Lyrebird Tales

Volume 25 Number 4 December 2016

Christmas in August

(and Cocos in September) By Doug Pocock

The advertisement for Christmas Island ‘n’ Nature Week in Birdlife caught our eye. Here was a chance to go somewhere we had heard of so often and have someone else do all the organizing! After a long day’s travelling we arrived at Christmas Island and were taken to our very comfortable accommodation. That evening over dinner we were given an outline of the week ahead.

Golden Bosunbird on a tree hollow Photo © D. Pocock

Lunch was served in a nearby park where we were able to look down from a cliff-top lookout upon the Golden Bosunbirds wheeling around on courting flights. The lookout was directly above a Red-footed Booby nesting tree which was also used by Frigatebirds. The park was surrounded by bushy areas where we saw the C.I White-eye and the C.I Glossy Swiftlet. In the afternoon we banded more Red-tailed Tropicbirds and saw some breeding Common Noddies. The hotel swimming pool was just outside our door and was most welcome each day though it was rather warm. That evening the pattern was set for an evening talk by one of our leaders Red-tailed Tropicbird Photo © Doug Pocock followed by a delightful dinner. The first morning was a little chaotic but after sorting out our groups and vehicles we headed off under our leader Nic’s direction to a nearby Red-tailed Tropicbird rookery. Here Nic gave us an outline of his (voluntary) program into these Contents along with the local Golden Bosunbird (C.I. form of White- 1-3. Christmas in August (Cocos in September) tailed Tropicbird) and Common Noddies. Then we plunged into the rocky, scrubby area where we soon found our first by Doug Pocock ground nesting Tropicbird. Nic banded the adult bird which he 4. Platypus and Australasian Grebe. had caught easily and went on to catch and band several Ancient wing found in Burmese amber. young fledglings. Typical of birds which developed on uninhabited islands they had little fear of humans. The main 5.Committee. What bird is that? Breeding records 2016 threat to the chicks was from introduced to the island 6. Interesting sightings. Forthcoming trip to Mud Island and also poor seasons. All the seabirds are suffering to some degree as the ocean waters warm up and have less food. 7.-11 Reports of Meetings and Outings After banding half a dozen birds we went to the main beach 11. Birds are not the only fauna that use this feeder on the island and Nic showed us a C.I. Golden Bosunbird 12. Calendar of Events nesting in a hollow in a tree in the picnic area. Different to the Red- these nest in hollows in trees or natural hollows in the cliffs. Lyrebird Tales

difficult for the turtles which dig their nesting burrows there. We took out a sackful of rubbish but that had a depressingly small effect on the overall quantity. That night the evening meal was prepared by the hospitality pupils at the high school. We sat outside at our tables but after a short while we became aware of dozens of large Robber Crabs, attracted by the smell of food, advancing on us like a Hitchcock movie. It made an interesting conversation point.

On the third day we were offered a couple of choices. We elected to go with Tim Low on the more difficult option. This walk was to a Ramsar site where some rather unusual mangroves grow. These had been growing coastally but as the land rose it was no longer inundated by the tides. However there is a freshwater creek to keep things wet and the mangrove colony has survived for 120,000 years. Unusually for mangroves some of these are large trees 30-40 Brown Booby and chick Photo © Doug Pocock metres tall. There were C.I. Flying seen hanging in fig trees. In the afternoon we visited the National Park centre Next day’s leader was Tim Low, author of “Where Song where there is a breeding program for an endangered gecko Began”. Tim is a “big picture” man and talked about the and the Blue-tailed Skink which is extinct in the wild. greater environmental picture. We drove along some narrow tracks where we soon became aware of the famous C.I. Red Crabs. These crabs clean the forest floor, removing and fallen litter leaving open forest. Frighteningly, small “Crazy Ants” have invaded the island and in places have formed vast colonies. Though small, these ants can kill red crabs by blinding them with formic acid spray and getting under their carapace to slowly eat them. Where the crabs have disappeared the forest floor becomes overgrown and it is not known what effect this may have on the ecosystem. Tim took us to “The Dales”, a series of fresh water streams issuing from the limestone overlaying the basalt which formed the island. In these moist areas lived another endemic crab, the Blue Crab. Along the way, we saw the largest land crab, the Robber Crab. There is an amazing 180 of crab on and around the island with about 20 being purely land crabs.

