


White-chinned Petrel

White-chinned Petrel
A few Northern Giant-Petrels offered fine close-up views and a single Southern Giant-Petrel was often behind the boat. A single Grey-backed Storm-Petrel was seen briefly.
Ebird list.


Northern Giant-Petrel

Southern Giant-Petrel


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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 6 – Bruny Island

December 6, 2019, 6:33 pm
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Forty-spotted Pardalote
During our last evening at Port Arthur I saw Eastern Barred Bandicoot but managed just poor images in the by now predictably dreary, damp and unexpectedly (for November) cold weather conditions. (My external flash had also died.) 


Eastern Barred Bandicoot
We then headed south to Bruny Island, the best-known hotspot in Tasmania for finding the state's endemic birds. It didn't disappoint. A short distance from the ferry landing, I checked out Missionary Road and quickly found several Forty-spotted Pardalotes within a few hundred metres of the main road. I'd heard that North Bruny was unusually dry and that the pardalotes had become more difficult to find. Dusky Robin was also here.


Dusky Robin

Forty-spotted Pardalote
We spent the first night behind the pub at Alonnah on South Bruny, the next morning checking out the Cape Bruny Lighthouse and Jetty Beach. A flock of Strong-billed Honeyeaters was foraging in eucalypts about 1km before the lighthouse. Several Flame Robins were around the lighthouse. 


Cape Bruny

Flame Robin

Strong-billed Honeyeater

Strong-billed Honeyeater
We moved to the caravan park at Adventure Bay on the eastern side of South Bruny for the next three nights. Plenty of Tasmanian Native-hens were seen earlier during the trip but I hadn't got around to photographing them until here.


Tasmanian Native-hen

Adventure Bay
Several Tasmanian Scrubwrens were in the caravan park grounds. Nest boxes for Swift Parrot in the grounds were used last year by the parrots but this year only European Starlings were occupying them.


Tasmanian Scrubwren
During several days on Bruny I heard just a couple of Swift Parrots at Adventure Bay, regarded as a stronghold for the critically endangered species: Bruny Island's significance for the bird is noted in a sign prominently positioned at the ferry landing. (As noted earlier, plenty of parrots were present at Port Arthur.)




A visit to the Mavista Nature Walk behind Adventure Bay turned up a few Scrubtits – the last of Tasmania's 12 endemic species that I wanted to photograph. While several endemics were seen earlier in the trip, all 12 were spotted easily on Bruny Island. 


Scrubtit

Scrubtit
We went looking for Eastern Quoll one night, beginning at the jetty landing an hour after sunset and slowly driving the roads east and south, detouring via Missionary Road. We saw a total of 8 quoll including two dark phase individuals but all were seen fleetingly crossing the road or leaving its verges, or distantly in paddocks. None offered a photographic opportunity. Quoll feeding on roadkill on Bruny had in the past been easily photographed but these days, road kill is removed by the island's commercial wildlife company, Inala. According to the company, this is to prevent raptors and quoll feeding on dead animals from being hit by cars. The only other vehicle we saw during our quoll foray was an Inala tour car; the company presumably knows where road kills are relocated. Inala charges $285 per person for a three-hour evening tour.


Morepork
A Morepork showed well roadside during our return to Adventure Bay. At a well-known breeding colony of Little Penguins at The Neck, which divides North Bruny from South Bruny, I saw a couple of penguins close to the carpark.


Little Penguin


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South-East Australia Road Trip Spring 2019: Part 7, Hobart and North Tasmania

December 7, 2019, 6:33 pm
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Tasmanian Masked Owl

After leaving Bruny Island we headed to Hobart for a few days of mostly relaxing, sight-seeing and catching up with friends, setting up the caravan in the city showground. The odd visit to local bushland reserves proved worthwhile with Grey (Clinking) Currawongs quite common.

Grey (Clinking) Currawong
I'd heard a few Satin Flycatchers earlier in the trip elsewhere in Tasmania and finally managed to see a male close-up in Hobart's Waterworks Reserve.

Satin Flycatcher

Satin Flycatcher

Satin Flycatcher
I checked out Goulds Lagoon and was surprised to see about a dozen Freckled Duck there.

Freckled Duck
From Hobart we headed north for a couple of days in Latrobe, near Launceston, where we camped by the pleasant South Esk River.

