Woodland Identification and Survey Methods Workshop Welcome!

Woo dlan d Bird Identifi cati on and Survey MthdMethods WkhWorkshop

BirdLife Australia’s Woodland for Biodiversity project

The aim of WBfB is to: Enhance the conservation of threatened and declining woodland birds in the temperate region of south-eastern Australia

This project funded by:

Also doing bird surveys at the tree- planting sites, including some that were planted in 1994

2 Workshop Summary

1. Getting to know woodland birds and their habitat - what are temperate woodlands and ‘woodland birds’?

2. Survey techniques for birds in temperate woodlands - getting started - woodland bird monitoring – the why’s and how’s - Regent habitat and search methods

3. Identification tips for birds in south-eastern Australia’s temperate woodlands - sight recognition - call recognition - useful “clues” - some tricky - some important species

Feel free to ask questions / initiate discussion as we go

3 1. What are temperate woodlands and ‘woodland birds’? What are temperate woodlands?

• Woodlands are ecosystems with widely spaced trees (that seldom exceed 30m in height) whose crowns do not overlap • Open forests are often considered woodlands in Australia – and we do for the purposes of categorising “woodland birds” • Characterised by open understorey and sparse ground layer • Mainly on inland slopes of Great Divide / adjacent plains (e.g. Liverpool Plains) and drier, flatter areas in coastal catchments (e.g . Capertee / Hunter Valleys) • Almost all of temperate woodlands in south-east Australia are dominated by eucalypts, occasionally interspersed with native cypress pine, sheoak or buloke

5 Woodlands ain’t woodlands!

• Numerous different types of woodlands exist • Most have a dominant species (e.g. ironbark) but also comprise a range of co- existent species (e.g. stringybark, box etc) • Even within a box-ironbark woodland, there are various sub-communities each identified by their overstorey and main understorey components

6 Temperate woodlands = dry open forests

7 A precious and diverse but exploited ecosystem

• Once possible to walk from Melbourne to Sydney through almost continuous woodland of amazing diversity • Today, most of these woodlands have gone, especially those on fertile lowlands, and much of what remains is highly modified • Temperate woodlands are now among the most threatened ecosystems in Australia (over 85% has been cleared)

8 Birds of temperate woodlands

•~ 250-300 species of birds use the temperate woodlands and over a third of Australia’s land birds are woodland dependant • Woodlands are one of the most diverse habitats for fauna in southern Australia (they are often floristically diverse as well) • Woodlands have undergone significant change and modification over past couple of centuries (esp. in SE Aust where losses have been most significant) • Considerable regional species loss/decline • At least one in five woodland bird species listed as threatened or shown to be declining (more likely one in four) Key message: Temperate Woodlands are both biodiverse and highly threatened

9 Birds of temperate woodlands

Seasonal changes to bird communities are a characteristic part of temperate woodlands • Dynamic fluctuations in the bird fauna are driven by climatic changes which in turn influence food availability • Different types of movement are exemplified by different species – some are migratory, others are nomadic while others again display irregular and localised movements

10 Birds of temperate woodlands

Autumn-winter migrants • Arrive March-April and depart around October. • Typically from cooler climates (altitudinal migrants, e.g. ) • Migratory nectar-feeders are a distinctive componentcomponent of this group, attracted by flowering eucalypts (e.g. Swift Parrot)

11 Birds of temperate woodlands

Spring-summer migrants • Arrive around September-October, depart around March-April • Typically from warmer northern regions • Most are breeding migrants (e.g. Pallid , White-browed Woodswallow, Rufous Whistler, Sacred Kingfisher)

12 Birds of temperate woodlands

Promine nt gu il ds of bir ds in w oodl an ds Nectar-feeders (~20% of the woodland bird fauna) • Over 30 species of ‘’, including wattlebirds and friarbirds • Five species of nectar-feeding parrots (lorikeets and the Swift Parrot)

13 Birds of temperate woodlands

Ground-foragers and ground-nesters • Form around half of the woodland bird fauna • Dependant on features of the ground-layer such as sparse grass cover, patchy understorey, woody / leafy debris • Many of the most iconic woodland birds are ground-foragers

14 Birds of temperate woodlands

Hollow-dependant species • Form around 15% of the woodland bird fauna • Hollow-bearing trees play an important role in providing habitat in woodlands • Tiny holes and crevices used by small species such as Striated and Owlet Nightjar, and large hollows are important for birds such as owls.

