Six months after the fires

It is nearly six months since over 80 per cent of the Shoalhaven’s forests were destroyed by the enormous Currowan bushfire. Recovery of the bush has been better than expected, blessed by the heavy rains that followed the fires. The trunks of many trees are liberally covered by epicormic ‘green’ shoots, the eucalypt’s recovery system that comes into play when the tree’s crown is damaged. Around the forest fringes at ground level a blizzard of weeds of all varieties is growing, interspersed with shoots from the lignotubers of smaller eucalypts and banksias, another recovery mechanism characteristic of the Australian bush. In areas where the fires were very hot sadly the ground is still parched and the trees still bare and lifeless.

This headland suffered severe heat but the ground layer is regenerating, mainly from sprouting lignotubers in a sea of weeds.

In the two years before the fires, bird numbers had already decreased by up to fifty per cent at sites I was monitoring, a result of the drought. In the months before the fires, the bush was very dry and desiccated grass crunched underfoot. Then in the weeks before the fires struck, locals reported hundreds of birds flocking to garden bird baths, apparently the last source of drinking water as the humidity dropped further.      

There are many Grey Fantails feeding on insects above the new foliage.

Six months later there are few birds in the high fire intensity areas. On the fringes small birds are invading the weeds, feeding on insects and the seeding grasses. Parrots seem to be finding plentiful food and are ignoring the seed trays I leave out.

This Golden Whistler is an occasional visitor in township gardens, but has been frequently seen since the bushfires.

In the townships small bird numbers have increased. The garden has been visited by Grey Fantails, Golden Whistlers, White-browed Scrubwrens, Lewin’s Honeyeaters, Brown Thornbills, Superb Fairy-wrens and Eastern Whipbirds. Pigeons are spending an unusual amount of time in the town with Wonga Pigeons, Brown Cuckoo-Doves, Common Bronzewings, Crested Pigeons and White-headed Pigeons all sighted recently.

The Brown Cuckoo-Dove, another unusual visitor seen here in a township garden.

Pied Oystercatchers

The Pied Oystercatcher is found around the entire Australian coastline however its numbers are threatened in New South Wales and it is listed as endangered in this state. It is commonly seen in the inter-tidal zone of beaches and bays where it forages on exposed sandbanks for molluscs, worms, crabs and small fish. The Oystercatcher’s name comes from its specialised bill that can be used to pry open shellfish. 

As the tide goes out Pied Oystercatchers arrive to feed on the exposed sandbanks.

The Australian birds close relative, the South Island Pied Oystercatcher has been seen in New South Wales in recent years. The South Island version has a shorter bill and legs giving it a squatter appearance.  

This Pied Oystercatcher has found a tasty worm but unfortunately it is too sandy for the bird.

A quick wash in a small puddle to remove the sand and down it goes.

Developers to clear last unburnt bush at Manyana

After years of drought and then the bushfires; it is a real-estate company based on Canterbury Road in Sydney that intends to deliver a final blow to Manyana’s wildlife.

Manyana on New South Wales’ south coast is surrounded on two sides by bush burnt out by the fires that destroyed over 80 per cent of the Shoalhaven’s forests. In a miracle of tenacity firefighters saved the Village and also a 20 hectare plot of forest on its north-west corner.  This plot consists of 13 hectares of Northern Coastal Sands Shrub/Fern Forest, five hectares of Bangalay Moist Woodland/Open Forest, and one hectare of Bangalay Paperbark Woodland. It is now the largest block of unburnt bush for many kilometers.

The New Year 2020 fire burnt all the way to Cunjurong Point Road but firefighters saved the bush block on the right and the Manyana Village. This is the block that developers are now preparing to clear for housing. The bush on the left was burnt by the Currowan Fire that destroyed over 490,000 hectares of bushland.