Christmas Island Goshawk Photo © Doug Pocock

Day the fourth saw us out with leader Mark who has many interests including the C.I. Goshawk. Mark has a program of banding to try to get a good estimation of population and greater knowledge of its behaviour. In order to catch the

Robber Crab Photo © Doug Pocock birds mark has a ”rat” (actually a flotsam teddy bear’s leg with attached!) which is dragged by a long string pulled In the afternoon we visited Greta Beach. This is a delightful along by three people in the back of a ute slowly driving small cove accessed by a large steel ladder, one of the few along the roads and tracks. Another car follows with beaches breaking the forbidding razor sharp limestone cliffs. observers. At the sight of the “rat” a goshawk will swoop and Unfortunately, ocean eddies make this a wash-up point for sometimes grasp the bait. The observers take note of where flotsam, mainly plastic. Thongs, bottles, ropes, disposable the bird is and Mark uses his specially designed “clothes peg lighters and suchlike piles up on the beach making life

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on a fishing line” to catch the bird by the leg and then band Island, the ferry only costing $1 being heavily subsidized by it. The birds do not seem overly concerned by the handling the Federal Government. Snorkeling was easy accessible as they only fly a short way off and look to see if there is any from the sandy beach and we had some pleasant walks. chance of another false rat to check out. However we kept a wary eye on the coconut palms in case of falling fruit. After four pleasant days on Cocos we boarded Our fifth day was spent with Janos, a German professor the plane for the long trip home. specializing in sea birds, especially C.I. Frigatebirds and Abbott’s Booby. He took us to nesting and roosting sites It had been a very interesting and informative trip onto these where he works but as it was a poor season there were very distant Australian territories. few young birds to band. He also attaches tracking devices which give him distribution patterns for feeding and dispersal. Abbott’s Booby is the largest of the boobies and it nests in large forest trees so that the birds can take off more easily than from the ground. This presents conservation problems as phosphate mining has cleared much old growth forest and the cyclone which hit the island a few years ago blew over many more nesting trees. A current threat is that the phosphate mine wants to expand by cutting down more old growth forest. The C.I. Frigatebird has problems as its flight path takes it to Indonesia where they can get caught in fishing lines and Janos has a photo of shot frigatebirds on sale in a food market.

Janos, who is based at Hamburg University, gets minimum Christmas Island Crab Photo © Doug Pocock assistance from the Australian government, most of his funds coming from donations or from overseas sources. Indeed, up to recently he and his students could stay free at the National Park staff house but now they have to pay. We were rather shocked to find that all the programs that we were shown were funded by the people themselves by whatever funds they could get. Some of the costs of our trip went to funding these programs.

That night we had dinner at the Golf Club and afterwards went spotlighting and saw the C.I. Hawk-owl.

On the last day we had organized a car so we did some snorkeling and then went for a walk to Andersons Dale on the west coast. This is an interesting creek that has cut its way down through the limestone to form a gloomy chasm that leads to the sea. At the mouth of the chasm is a rock pool but there was too much swell to allow swimming. We returned via Margaret Knoll, a nicely elevated lookout with Christmas Island coastline Photo © Doug Pocock spectacular coastal views. We looked down on Brown and Red-footed as well as Abbott’s Boobies, C.I. and Greater Frigatebirds, C.I.Imperial Pigeons and, unusually for daytime, flying foxes. Returning to our hotel we saw Emerald Doves along the roadsides.

Next day brought the second part of our adventure, a trip to Cocos Island, 1 ½ flying hours from C.I. Whereas C.I. is a single island rising from the sea, Cocos is a collection of islands forming an atoll around a shallow lagoon. Not a lot of birding was done though we saw White-breasted Waterhens and Green . The first morning we spent travelling on the lagoon in a motorized canoe. Having spent much energy over the years paddling canoes we wonder if this might be the way to go! Breaks on sandy palm fringed islands for breakfast and morning tea, stops for snorkeling made for a very pleasant trip. Falling tide meant we were running out of water to float in so sadly, we had to finish. Christmas Island Frigatebird Photo © Doug Pocock Another day we took the ferry to uninhabited Direction

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Platypus and Australasian Grebe between 9.30 and 10am we saw a single platypus swimming and diving in the pond at Hull Rd Wetlands, but there was no sign of the resident Australasian Grebes. The platypus swam towards the edge of the pond disappearing amongst the surrounding reeds. We waited to see if it would reappear so that we could show it to a group of scouts nearby. When the platypus appeared again it swam towards the back of the pond disappearing from view and an Australasian Grebe swam out from the same location as the platypus had from the reeds.

