BirdLife Australia

BirdLife Australia (Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union) was founded in 1901 and works to conserve native birds and biological diversity in Australasia and Antarctica, through the study and management of birds and their habitats, and the education and involvement of the community.

BirdLife Australia produces a range of publications, including Emu, a quarterly scientific journal; Wingspan, a quarterly magazine for all members; Conservation Statements; BirdLife Australia Monographs; the BirdLife Australia Report series; and the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. It also maintains a comprehensive ornithological library and several scientific databases covering bird distribution and biology.

Membership of BirdLife Australia is open to anyone interested in birds and their habitats, and concerned about the future of our avifauna. For further information about membership, subscriptions and database access, contact

BirdLife Australia 60 Leicester Street, Suite 2-05 Carlton VIC 3053 Australia Tel: (Australia): (03) 9347 0757 Fax: (03) 9347 9323 (Overseas): +613 9347 0757 Fax: +613 9347 9323 E-mail: [email protected]

Recommended citation: Herman, K and Purnell, C., 2016. Melbourne Water Regional Bird Monitoring Project. Annual report: July 2015 –June 2016. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.

This report was prepared by BirdLife Australia under contract to Melbourne Water.

Disclaimers This publication may be of assistance to you and every effort has been undertaken to ensure that the information presented within is accurate. BirdLife Australia does not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Melbourne Water

BirdLife Australia, Suite 2–05, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia.

This report was prepared by: Kerryn Herman and Chris Purnell.

Cover photos: Melbourne Water Regional Bird Monitoring project observers surveying Hallam Valley Rd constructed wetland (bottom). Photos in this report are by Chris Purnell unless noted otherwise.

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Contents Acknowledgements ...... 4 Executive Summary ...... 5 1) Introduction ...... 6 2) Methods ...... 7

a) Site identification ...... 7 b) Survey techniques ...... 15 3) Occupational Health and Safety ...... 17 4) Results and discussion ...... 18

a) Survey coverage ...... 18 b) Significant populations ...... 25 c) Works Sites ...... 33 5) Management Recommendations and Site Observations ...... 39 6) References ...... 47 Appendix 1: Species selected to determine the avian index of waterway condition...... 51 Appendix 2: Threatened species occurrence maps for bird species recorded between July 2015 – June 2016 ...... 52 Appendix 3 Song Metre Background and Methodology (modified from Adams and Purnell 2016) ...... 64

Figures Figure 1. Wetland and waterway sites identified for targeted surveys as part of the MWrbm...... 9 Figure 2. MWrbm sites within the Dandenong Catchment...... 10 Figure 3. MWrbm sites within the Maribyrnong Catchment ...... 11 Figure 4. MWrbm sites within the Werribee Catchment...... 12 Figure 5. MWrbm sites within the Western Port catchment...... 13 Figure 6. MWrbm sites within the Yarra catchment...... 14 Figure 7. A representation of 4 common standardised survey types used in the MWrbm project...... 15 Figure 8. Among other sites, Melbourne Water manages vegetation and hydrology at Edithvale Wetlands to provide habitat for significant bird populations. Photo: Andrew Silcocks...... 25 Figure 9. Rates of population decline of seven species of shorebirds in the East Asian–Australian Flyway 1973 - 2014 (R. Fuller, unpublished data)...... 27 Figure 10. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper occur in internationally significant numbers at Edithvale Wetlands in the absence of wetland inundation inland...... 31 Figure 11. Total waterbird counts across Melbourne Water managed Ramsar areas June 2012-July 2016...... 32 Figure 12. Map of north west Yarra Catchment works sites established to test the effects of weed removal on birds within riparian sites...... 34 Figures 13. a and b average number of birds recorded per survey for each survey period and treatment types (pooled across waterways). Numbers indicate total number of surveys undertaken...... 34 Figure 14. Location of Olinda Creek works sites ...... 37 Figures 15. a and b average number of birds recorded per survey for each survey period and treatment types across the Olinda Creek works sites. Numbers indicate total number of surveys undertaken...... 37 Figure 16. Three common environmental weeds established at Bolin Bolin Billabong a) Spear Thistle b) English Ivy c) Wandering Trad...... 39 Figure 17. a) A young wombat showing signs of mange. b) A young fox with signs of mange scavenging an Eastern Grey Kangaroo. c) A dead adult wombat with signs of mange...... 40 Figure 18. The last remaining stands of Gorse pictured were removed in early 2014...... 41 Figure 19. Olinda Control site soon after vegetation removal March 2015 (left) and in June 2016 (Right) ...... 42 Figure 20. Tutsan has become prevalent throughout the clearing and on the banks of the Olinda Creek...... 43 Figure 21. Forget-me-nots dominate the understory of the Olinda Creek staged removal site (left). Plantings beneath in tact Willow (right)...... 43

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Figure 22. Hard waste including building materials are regularly dumped at Industrial estate retarding basin...... 45 Figure 23. (above) Clear image of Australasian Bittern captured on camera trap at Tootgarook Swamp, between June 2015- June16...... 45 Figure 24. (right) more cryptic image of Australasian Bittern (circled in red) ...... 45 Figure 25. Owl image captured on camera traps at Tootgarook Swamp, August 2016...... 46