South Esk River near Launceston
Then it was on to Latrobe, south of Launceston, for a three-day stay. The Warrawee Conservation Area and the Mersey River offered some of the finest forest scenery of the trip. 

Warrawee Forest Reserve near Devonport
It was here that one of the star birds was encountered – the Tasmanian race of the Masked Owl. 
I had noted a 2018 ebird record from the Warrawee forest and so it was there I headed. I found a large and vocal female Masked Owl about 500m from that site, or about 1.3km from the reserve's locked gate. It was interesting to note that the owl's “twittering” calls were given far more often and were a good deal louder than those given by mainland Masked Owls. The Warrawee bird was also a good deal darker and more reddish-brown than any birds I've seen on the mainland.

Tasmanian Masked Owl

Tasmanian Maksed Owl

Tasmanian Masked Owl
Olive Whistler was quite common at Warrawee. From Devonport we again boarded the Spirit of Tasmania ferry for a comfortable journey back to Port Melbourne.

Olive Whistler


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Lockyer Valley December 2019: Little Curlew, Australian Pratincole, Freckled Duck & Drought

December 18, 2019, 1:05 pm
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Little Curlew

This week I headed out to Atkinsons Dam in the hope that a flock of six Little Curlew that turned up there in October was still about. It was a depressing sight. The main dam was empty, littered with turtle carcasses being feasted on by Whistling Kites and Torresian Crows. A single live Long-necked Turtle wandered across the sun-backed mud. It was the same throughout the Lockyer and Brisbane valleys: Lockyer Creek is dry; the Brisbane River is a series of pools below Somerset Dam; almost all the wetlands are empty; the landscape is parched and tinder-dry.

Long-necked Turtle


I'd been unable to look for the curlews earlier because of our road trip to Tasmania. I walked around the edge of the dry main storage, checking out the area where they had been hanging about, without success. Then as I left I ran into Tyde Bands, the last person to see them, on December 6. Tyde relocated three birds exactly where he'd seen them several times. They were further back from the lake edge than I'd expected. There's nothing special about this spot; the birdskeep returning to it even after flying off. (See ebird for Tyde's GPS coordinates). Little Curlew is a very rare visitor to South-East Queensland. In the 1970s we would see them regularly at Archerfield Aerodrome near Brisbane but they've rarely been reported there in recent years.

Little Curlew


Little Curlew
I then checked out Banool Road nearby where several Australian Pratincoles have been present for several weeks. This is another very rare visitor to South-East Queensland. Five birds were quickly located, a couple not far from the road.

Australian Pratincole



Banded Lapwings were in the distance here, a regular hotspot for this species. Then a flock of 23 lapwings flew from the dry paddocks to a roadside dam to drink, before returning to the paddocks.

Banded Lapwing
For the rest of that day and the next morning I visited favoured birding localities but birdlife was subdued in the dry conditons. A Wedge-tailed Eagle pair in the early morning light at (the empty) Peacheys Lagoon and a pair of Cockatiel nearby werenice. Lake Apex at Gatton was also dry and the locals are putting out seed and dishes of water for the swamphens and other waterbirds that continue to hang about. A single (introduced in South-East Queensland) Long-billed Corella was feeding among hundreds of Little Corella here.

Cockatiel

Long-billed Corella & Little Corella

Wedge-tailed Eagle
I found that Lake Dyer was at least half-empty and there appeared to be good numbers of birds on it, soI walked around the lake. Among the hundreds of Grey Teal and Hardhead were two Freckled Duck; they were distant and I managed just poor record images. Three Hoary-headed Grebes were also distant. At the lake's western end I flushed three Red-backed Buttonquail from long grass and weeds, habitat that was relatively sparse for this species. The ducks were being harassed by a trio (two adults and an immature) of White-bellied Sea-eagles. Large numbers of Red-necked Avocet were on the lake. Elist.


Freckled Duck (distant, centre)

Hardhead

Red-necked Avocet & Grey Teal

White-bellied Sea-Eagle









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Yandina Creek Wetland Survey December 2019

December 29, 2019, 8:31 pm
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Great Egret & Yellow-billed Spoonbill

The latest BirdLife Australia survey of Yandina Creek Wetland for Unitywater was undertaken on Saturday December 21 by myself, Steve Grainger and Russell McGregor. We had an excellent morning with plenty of good birds about. The morning started off well with two Baillon's Crakes feeding in the newly flooded southern half of the site. This species was once regular at the wetland but this is just the second sighting since the site'snorthern half was restored. Two Spotless Crakes were recorded later in the same spot.