Ancient bird wing found in Burmese amber

In June 2016 a coalition of researchers from China, USA, and Canada released a paper describing an exciting scientific Australasian Grebe Photo © V. Fowler discovery. Two tiny bird wing tips from the Dinosaur-era almost 100 million years ago were found in pieces of amber To see a fascinating video by Joanne and Tony Leggo that in Myanmar; one of which was intended to be fashioned into shows an Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) a jewellery pendant called “angel’s wings”. The two pieces interacting with a platypus at Peacock Creek in New South weighing just 1.6 and 8.51 grams contain bone structure, Wales, you can go to skin and claws, multiple and soft tissue which are www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4cswIyaRHw. thought to originate from the enantiornithes a group of avian So what’s going on with the platypus and grebe? dinosaurs at end of the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago). Almost all enantiornithes retained teeth The video documents the grebe approaching the platypus and clawed fingers on each wing, but otherwise looked much very closely on four occasions, with the two then like modern birds externally. Lida Xing, a palaeontologist at diving in close synchrony. However, the dive is initiated on the China University of Geosciences in Beijing and his each occasion by the platypus, with the grebe following the research team collected the samples from a well known platypus’s lead within a second or less. On one occasion, the amber market in Myitkyina the capital of the Burmese state grebe gives the platypus a little peck on its back, as if to say of Kachin. The were an exciting find as most amber “Hurry up then, get on with it”. fossils previously studied contained only fragments or just Australasian Grebes feed on many of the same prey items isolated feathers. Xing’s study suggested one of the wings that are eaten by a platypus, including aquatic , small may have been chipped off a larger piece of amber perhaps crayfish and snails. They sometimes forage on the water containing an entire bird specimen. surface (as shown at one point in the Leggo’s video) but are Amber is fossilized tree resin (not sap) which would have also well adapted to finding food by diving. They have also been used by the tree as a natural antibiotic protection and been observed associating at times with other waterbirds was used by humans as a remedy for pain relief and to boost apparently for the express purpose of capturing prey that the the immune system promoting fast healing. Amber has been other birds flush out. prized for its natural beauty and colour since Neolithic times. It therefore seems likely that the grebe at Peacock Creek has Since then amber has been used as gemstones and carved learned that a platypus excels at locating live edible items on into decorative objects as well as used for religious and the channel bottom, at least some of which will elude capture medicinal purposes. by the platypus and thus become potential prey for the Burmese amber is mainly used for jewellery and carvings and grebe. It would be interesting to know what the platypus pieces containing fossilized insects are considered to contain thinks about this activity – in the video, the platypus doesn’t impurities, reducing the value so evidence is usually look too fussed, but perhaps things would be different if a destroyed during polishing. However feathers in amber are platypus was better equipped (for example, with sharp teeth) prized for their rarity and beauty so the complete specimen is to object to the bird’s behaviour. protected as much as possible. Last year a young Australasian Grebe arrived at Hull Rd Most fossils found in Burmese amber are mined in the Wetlands in Lilydale and is regularly seen in the same pond northern area in the Hukawng Valley in Kachin state. This where two platypuses are resident. Despite surveying this area has been in an area of conflict for more than 50 years pond on a regular basis at the same time for many years I and because of this the sale of Burmese amber is mostly had not once observed a platypus. The resident Australasian unregulated with the majority sold to Chinese buyers. Grebe is often seen with a second bird. Since the arrival of Burmese amber is prized by scientists as it is thought to the grebe there have been occasional daytime sightings of contain the most diversity of plants and animals from the one or two Platypus in the morning until about 10am. Cretaceous period and they value the scientific information Whilst I have not observed the behavior shown in the video, that it preserves. perhaps the following sighting is of interest. On 11.9.16

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Much of earlier studies of prehistoric plumage have come Breeding records 2016 from individual imprints in stone compression fossils where soft tissue was not preserved, which although they Hull Road Wetlands have shown arrangement of the feathers, they are lacking in colour or fine detail and cannot be associated with the they have come from. The two tiny wings in Burmese amber are in 3D and reveal the colouring, patterns and layering of the feathers. The specimens were just a few centimetres long and smaller than a ’s wing. They are thought to be from fledglings or juvenile birds which became caught in the trees resin as the amber also preserved claw marks thought to have been made by the bird as it struggled to get free. The feathers however were more like those of adult birds with no downy feathers present as in modern juvenile birds. It is thought that these birds would be able to run or fly almost immediately after birth and would need little or no care from its parents. Whilst appearing to be black to the naked eye, upon study it was revealed that the flight feathers were mainly dark brown and other feathers range from a Black Swans (above and below) Photos © V & P Fowler slightly paler brown through to white or silver bands or dots perhaps similar to the plumage of skylarks. One shows the underside of the wing which was pale with dark brown leading edges. The remarkably similar pattern of feathers shows that arrangements and microstructure in modern birds existed in their predecessors millions of years ago. http://www.nature.com/news/bird-wings-trapped-in-amber- are-a-fossil-first-from-the-age-of-dinosaurs-1.20162 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/dinosaur-bird- feather-burma-amber-myanmar-flying-paleontology- enantiornithes/

BirdLife Australia Yarra Valley Branch P.O. Box 1172, Healesville Vic. 3777

email: [email protected] Committee Convener: Glenn Mawson Vice-Convener: Manfred Hennig Secretary: Alma Mitchell

Treasurer: Maggie Smith Librarian: Linda Bullen Conservation Officer: Michael Feller Other Members: Jim McMinn, Kevin Mason

What bird is that? Wood Ducks and chicks Photo © V. Fowler

10-7-16 Black Swans on nest

10-7-16 Australian Magpies making a nest

14-8-16 Black Swans 2 adults 4 cygnets (first and only sighting) they moved off down the Olinda Creek

28-8-16 Wood Ducks 2 adults 6 chicks

Answer on page 11.