Tables Table 1. Summary of survey categories and justification...... 8 Table 2. MWrbm sites within the Dandenong Catchment by management unit...... 10 Table 3. MWrbm sites within the Maribyrnong Catchment by management unit...... 11 Table 4. MWrbm sites within the Werribee Catchment by management unit...... 12 Table 5. MWrbm sites within the Western Port Catchment by management unit...... 13 Table 6. MWrbm sites within the Yarra Catchment by management unit...... 14 Table 7. Summary of site categories and data requirements...... 16 Table 8. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Dandenong Catchment throughout the project period...... 19 Table 9. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Maribyrnong Catchment throughout the project period ...... 20 Table 10. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Werribee Catchment throughout the project period ...... 21 Table 11. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Westernport Catchment throughout the project period ...... 22 Table 12. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Yarra Catchment throughout the project period ...... 23 Table 13. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Yarra Catchment throughout the project period ...... 24 Table 14. Threatened species recorded at target sites between 30/6/2015 and 30/6/2016...... 26 Table 15. Additional information on the management requirements for federally listed bird species known to occur across Melbourne Water managed sites...... 26 Table 16. List of East Asian-Australasian Flyway migratory shorebird species that occur in the Port Philip Westernport region...... 29 Table 17. Migratory shorebirds recorded at targeted sites between 1/7/2015 and 30/6/2016...... 30 Table 18. Summary of riparian works sites ...... 33 Table 19. Common species recorded across riparian works sites...... 36 Table 20. Common species recorded across Olinda Creek riparian works sites...... 38 Table 21. The 113 riparian species of bird selected to determine the avian sub-index of waterway condition ...... 51 Table 22. The 57 wetland species of bird selected to determine the avian sub-index of waterway condition...... 51

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the many people and organisations who gave their time and energy, and shared information to assist this project. Without their help this project would not have been possible.

Firstly, we would like to thank Melbourne Water for funding this project. We also want to thank Will Steele for his continued support, leadership and assistance with organisation and advice throughout the project. We would like to thank the many operations staff that have made themselves available for site visits, offered advice and support.

We would like to acknowledge the cooperation of Parks Victoria for allowing access to Yaruk Tamboore, Murrunduka Swamp, Cheetham Saltfields and the RAAF Lake and for sharing their valuable knowledge on site management and access. We would also like to thank the McNaught family, Mornington Peninsula Shire and Eagle Ridge Golf Course for allowing access to Tootgarook Swamp

We would like to thank the hundreds of Atlas observers who continue to contribute time, experience and advice to the project including: BirdLife Melbourne, BirdLife Bayside, BirdLife, BirdLife Mornington Peninsula, BirdLife Bass Coast, the Victorian Wader Study Group, Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek, Bend of Isles Conservation Association, Friends of Merri Creek, Friends of Darebin Parklands, Save Tootgarook Swamp, Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora & Fauna Association Inc, Friends of Moorang Wetlands, Friends of Blind Creek, Friends of Salt Creek and Associated Parks, Friends of Westgate Park, Friends of Braeside Park and the Warringal Conservation Society.

We would like to give a special thank you to David McCarthy, Graeme Hosken, Scott Sharman, Bill Ramsey, Arthur Carew and Mike Carter for their continued coordination and survey efforts.

We would also like to thank Neil and Luke Shelley for their time and expertise in assisting with data management and development of trainer resources.

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Executive Summary Melbourne Water requires an index – or ‘score’ – for rivers, estuaries, wetlands and floodplains that will show changes in ecological condition in response to management interventions over a 20-year timeframe, and which permits reporting on condition every 5-6 years on changes across the region at appropriate spatial scales.

Birds are widely acknowledged as good indicators of ecological condition as they are; 1) sensitive to change in physical, chemical and biological properties and 2) sufficiently detectable and inexpensive to monitor. The Melbourne Water Regional Bird Monitoring Project (MWrbm), was developed to collect standardised, site-based, bird data to contribute towards a composite index of wetland and waterway ‘condition’.

Now in its third year the MWrbm coordinated by BirdLife Australia, has seen the collection and management of appropriate data by over 550 birdwatchers and experts. During the 2015-16 financial year 10 570 surveys were were submitted to the BirdLife Australia’s Atlas of Australian Birds from within the Melbourne Water management region (Figure 2). This report summarises the results of the targeted survey effort across 235 MWrbm wetland and waterway sites resulting in:

 2,373 surveys from 177 sites (an increase of more than 20% on the previous year’s survey effort).

 63,293 species records of 250 species.

 Records of 23 species listed as Endangered or Threatened on the Victorian Advisory List.

 Records of 4 species listed as nationally threatened in the EPBC Act 1999

 Records of 22 migratory species protected under international agreements including 13 shorebird species

 802 instances of breeding by 84 species across 107 sites.

As the data collected for this project increases, new applications are being identified. Internally at BirdLife Australia, the data are being applied in the exploration of urban birds across the Melbourne metropolitan area, which is directing conversations and project planning within local councils. Previously the program data has been used in a pilot study investigating avian use of ten constructed stormwater wetlands in the Dandenong Catchment. The study investigated novel ways in which to measure habitat structure and assess its role in defining diversities and abundances of bird communities. Abundances of sixteen feeding guild groups significantly differed across the majority of sites. Key habitat features significantly influencing bird abundances included total wetland area, tree cover and cover of mid-tall vegetation layers.

The MWrbm project has aided in reinvigorating Atlas surveying amongst existing observers across the region with contributors indicating a sense of personal satisfaction that their data will influence on-ground management. On a broader scale community engagement and publicity has continued to attract new observers. An increased presence by observers on the ground and project promotion through several networks has also been successful in exposing a wide selection of the community to the significant role Melbourne Water plays in maintaining biodiversity in urban and near-urban landscapes. The success of the monitoring project has also inspired smaller regional projects including the Tootgarook Swamp Population monitoring project and the River Gum Creek Community Engagement Project.

Melbourne Water are to be commended for their ongoing commitment to an invaluable dataset unrivalled anywhere in Australia. BirdLife looks forward to continuing the rapidly expanding monitoring program and aiding in the implementation of the resultant data in associated projects.

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1) Introduction Melbourne Water is responsible for the management of waterways and wetlands across the Port Phillip and Westernport Region, and consequently for the management of areas of land and water supporting a high concentration of native biodiversity values. The quality of natural assets on land and waterways managed by Melbourne Water ranges from internationally recognized Ramsar wetlands, forested water supply catchments supporting rare and threatened species and communities, through to constructed storm and waste water facilities.