Baillon's Crake
A Lewin's Rail scurried across the track and a couple of Buff-banded Rails were seen. Large numbers of Grey Teal were again present and a small group of Pink-eared Ducks - a very rare species on the Sunshine Coast - was among them.

Grey Teal & Pink-eared Duck
Migratory shorebirds were in reasonable numbers with Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and Latham's Snipe recorded.

Marsh Sandpiper, Grey Teal & Pied Stilt
Large numbers of Australian Pelican were present, feeding on what presumably were commensurate numbers of fish.

Australian Pelican
The normally scarce Glossy Ibis was in good numbers and a couple of Yellow-billed Spoonbills joined the sizeable rafts of Royal Spoonbill. Great Egret was plentiful.

Glossy Ibis 

Royal Spoonbill
Other nice birds included Little Grassbird, Nankeen Night-Heron and White-throated Needletail. Olive-backed Oriole was among the bushbirds seen.

Nankeen Night-Heron

Olive-backed Oriole 
Black-necked Storks were again on show, this time two pairs feeding in the shallows in widely flung parts of the site. It was pleasing to see a Water Rat splashing about with another couple almost certainly feeding in the shallows.

Black-necked Stork
Recent surveys have departed from the old format of short transects done by multiple groups. There are several reasons for this. Some of the old transects are now impassable due to the sustained inundation of the wetland, which wasn't a problem in the early days but is now. Much of the taller grass along the main perimeter track has drowned, allowing easier observation over the wetland, so double-counting from the old transects would increasingly be likely to distort data. It's necessary to wade into the wetland in gum boots off the tracks, which is not everyone's cup of tea. A comprehensive survey can be done comfortably now by a small group in a few hours. As reported after the September survey, the reopening of some more floodgates on Yandina Creek has allowed part of the southern half of the site to be flooded for the first time in several years. More water has accumulated in that area since then. Ebird list.



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Winding up 2019: Horsfield's Bushlark, Plum-headed Finch, Oriental Cuckoo on Sunshine Coast; Gull-billed (nilotica) Tern in Brisbane

December 30, 2019, 8:53 pm
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Oriental Cuckoo hepatic phase
A bit of birding fun to wind up 2019. An early morning run to Finland Road, Pacific Paradise, proved to be productive, as is so often the case with this site. I located some of the 20+ Plum-headed Finches which have been present here in recent weeks among big flocks of Chestnut-breasted Mannikin. This is a scarce species in coastal South-east Queensland. Stubble, King and Brown Quail were all flushed but no images sadly. King Quail has been regular here for many years but Stubble Quail has turned up just recently, although last year they were present nearby along Burtons Road.

Plum-headed Finch
Paul Jensen and I found a Horsfield's Bushlark lying low in a depression. When it flew I realised that two odd-looking passerines I'd flushed earlier were also Horsfield's Bushlarks. This is the first time the species has been recorded for the Sunshine Coast's coastal plain, although I had them last year in the region near Gunalda. We learned later that a bushlark was photographed here yesterday but not reported at the time.

Horsfield's Bushlark
To top things off, a grey phase Oriental Cuckoo flew over. I then moved on to Burtons Road and found a hepatic phase Oriental Cuckoo along the Maroochy River. It's been a good year for the species this season in south-east Queensland. As many as four or five individuals of both colour phases have been seen regularly around Lake Macdonald's Jabiru bird hide, and they've been recorded from multiple other sites around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

Oriental Cuckoo (grey phase)
A large roost of Nankeen Night-Herons was in mangroves along the river and a Pallid Cuckoo made an appearance in more open habitat nearby. Brown Songlark, another rarity in coastal South-East Queensland, has been present along both Burtons and Finland roads. 

Nankeen Night-Heron

Pallid Cuckoo
Last week in Brisbane, Andy Jensen found a Gull-billed Tern at the Gregory Road claypan in Mango Hill. I located the bird a few days later. This is the newly split Gull-billed Tern nilotica, now separated from what has been dubbed the Australian (Gull-billed) Tern macrotarsa. It is a rare visitor from Asia to South-East Queensland, though seen more frequently in north-west Australia. The differences in the field between the two species were obvious, including the much smaller size of nilotica and its darker upperparts.

