Brown-capped Emerald-Dove

Seven Mile Beach south of Gerroa, NSW made fame as Charles Kingsford Smith’s runway for the first commercial flight to New Zealand. At its northern end between highway and beach is an attractive forest dominated by Bangalay (Southern Mahogany). The forest was quiet yesterday but two hours walk was rewarded with the appearance of this Brown-capped Emerald Dove, feeding in fallen leaves and branches.

There are two sub-species of Brown-capped Emerald Dove, one seen across Northern Australia and the other down the Eastern Coast as far as the Victorian border. These rather grainy photos were taken in low light at 100th of a second, f/5.6 and ISO 2000.

The Brown-capped Emerald-Dove feeds largely on fruit and seeds fallen to the forest floor.

More signs of spring

More signs of spring this week with the arrival of a Dollarbird from its northern winter stay over. Scarlet Honeyeaters and Noisy Friarbirds are here in force now and a solitary Eastern Koel has been calling. And more nesting activity.

This female Satin Bowerbird gathers material for the nest she will build by herself, in a landscape burnt out by the Currowan Bushfire.

Last week it was Golden Whistlers and this week several pairs of the Rufous version are making their presence known.

The female Rufous Whistler in her more subdued garb compared to the male.

There are many Brown Thornbills, enjoying the new growth after the fires.

Spring has arrived

In an area that was ravaged by bushfires it has been encouraging to see new nests and lots of breeding activity this spring. The flush of new growth and seeding of weeds and grasses looks to be providing ample food for many of the smaller bush birds. Hopefully this will translate to a successful breeding season.    

This Golden Whistler makes his protest clear from a nearby tree after two Eastern Spinebills came too close to the nest the Whistlers are building.

High in a Eucalypt tree across the water from a boat ramp, this Eastern Osprey returns to the nest and its young. This photo was taken with a 600mm equivalent telescopic lens from the boat ramp at a distance of about 100 metres. It is so important not to disturb breeding birds as they recover from the bushfires.

Hooded Plovers

We are lucky on New South Wales’ south coast to occasionally see Hooded Plovers on the beach. The Hooded Plover is listed as vulnerable in Victoria and South Australia and the fifty or so surviving birds in New South Wales are listed as critically endangered. Hooded Plovers prefer beaches that face the open ocean, feeding on tiny invertebrates near the water’s edge. They lay their eggs on the beach above the high water mark or in the sand hills.

Hooded Plover K9 looking for a partner?

There is currently one pair nesting on the local beach, with the site carefully festooned with warning signs to control dogs and not to disturb the nest. The presence of name tags on each bird reminds of their endangered status. Another single bird (K9) has been around the last two weeks – waiting for a suitable partner to appear?

K9 has previously nested (with D3) on a beach about two kilometres to the south. This photo of K9 was taken in December 2018.

Backyard Birds

We are still spending more time in our backyards as Covid limits our activities. On New South Wales South coast there still seem to be more birds in the townships than normal. There are no records to confirm these impressions but there do seem to be more bush birds around.

This large Pittosporum in flower is swarming with life. A count of 60 Rainbow Lorikeets, countless bees, Little Wattlebirds, Lewin’s Honeyeaters and Eastern Spinebills.

The Olive-backed Oreole is an occasional visitor to the block, currently this bird is joining the dawn chorus with its distinctive call.

Another occasional visitor present at this time, two White-browed Scrubwrens have taken up residence.

Birds and the EPBC Act 1999

Taking photographs in burnt out bush land - land that is slated for future development - brings to mind the importance of the review underway of Australia’s top environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The act is reviewed every 10 years and Professor Graeme Samuel’s final report from the review is due in October.

The post-fire explosion of herbs and weeds is providing ample food for Crimson Rosellas.

In the meantime Australia’s parliament has just passed legislation on to the Australian senate that would result in each state conducting its own process to assess and approve projects before the appropriate national standards or compliance checks have been set up, a change that many believe will further dilute the act’s effectiveness.

Likewise the small birds are flourishing; like this Variegated Fairy-wren.

The twenty years since the EPBC was passed have seen continual deterioration of Australia’s environment and loss of biodiversity. The act needs a total overhaul and the importance of the current review cannot be overstated. We should all be letting our politicians know how important this is.

Eastern Whipbird looking for a meal.

Square-tailed Kite

My first sight of a Square-tailed Kite came last week as a bolt out of the blue. I was walking down a headland bush track on NSWs south coast when the kite dropped suddenly to strike at a small bird on a banksia about 10 metres in front. I hastily changed the camera to “Bird In Flight” preset and pointed at the bird. The result was to capture the strike and then it’s flight out through three to five metre scrub. Most importantly it confirmed identification as a first Square-tailed Kite.

My “Bird In Flight” preset set on the Canon 7 D II camera is; a speed of one two thousandth of a second, autofocus on the five central points, automatic adjustment of exposure and a plus one stop exposure compensation. The exposure compensation set for shots against a cloudy sky resulted in overexposed photos here because of the darker bush background but they were adequate to relive the drama of the situation.

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.