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Brown Thornbill collecting nesting material V. Fowler Pink-eared Ducks and chicks Photo ©V. Fowler 28-6-16 Brown Thornbill collecting nesting material Interesting Sightings 5-9-16 Superb Fairy-wren carrying food to nest 10-7-16 Royal Spoonbill – Lillydale Lake. Valerie Fowler 18-9-16 Black Duck 1 adult and 1 chick July 2016. Indian Ringneck Parakeet (escapee) - Mooroolbark, 23-9-16 Black Duck 2 adults and 6 chicks Valerie Fowler 23-9-16 Grey Teal 2 adults and 12 chicks 9-7-16 Brown Goshawk - Coldstream West Rd. Jim McMinn

3-10-16 Black Duck 1 adult and 7 chicks 23-7-16 White-necked Heron - Coldstream West Rd. Jim McMinn Lillydale Lake 31-7-16 Red-rumped Parrots (7) - Mooroolbark, Valerie & Peter Fowler 1-8-16 Tawny Frogmouth calling - Lalors Rd, Healesville. Maggie Smith 6-8-16 Crescent Honeyeaters - Lalors Rd, Healesville. Leah Smith 7-8-16 King Parrot (Pair) - South Croydon. Ian & Elva Muir 8-8-16 Olive Whistler - Badger Weir Park. Ian & Elva Muir For 12 months. Cattle Egrets 100+ - Paynes Rd, Chirnside Park. Glenn Mawson 8-8-16 Whistling Kite - Woori Yallock. Heather Arnold Australian Shelduck - Haining Farm, Don Valley. Heather Arnold 13-8-16 Cattle Egret (71) - Edwards Road, Chirnside Park, Valerie & Peter Fowler, Lyn Abreu Purple Swamphen on nest Photo © V. Fowler 10-9-16 Olive-backed Oriole - Mooroolbark, Peter Fowler 14-8-16 Purple Swamphens making a nest, it was abandoned 11-9-16 Fan-tailed Cuckoo & Shining-bronze Cuckoo – Hull Rd by 5-9-16 when the playground started to be renovated. Wetlands, Lilydale, Valerie & Peter Fowler 14-8-16 Red Wattlebirds mating 11-9-16 Reed Warbler (3), 1 Grassbird - Lillydale Lake, Valerie & 14-8-16 Common Moorhen with 1 chick Peter Fowler 16-10-16 Australian Shellduck – Edwards Rd, Chirnside Park, V&P 22-8-16 & 18-9-16 Welcome Swallow at nest Fowler 11-9-16 Grey Teal 2 adults and 4 young Boat Trip to Mud Island 11-9-16 Pink-eared Ducks 2 adults and 4 chicks Wednesday 25 January 2017, 18-9-16 Darter on nest departs Sorrento,limited places 18-9-16 Grey Teal 2 adults and 7 chicks

3-10-16 Grey Fantail on nest Bookings [email protected]

9-10-16 Purple Swamphens 2+5 chicks & 2+2 chicks & 2+2 chicks

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Reports of Meetings and Outings Alan Murphy was very pleased that he was able to complete the walk – the first outing for a long time. Well done Alan, we Wednesday 27 July – Outing to The Hundred Acres, hope there will be many more. Ian Muir Park Orchards. Tuesday 9 August – Meeting – ProAves Colombia. When we visit The Hundred Acres we will always remember Murray Bourchier who was instrumental in having this The first part of the talk was a recording and presentation by magnificent suburban bushland preserved as a Fauna and Roger Rodriguez who is a ProAves bird guide at their flagship Flora Reserve. Sadly Murray passed away late in 2015 and bird property El Dorado Lodge in the Caribbean area of his legacy lives on in The Hundred Acres. A new seat set in Colombia. stone has been erected overlooking Brown Dam at the end of Roger firstly explained why Colombia is a mega diverse Dalry Avenue with a plaque set in the stonework in memory country not only for birds but also for other wildlife species of Murray. and plants. Colombia has the largest diversity for birds and amphibians, number 2 for diversity for vascular plants, number 3 for reptiles and 4 for mammals. The second diverse country is Brazil which is 8 times the size of Colombia.