Native biodiversity is of increasing interest to the broader community, and its protection is enforced through legislation such as the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic.) (FFG 1988), the Catchment & Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic.), Victoria’s Native Vegetation Management Framework and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act). Recognizing the important role waterway management plays in environmental health and community livability, Melbourne Water developed the Healthy Waterways Strategy (HWS) (Melbourne Water 2013) as a guide to investments in the Port Phillip and Westernport region from 2013-16. The HWS in conjunction with the Stormwater Strategy (Melbourne Water 2013) provides an opportunity to broaden the definition of river health to include key ecosystem elements which will benefit fauna and associated habitats beyond that of native fish, such as watering regimes of floodplains and wetlands and riparian wildlife, including birds.

In order to assign a measurable value to biodiversity, a composite index for wet ecosystems was proposed. In seeking a useful composite indicator for stream condition, Melbourne Water investigated the potential of an avian sub-index to increase understanding of the association between waterway management works and riparian bird assemblages (AECOM 2011, 2012. Steele 2011). Numerous studies have advocated the use of birds as ecological indicators (Canterbury et al. 2000, Fleishman et al 2005, Ehmke et al 2015) however detectable changes in bird communities in response to management interventions, such as revegetation may occur on various time scales, from years (O’Neill 1999, Barrett 2000, Radford et al. undated a, undated b, 2004, Olsen et al. 2005, Munro et al. 2007, Lee et al. 2010 and Paton & O’Connor 2010) to decades (Vesk & MacNally 2006, Vesk et al. 2008, Loyn et al. 2007). ‘Condition scores’ resulting from the avian sub-indices permit reporting every 5 years on changes across the region at appropriate spatial scales and allow suitable targets for biodiversity conservation and rehabilitation to be identified.

A comprehensive analysis of the relationship between available data from BirdLife Australia’s Atlas of Australian Birds and Melbourne Water’s Index of Stream Condition (ISC) found that bird diversity and by extension site ‘condition’ may be derived provided adequate and appropriate bird data was available. The investigations explored the use of total species lists and the ratio of species observed at a site to those expected and identified that a minimum of 40 site based surveys are necessary before species accumulations plateaued and the presence or absence of a species from that site can be sufficiently assumed.

In order to collect sufficient data to generate condition scores, Melbourne Water engaged BirdLife Australia to initiate a community-based bird monitoring project utilizing widely accepted survey methodologies established for the Atlas of Australian Birds and associated volunteer networks. Now in its third year, the Melbourne Water Regional Bird Monitoring project (MWrbm) has seen the collection of standardised data by birdwatchers and professional zoologists on bird communities near waterways and wetlands across 191 sites in the Port Phillip and Western Port Region to allow calculation of an avian sub-index.

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2) Methods

a) Site identification In order to prioritize wetlands and waterways of high biodiversity value the following hierarchy of site significance for monitoring was established by Melbourne Water at project commencement.

Categories are defined as follows:

1. Ramsar listed wetlands and Important Bird Areas (IBAs). Criteria for listing include:

 Criterion 2: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.

 Criterion 5: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds.

 Criterion 6: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.

2. Melbourne Water Sites of Biodiversity Significance (SoBS) (Ecology Australia 2013b). Criteria for listing include:

 Criterion 1: Land ownership- The land is owned and/or managed by Melbourne Water’s Waterways Group.

 Criterion 2: EPBC Act - Site support communities and/or threatened species populations listed under the EPBC Act;. Site may also be part Ramsar Wetland and/or supports important Migratory and/or Marine- Overfly species.

 Criterion 3: FFG Act - Site supports communities and/or threatened species populations listed under the FFG Act.

 Criterion 4: Threatened EVC(s) – Site is known to support threatened EVC(s), i.e. those listed as bioregionally Vulnerable or Endangered.

 Criterion 5: Advisory Listed Flora/ Fauna (DSE 2005; DEWLP 2013) – Site is known to support threatened species population(s)

 Criterion 6: Connectivity - the site demonstrates habitat connectivity for threatened species.

3. Selected Melbourne Water Works sites – works include willow treatment sites.

4. Other - As many sites as possible centered within 250 meters of waterways and wetlands (Melbourne Water sites, DSE biosites (DNRE 2002) , significant council managed wetlands etc)

5. Dandenong Valley, Melbourne Water constructed wetland case study sites1.

1 These sites, which were established as a case study into habitat utilisation at constructed wetlands in 2007, are no less significant than those in category 4 however are referred to in a separate category due to their different data collection methods.

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Table 1. Summary of survey categories and justification. Category Site Type Purpose 1 Ramsar  To support compliance reporting of bird population trends and IBA community composition.  To monitor key bird values, whether species, guilds or communities and determine trajectories over time.  To evaluate works and management at sites.

2,4, SoBS  To monitor key bird values, whether species, guilds or communities Melbourne Water sites and determine trajectories over time.  To evaluate works and management at sites. 3 Works evaluation sites.  To evaluate effectiveness of specific works on bird community.

4 Sites centred within 250m of  To collect sufficient data (n = 40+ surveys) to generate bird sub-index waterways and wetlands at sub-catchment scale every five years.

5 Dandenong Valley constructed  To monitor key bird values, whether species, guilds or communities wetlands and determine trajectories over time.  To evaluate works and management at sites.  Assess habitat utilisation at constructed wetlands

i. Mapping Based on a combination of ground-truthing, observer consultation and interpretation from aerial images, boundaries of wetland and waterway survey sites were digitized and incorporated into a central Melbourne Water GIS layer (Figure 1 -7.) to be supplied as a supplement to this report. The layer will add another tier to the data extraction process and enable identification of sites that have been targeted for regular, standardized surveying.

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Figure 1. Wetland and waterway sites identified for targeted surveys as part of the MWrbm.