Gull-billed Tern
Gull-billed & Australian Tern

Gull-billed & Caspian Tern

Gull-billed Tern



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BirdLife Australia Sunshine Coast Pelagic Trip January 2020

January 19, 2020, 4:41 pm
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Tahiti Petrel

We departed at 6.35am on January 19, 2020 from the new Sunshine Coast Afloat dock on the Mooloolah River, exiting the river mouth 20 minutes later. A mild northerly wind of 10-12 knots was blowing but we were up against a pretty rough 1-2m swell as we headed east due to unsettled weather offshore in recent days. We saw little on the way out other than an unidentified jaeger and a smattering of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Crested Terns.

Crested Tern
This was the first BirdLife Australia Sunshine Coast outing for the year so quite a few on board were new to the joys of pelagic birding. After crossing the shelf we stopped at 9.25am 36 nautical miles offshore in 500m (26.3639S, 153.4472E) and began laying a trail of burley. We soon had a fine slick behind the boat but birds did not appear to be hungry. We'd seen a couple of Tahiti Petrels just before the shelf and they proved to the most common bird out wide, with as many as five at once around the boat.

Tahiti Petrel
Later in the morning a single White Tern was seen distantly; the poor images we managed ruled out other possibilities. We also saw a handful of Sooty Terns out wide.

White Tern
Sooty Tern
A Brown Booby, normally a species we see closer in, also put in an appearance. Another was seen later on a trawler. A Risso's Dolphin was the only cetacean of the day. Birds and mammals aside, a Convolvulus Hawk-moth made a highly unusal appearance, loanding on the boat but later succumbing to the elements.

Brown Booby
Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Crested Terns were about but in small numbers; we saw many more on the way back.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater
The wind freshened up to 12-15 knots late-morning but unfortunately it was from the wrong direction – north. It dropped off sharply around lunchtime and with little around we pulled up stumps at 12.30pm to try our luck further in. A few nautical miles to the west of our last drifting point we had a distant pair of Lesser Frigatebirds. Then much further in, about 15nm offshore, a fine Masked Booby offered good views to all. We arrived back at the berth at 3.45pm. So notwithstanding the wind direction, a good day all round.

Masked Booby
OBSERVERS: Greg Roberts (organiser and leader), Eric Anderson, Tyde Bands, Luke Bennett, Judith Coles, Patrick Colley, Michael Dawson, Jan England, Hans Erken, Alex Ferguson, Richard Fuller, Brian Gatfield, Marie Gittins, Nikolas Haass, Merri Kuerschner, Helen Leonard, James Martin, Gillie Matthew, Maggie Overend, Karen Rose, Jamie Walker, Paul Zellerer.

SPECIES (Maximum at one time)
Tahiti Petrel 30 (5)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 120 (15)
Brown Booby 2 (1)
Masked Booby 1
Lesser Frigatebird 2 (2)
Crested Tern 80 (10)
Little Tern 2 (1)
Common Tern 2 (1)
Sooty Tern 3 (2)
White Tern 1
Risso's Dolphin (1)

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Search

Death by Barbed Wire

January 20, 2020, 4:36 pm
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Dead Baillon's Crake
This week a Baillon's Crake, an uncommon species, was found hanging dead from the top strand of a barbed wire fence near Bli Bli on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It clearly was flying over the fence when a leg was caught in a strand of barbed wire. Its death would have been slow and agonising. Needless to say, the bird would have lived if the fence strand was not barbed.

Large numbers of birds and mammals are killed when climbing or flying over or through barbed wire fences, especially the top strand. A critically endangered Night Parrot was found decapitated after flying into a barbed wire fence in 2006 in Diamantina National Park in western Queensland; that finding led to John Young's celebrated rediscovery of the species. Yet hundreds of kilometres of barbed wire fence from former grazing properties remain standing in national parks and other reserves.