This block was zoned residential back in 1972 and then in 2008 a subdivision for 182 blocks and homes was approved by the Labor state government. Development is about to start after all these years. Two weeks ago the developer announced the recent temporary reprieve they had applied because of the fires was now over and that they would commence clearing, despite opposition from locals. The state government says its hands are tied because the project is already approved; the Shoalhaven Council says it is out of their hands. Protestors are taking the issue all the way to the Federal Government.

Protestors have defaced this sign on the fence enclosing rare Bangalay Paperbark Woodland that will be saved under the subdivision plan to form an isolated and inadequate reserve.

This bush now provides badly needed food for wildlife isolated by the fires. In 20 minutes standing on the road across from this block I observed one Eastern Spinebill, six Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, a Pied Currawong, and heard several Spotted Pardalotes, Little Wattlebirds,and an Australian King Parrot. An old nest was visible, most probably belonging a Pied Currawong.

This Yellow-faced Honey-eater feeds on Turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera) on the Manyana bush block under imminent threat of clearance for a new housing subdivision.

Butterflies in the backyard

There seem to be more butterflies around this April - on the south coast, NSW. Perhaps it has something to do with the bush-fires, fringing the town just 100 metres from where these photos were taken. Or perhaps it is the beautiful autumn weather of the last week. Anyway, the yellow Buddleia and the Plumbago have both been visited by a stream of butterflies of great variety and colour.

Painted Lady on the yellow Buddleia.

Orchard Swallowtail on the Plumbago.

Macleay’s Swallowtail.

Self-isolating with the birds

Birds in the backyard takes on new meaning while we self-isolate. My daily commune is a 20 minute count of all the birds visible from our block. And all feathered visitors are very welcome.

Eastern Spinebill on the garden path.

Leucistic or Albino?

Snowy the white Australian Magpie has taken up residence at Washerwomans beach on the beautiful New South Wales South Coast. Unusual whiteness in birds such as Snowy can occur because of two different causes: leucism and albinism.

Leucism is a genetic mutation that prevents the pigment melanin from being properly deposited on a bird’s feathers. Albinism affects all pigments and albino birds show no color whatsoever in their feathers, skin or eyes. Snowy has very pale legs and bill but dark eyes and some small dark marks. Leucistic or albino?  

NSW South Coast Bush Shows Green Shoots

Ten weeks after the bush fire there are green shoots to soften the bleak colours of the burnt bush. The heavy rain of the past few weeks has been very timely but a lot questions remain about the fire’s impact on wildlife.  Bird species numbers on the bush survey sites I monitor are not showing any increase since the fires. But this week a flock of Thornbills feeding in the fresh green foliage increased the total number of birds counted.

The “Path” site photographed in my January 28 blog showing the magic effect of time and rain. Unfortunately there were very few birds to match its green appearance.

There do seem to be more birds around the townships and some less common birds have taken up residence. The photos below show some of the newcomers.

This Wonga Pigeon has taken up residence in the vegetable garden, here seen exploring the compost heap.

Another pigeon, the White-headed Pigeon has turned up, not often seen in these coastal towns.

This Glossy Black-Cockatoo was at Garrad Reserve, Narawallee.

Rain fills Sydney Eastern Suburb ponds

Australia’s top birding organization Birdlife is asking birdwatchers to do more surveys in response to the bush fires. They highlight the importance of knowing what is happening to bird numbers, not only in burnt out areas, but across the rest of the country as well.

Last weekend I surveyed my two regular Eastern Suburb sites. The past week’s 200 – 400 mm rain has extinguished most of the fires across NSW and in the city it has filled ponds in local parks and brought a flush of green to the previously desiccated bush. The pond at Randwick Environment Park was full for the first time since early 2018 and the count there showed a handful of Pacific Black Ducks, three Eurasian Coots and an Australasian Grebe in addition to the regular Magpies and Red Wattlebirds.   

At the Kensington Pond in Centennial Park there were ducks, coots and an Intermediate Egret gracing the waters. In the slither of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub that lines the northern bank were Red Wattlebirds, New Holland Honeyeaters, Superb Fairy-wrens with Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos in the adjacent Maritime Pine trees.