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Table 2. MWrbm sites within the Dandenong Catchment by management unit. Blind Creek Eumemmerring Patterson River Hallam Valley Floodplain Lakewood Park Res, Riddel Road Retarding Basin Frog Hollow Wetland, Eumemerring Creek Dandenong Wetlands, Koomba Park Hallam Valley Floodplain, O'Grady Road Dandenong Creek Lower Troups Creek Edithvale - Zone 1 Kilberry Boulevard, Hampton Park East Drain Edithvale - Zone 2 Berwick Springs wetlands Edithvale - Zone 3 Golf Links Road River Gum Creek Reserve, Hampton Park East Edithvale - Zone 4 Drain Dwarf Galaxia Conservation Wetland, Edithvale - Zone 5 Cranbourne Rd Edithvale - Zone 8 Kananook Edithvale - Zone 6 PARCS Wetland, Eel Race Drain, ETP Edithvale - Zone 7 Seaford Wetlands - Zone 1 Edithvale Common Seaford Wetlands - Zone 2 Wannarkladdin Wetlands - east Seaford Wetlands - Zone 3 Wannarkladdin Wetlands - west Seaford Wetlands - Zone 4 Wannarkladdin Wetlands - north Seaford Wetlands - Zone 5 Elsternwick Park Seaford Wetlands - Zone 6 Karkarook Park Boundary Road Wetland, Eel Race Drain, ETP Woodlands Estate Wetlands Little Boggy Creek Retarding Basin Springvale rd Wetlands, Mordiallock Creek Boogy Creek Waterway reserve Braeside Park ETP turf farm Greens Rd wetlands ETP Rossiter Rd Lagoon (beside Banyun) Namatjira Wetlands, Clayton South ETP south, Serpentine area Dandenong Creek Middle Eastern Treatment Plant (ETP) Tirhatuan Wetlands, Dandenong Creek Boggy Creek Waterway Reserve, Boggy Creek Colchester Road Retarding Basin, Bungalook Creek The Doughnut, Eastern Treatment Plant Liverpool Road Retarding Basin, Dandenong Creek Tamarisk Waterway Reserve, Langwarrin Fussel Road Retarding Basin, Bungalook Creek Corhanwarrabul, Monbulk and Ferny Creeks Old Joes Creek Retarding Basin, Old Joes Creek Birdsland, Monbulk Creek Retarding Basin Heatherton Road South Waterford Wetlands, aka Karoo Road Wetland, Koomba Park North Monbulk Creek Upstream Control Heatherton Road North Monbulk Creek Works Site Police Rd retarding basin Wetland Rigby's Wetland (4 sites) Jells Park Lake Mulgrave reserve Wetland Winton Wetlands Figure 2. MWrbm sites within the Dandenong Catchment.

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Table 3. MWrbm sites within the Maribyrnong Catchment by management unit.

Jacksons Creek Jacksons Creek Downstream Control Jacksons Creek Works Site Gisborne Swamp Maribyrnong River Flemington Racecourse Steele Valley Lake Reserve

Figure 3. MWrbm sites within the Maribyrnong Catchment

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Table 4. MWrbm sites within the Werribee Catchment by management unit.

Cherry Main Drain WTP – Pond Q4 Fitzgerald Rd Grasslands & Andersons lake Skeleton Creek Cherry Lake, Cherry Creek Williams Landing (Cedar Woods) Kororoit Creek Lower Skeleton Creek Saltmarsh, Skeleton Creek Kororoit Creek Escarpments south, Kororoit Creek Cheetham Saltfields (Parks Victoria) Iramoo Wetlands Werribee Lower Kororoit Creek Escarpments north, Kororoit Creek WTP - 35E Pond 8 Conservation Pond Cherry Lake north, Big Bend WTP - 35E Pond 9 Conservation Pond Lower Koroit Creek Waterway Reserve, Koroit Creek Cunningham Swamp South Jawbone Reserve, Williamstown Cunningham Swamp North Newport Lakes WTP - 85WC Pond 9 Kororoit Creek Upper WTP - 5W Pond 10 Troups Road Swamp WTP - 5W Pond 11 Deans Marsh, Rockbank WTP - 5W Pond 9 Paynes Road North Swamp WTP -115E Experimental Ponds 1 to 4 Laverton WTP - 270S Borrow Pit Truganina Swamp, Laverton Creek WTP - 95E North Kayes & Imms Creek Waterway Reserve, Laverton Werribee River Downstream Control Kayes Creek Waterway Reserve, Windsor Blvd Werribee River Works Site Kayes Creek Waterway Reserve, Yeend Crt Derrimut RAAF Lake Little River Werribee Middle WTP - T Section Lagoon 6 Abbey Rd Wetlands, Melton South WTP - T Section Lagoon 7 WTP - Summer Pond 1 WTP - Summer Pond 2 WTP - Western Lagoon Ponds 4&5 (rehab) WTP - Western Lagoon 6 WTP - Western Lagoon 3 WTP - Western Lagoon 7 WTP - T Section Lagoon 1 WTP - T Section Lagoon 3 WTP - Western Lagoon 8 WTP - Western Lagoon 9 WTP - Little River, Lower Reaches WTP - T Section Lagoon 2 WTP - T Section Lagoon 5 Figure 4. MWrbm sites within the Werribee Catchment. WTP - T Section Lagoon 4

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Table 5. MWrbm sites within the Western Port Catchment by management unit. Cardinia, Toomuc, Deep and Ararat Cardinia Creek Retarding Basin, Cardinia Creek The Inlets Waterway Reserve, Cardinia Cardinia Reservoir Cardinia res - Predominantly introduced veg Cardinia res - Lowland forest Cardinia res - Damp heathy woodland Cardinia res - Shrubby Gully Forest Cardinia - Open water Cardina res - Banksia woodand Dalmore Outfalls Leisureland Drive drain Leisureland Drive Wetland Lower Bunyip Koo Wee Rup Tower West Peninsula Rivers and Creeks Tootgarook swamp - A McNaughts lake (MW) Tootgraook swamp - B Gahnia swamp (MW) Tootgarook swamp - C Moona swamp (MW) Tootgarook swamp - D Moona swamp 2 (MW) Tootgarook Swamp, McNaught accumalitive (MPS) MPS Tootgarook Wetland Reserve boundary (MPS) Tootgarook Swamp 92W Woods Reserve Devilbend Reservoir Bittern Reservoir Briars woodland Briars western trib Briars central trib Briars eastern trib Truemans Rd landfill (MPS) Industrial estate Retarding Basin (MPS) Sanctuary Park Reserve (MPS) Tern Ave Wetland (MPS)

Figure 5. MWrbm sites within the Western Port catchment.