15 Birds of temperate woodlands

Insectivorous foliage-gleaners • Represent a significant proportion of the woodland bird fauna • Species include whistlers, cuckoo-shrikes, , , , thornbills • These birds are specially adapted to forage on eucalypt and acacia foliage in search of small invertebrates • Often assemble in mixed-species foraging flocks

16 Woodland habitat for birds

Different vegetation communities attract different birds • Birds associate with particular communities, driven either by floristic or structural attributes • Floristics refers to species composition (birds attracted to resources provided by different species of )

17 Woodland habitat for birds

Structure refers to the physical form of the habitat • Woodlands provide a number of critical structural resources for birds, more so than other habitat types, for example: – Diverse foragi ing sub st rat es (canopy, limb s, trunk s, logs) – Large spreading tree crowns – Numerous tree-hollows of a range of sizes and shapes – Greater frequency and amount of tree floweri ng – Ground litter accumulation

18 Examples of habitat use by birds

Dry open forests (e.g. Grey Box, Buloke) • Low sparse understorey with scattered debris: - Buff-rumped Thornbill - Scarlet Robin - Grey • Low trunks/branches with rough bark: - Varied Sittella

19 Examples of habitat use by birds

Grassy woodlands (e. g. White Box, Yellow Box, Blakely’ s Red Gum) • Open grassy ground layer, fallen limbs: - Restless Flycatcher - Brown Treecreeper • Widely spaced mature trees, peeling bark, spreading crowns - Crested Shrike-tit

20 Examples of habitat use by birds

Dry coastal belt forests (e. g. Spotted Gum, Ironbark spp., Grey Gum) • Ground debris, shrub cover: - Painted Button-quail • Widely spaced trees, patches of open ground: - Dusky Woodswallow • Upper and lower branches - YllYellow-tftdtufted Honeyeat er

21 2. Survey techniques for birds in

temperate woodlands Woodland Bird Monitoring

Birds are excellent indicators of the condition and change to the natural environment:

• Broad-scale (e.g. impacts of climate change)

• Medium-scale (e.g. landscape processes such as s

vegetation connectivity and dd

configuration) Bir Patch Size • Fine-scale (e.g. habitat management at site scale)

23 Woodland Bird Monitoring

Monitoring methods Most appropriate method depends on objectives of the monitoring Different types of monit ori ng incl ud e: • Habitat-based (e.g. woodland types or surveys of an area) • Threat-based (e. g. fire, grazing) • Species-based (e.g. Regent Honeyeater, Swift Parrot)

24 Woodland Bird Monitoring

Monitoring methods • 20 minute / 2 hectare surveys are the most important and promoted survey type: - standardised across the country - best suited for targeted surveys at specific sites - provide the most “robust” data (e.g. can stand up to scrutiny) • 500m area searches, with added flexibility, maymay be required to detect threatened or cryptic species • Regardless of survey area size, it is important to maintain consistency

25 Woodland Bird Monitoring

Site selection • Choose sites which are representative of a particular habitat • Use a degree of randomness in site selection and include sites with different attributes, such as: - regeneration - mature trees -grazed sites - ungrazed sites

26 Woodland Bird Monitoring

What to record? • Survey and geographic data (date, time, coordinates etc.) • Habitat data – very important for tracking changes (even basic descriptions are of use) • Presence/absence data for birds will tell us something • Count data will tell us more (count minimum number of individuals seen on all surveys)