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo at Kensington Pond, Centennial Park, Sydney

At the Fly Casting Pond, a Freckled Duck, one of three that have been in residence on and off over past months, was showing signs of breeding plumage with its bill reddening at the base.

Freckled Duck at Fly Casting Pond at Centennial Park, Sydney

NSW South Coast Birds after the Bush Fires

The trepidation of our trip down the Princes Highway from Nowra was relieved to some extent by green patches along the burnt out roadside. Then turning onto the Bendalong road this devastating scene; these barren and charred remains.

Bendalong road, January 2020

The seaside towns of Bendalong and Manyana are intact despite being burnt on all sides, a tribute to the firies. Even the bush along the Bendalong beach-front has been burnt out. The dawn chorus was subdued, a pair of Magpie-larks and then a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo’s screeching. The numbers of town birds are well down; ones or twos where previously there had been a dozen.

The “Path” Birdata bird survey site, 95% burnt out.

The two Birdata Survey sites I set up in 2017 were burnt so I wanted to see how bird numbers had changed. On the “Path” site survey I found it a relief to hear a lone Little Wattlebird calling, later to be joined by two Lewin’s Honeyeaters and then some Striated Thornbills. On the “Bush Track” it was fifteen minutes before the first birds arrived; two Eastern Yellow Robins and then a Rufous Whistler.

Eastern Yellow Robin on the “Bush Track” site

The two sites were already badly affected by drought and bird numbers dropped off during 2019, as seen from the survey results below. The birds are going to need all the help they can get to recover from this double whammy to bird life.

Birdata Bird Survey results for Maple Street sites 2017-2020.

Centennial Park – Still in Drought

Bushfires have dominated our attention in New South Wales these past weeks. In the meantime the drought that makes these bushfires so fierce and unrelenting continues, with one hundred percent of the state drought declared and most of the state in severe drought. It is a shock to see how dry our city parks are, the ponds of Centennial Park are all but empty and much of the bush showing stress, some shrubs and trees are dying. The park’s rainfall for the last three months is 50 mm, less the 20 percent of the average.

Large mud-banks formed as water levels drop are attracting a number of birds of interest, as seen at today’s Birding NSW excursion to Centennial Park. On the Duck Pond unusual visitors were Latham’s Snipes, Little Terns, Black-winged Stilts and Black-fronted Dotterels. At the Model Yacht Pond were Chestnut Teal, Freckled Ducks and Australasian Shovelers. Other birds of interest included Figbirds, Topknot Pigeons and Royal Spoonbills.      

Royal Spoonbill at depleted Fly Casting Pond, Centennial Park, Sydney

Broome Bird Observatory

The Broome Bird Observatory is located on the northern shore of Roebuck Bay, Western Australia, 24km from Broome. This is one of the world’s most important shorebird sites with over 800,000 birds visiting each year. Migratory birds leave from here each autumn to feed and breed during Asia’s and Siberia’s short summer. Adult birds and chicks only weeks old retrace the 10,000 km journey to enjoy the Australian summer. They return to feed on Roebuck Bay’s rich mudflats replenished by tides of up to 10 metres.

At high tide shorebirds congregate on the beaches of Roebuck Bay.

Run by Birdlife Australia, the Observatory provides an educational and scientific facility with accommodation for visitors and resident guides who facilitate regular tours, courses and manage the research facilities.

The red soil meets the blue waters of Roebuck Bay, a surreal background for this visiting Black-necked Stork.

On our tour of beaches near the Observatory last month (November is Broome’s hottest month!) we were lucky to be guided by Nile and Jane, enthusiastic and knowledgeable bird watchers. We saw many shorebirds including Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits, Whimbrels, Curlews, Redshanks and Greenshanks, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Terek, Sharp-tailed, Curlew and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Great Knots and Turnstones. Seven species of Tern and Pacific Golden, Grey, Greater Sand and Red-capped Plovers contributed to our shore and land-bird total of 53 species for the morning’s visit. Never to be forgotten was the beach with an estimated 7,000 birds, settling then rising and swirling as a Brahminy Kite flew over.