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Table 6. MWrbm sites within the Yarra Catchment by management unit.

Brushy Creek Olinda Creek Cardigan Road Retarding Basin, Mooroolbark Creek Olinda Creek, Willow removed Darebin Creek (Urban) Olinda Creek, control Darebin Parklands Olinda Creek, staged removal works evaluation - site 16 Plenty River (Rural and Lower) works evaluation - site 15 works evaluation - site 9 works evaluation - site 14 works evaluation - site 8 works evaluation - site 13 works evaluation - site 6 works evaluation - site 12 works evaluation - site 1 works evaluation - site 11 MWPG- Marshland/Carex/Tortoise Pond Gardiners MWPG- North East Wetland Wurundjeri Walk, BlackburnSth MWPG- Mother in Law's Leap Valley Reserve retarding Basin, Waverly Dunnetts Road Swamp, Plenty River Kororoit Creek Lower works evaluation - site 2 Newport Lakes works evaluation - site 3 Merri Creek (Rural and Forested) works evaluation - site 10 Donnybrook Rd Lake works evaluation - site 7 Merri Creek (Urban) works evaluation - site 5 Galada Tamboore South, Merri Creek works evaluation - site 4 Galada Tamboore, Merri Creek Watsons Creek Lakeside Dve Reserve Bend of Isles (15 sites) Wintersun Crt Reserve Yarra Middle and Lower Moir Drive Reserve East Murunduka Swamp Moir Drive Reserve Westgate Park Moonee Ponds Rosanna Parklands, Salt Creek Trin Warren Tam-boore wetlands Yaruk Tamboore Moonee Ponds Creek, Westmeadows Bolin Bolin Billabong Jacana Wetlands (south) Andersons Creek East Retarding Basin Jancana Wetlands (north) Ruffey Lake Park Westbreen Creek - Gavin Park Bend of Isles (7 sites) Westbreen Creek - Joyce Reserve Yarra Upper (Rural) Tullamarine (Wright Street) retarding Basin, Yering Backswamp Mullum Mullum Mullum Mullum Park Mullum Mullum Creek Currawong Park Yarran Deheran Reserve Figure 6. MWrbm sites within the Yarra catchment.

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b) Survey techniques The Atlas of Australian Birds has five accepted survey methodologies for surveying birds:

 2-ha searches for 20 minutes (Type 1).

 Small Area searches for at least 20 minutes within 500m of a central point (Type 2).

 Large Area searches for at least 20 minutes within 5km of a central point (Type 3).

 Incidental searches, usually one-off sightings of unusual species or a survey where not all species are recorded (Type 4).

 Fixed route surveys for at least 20 minutes within 5km of a central point (Type 5).

With the exception of Type 4 surveys which are excluded from standardised data sets, these methods were devised to accommodate surveying across different habitat types and scales while still producing consistent, comparable data (Figure 7). Of these around 40% of observers utilise the 2-ha Search, 40% the Small Area search and the remainder Large area search, Fixed route and Incidental.

Analysis of species accumulation curves devised from Atlas data (AECOM 2012) indicate that area searches (either within 500m or 5 km from a point) were more effective than 2-ha surveys for estimating bird species richness at a riparian site. Anecdotal evidence indicates that to cover these greater areas whilst recording birds, observers will require more than 20 minute survey time. For these reasons the observers contributing to MWrbm project are encouraged to complete 30 minute Area Searches of 500m to 5km where appropriate. For riparian surveys (including works evaluation transects) survey areas are confined to a 200m transect along the waterway and 25m perpendicular from each bank. This methodology is consistent with that used for targeted surveys of a subset of riparian works evaluation sites (Project C - AECOM). Where sites are larger than 500m from a point or consist of several distinct habitats which may be subject to separate management regimes, surveys are broken into subzone (eg. Edithvale zones 1-8). This enables a finer spatial assessment of habitat condition.

Observers undertaking regular 2-ha surveys as part of the greater Atlas project are encouraged to complete an Atlas Habitat Form for each site. The habitat information collected on the form including vegetation structure and diversity, land use, landscape and wetland type provide useful baseline information on habitat type and quality. The form has been specifically designed to provide information on small areas and thereby provide a source for comparisons between different land management and land-use situations. While many of the MWrbm project sites will exceed the 2-ha limit and often contain more than one habitat type, BirdLife Australia is in the process of developing a broader Habitat form which will collect relevant baseline habitat information on registered sites.

Figure 7. A representation of 4 common standardised survey types used in the MWrbm project.

Type 2 Type 2 Type 1 Type 5 (riparian works site)

200m

500m 25m

2ha

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The recent development of the Group Site platform for registering habitats has opened this habitat assessment process up to a wider demographic. Observers are encouraged to register a Group Site on the Birdata portal which is accessible to all other registered users. MWrbm sites have been mapped and identified as belonging to the program and are included in the birdlife Group Site system. This encourages consistent surveying between observers by outlining site boundaries, access points, directions to site, survey methodology and lists species observed on previous surveys. By listing previous survey details the Group Site page also acts as a checklist for site leaders and observers to identify gaps in surveying both spatially and temporally.

To increase consistency between surveys, observers are encouraged to commit to surveying a site monthly or quarterly. This not only improves the robustness of the data but also increase the ability of the observer to comment on habitat or management changes which may be effecting bird diversity and/or abundances.

The minimum frequency of data collection (quarterly or monthly) and type of data collected (presence/absence or quantitative) is dictated by site significance (Table 7).

i) Minimum survey frequency.