27 Woodland Bird Monitoring

Frequency and duration of monitoring • Conduct seasonally at the very least to detect bird movements: - autumn-winter movements - spring-summer movements • Best monitoring results come from sites that have been intensively surveyed in a consistent manner • Long-term monitoring delivers best results

28 Woodland Bird Monitoring

Who should monitor? • Anyone and everyone!! • Those with expertise combined with others keen to learn (!!) • Good idea to initiate a network of group monitoring sites where repeat visits are made by various observers (experienced and less experienced) •Grouppg monitoring allows standardised monitoringgy by multip le observers • Establishing group monitoring sites requires: -GPS location -Map o f s i te - Access arrangements

29 Woodland Bird Monitoring

How to get involved • BirdLife Australia monitoring programs • Atlas of Australian Birds • Local/regional monitoring programs (e.g. Bird Clubs, CMAs, Landcare, Field Nats etc.) • programs • Important Bird Area monitoring

30 Woodland Bird Monitoring

Whaaodot to do with the edaa data? • Atlas of Australian Birds database (managed by BirdLife Australia) • Approved methodology and different monitoring options • Allows data to be used more broadly • Observers able to house and access their data • Data-sharing agreements with other databases

31 Woodland Bird Monitoring

Applications of woodland bird data • Data used by a wide range of researchers • Informs publications such as State of Australia’s Birds • Woodland Birds for Biodiversity project • Swift Parrot & Regent Honeyeater monitoring programs • Also ecological consultants and regulators

32 So….Getting Started

Binoculars

Possibly the most important “birderbirder’s tool”…

Various options with different sizes, zooms etc

As always, what ever suits the Individual’s needs….

…but for woodland birding (where there is good light), 10x are ideal (8x are also popular).

33 Getting Started

34 Getting Started

Nikon 10x42 Swarovski 10x42

35 Getting Started

Field Guides

The “Big 44…and/or”…and/or new “apps”

36 Getting Started

Notebook and pen

Spiral-bound works well

37 Getting Started

“Optional Extras”

+ of course, all of the common sense stuff!!

38 Getting Started

Some things you may be wondering…

Do I record birds flying over?

What about birds jj,ust off site, or ones I can’t tell where they are?

Do I record numbers of birds? If so,,y what about ones I only hear?

What does 2ha look like? Or 500m from a point – how big is that?

39 Getting Started

What does 2ha look like?

20,000sq m = ~140mx140m OR 100mx200m or 400mx50m…

500m from a point = 7.85ha

40 Dean’s visual of 2ha method??????200m

100m

41 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Probably the most important ‘woodland bird’ to search for is the Regent Honeyeater

We will ta lk a bout i denti fication later…

…but here we will talk about habitat and some tips on searching for this rare and highly endangered species

42 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Regent Honeyeaters rely on flowering Eucalypts for nectar

‘Local’ trees important for the Regent Honeyeater include: • Mugga Ironbark ( sideroxylon) • White Box (E. albens) • Yellow Box (E. melliodora) • Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata) • Swamp Mahogany (E. robusta)

+ various other Eucalypts

43 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

But also important, are mistletoes:

Mistletoes important for the species include: • Needle-leaf Mistletoe, Amyema cambagei on River She-oak, Casuarina cunninghamiana •Box Mistletoe, A. miquelii •Loogng-flooewer Mist stetoe,letoe, Deedoptoendropthoe vitellina

44 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

• Will also eat lerp / other insects

• Other plant flowers

45 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

But they have their favourite habitat types….

Where their favourite trees occur….