A passing Brahminy Kite raises a cloud of birds: Godwits, Curlew Sandpipers, Greenshanks and Great Knots.

Red-winged Parrots enjoying Mangoes in Broome

Breakfast in Broome would be incomplete without succulent Mango fresh from the tree. And this, a Red-winged Parrot feeding on Mangoes where they hang, is another memorable scene from a visit to Broome.

Elaborate bower of the Satin Bowerbird

There are 20 species in the Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) family and 8 of these are native to Australia. The Satin Bowerbird is found along Australia’s eastern seaboard. Females and immature male birds are olive green then the breeding males get their glossy blue-black plumage at between five and seven years of age.

Their famous bower is an avenue of grass and sticks decorated with blue and yellow objects. It is built by the breeding male to attract as many females as possible. Females inspect the bower while the male is absent. She may return later to view the male’s dancing and calling display before making the decision to enter the bower for mating.

The female departs to the nest she has already built to lay her two to three eggs and raise the young alone. The male will continue manning the bower looking for new partners. The young males may use the bower to practise their courting skills.

Cuckoo Time

The cuckoos of spring have arrived and are making their presence known. There are Channel-billed Cuckoos in Sydney and Common Koels calling down the NSW South Coast. At Barren Grounds a number of Fan-tailed Cuckoos were holding court with their distinctive and musical descending trills. And Cuckoos active in the far north-west, in Broome, Western Australia.

Fan-tailed Cuckoo at Barren Grounds on 18 October

Common Koel waiting for Red Wattlebird foster parent - South Coast NSW

Young Black-eared Cuckoo photographed in Broome, Western Australia

Brush Cuckoo,Broome WA

Narawang Wetland at Sydney Olympic Park

Spring brings a new round of Sydney Olympic Park spring surveys and this year the early morning start is eased by the quick trip westward in the new WestConnex tunnel. This year’s sites include the garden-like Narawang Wetland close to tidal Haslam’s Creek. These small ponds are home to a surprising variety of water birds such as Latham’s Snipe, Baillon’s Crake and Buff-banded Rails in addition to the usual Purple Swamphen, Dusk Moorhen, Eurasian Coots and a variety of ducks. In the marshes are Australian Reed-Warblers, Golden-headed Cisticolas and this week a Tawny Grassbird.

Australian Reed-Warbler

Brown Honeyeaters predominate in the bushes surrounding the wetland along with Red Wattlebirds, Little Wattlebirds, New Holland and White-plumed Honeyeaters.

Brown Honeyeater

Brisbane city birds

It was a short trip to Brisbane last week, no time for a trip to the bush. I stayed in the leafy hills of Auchenflower, not far from the Botanic Gardens and Mount Coot-Tha. The ground was very dry and the leaves sparse. 

There were the usual Noisy Miners, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Pied Currawongs, Ravens and Magpies around. Three Grey Butcherbirds and two Pied Butcherbirds kept busy in what seemed an unusually small area. Also a bird new to me; among the Rainbow Lorikeets feeding in a nearby tree were a number of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, easily distinguished from a distance by their luminous green sheen.

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

The Biggest Loser – the Red Goshawk

Habitat loss is the largest contributor to Australia’s decreasing bird populations. A recent study by University of Queensland reports that 7.7 million hectares of critical forest and woodland habitat have been cleared since passing of the “Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999”.  Of this 93% was not even referred for assessment. The report concludes that the act is totally ineffective.

Of the 1390 threatened species that saw loss of habitat it was the Red Goshawk that lost the most. This largest and rarest of Australia’s Goshawks saw its potential territory reduced by 3 million hectares. This wide ranging bird was once seen from the Northern Territory to north New South Wales but is now seldom seen in the southern part of the range.