Roger said at present there are 1,912 bird species in Colombia but this will soon increase as species have been split and several birds have been undescribed. He talked about 2 extinct species; the Bogota Sunangel Hummingbird (only skins in a museum) and the Colombian Grebe (extinct in the 1970s) – both became extinct through habitat loss.

ProAves originally started in 1998 when a group of bird lovers decided to research and protect the habitat of the then recently rediscovered Yellow-eared Parrot. As ProAves became bigger the organization bought land to make more reserves to protect critical and endangered endemic bird species. Pro Aves has 26 reserves but only 7 may be visited, Brown Dam and memorial seat Photo © Ian Muir the rest are only for conservation and research. ProAves has Despite the early rain eight people turned up in the hope of 88,000 acres in permanent conservation for birds making it clear skies and they were not disappointed. Some Magpies, a the largest network of private reserves in the tropics. Little Pied Cormorant, a White Ibis, Noisy Miners and a few ProAves properties protect 1,500 bird species which is 80% Rainbow Lorikeets flew over the car park. It was still cold and of the Colombian Endemic species and 15% of bird species cloudy as we started the walk around the southern on the planet. By 2016 ProAves was working in 28 of the 31 perimeter. Butcherbirds and Pied Currawongs were calling departments of Colombia. ProAves has at present 2,000 around the area as we wandered past Green Dam, which was members worldwide and more than 14,000 kids are friends of dry and on to Brown Dam where a lonely Black Duck sat on a birds. tree which had fallen into the dam. After about an hour the ProAves has 3 lines of action sun appeared and things started to liven up. We headed on to a narrow track through the bush and eventually came 1. Research (bird banding and census of bird species, across some feeding parties of Striated and Brown Thornbills, mammals and reptiles), exploration (sponsoring Fairy Wrens and a White-browed Scrub-wren flitting around expeditions looking for new species), conservation in the undergrowth. Striated and Spotted Pardalotes were and environment education which is focussed on heard then seen, a pair of Golden Whistlers, a Grey Shrike teaching children. Thrush and a Common Bronzewing were also seen. In the 2. Restoration and regeneration of habitat. Creating flowering tree tops Yellow-faced, White-eared and White- buffer zones on adjoining private properties. naped Honeyeaters could be seen and lower down Eastern Spinebills and Silvereyes were feeding. A couple of members 3. Producing educational material such as books, journals heard Gang-gang Cockatoo and a White-throated and scientific papers. Treecreeper call in the distance. Around the northern Roger then went on to talk about the El Dorado Reserve boundary we looked for Tawny Frogmouths which have been which was bought in 2005 by ProAves with the support of the seen there, but no luck and finally a few Swallows were seen Rainforest Trust and donors from the States and U.K. in order flying around the school ground as we headed back to the to protect its many endemic and endangered species park for lunch. It was a pleasant morning and we had in all particularly the Santa Marta Parakeet which is threatened 36 species. Thank you to those who came and in particular to with extinction; its only habitat is this region on Sierra Santa Hazel and Allan Veevers for sharing some local knowledge. It Marta. More than 300 bird species have been recorded on the is sad that there is currently no Friends Group to assist in reserve which protects 24 endemic species. There are 2 keeping the woodlands in order. To finish on a bright note

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endemic bird species, the Blue-bearded Helmetcrest and old, and 77 years old). The oldest age class consisted of Santa Marta Wren which are not in the reserve but at a forests that regenerated after the 1939 fires. All other age higher elevation. Roger showed photos of the endemic classes had developed after clearfell logging. We also visited species including the Santa Marta of which there an old-growth stand (> 150 years old) to finish off. are few records.

He explained why the area of Santa Marta is so important saying that Sierra Santa Marta Mountain is 170 million years old and is totally isolated as it is not joined to the Andes range. It rises steeply from the coast with a huge change in altitude. Most of the birds are isolated populations which have evolved in many different ways from the others on the Andes ranges making them an endemic species for the area. The Eldorado Lodge is in the foothills of the Sierra Santa Marta, just 47km from the coast but at an elevation of 2,000 metres which is a big change in altitude in a small area. Birds in Colombia are restricted by changes in altitude. The reserve covers 1,024 hectares and ProAves continues to buy adjoining land to link up areas of forest. There have been some problems in the reserve such as the recent landslip and loss of vegetation through fire.

Roger talked about the program to remove the invasive Toolangi Forest 0-4 years Photo © V. Fowler Mexican pines which turned the soil acid making it impossible for the native plants to grow, wood from the felled trees was used to build the lodge. There are programs of revegetation and also an ongoing project to monitor the breeding of the Santa Marta Parakeet helped with the addition of nest boxes. He also mentioned education programs on conservation in the local schools.