Juvenile Night Parrot decapitated by barbed wire fence
I've reprinted below some worthy advice from WIRES Northern Rivers in NSW:
Each year hundreds of native animals become entangled in or “hung’ up on barbed wire. The suffering endured by these animals is unimaginable.
All species of native animals are vulnerable to this silent, lifeless predator. Flying Foxes, Sugar Gliders, Squirrel Gliders, Greater Gliders, all of these are found entangled, usually through the flying membranes, the damage done is generally severe, some do not recover and others are in care for extended time. Birds such as Tawny Frogmouths are often found on barbed wire.
In most cases they are caught by the wings, many breaking vital bones in a vain attempt to escape.
Many wallabies and possums, be it Ringtails or Mountain Brushtails, are also rescued from barbed wire, generally caught by the legs and all suffer horrific injuries. When an animal is caught, it will struggle in fear and pain; sadly this only serves to further entangle it in the barbs. In many cases the animal is not discovered for some time. Barbs will tear open flying membranes, rip skin and muscles, break wings on birds and legs on wallabies, leaving horrific wounds, which often become fly blown, and all too often prove fatal.

What can you do to prevent this occurrence? If you already have barbed wire fences, the top strand of barbed wire could be replaced with ordinary wire, this would help stop gliders, bats and birds being caught. An alternate method to stop flying animals being caught is to use old garden hose slit down its length, then slid over the top strand of the barbed wire. Strips of cloth or any shiny material, tied at intervals along the middle strand of fencing wire, is another way to help prevent injury by alerting both flying and running animals that the wire is there. The best method of all is simply to get rid of the barbed wire completely. If erecting a new fence please consider the alternatives to barbed wire.
If finding an animal on barbed wire, call WIRES immediately, do not try to free the animal yourself. If possible provide shade whilst waiting for a rescuer to arrive.

Wildlife Friendly Fencing (WFF) is a campaign encouraging landowners to manage fencing that is safe and effective for wildlife, people and livestock. Further advice for landholders can be found here. Thousands of animals die each year in the cruellest of circumstances due to barbed wire. These entanglements often leave members of the public and rescuers distressed due to the severity of the injuries to wildlife. Nocturnal animals such as bats, gliders and owls are particularly susceptible to this hazard and are often entangled when flying towards fruiting trees or dams and creeks close to barbed wire. Flying foxes are the most common victims of barbed wire. Tawny frogmouths are surprisingly common victims too, and just this week we had a crow brought into care from a barbed wire entanglement.

This Barking Owl had to be euthanised after being caught on a barbed wire fence - Wildlife Care NT  
We ask people to modify the fencing adjacent to these ‘hot spots’ by modifying those sections of fence in order to minimise the risk to wildlife. Often this involves relatively short sections of fence, so it’s easy to modify.
Firstly, we ask landowners to consider whether the barbed wire fence is necessary. Sometimes the fence no longer contains livestock so could be removed or replaced with plain wire. If the barbed wire fence is needed, you could cover the top strand in the hot spot zone with polypipe split longitudinally. WIRES volunteers can assist with this, with our nifty polypipe splitter and applicator. Just call us for more info. Consider replacing the top strand with plain wire, and when planning a new fence, consider whether barbed wire is really necessary.

Metallic Starling killed in Cairns - Cairns Post
Our patch of paradise is blessed with many possums and glider species, some endangered. They are common victims of barbed wire, so we ask landowners to plant trees to shorten the gliding distance between trees, no more than 20m apart. Wildlife corridors are critical for wildlife survival.
If you have old wire on the property that no longer has a purpose, please dispose of it and save a few lives in the process. We receive quite a few calls every year for wildlife entangled in piles of disused wire or netting. Our snake handlers sometimes have the task of very slowly and cautiously removing  snakes from discarded fencing.

Rare Mahogany Glider killed  near Cardwell - Daryl Dixon
For our carers the most heart wrenching rescues are those where the animal has barbs twisted amongst bone and membrane and it is a difficult process to remove the animal so that no further damage occurs. It is very important that you do not cut the animal in order to save the fence as one could only imagine the pain this would cause (I know it sounds silly but it happens). It is much better for the animal if you contact us before you try to remove the animal as pain killers from the vet are vital. These animals might have been on the wire for many hours, or sometimes days and are usually dehydrated and in severe pain, so do your best to make them as comfortable as possible whilst you await further instructions.

