South Coast bird survey update

It was back to the south coast NSW surveys last week to follow up after recent strong winds and tree damage. In the township the species count was up slightly and there were more birds to count due to flocks of Rainbow Lorikeets and Little Corellas. The town is still providing home to birds displaced by bush fires with Golden Whistlers and White-browed Scrubwrens in town gardens.

Three Dusky Woodswallows were unexpected visitors to the survey site, swooping above the treetops.

Bird numbers in bush sites are recovering, but not back to the pre-drought levels of 2017. Increases on sites vary with the severity of the fires, especially whether the crowns are green or not. Some areas are still black and barren and have not changed much since the fires, graced by the occasional Australian Raven or Eastern Yellow Robin.

There are plenty of small birds around; Fairy-Wrens, Thornbills, White-browed and a few Large-billed Scrubwrens.

Some areas with smaller scrub show no sign of recovery, the increased light after burning allows a thick mat of grass and weeds to flourish below the charred remains.

Storms and rain

After years of severe drought New South Wales’ south coast is now in a sodden state, the result of two successive “east coast lows” and follow up rain. Locally the low’s have delivered 290 mm and 160 mm respectively. And the strong winds caused damage to both trees and dwellings.

These two Australian Wood Ducks moved into town, nibbling grass and herbs on wet lawns and in running drains.

The total rain to date this year is just over 1,000 mm, the dams are now full and the water table is high. With water that is helping heal the bush after the disastrous bush fires of the summer.

This Little Wattlebird perches on the branch of a fallen tree that is now awaiting the chain saw and the mulcher.

Sydney's Centennial Park

Sydney’s Centennial Park was busier than ever during Covid 19 isolation and still has more joggers and walkers than before. It is always a tonic to see the amazing range of birds that take refuge in this popular park in the middle of the city. At the moment the park’s many ponds are full but as noted recently they are short of ducks - perhaps due to rains falling further west?

Few ducks but the park’s other waterbirds still abound - including this Australasian Grebe captured in the last of the day’s sunlight.

After drought, bushfires and rain, birds are breeding at unusual times. There was a family of Black Swans with three young on the Duck Pond, under the very close supervision of both parents.

Birdlife’s Powerful Owl Project has revealed several hundred Powerful Owls across the Greater Sydney area and Centennial Park usually has at least one pair in residence.

Powerful Owl in Centennial Park, Sydney last week.

Apostlebirds

In central NSW a common and happy roadside sight is a group of Apostlebirds going about their business. Apostlebirds are so called because they are often seen in family units of twelve or more birds, consisting of a male, several females and young helper birds. They live a communal life style, cooperating to build nests and feed the young.

Two Apostlebirds at the Seed Orchard Reserve near Cowra, NSW last week.

Apostlebirds feed on the ground, on seeds, vegetable matter and insects. They congregate at the edge of woodlands and in roadside trees in otherwise open farmland, usually close to water.  

More of the family arrives! This family group had the regulation twelve members in total.

The Apostlebird’s nest is a mud bowl constructed from mud reinforced and lined with grass. Several females may lay for a clutch of up to five chicks.

This family member supplies air conditioning for the female sitting below. (Photographed two years ago at the Seed Orchard Reserve. The photograph was taken from the car window on Back Creek Road, with telescopic lens to avoid disturbing the birds.)

Cowra Woodland Bird Program winter survey

Cowra in the NSW’s Central West is green again after several months of good rain. Ninety and 130 mm fell in March and April respectively and a total 380 mm fell over the first six months of the year. As a result farmers have been busy and winter wheat and barley crops are widespread and healthy – the best for a number of years. The bush still has the sparse look characteristic of drought but there are signs of new growth on grassy roadsides. Dams are still only partly filled but there are puddles and lots of mud around.

Crested Shrike-tit near Spring Forest east of Cowra.

I missed last spring’s survey, then the summer survey was cancelled due to drought and bushfire risk and the autumn survey was cancelled due to the Covid 19 lockdown. Winter usually only brings out the hardy and the foolish but there was a record turnout of surveyors, glad to be out in the country after lockdown.

White-eared Honeyeater.

After last year’s bleak winter survey (2019) bird numbers this winter were higher on the sites I surveyed, with some interesting bird to see. The Spring Forest sites had a good number of Thornbills – Yellow, Yellow-rumped and Inland as well as Weebills and a Spotted Warbler. A pair of Crested Shrike-tits obligingly posed for the camera as did a White-eared Honeyeater. Where the road from Bathhurst enters Cowra at Europa Park there was a group of six Blue-faced Honeyeaters feeding on a flowering gum tree.

Blue-faced Honeyeater at Europa park on the road into Cowra.

Lake Wallace

Lake Wallace is 10 minutes past Lithgow by car after crossing the Blue Mountains from Sydney. It is a convenient place to stop for lunch on the way to Cowra when I travel to the Cowra Woodland Bird Surveys. The lake is about two kilometers in length and was formed in 1978 when a dam was put across the Coxs River, to provide cooling water for the Wallerawang Power Station. The power station was decommissioned in 2015 and now the lake is a popular camping and caravan destination.

Musk Duck feediing on Lake Wallace

The lake attracts a wide range of water birds and can provide good views of Great Crested Grebes, Blue-billed and Musk Ducks.  There are usually large numbers of ducks but last week I could only find two Musk Ducks and one Hardhead. There were very few ducks on the dams on the way to Cowra and numbers are low in Sydney too. They must have moved to further west?

There were more White-browed Scrubwrens around than normal last week, at Lake Wallace and at Cowra.

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