The conceptual model developed as part of Project A (AECOM 2012) identified a minimum of 40 replicate surveys will be required for each site in order to effectively contribute to the avian index. At c=40 the probability of detecting new species at a site significantly declines (AECOM 2011). To achieve this goal in a timely manner, site leaders are asked to maximise survey effort while taking into account variables such as number of Atlassers sharing survey burden, accessibility, weather and observer availability. ii) Minimum data type

Observers are asked to record all species seen and heard within the site boundaries. For category I, II, III and V sites observers are also requested to record species abundance including estimates on birds heard within site boundaries.

Table 7. Summary of site categories and data requirements. Category Preferred survey type Minimum frequency Minimum data type I Fixed route survey (Type 5) Monthly Quantitative

II,IV Wetland: Area Search <500 m (Type 2) Seasonal Quantitative Waterway: Fixed route survey (Type 5) III Wetland: Area Search <500 m (Type 2) Seasonal Quantitative Waterway: Fixed route survey (Type 5) IV All, except Incidental Searches As possible Presence/ absence

V Area Search <500 m (Type 2) Monthly Quantitative + habitat/activity iii) Possible biases

There is no way of knowing what proportion of each species is counted, or detected. The methods used in this project represent a standardised replicable approach, and are the best methods currently known to provide a comprehensive inventory of species presence. The count information should be interpreted as comparable, relative information rather than as a definitive estimate of total numbers present. For example, the majority of surveys that were conducted are likely to under-represent cryptic and nocturnal species. Melbourne Water has commissioned several studies into the distribution and habitat management of cryptic species (Ecology Australia 2006a, 2007a, 2008a). iv) Remote Sensing

In 2015-16 a number of remote sensing techniques were trialled at Tootgarook swamp. The aim of these trials were to determine if cryptic species detection could be improved (assuming they are present at site) using new technological monitoring techniques. Two camera traps and two song metres were set up and maintained on and off between June 2015-June 2016. Call signatures were devised for 8 species (see appendix 2 for background and methods overview) and run across the samples recorded from Tootgarook Swamp.

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v) Data management and vetting.

Although all data which are submitted to the BirdLife Atlas of Australian Birds are rigorously vetted both by electronic queries on spatial distributions/reporting rates and physically by a team of regional coordinators and local experts the database may contain a small number of errors. The new BirdLife Birdata portal has additional data vetting processes built in to further decrease the likelihood of erroneous records being retained within the data set.

3) Occupational Health and Safety Following a review of BirdLife OH&S procedures regarding surveying on Melbourne Water properties a revised set of Task Risk Assessments (TRA) was distributed amongst observers. Observers are required to read the relevant TRA (now available on the project page) and agree to the controls listed by signing and returning the Volunteer registration form to [email protected]. Any person within the BirdLife Family involved in an incident, or whom identifies a hazard pertaining to health or safety in the workplace has a responsibility to report that incident or hazard as soon as is practically possible. The first point of call is project manager Chris Purnell, in order to assess the immediate and potential risk to themselves or others. In the case a ‘serious injury’ or ‘dangerous occurrence’ has occurred, the OHS Coordinator and Worksafe representative is notified. No incidents were reported for the reporting period.

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4) Results and discussion

a) Survey coverage Excluding incidental searches, a total of 7,814 surveys have been submitted from within the Melbourne Water management region between 30/6/2015 and 30/6/2016. Over a third of these surveys (2,376) were conducted at 176 MWrbm project sites distributed across 25 management units and 5 catchments (Table 8).

This represents a >20% increase in monitoring effort across the targeted sites from the previous year. The input from professionals and citizen scientists across these target sites alone equates to over 2,200 survey hours, with additional investment in data entry and travel.

Monthly, standardised, quantitative surveying continued at the following Melbourne Water sites:  Edithvale-Seaford Ramsar site - Edithvale Wetlands (9 sites), Seaford Swamp (6 sites)

 Western Treatment Plant, Port Phillip Bay Western Shoreline Ramsar site – (28 sites in total including all conservation ponds and the lower reach of the Little River.)

 Carrum IBA – Eastern Treatment Plant, Banyan Waterhole Boundary Rd, Boggy Creek Wetland Wannarkladdin, Woodlands Industrial Estate and PARCS (when access is available), Braeside wetlands and Woodlands Industrial estate wetlands.

 Dandenong Valley Catchment wetlands- Frog Hollow Wetlands, Kilberry Boulevard, River Gum Creek Reserve, South of Golf Links Road, Hallam Valley Road, Waterford Wetlands, Hallam Valley Floodplain Wetland, Springvale Road Wetland, Heatherton Road North, Heatherton Road South.

In addition to the 62 sites listed above, 120 sites were identified by Melbourne Water, Atlassers, BirdLife staff or land managers and surveyed at least once during the study period (Table 13). These areas vary in significance and include nationally and regionally significant Sites of Biodiversity (SoBs), Ramsar listed wetlands not managed by Melbourne Water and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) not managed by Melbourne Water.

A key objective of the MWrbm project is to provide data on at least 50 works evaluation sites (category III) throughout the course of the project. Works conducted along waterways ideally comprise of 3 separate sub-sites (either of varying treatments or a treatment site and adjacent upstream and downstream controls), subject to varying treatments and have been selected to evaluate the effectiveness of specific works on bird communities. The identification and mapping of works evaluation sites has been provided by Melbourne Water as necessary. As many riparian works sites are non-discrete and can often only be accessed through private property, not all identified works sites were able to be surveyed during the monitoring period. However, for sites where access is not limited, increasing the amount of regularity of works evaluation site surveys was a key objective of the 2015-16 project. This was achieved during the survey period.