In relation to whether electric fences are a better option, Steve Grainger posted this comment on Facebook: Several large cattle stations in North Queensland have been replacing Barbed wire with Electric fencing. They move stock by switching off/on water points and use the Electric fence to prevent the stock roaming across roads etc. The water points and surrounding paddock is well grassed, so stock don't need to wander far. The Electric fence costs about 1/8 of the cost of hard wire.

Brown Goshawk killed on Atherton Tableland - Alarmy Stock 




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New Zealand race of Shining Bronze Cuckoo in South-East Queensland

January 28, 2020, 9:08 pm
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Female Shining Bronze Cuckoo race lucidus, Sunshine Coast
The New Zealand-breeding Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Chalcites ludiduslucidus, appears to be much more numerous in south-east Queensland than is generally believed. University of Queensland adjunct research fellow Richard Noske discusses the status of this likely contendor for a split in a paper just published in the Birds Queensland journal Sunbird.Richard points out that birds are recorded in Queensland and NSW mainly during March-April and September-October, coinciding with their presumed passage migration to and from wintering grounds in northern Melanesia. However, several records in June and July suggest some birds may over-winter in Australia.

Richard documents 38 records of lucidus since 2008 in South-East Queensland that are substantiated by descriptions or photographs. A further 22 records were listed in eBird, mostly from 2019, with no supporting evidence. The furthest inland records were from the Great Dividing Range and the northernmost record was from Bundaberg. Of 78 Shining Bronze-Cuckoos banded at 11 sites in South-east Queensland by Jon Coleman and his team since 2007, six birds (7.7%) from four sites were identified as lucidis.

Many birds are overlooked presumably because migratory birds would be largely silent and observers are generally unaware of the marked sexual dimporphism of the subspecies, so females would be passed off as our resident subspecies Chalcites lucidus plagosus. The great majority of records of lucidus lucidusin Australia are males. Another problem is that birders are not inclined to take much notice of subspecies. In similar fashion to the cuckoos, for instance, few look for the distinctive Tasmanian race of Striated Pardalote - a scarce but regular winter visitor to South-East Queensland. In the 1970s, I and others documented multiple records in the region of what was formerly called the Yellow-tipped Pardalote.


Shining Bronze-Cuckoos race lucidus, Sunshine Coast 
According to Richard: “Records since 2014 suggest that New Zealand lucidusis more common in South-east Queensland than previously thought, and… they visit just as much during their southbound (spring) passage, ie en route to New Zealand, as during their northbound (autumn) passage. In South-East Queensland, the earliest record during the autumn passage was 17 February, and the latest during spring passage was 26 October.”

Noting that a little known identification feature of lucidisis its wider bill, Richard concludes: Given our incomplete understanding of the occurrence of New Zealand birds in Queensland, I urge birders to check the identity of all Shining Bronze-Cuckoos they encounter, and if possible secure photographs, especially of their bills.”

I've seen lucidisoccasionally in my Sunshine Coast garden. The birds in this post were in a loosely grouped flock of 4-5 that were conspicuous by their silence in the half hour or so that I watched them.

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Rescue Mission for Endangered Eastern Bristlebird

February 5, 2020, 7:49 pm
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Eastern Bristlebird

In a sign of what we are rapidly coming to appreciate is the “new normal” of severe climatic events in Australia, an extraordinary operation is underway to rescue a remnant population of the endangered Eastern Bristlebird from the bushfires which have been ravaging south-eastern Australia for the past five months.

The unprecedented rescue operation involves the Australian Defence Force, Zoos Victoria, Parks Victoria, Queensland's Currumbin Sanctuary, Monash and Wollongong universities, the Orbost Incident Management Team, and the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.


Rohan Clarke with a captured bristlebird
Leading the charge in the field is Monash University's Rohan Clarke. Rohan has written on Facebook of the efforts of a team of people working to save the Howe Flat population of Eastern Bristlebird. The birds are at risk of being consumed by fires which have devastated the nearby town of Mallacoota and hundreds of thousands of hectares of bushland across four states. About 180 bristlebirds frequent the threatened site.