And these include (broadly)…

46 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Grassy White Box woodlands

47 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Box Ironbark woodlands

48 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

River She-oak forests

49 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Spotted Gum Ironbark forests

50 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Swamp Mahogany forests

51 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mugga Ironbark E. sideroxylon

52 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mugga Ironbark E. sideroxylon

53 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mugga Ironbark E. sideroxylon

54 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – White Box E. albens

55 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – White Box E. albens

56 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Yellow Box E. melliodora

57 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Yellow Box E. melliodora

58 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Spotted Gum C. maculata

59 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Spotted Gum C. maculata

60 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Spotted Gum C. maculata

61 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Swamp Mahogany E. robusta

62 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Swamp Mahogany E. robusta

63 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mistletoes Amyema miquelli

64 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mistletoes

65 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mistletoes Dendropthoe vittelina

66 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mistletoes Amyema cambagei

67 Regent Honeyeater habitat and search methods

Key species – Mistletoes Amyema cambagei

68 Tips on finding Regent Honeyeaters

1. Find blossoming trees, preferably one of their ‘faves’

2. Look / listen for associated bird species – especially Noisy (and Little) Friarbirds, but also Little / Musk Lorikeets, Red Wattlebirds, White-naped HE etc

3. Once in a “good position”, get your eye in to which birds are “controllinggp” different parts of a flowerin ggg tree. Regents will often be guarding an area, even standing up to larger HE’s. They are also likely to be near the tops of the trees.

4. Keep an eye on any dead trees and farm dams, as Regents like to use both, especially mid-late afternoon.

69 Tips on finding Regent Honeyeaters

5. Get yyyour eye in on friarbirds and smaller HE’s, then be alert for anything mid-sized flying about.

6. Whilst all of this is goi ng on…LISTEN INTENTLY!!!

7. Be patient, stick with an area until you think you’ve worked it, then move on, preferably on foot, to inspect other trees. You’d be surprised how often a tree full of birds can be neighboured by another tree with a Regent or two lurking within.

If you think it is worthwhile, play a call. Be mindful of the situation if you choose to do this (i.e. NEVER do if nesting is suspected or if you’re on a busy road).

70 3. Identification tips for birds

in south-eastern Australia’s

temperate woodlands In the field tips

There are 2 ways of getting the best views of a bird

1. High magnification / better quality binoculars

Remember the trade-offs we spoke about earlier?

It’s all about what you are most comfortable with (d(and can affffd!)ord!)

72 In the field tips

There are 2 ways of getting the best views of a bird

2. Getting closer to the bird (or the bird closer to you)

Sometimes it is tempting to walk towards a bird, but most often it is best to observe and decide if this can be done

Some birds are more (and less) approachable than others.

A lot of the time, the best thing to do is be quiet and inconspicuous and let the bird(s) come to you

This a lso wor ks wh en ‘searchi ng’ for bird s (bird s confid e, call s heard more easily)

73 Sight Recognition

Seeing is believing and obviously recognising a bird when you see one is very important…but remember…

…the important term here is “recognition”.

Over time you will learn to recognise birds – i.e. you won’t really be “identifying” them any more.

You don’t need to know a bird’s features intimately to be able to recognise it.

74 Sight Recognition

The basics to start with “identification”… Size

Shape

Colour / Tones

Beeahaviou r

75 Sight Recognition

The basics to start with “identification”…

Size Sometimes a good idea to think relative to a familiar species. E.g. sparrow for smaller birds, magpie-lark for medium, crow//graven for larger.

Can be the most important feature on seppgarating difficult species (e.g. Brown Goshawk vs Collared Sparrowhawk)

76 Sight Recognition

The basics to start with “identification”…

Shape – Often can be broken into binomials.

E.ggg. long-tailed/short-tailed, big-headed/small-headed, broad-winged/narrow-winged, longg/ billed/short billed , long legs/short legs etc

Whereas some are defining features, e.g. presence of a crest, cocked tail, forked tail etc.

77 Sight Recognition

The basics to start with “identification”…

Colour / Tones – Note colours on all parts of the bird, including: • feathers - look for key features in the feathers - mottled appearance / pale patches could mean a juv. • bare parts (bill, legs) •eye colour

But perhaps more importantly, things like wing-bars, markings around the area behind the eye, bars on the tail, white edges to tail….any features that are obvious that may help you distinguish the bird from others.

78 Sight Recognition

But, be careful…e.g. with too much emphasis on colour and size

When first encountering a new bird, that colour and size can often be your enemy.

