Conjola National Park – woodland and forest birds

Conjola National Park covers 11,060 hectares between Sussex Inlet and Lake Conjola on New South Wales’ south coast. It is on the southern fringe of the Sydney Basin, the underlying rocks are Permian sandstones, siltstones and shales. These support a rich range of environments; coastal scrubs, estuarine, wetland, forest, and woodlands. This area has been home to Dharawal-Dhuruga speaking people for 20,000 years, now represented by the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council.

A Black-faced Monarch photographed at Red-Head. The Monarch is one of the birds listed by the Australian Government as at risk after the recent bush fires decimated Conjola National Park..

Recent rains have fed streams and the small areas of rain-forest look lush with envigorated Lilly Pillys and Cabbage Palms. Coming with the spring flush has been an increasing number of woodland and forest birds, encouraging after the silent forests of the fires.

At the Davies Road bridge water is flowing again in this often dry tributary of Nerindilla Creek, producing a verdant setting for this Spotted Pardalote and other woodland birds including; White-cheeked Honeyeaters, Eastern Whipbirds, Rufous Fantails, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Cuckoo-Doves, Olive-backed Orioles and Black-faced Monarchs.

This White-naped Honeyeater was nesting close to Nerindilla Lagoon.

Variegated Fairy-wren still outnumber their Superb Fairy-wren cousins, a reversal of the situation before the bush fires.

Feeding birds after the bush fires

Normally I do not feed birds, but often have water available for their use. After the bush fires I put out bird seed, fresh fruit and vegetables. I also pulled the netting off the raised bed vegetable garden to give access. The fresh fruit and vegetables were commandeered by the local Satin Bowerbirds who enjoyed chopped carrots but really loved grapes! The open garden bed became territory for a couple of Whipbirds and a Wonga Pigeon. But the bird seed was relatively untouched as the heavy rains after the fire brought on a bloom of seeding grasses and weeds. Now I am only feeding birds on request. Every few weeks or so there is a racket on the back verandah roof and a King-Parrot face hanging from the guttering, looking into the house, asking for a top up of bird seed.   

This Australian King-Parrot was happy with a small plate of seed after sitting on the gutter calling for service.

Spring at Booderee National Park

Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay on New South Wales’ south coast consists of 6,379 hectares of highly varied habitats plus 875 hectares of crystal clear waters of the bay. Booderee is a Dhurga word that means plentiful fish - the park is owned and managed by traditional owners together with Parks Australia. Vegetation communities include eucalypt forest (Blackbutt and Bangalay), woodlands (Silvertop Ash and Bloodwood), dry and wet heathlands, coastal scrub and wetlands. The Booderee Botanical Gardens include relic rainforest (Hard Corkwood and Lilly Pilly).

Family of Tawny Frogmouths at Booderee Botanical Gardens.

Northern and southern vegetation types meet a Jervis Bay and the park is home to over 200 bird species. These include the endangered Eastern Bristlebird (see last week’s blog) and Eastern Ground Parrot. Little Penguins and three species of Shearwater breed on Bowen Island at the mouth of Jervis Bay.

This young Dusky Woodswallow, waiting to be fed by one of its parents, was seen at Hyams Heath Walk bordering Booderee National Park.

Another youngster, a Rufous Fantail at Hyams Heath Walk.

Eastern Bristlebird

Last week the Milton Ulladulla Birdwatching Group (MUD) fortnightly field trip was to Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay. A very profitable morning with a lot of interesting birds to see. My highlight was a first sighting and photograph of an Eastern Bristlebird. This was after hearing a number of calls, in fact we may have heard as many as eight birds through the morning.

Usually very shy and hidden within the low heath around Jervis Bay, this Eastern Bristlebird helpfully took to the path to provide this excellent photo opportunity.

Update on Snowy

We have become quite used to seeing this white Australian Magpie around, taking its place in Magpie society with some more conventional Magpie friends. In my blog in March I speculated as to why Snowy was so coloured. Some darker features, especially the eye, indicated that Snowy was leutistic rather than albino. Albinos are pure white (or pink) due to the total absence of melanin colouring.

Snowy photographed back in March.

Today we have the answer; over the subsequent six months Snowy has gradually developed more dark features indicating Snowy’s whiteness was caused by poor expression of melanin rather than its absence. Snowy is leutistic.

A more mottled Snowy, photographed this week.

This week's visitors

Numbers of species and the total number of birds are slowly increasing in the aftermath of the Currowan bushfire at the seven South Coast NSW sites I regularly survey. The sites are two hectares in area and I record standard 20 minute surveys into the Birdata survey app that is managed by Birdlife Australia.

Superb Fairy-wrens were scarce after the bushfires but are now making a slow return.

The Yellow-faced Honeyeater is the predominant honeyeater at the moment, enjoying the absence of larger Wattlebirds who have yet to find good food sources in this area.

A solitary Australian Raven paints a stark picture against the burnt bush.

One thousand cuts

One of the biggest ironies is the many reasons given for cutting down more trees after so many were lost in the bushfires. All good reasons in some people’s eyes or from certain perspectives. To clear the road, to make people safe from falling trees, to protect the infrastructure, to stimulate the economy through forestry, to create employment after the fire and the pandemic, to make way for development, to provide a better buffer against future fires.

The electricity company makes good on a promise to better protect infrastructure from bushfires by chopping another 5-10 metre swathe of bush on each side to protect the wires.

For the environment (and implicitly the future economy) this is a one way street. Each tree gone takes us further away from the sustainable future we need to reach.

At some point in the past it had been decided to chop two paths through the bush. One for the road and one for the wires, thereby already doubling the bush destroyed.

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.