Chinook helicopter to the rescue
Seven rescuers were taken to the area in an ADF Chinook helicopter after flying from Melbourne to Sale. Thebiodiversity hotspot is threatened by fires burning to the north of Howe Flat – near Marshmead and the Victoria-NSW border in Nadgee Nature Reserve. Says Rohan: “The operation is likely unprecedented both in terms of the action – rescuing an endangered species ahead of an approaching fire – and the level of support provided. My role is to lead a catch team alongside Rowan Mott and people from Zoos Victoria, Parks Victoria and DEWLP.”


Rohan checks the mist-nets
Birds are snared in mist-nets, with 15 having been caught by Wednesday night. With two birds per containment cage, the precious cargo is taken by boat to Mallacoota and then by charter flight to Melbourne Zoo. The best outcome for all concerned is that Howe Flat doesn't burn and the birds can be released back there when the danger is over. Rohan says that alternatively, if the worst happens, a captive insurance population can be used to rebuild the southern population as conditions recover. He adds: “Nestled within this is a positive story where a collection of agencies and organisations and an impressive group of people (both those on the ground but also critically those behind the scenes that just make things happen) have been working together to achieve this.”

Says Victorian Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio: “Our hardworking teams are ensuring this precious little bird has a chance at a bright future despite the impact of these devastating fires, which are still posing a threat to our native wildlife.”

Captured bristlebirds head to safety
With 15 birds in protection, the first phase of the mission is completed; the target had been between 15 and 20. Says Rohan: "There's still lots of hard work ahead. People remain on the ground fighting the fires to protect assets such as the incredible biodiversity at Howe Flat.  Zoos Victoria is pulling out all stops to house and support a very special bird. Work is underway to plan and implement the next steps that will aid with recovery this species and others impacted by the fires."

Eastern Bristlebirds can breed successfully in captivity. Currumbin Sanctuary has bred several pairs of the critically endangered northern population that frequents the NSW-Queensland border area. That population is likely to have been hit by fires which raced through its distributional range last September. About half the territory of one pair I've been monitoring for several years has burned.

By some estimates, as many as one billion wild animals have perished in the bushfires.

Eastern Bristlebird 


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West Coolum Wetland to be Protected

February 21, 2020, 6:54 pm
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West Coolum Wetland
The West Coolum Wetland on Queensland's Sunshine Coast is to be protected and managed as a nature reserve in a significant win for the environment. The decision by the Sunshine Coast Council at its February meeting to protect the 90-hectare site means more than 700 hectares of contiguous wetland and coastal woodland in the heart of the Sunshine Coast will be preserved.

The West Coolum Wetland is on land formerly used for sugar cane production. The area was inundated by tidal flows from Coolum Creek following the collapse of canal floodgates after the council acquired the site in 2011, allowing a thriving wetland to be created in the same way that the nearby Yandina Creek Wetland came to be.

Broken floodgates at West Coolum Wetland
The 190-hectare Yandina Creek Wetland was drained and earmarked for development before it was acquired by Unitywater in 2016 as part of the corporation's nutrient offsets program following a lengthy campaign to save the wetland. The site has been restored as a flourishing wetland and the numerous birds that had called it home are returning. Prior to Unitywater's intervention, the Sunshine Coast Council came under fire for rejecting proposals to purchase the land and restore the wetland.

The council has since demonstrated an encouraging change of heart. Last year it launched its Blue Heart Sunshine Coast Project, aiming to sustainably manage 5,000 hectares of the Maroochy River floodplain in partnership with Unitywater and the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. The project's objectives include the securing and protection and management of the floodplain's most environmentally critical areas.

The council will play a role in the future management of the Yandina Creek Wetland as part of its Blue Heart commitment. The move to protect the West Coolum Wetland, which had partly been designated for “open space sport development”, is another important step. Yandina Creek Wetland, the Coolum Creek Reserve and West Coolum Wetland are now joined in a large protected area.

West Coolum Wetland - looking towards Mt Coolum
I stumbled upon the West Coolum Wetland while kayaking along Coolum Creek in 2016. I was immediately impressed with its potential as a reserve and wrote to the council requesting that it be protected as a wetland. Among nice bird records there were one of only two sightings of Australian Spotted Crake from the Sunshine Coast region, and the scarce Eastern Grass Owl and Australian Little Bittern. The council undertook environmental consultancy studies which indeed underscored the site's environmental values.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said the wetland would be managed for conservation and added to council’s environment reserve network. “The lands, located west of the Sunshine Motorway at Coolum Beach, offer an exciting opportunity to establish an estuarine wetland due to the frequent tidal inundation of the site,” the mayor said.