Elizabeth the lodge administrator talked about how it was unsafe to drive to the Santa Marta area as it was a dangerous place just 8 to 9 years ago with the fighting between the paramilitary, gorillas and the army and how the local people got caught up in the conflict. She explained that that ProAves works in partnership with the local community by using local drivers and staff in the lodge. They use as much local produce as they can. They also work with the Flame Robin Photo © V. Fowler local women near the ProAves reserves to empower them to become financially independent and conservation pioneers. (Part of this is making jewellery for sale).

After Roger’s presentation finished Valerie showed a short power point with information about some of ProAves reserves and key species they protected. Then Michael gave a different angle about the rivalry between ProAves and another Colombian bird organization, the missed opportunities by ProAves by not having a presence at the Colombia 2016 bird fair or providing their bird field guide for sale at the event. He also mentioned what seemed to be financial secrecy by ProAves where disclosure about donations to them from other organizations and how it is used is not available to the public or interested parties.

Saturday 13 August – Outing and survey Toolangi.

An enthusiastic party of 12 conducted a survey of bird species and numbers in mountain ash forests near Toolangi Regeneration after the 1939 fires Photo © V. Fowler in mixed sun and cloud and cool conditions (temperatures of We found a total of 26 species, with the least number of 6 – 8o). We split into two groups of 6 and spent 20 minutes species and birds in the youngest, most recently logged, recording the birds in each of 3 replicates of 4 different age plots (see table on page 9). The greatest number of species classes of forest (0-4 years old, 5-10 years old, 15-40 years- 8 Lyrebird Tales Lyrebird Tales

was in the 77-year-old forests while the greatest number of Straw-necked Ibis (8), Australian Magpie (6), Magpie Lark birds was found in the 5-10-year-old forests, although this (3) and half of the Kookaburras. latter result was mainly due to a flock of 25 Brown-headed The wildflowers weren't as spectacular this year - reflective of Honeyeaters being observed in one plot. This age class also the wetter and cooler end to winter and start of Spring. We had 5 species found in no other age class (White-throated did see tall and nodding greenhood orchids and a Caladenia Treecreeper, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown-headed species. And the Happy Wanderer was living up to its name Honeyeater, Crescent Honeyeater, and Rose Robin). The 77 as was the Twining Glycine. I reckon a visit three or four year-old forests had an even greater number of species, weeks later would have been quite a show. This year the mainly larger birds, not found in other age classes (Yellow- walking tracks were wet underfoot, with little springs popping tailed Black Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Crimson out in places. 2014 the ground was cracked dry. Rosella, Sacred Kingfisher, Eastern Spinebill, Pied Currawong, Grey Currawong, and Little Raven). The only species found A great little reserve, that is well worth the Spring time visit. only in the most recently logged areas was the Flame robin, Both flora and fauna are sure to please. two females of which were very active in one plot. Tuesday 13 September – Meeting – Fiona Blandford – Age 0-4 5-10 15-40 77 BirdLife Australia Conservation Projects and Kerryn class Herman – Biodiversity Monitoring in ’s East.

Total no. of 6 16 8 17 BirdLife Yarra Valley members and guests were joined by two species of our wonderful staff from the National Office; Fiona Blandford (Network Development Coordinator) and Caroline Total no. of 1 5 0 8 Wilson (Woodland Birds Project officer). unique species Fiona, who in her role, is our key contact in the National Total no. of 2 25 6 14 Office for branch liaison matters, gave us a presentation on birds per plot the "Birds in Backyards" program and the "Aussie Backyard Bird Count." Birds in Backyards is a research , education and conservation program that was developed in response to the Brown Thornbills were found in most plots (8 out of the 12) loss of small native birds from our parks and gardens, the followed by Eastern Yellow Robins (7 plots) then White- rapid expansion of our urban landscape and the consequent browed Scrubwrens and Superb Lyrebirds (6 plots each). loss of habitat for native birds. Birds in Backyards is targeting Superb Lyrebirds, however, were seen or heard adjacent to 3 the 85% of people living in urban areas. It seeks to change other plots, making them the most common bird attitudes to the way birds are viewed and the way we use our encountered, followed by the Eastern Yellow Robin (heard backyards in an effort to enhance bird habitat and diversity. adjacent to one additional plot) and Brown Thornbill. It encourages participation in surveys to help gather We plan to revisit the plots in the coming summer to see how information about the birds in our urban areas. The data the winter results compare to those in summer and to get a collected helps form a very detailed timeline of how our clearer picture of how logging is affecting the birds in our urban birds are faring. mountain ash forests. The Aussie Backyard Bird Count is conducted during Bird Michael Feller Week (October each year). It involves doing a 20 minute survey in your backyard, local park or pretty much anywhere Saturday 10 September – Outing to Baluk Willam Flora you want. A phone app has been developed for doing the Reserve, Belgrave South survey. If you don't have a smart phone, you can still A very wet Friday and night resulted in only three hearty participate via the BirdLife website. The app not only allows souls venturing to Baluk Willam reserve. The weather on the easy recording of your survey, it provides great tools to day was cool and overcast, but the threatening rain held off. assist in helping to identify birds.