18

Table 8. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Dandenong Catchment throughout the project period.

surveys species surveys species surveys species survey species site name category significance 12-13 12-13 12-14 12-14 12-15 12-15 12-16 12-16

178 Corhanwarrabul

Birdsland, Monbulk Creek Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 1 38 11 82 24 94 36 99

Monbulk Creek Upstream Control 3 works evaluation 0 0 3 32 18 50 36 58

Monbulk Creek Works Site 3 works evaluation 0 0 3 27 14 42 19 43

Mulgrave Res wetland 4 Non MW 1 36 1 36 3 46 13 53

Rigby's Wetland Cell 1 5 MW constructed wetland 6 43 15 58 18 59 18 62

Rigby's Wetland Cell 2 5 MW constructed wetland 7 52 16 68 20 69 20 69

Rigby's Wetland cell 3 5 MW constructed wetland 14 90 25 94 37 109 39

Rigby's Wetland cell 4 5 MW constructed wetland 7 57 17 67 20 76 20 76

Rigby’s Wetland Miscellaneous 5 MW constructed wetland 0 0 52 158

Waterford Wetlands, 5 MW constructed wetland 14 54 25 58 36 63 47 66 179 Dandenong Creek Lower

Braeside Park 1 Carrum IBA 38 94 86 101 104 104 105 109

Edithvale - Zone 1 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 13 43 25 62 36 74 49 80

Edithvale - Zone 2 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 15 100 34 113 60 130 87 132

Edithvale - Zone 3 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 13 44 25 50 36 56 48 60

Edithvale - Zone 4 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 13 28 25 34 36 36 48 38

Edithvale - Zone 5 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 13 54 25 63 36 69 48 71

Edithvale - Zone 6 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 13 24 25 27 36 30 48 30

Edithvale - Zone 7 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 16 92 30 104 42 109 48 114

Edithvale - Zone 8 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 13 52 25 58 36 62 48 63

Wannarkladdin Wetlands - east 1 MW constructed wetland 3 52 11 67 23 74 34 77

Wannarkladdin Wetlands - north 1 MW constructed wetland 2 25 10 48 20 61 30 65

Wannarkladdin Wetlands - west 1 MW constructed wetland 2 45 13 79 25 86 34 92

Namatjira Wetlands, Clayton South 3 works evaluation 6 45 23 65 35 71 64 75

Edithvale Common 4 Non Mw 11 40 14 42 17 43 19 44

Elsternwick Park 4 Non MW 14 44 19 52 24 61 27 62

Karkarook Park 4 Non MW 27 93 155 122 272 133 517 146

Patterson River 4 Waterway 0 0 4 43 9 50 10 54

Springvale rd Wetlands 4 MW constructed wetland 19 91 52 101 141 114 195 118

Woodlands Estate Wetlands 4 MW constructed wetland 5 73 26 100 58 111 82 117

Blind Creek 110

Lakewood Park Res, Riddel Rd Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 3 51 12 72 32 81 50 88

Dandenong Wetlands, Koomba Park 4 works evaluation 4 61 13 76 27 90 29 92

Dandenong Creek Middle 159

Colchester Road Retarding Basin, 2 SoBS 2 20 4 30 6 38 7 45

Fussel Road Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 2 25 5 47 7 54 9 60

Liverpool Road Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 10 73 18 81 21 83 65 109

Old Joes Creek Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 2 27 4 32 4 32 4 32

Police Rd retarding basin Wetland 2 SoBS 0 0 2 42 8 73 9 79

Tirhatuan Wetlands 2 SoBS 4 40 23 71 37 75 67 86

Winton Wetlands 2 SoBS 2 25 13 54 18 60 30 75

Heatherton Road North 5 MW constructed wetland 14 78 32 87 51 93 77 99

Heatherton Road South 5 MW constructed wetland 13 87 33 97 48 100 66 104

Jells Park Lake 4 Non MW 8 72 27 95 53 113 80 120

Koomba Park North 4 MW constructed wetland 1 13 7 58 14 71 20 74

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Table 8. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Dandenong Catchment throughout the project period continued

surveys species surveys species surveys species survey species site name category significance 12-13 12-13 12-14 12-14 12-15 12-15 12-16 12-16

150 Eumemmerring

Berwick Springs wetlands 4 Non MW 2 62 8 88 17 90 50 98

Frog Hollow Wetland 5 MW constructed wetland 15 67 27 70 39 73 51 84

Golf Links Road 5 MW constructed wetland 11 76 20 82 31 90 40 93

Hallam Valley Floodplain 5 MW constructed wetland 13 95 14 96 29 103 39 107

Hallam Valley Floodplain, Troups Creek 5 MW constructed wetland 15 97 27 100 39 103 51 106

Kilberry Boulevard, Hampton Park East Drain 5 MW constructed wetland 12 74 24 81 35 85 46 89

River Gum Creek Res 5 MW constructed wetland 12 89 23 92 35 101 52 107

Kananook 184

Boundary Road Wetland, Eel Race Drain, ETP 1 Carrum IBA 16 104 38 114 75 122 100 127

Eastern Treatment Plant 1 Carrum IBA 11 127 26 133 41 144 52 145

ETP south, Serpentine area 1 Carrum IBA 0 0 7 54 17 80 17 80

PARCS Wetland, Eel Race Drain, ETP 1 Carrum IBA 2 47 11 69 21 77 32 87

Seaford Wetlands - Zone 1 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 15 97 43 121 59 131 82 138

Seaford Wetlands - Zone 2 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 12 39 24 43 35 45 48 47

Seaford Wetlands - Zone 3 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 12 55 24 64 35 70 48 75

Seaford Wetlands - Zone 4 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 12 60 24 73 35 79 48 84

Seaford Wetlands - Zone 5 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 12 58 24 67 35 74 48 79

Seaford Wetlands - Zone 6 1 Edithvale/Seaford Ramsar 12 34 24 44 36 61 49 66

The Doughnut, Eastern Treatment Plant 1 Carrum IBA 11 69 24 79 36 83 47 88

Boggy Creek Waterway Res, Boggy Creek 2 SoBS 1 18 3 42 3 42 3 42

Boggy Creek, Carrum 1 Devil Bend IBA 10 67 19 75 27 78 36 81

ETP Rossiter Rd Lagoon (Banyun) 2 potential IBA inclusion 4 33 15 73 27 84 38 91

ETP turf farm 2 potential IBA inclusion 4 49 14 71 24 88 35 97

Little Boggy Creek Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 1 13 3 39 3 39 3 39