The distribution of colour and markings, overall shape and comparative size and habitat are more important than exact colour or size matching to a field guide

Light can have a huge impact on colours and even impression of size and shape

79 Sight Recognition

The basics to start with “identification”…

Behaviour – can be critical information, especially for difficult to identify / see birds.

Where was the bird? In a tree? If so, where in the tree?

On ground? On briefly, or for an extended period? Did the bird ‘travel’ on the ground?

Was it creeping up or down a branch?

Flight pattern – how was it flying? How did it hold its wings?

80 Sight Recognition

Jacky Winter is an example of a non-descript bird that can be ‘recognised’ by behaviour.

81 Also important is…habitat and range

Although a bird should be identified for what it is, not what it should be, habitat and range are often very useful in narrowing down an identification.

E.g. although a Brown looks a lot like a which looks a lot like a – their habitats and ranges do not overlap.

Other examples might be: White-throated vs Red-browed Treecreeper Songlarks and pipits Thorn bills (we w ill ge t to this !) Leaden vs Satin Flycatcher (but be very careful!) Even Fairy-wrens

82 Useful “Clues”Clues

But remember…. a bird should be identified for what it is, not what it should be

83 Sight Recognition

So…noting the size, shape, colour and behaviour will take you a long way towards identifying a bird.

Habitat and range are relevant, remember that birds have wings!

For a gg,ood, succinct read, have a look at the “How to observe a bird” section in the opening pages of the Simpson and Day Field Guide

You can take notes, photographs, ask other observers etc, but…

…the main point is that over time, this will lead from an ‘exercise in identification’ to ‘qqguick recognition’

84 Sight Recognition

Watch birds closely and they will teach you what they look like.

Thing is, you actually do this every day…think about looking for a friend or a family member in a crowd of people…

You don’t need to identify them because you recognise the way they walk, their shape, size etc – just like birds

85 Sight Recognition

86 Sight Recognition

Even just a quick look at these line drawings is enough to know what the bird is

87 Sight Recognition

“JIZZ” (GISS) – General Impression of Shape and Size

The best thing to do is to learn the ‘jizz’ of familiar birds. A good example is the

-very familiar - rather square-tailed - distinctive flight / gliding pattern - ‘busybusy’ - rarely perches motionless - almost unique in size for a bird with its behaviour patterns

88 Sight Recognition

Other familiar birds to learn the “jizz” on ar e:

Grey Fantail – “busy”, cocked tail, dipping flight

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike – distinctive flight, elongated shappge, wing-shuffle, habits

Eastern Yellow Robin – classic “thickhead” to use a yardstick for other robins or whistlers, distinctive feeding behaviour

Yellow-faced Honeyeater – possibly the most familiar ‘small Honeyeater’ against which impressions of size, shape etc can be judged on other Honeyeaters

89 Call Recognition

Call recognition Once learnt, the calls of woodland birds will be the dominant way you will record birds in a given area.

90 Call Recognition

Call recognition It also enables efficient surveyyging (you may be able to do surveys eventually without binoculars!)

91 Call recognition

Unfortunately, there is no easy way other than to go birding and learn the calls (some people might be able to listen to recordings)

92 Call recognition

Calls are useful not just for building a list of what’s about, but also for when looking for rare, cryptic or ‘important’ species

93 Call recognition

Some very useful calls to learn are:

Weebill (but all thornbills really)

Pardalotes

White-plumed Honeyeater

Honeyyg(geater flight calls (e.g. White-naped)

All cuckoos

Corvids – can be the only reliable way to separate these species

94 Useful “Clues”Clues

There are often clues to the presence of birds in a woodland

E.g. Painted Button-quail ‘platelets’ Go to YtbYoutubeand type in “Painted Button-quail”

95 Useful “Clues”Clues

Other “clues” might be:

- ‘Whitewash’ from roosting birds - Pellets from owls - Diggings, scratched leaf litter (large ground-dwellers) - Nests (many are distinct, e.g. the mud-nesters, finches)

Plus, it’s always a good idea to look for leads…things like blossoming trees, seeding grasses, water-points (and maybe even if there is water on the ggp)round near a puddle?)