The Red Goshawk hunts for large prey in forest and woodlands. This bird was seen on a roadside tree in Kakadu National Park.

Red Goshawk, Kakadu National Park

Wildflowers at Barren Grounds Nature Reserve

In springtime Barren Grounds sports a vibrant cloak of wildflowers; tea tree, boronia, fuchsia, drumsticks, wattles and yellow pea flowers… The Reserve is a spectacular heathland plateau perched on the Illawarra Escarpment, surrounded by precipitous cliffs and woodlands, forests and rainforest. This heathland is one of four remaining on the NSW south coast. It provides a retreat for heathland plants and animals including many vulnerable species.  

Yellow pea flowers at Barren Grounds

The Reserve was set up in 1956 to protect two threatened heathland birds, the Eastern Bristlebird and the Ground Parrot. Eastern Bristlebirds are medium-sized, long-tailed, brown and rufous birds. The entire Eastern Bristlebird population has decreased to around 2000 and Barren Grounds is one of the remaining strongholds. The elusive Ground Parrot is a slender parrot, grass-green with black and yellow markings and a prominent pale yellow wing bar.  

160 species of bird have been counted in the Reserve including the Southern Emu-wren, the Striated Fieldwren and Superb Lyrebirds. The dense heath provides protection from predators for rare mammals including the smallest of the Kangaroo family - the Long-nosed Potoroo, Swamp Wallabies, Sugar Gliders and Tiger Quolls. Sightings during last week’s visit to the Reserve included several honeyeater species, White-browed Scrubwren and three Emu-wren.  

Southern Emu-wren

Swift Parrots at Mount Annan

After the trip via the M5 tunnel to Mount Annan south-west of Sydney it was refreshing to see the large and well cared for grassland, gardens and bush remnants of the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan. This was a follow up (16 August) to reports that there were still Swift Parrots in the Banksia Garden at the park’s rear. There were indeed at least a dozen birds, feeding high in the eucalypts. They sped in small flocks of four or five through the trees and moved rapidly from flower to flower in keeping with their name.

Swift Parrots breed in Tasmania but travel north as far as Brisbane in winter, arriving in May and leaving for the trip south again in August. Their main food in Tasmania is nectar from blue gum flowers. Clearing of blue gum forest and old trees with nesting hollows threatens the future of these birds. An additional threat is predation by sugar gliders introduced into Tasmania in the 1800s. As a result, Swift Parrots are now listed as endangered and have an Environment Australia recovery plan.

Swift Parrot at the Banksia Garden, Mount Annan, 16 August 2019

An Australian export - New Zealand's iconic Takahē

The iconic Takahē is as imposing as it is a legend; widespread on New Zealand’s North and South islands when Maori people arrived seven hundred years ago but presumed extinct by the late nineteenth century, the decline caused by habitat loss and hunting. Then there was the dramatic rediscovery in 1948 in the remote Murchison Mountains near Lake Te Anau. There are now over 300 birds, in the Murchisons plus those bred in sanctuaries.   

I am greatly enjoying reading “Birds of the West Wind” written by Garry Sheeran, on the origins of New Zealand’s birds. Sheeran postulates that 110 of New Zealand’s current bird population arrived or are descended from Australian birds blown by the prevailing westerly winds across the Tasman sea, some species arriving multiple times over the past twenty five million years.  In fact it appears most of New Zealand’s birds have arrived this way. 

The Takahē evidently evolved from a proto-type Australian Purple Swamphen that took the Tasman route perhaps 10 million years ago. It grew larger in size and developed digging tools to graze on alpine grassland. Like many New Zealand birds it lost its ability to fly. The Purple Swamphen has repeated the feat within the last 500 years and found recently cultivated lands to its liking. As a bird that is very similar to its Australian ancestor, this second invader has become what is now the New Zealand Pukeko.

One of two Takahēs at the wonderful Zealandia Sanctuary in Wellington.