Google Earth image of West Coolum Wetland
Speaking more generally about Blue Heart, Mark Jamieson said: “The project is a fantastic example of how council is taking action now to identify risks, and help our community prepare for the impacts of a changing climate. Working across approximately 5000 hectares on the Maroochy floodplain, the project seeks to deliver effective land and water management to proactively respond to a transitioning landscape through conservation, recreation, flood mitigation and new carbon storage opportunities.”

As with Yandina Creek Wetland, there is no public access to West Coolum Wetland. Unitywater has given repeated undertakings to eventually allow pubic access to Yandina Creek. The council is expected to take the same approach with West Coolum.

West Coolum Wetland site map
One pressing problem facing the Maroochy River floodplain remains, however. As I have written previously, the council has allowed the residential subdivision of sugar cane farms on the floodplain in contravention of state government and council planning guidelines. As a consequence, extensive areas of cane and grassland that are home to an abundance of birdlife are being carved up for homes that must surely be flood-prone.


One of the newly approved residential developments on Maroochy River floodplain 

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Twitching Sunshine Coast Kentish Plover & Asian Gull-billed Tern

February 22, 2020, 6:56 pm
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Kentish Plover

It's been a good week for twitching around the Sunshine Coast. Jane Cooksley made a fantastic discovery late yesterday afternoon when she found a Kentish Plover at Noosa. The bird was on a sandflat in the Noosa River about 1.5km upstream from the river mouth at low tide opposite Noosa River Holiday Park at Munna Point. The Noosa River has had its share of rarities in the past, including Queensland's only Hooded Plover.

Kentish Plover
Jane and her hubby Andrew had been walking the sandflats after disembarking from the family dinghy. Jane and Andrew kindly offered to take Carolyn Scott and I out today in an upgraded family boat! With a king high tide scheduled for 8am and the river sandflats under water, the initial plan was to head out in the afternoon at low tide. However, Andy Jensen spotted the bird early this morning from the river's south bank; it was distantly on a sandbar on what was almost certainly the island that hosts nesting Beach Stone-Curlews.

Kentish Plover
So we opted for an early morning high tide search instead. We landed on the island but no Kentish Plover, just a couple of Red-capped Plovers and loads of terns. Then Rob Morris subsequently saw the bird close to the river mouth (the joys of Facebook instant messaging) so we headed to the north shore and disembarked; it's likely the plover and other birds had been flushed from the island by a visiting kayaker. Carolyn spotted the plover along the high tide line. The bird was associating loosely with a flock of about 20 Red-capped Plovers and was immediately very different in appearance.

Kentish Plover & Red-capped Plover
The north shore can be accessed by road after crossing the Noosa River by vehicular ferry at Tewantin. Non-4WD vehicles can drive to the end of Esplanade/Flying Fish Track/Wilderness Track (called various things on different maps), which runs along the river's north shore off Beach Road. Vehicles can be left in the bush there and you can walk 1km to the river mouth. We saw the bird at high tide. If it moves back into the river as the tide recedes, you can generally walk the sandflats at low tide, although they cover an extensive area. Sometimes low tide is not particularly low, in which case a boat would be needed to access the sandflats. Or you can be satisfied with more distant views from shore.

Successful plover twitch (Andrew & Jane Cooksley, Greg Roberts, Carolyn Scott)
Last Tuesday, Helen Leonard found an (Asian) Gull-billed Tern at the Toorbul high tide shorebird roost. This species, affinis, was split recently from what is now known as the Australian (Gull-billed) Tern macrotarsa. I looked for the bird without success at Toorbul on Wednesday but found an Asian Gull-billed Tern hawking the mudflats of Godwin Beach on a receding tide later during the day.

Asian Gull-billed Tern

Asian Gull-billed Tern
Later in the week, Helen photographed an Asian Gull-billed Tern at the shorebird high tide roost of Kakadu on Bribie Island. It's likely these three sightings are of the same bird. It is possibly the same bird that has been seen several times in recent weeks in the Pine Rivers area a little further south. While not of the same vintage as a Kentish Plover, this is another scarce visitor to these shores from distant lands.

Asian Gull-billed Tern

Asian Gull-billed Tern





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