96 Some tricky species – “LBJs” – Little Brown Jobs

Thornbills, Gerygones

A quick guide to some useful pointers in identifying these birds.

Paramount are habitat, colour of features and calls (shape and size not really useful)

These are birds that are both small and often difficult to get good views of.

Many thanks to Allan Richardson for assistance here.

97 “LBJs” – Brown Thornbill

98 “LBJs” – Inland Thornbill

99 “LBJs” – Striated Thornbill

100 “LBJs” – Yellow Thornbill

101 “LBJs” – Buff-rumped Thornbill

102 “LBJs” – Yellow-rumped Thornbill

103 Some tricky species –

104 “LBJs” – White-throated Gerygone

105 “LBJs” – Western Gerygone

106 “LBJs” – Southern Whiteface

107 Some tricky species

Striated Pardalotes

In the broader Sydney area there are up to 3 different subspecies (but not all at the same time)

Yellow-tipped Pardalote Pardalotus striatus striatus

Western P. s. substriatus

Eastern Striated Pardalote P. s. ornatus

108 Some tricky species

Striated Pardalotes

Eastern Striated Pardalote Pardalotus s. ornatus

RidResident, bree ding bidbird in SE Coastal Australia

The “bread and butter Striated Pardalote” in our area

109 Some tricky species

Striated Pardalotes

Western Striated Pardalote P. s. substriatus

RidResident, bree ding bidbird in Australia – mostly W of Great Divide

Occurs in Hunter Valley,

Perhaps Capertee too?

110 Some tricky species

Striated Pardalotes

Yellow-tipped Pardalote P. striatus striatus

BdBreeds onl y in TTiassie, migrates to SE mainland Australia in autumn / winter (much like Swifties)

111 Some tricky species

Striated Pardalotes – quick reference guide

112 Some ‘important’ species – recognising Swift Parrots

Little Lorikeet Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Musk Lorikeet Swift Parrot 113 Some ‘important’ species – recognising Swift Parrots

Purple-crowned Lorikeet

Little Lorikeet differences include: - Red under wings and tail

Musk Lorikeet

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Rainbow Lorikeet

114 Some ‘important’ species – recognising Swift Parrots

115 Some ‘important’ species – recognising Swift Parrots

Blue edges to wings SllSmall amount of blue on Yellow fringe fhdforehead

Red ‘mask’ Red above

116 Some ‘important’ species – recognising Swift Parrots

Maroon pointy tail

117 Some ‘important’ species – recognising Swift Parrots

But, as with most forest birds, learning the call is perhaps the most important thing.

Contact calls

Flight call

118 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

119 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

• Striking bird • Black head with bare facial patch • Bold scaly plumage pattern • Yellow patches in wing and tail

120 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

Other ‘yellow-winggyed’ honeyeaters: • New Holland HE have white on face, streaked, white eye • White-cheeked HE smaller and have big white cheek on face, streaked • Painted HE plain white underparts and pink bill • CtCrescent HE has dititidistinctive chthest marking (‘saddle’) • White-fronted HE very unlikely in our area Note that field guides incorrectly illustrate a pink or red face

121 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

122 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

123 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

124 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

125 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

126 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

127 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

New Holland Honeyeater Painted Honeyeater

Crescent Honeyeater White-cheeked Regent Honeyeater Honeyeater

128 Some ‘important’ species - recognising Regent HEs

Enough theory….time for some fieldwork!!

129 Thanks for making it this far

Our contacts

Freecall 1800 621 056 / [email protected] or 0421 761237 / [email protected]

National RH/SP survey weekends for 2014: May 17-18 August 2-3 (always the 3rd weekend in May and 1st weekend in August)

But happy for people to be looking any time!

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