A total of 28 species was recorded (compared to 41 when we So if you haven't already downloaded the app or didn't visited this site in October 2014), with 101 individuals. The participate in the 2016 Aussie Backyard Bird Count, do so highlight of the day was a flock of 14 foraging Varied Sitellas now in preparation for 2017. that were worrying the bark very close to us. Other birds included two Flame Robins, three Eastern Yellow Robins, four Black- faced Cuckoo-Shrikes and an impressive ten Laughing Kookaburras. Both Spotted (6) and Striated (1) Pardalotes were present as were Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (4), Eastern Rosellas (2) and Crimson Rosellas (6), but no lorikeets. Noticeably lacking were many of the honeyeaters which were only represented by two Eastern Spinebills and a single Red Wattlebird. The birds counted include those seen in the neighbouring paddock; Australian Wood Duck (4),

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Caroline presented on the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Boomers Reserve in St Andrews is 90 hectares of preserved Action (EAGA) Biodiversity Monitoring Project (we will be forest within the Warrandyte – Kinglake Conservation zone. inviting Caroline back to talk on the Woodland Birds project). The reserve supports a range of native orchids; they were in bloom, so upon our arrival it was hard to know whether to BirdLife Australia has teamed up with EAGA and some other look up or down. Before leaving the parking area we had partners to establish a number of bird monitoring sites already added several birds to our list including Buff-rumped around Melbourne's eastern suburbs. The data collected from Thornbill, King Parrot and Eastern Spinebill. We walked these sites will be used in conjunction with other indicators slowly along the track with the orchids being photographed, 4 (vegetation measurements) to help the seven Councils species of Greenhood Orchids, and Donkey Orchids involved to develop natural resource management practices and also Wax lip Orchids. There was also a wattle, in the context of climate change and to provide an evidence everlasting daisy and other wildflowers open. base to inform future investment.

The intent is to do 20 minute, 2 hectare seasonal surveys in the 37 sites across the seven council areas. There are five survey sites in the Shire of Yarra Ranges and BirdLife Yarra Valley will assist with surveying these sites. The bird survey data is entered directly into the BirdLife Australia's Birdata site (the sites are included in the Birdata "shared sites" ).

Check out the EAGA website at eaga.com.au to see how you can become involved in the surveys in your area.

EAGA Biodiversity Monitoring Project sites in the Shire of Brown Goshawk Photo © Peter Smith Yarra Ranges Wednesday 28 September – Outing to Boomers Reserve, St. Andrews.

Orchids at Boomers Reserve Photo © V.Fowler

With spring sunshine and easy walking, abundant wildflowers and beautiful birds – what a wonderful way to spend a morning.

Varied Sittella Photo © Peter Smith

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We could hear many bird species calling including Spotted White-browed Scrubwren were plentiful (18) as were Brown Pardalotes, White-throated Treecreepers, Golden and Rufous Thornbill (25) and Grey Fantail (28). We were also constantly Whistler and saw numerous Grey Fantails, Yellow-faced accompanied by Flame Robins (15), with one pair moving Honeyeaters and Red Wattlebirds. Two Wedge-tailed Eagles along the track in front of us. Returning to the summit along circled overhead and a Brown Goshawk perched in a distant the 4WD track, we were privileged to hear (but not see) tree chased a Pied Currawong from its perch nearby. There three - as elusive as ever. We were then treated to were two pairs of Scarlet Robins; one pair had a nest with some great looks at an Olive Whistler. young and the male frequently flew to the nest with a grub clamped in its bill, approaching the female sitting there. It was a real highlight to observe them but soon our attention was drawn to a flock of Varied Sittellas moving through the trees. We met three people from Indig-We-Do Bushland Restoration Company who were pulling weeds and grasses which were not native to the area. They explained how the weeds could impact the native orchids by changing the chemical balance in the soil and the work they were doing in the reserves along the bush corridor. We had been remarking on the lack of cuckoos, but at the end of the walk we heard an Olive-backed Oriole then a Fan-tailed Cuckoo and a Shining-bronze Cuckoo. We recorded a total of 37 bird species. Olive Whistler photo © Peter Fowler

Silvereye (15), White-throated Treecreeper (2) and Fan- tailed Cuckoo (2) were other notable species. Arriving back at the summit we enjoyed the sunshine while having lunch. Pied Currawongs and three Grey Currawongs were working the cleared area, while nine Tree Martins were winging overhead.

Just as we were finishing lunch, a Grey Currawong approached obviously looking for food scraps? But no, at lightning speed it pounced five metres and flew off with a Skink that had been hiding at the base of a stump. An amazing demonstration of the bird's sensory capabilities.

Scarlet Robin at nest Photo Peter Smith

Thank you Dace for leading the walk in this wonderful reserve in your local patch.

Saturday 8 October – Outing to Mt. Donna Buang. Currawong with Skink Photo Peter Fowler Thirteen hardy souls braved the chilly start to the day (around 3 degrees) and were immediately welcomed by All up twenty species and a very enjoyable outing in some Flame Robins on the summit of Mt. Donna Buang. wonderful Central Highlands forest.

Heading down off the summit along the steep and rough walking track we soon dropped out of the wind and the day Answer to What bird is that? turned very pleasant. As we descended through the tall Alpine Ash and Mountain Gum forest we were chorused by Satin (female or immature male) Lyrebirds. The track also led us into some beautiful stands of Myrtle Beech (with accompanying leeches).

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BirdLife Yarra Valley email: [email protected] Postal address: Birdlife Australia, Yarra Valley Branch, P.O. Box 1172, Healesville, Vic. 3777. Meetings are held in the Badger Creek Hall Meeting Room at 7.45 p.m. Badger Creek Rd. Badger Creek (next to CFA). Melway Edn 39 278 F8..

Meetings and Outings automatically cancelled on days of Total Meetings and Outings automatically cancelled on days of Total Fire Ban in the Central and North-central Fire Districts. Fire Ban in the Central and North-central Fire Districts. (Central (Central unless notified otherwise) unless notified otherwise). Calendar January to March 2017 Calendar April to June 2017 JANUARY Basic Dates only – check March 2017 newsletter for further Tuesday 10 Meeting. Video night details Saturday 14 Outing to Silvan Reservoir Park at 8.30 a.m. APRIL Breakfast with the Birds. Saturday 8 – Outing to Yan Yean Reservoir & Toorourrong Directions: Meet in Main Car Park Melway Edn 39 120 H11 Reserve. Meet at Yan Yean at 9.30 a.m. in first picnic area off Wednesday 25 – Outing – Boat Trip to Mud Island. Boat departs Reservoir Rd. Melway Edn 39 Keymap Page 9 L2 from Sorrento. Maximum number of passengers 20 – bookings Tuesday 11 – Meeting. Speaker and subject TBA are essential. Cost and equipment information to be advised. Wednesday 26 – Outing to Lillydale Lake, Lilydale. Meet at 9.30 Leader Michael Feller. Bookings: [email protected] a.m. in Lake car park near toilet. block. Melway Edn 39 38 G7. FEBRUARY MAY Saturday 11 – Toolangi Mountain Ash Forest Survey. Meet at Tuesday 9 – Meeting 9.30 a.m. at corner of Myers Creek Rd and Sylvia Creek Rd, Saturday 13 – Outing Coranderrk Bushland Survey. Directions: Toolangi. Melway Edn 39 Page 10 Q2. Gate 1 Badger Avenue, Badger Creek, opposite Fleay Rd. Leader Michael Feller. North-Central Fire District Melway Edn 39 278 F10. Gate will close at 9.30 a.m. sharp. Tuesday 14 – Meeting, speaker and subject TBA Wednesday 24 – Outing to RACV Healesville Country Club at 9.30 Wednesday 22 – Outing to Blackburn Lake at 9.30 a.m. Meet at a.m. Healesville-Kinglake Road, Healesville. Melway Edn. 39 269 Parking Area off Central Road, Blackburn. Melways Edn 39 48 J12. Park in first car park just inside the entrance. B11. JUNE MARCH Tuesday 13 – No meeting - Winter recess. Saturday 11 – Outing to The Gums & Island Creek Picnic Area, Saturday 17 (note 3rd Saturday of month) – Outing to Peninsula Kinglake National Park at 9.30 a.m. Directions: Kinglake- Tunnels Warburton at 9.30 a.m. Directions take Woods Point Glenburn Rd. Melways Edn 39 Keymap 10 P1. Road through Warburton East past Starvation Creek Road and North-Central Fire District look for Little Peninsula Tunnel car park on left. Melway Edn 39 Tuesday 14 – Meeting, Speaker and subject TBA X912 U2. Car pooling – meet at 8.30 a.m. in Healesville Library Wednesday 22 – Outing to O’Shannessy Aqueduct Trail, car park opposite Coronation Park. Millgrove, at 9.30 a.m. At Millgrove (Melway Edn 39 289 D4) Wednesday 28 Outing to O’Donohue’s Picnic Ground Sherbrooke take Dee Road to car park which is approximately 3 km from Forest at 9.30 a.m. Melway Edn. 39 75 G3. Millgrove (follow the signs). Central Fire District

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