Tamarisk Waterway Res, Langwarrin 2 SoBS 0 0 1 24 1 24 2 33

Table 9. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Maribyrnong Catchment throughout the project period

surveys species surveys species surveys species survey species site name category significance 12-13 12-13 12-14 12-14 12-15 12-15 12-16 12-16

83 Jacksons Creek

Jacksons Creek Downstream Control 3 works evaluation 0 0 5 26 18 34 33 47

Jacksons Creek Works Site 3 works evaluation 0 0 5 40 18 52 34 60

Gisborne Swamp 4 potential SOB 0 0 1 25 7 54 12 61

Maribyrnong River 52

Flemington Racecourse 4 Non MW 0 0 3 28 11 47 16 52

Steele 44

Valley Lake Res 4 Non MW 1 18 8 37 14 41 21 44

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Table 10. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Werribee Catchment throughout the project period surveys species surveys species surveys species survey species site name category significance 12-13 12-13 12-14 12-14 12-15 12-15 12-16 12-16 Cherry Main Drain 113 Cherry Lake, Cherry Creek 2 SoBS 7 66 16 79 26 96 52 113 Andersons lake 4 Non MW 0 1 9 0 11 12 13 20 Kororoit Creek Lower 171 Cherry Lake north, Big Bend 2 SoBS 0 0 1 30 5 39 17 64 Kororoit Creek Escarpments north 2 SoBS 2 31 3 35 4 35 5 40 Kororoit Creek Escarpments south 2 SoBS 2 33 3 37 4 37 5 46 Lower Koroit Creek Waterway Res 2 SoBS 2 42 3 45 4 45 4 45 Jawbone Res, Williamstown 3 works evaluation 33 99 78 119 150 129 196 142 Iramoo Wetlands 4 non MW 0 0 2 40 6 53 12 59 Newport Lakes 4 Non MW 14 70 28 78 37 88 50 98 Laverton 129 Truganina Swamp, Laverton Creek 2 SoBS 15 90 40 111 63 118 102 129 Kayes Cr Waterway Res, Windsor Bvd 4 Waterway 0 0 0 0 1 7 2 9 Kayes Cr Waterway Res, Yeend Crt 4 Waterway 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 10 Little River 158 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Little River, Lower Reaches 1 Ramsar 13 65 23 73 32 77 44 86 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP – Pond Q4 1 Ramsar 1 41 2 47 9 78 35 123 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Summer Pond 1 1 Ramsar 6 34 17 61 26 67 38 76 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Summer Pond 2 1 Ramsar 13 61 26 76 35 81 49 89 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - T Section Lagoon 1 1 Ramsar 12 25 22 33 33 38 44 46 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - T Section Lagoon 2 1 Ramsar 10 21 27 74 53 93 123 124 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - T Section Lagoon 3 1 Ramsar 25 53 45 96 62 109 73 112 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - T Section Lagoon 4 1 Ramsar 0 0 1 49 5 54 17 70 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - T Section Lagoon 5 1 Ramsar 13 40 24 51 33 55 44 63 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - T Section Lagoon 6 1 Ramsar 11 26 21 35 31 41 42 49 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - T Section Lagoon 7 1 Ramsar 12 46 23 53 34 59 48 77 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Western Lagoon 3 1 Ramsar 3 21 12 35 21 38 30 44 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Western Lagoon 6 1 Ramsar 12 19 22 32 32 36 41 45 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Western Lagoon 7 1 Ramsar 12 29 23 36 32 38 38 41 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Western Lagoon 8 1 Ramsar 13 32 23 41 32 41 40 48 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Western Lagoon 9 1 Ramsar 13 59 24 65 31 65 39 70 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - Western Lagoon 4&5 rehab 1 Ramsar 12 49 23 54 32 57 44 73 Skeleton Creek 157 Pt Philip Bay W shore Cheetham Saltfields (Parks Victoria) 1 Ramsar 3 78 26 128 50 139 67 147 Skeleton Creek Saltmarsh 2 SoBS 3 51 9 64 14 68 17 71 Williams Landing (Cedar Woods) 4 Non MW 0 0 2 38 3 42 9 64 Werribee Lower 148 Pt Philip Bay W shore RAAF Lake 1 Ramsar 0 0 12 73 26 82 40 93 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - 270S Borrow Pit 1 Ramsar 15 68 25 76 35 90 45 95 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - 35E Pond 8 Conservation Pond 1 Ramsar 13 43 23 52 31 55 41 94 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - 35E Pond 9 Conservation Pond 1 Ramsar 12 46 22 55 28 59 34 62 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - 5W Pond 10 1 Ramsar 10 26 20 42 27 45 38 50 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - 5W Pond 11 1 Ramsar 11 27 21 40 27 44 38 51 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - 5W Pond 9 1 Ramsar 10 34 20 47 28 53 39 55 Pt Philip Bay W shore WTP - 85WC Pond 9 1 Ramsar 14 39 24 44 33 46 44 49 Werribee River Downstream Control 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 25 4 32 4 32 Werribee River Works Site 3 Works evaluation 0 0 2 30 4 38 4 38 21

Table 11. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Westernport Catchment throughout the project period

surveys species surveys species surveys species survey species site name category significance 12-13 12-13 12-14 12-14 12-15 12-15 12-16 12-16

Cardinia, Toomuc, Deep & Ararat

Cardinia Creek Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 1 25 1 25 1 25 2 32

The Inlets Waterway Res, Cardinia 2 SoBS 3 52 12 77 23 96 22 111

Cardinia Reservoir (7 sites) 2 SoBS 2 58 26 103 50 106 53 121

Dandenong Creek Lower

Leisureland Drive drain 4 Waterway 1 11 2 15 2 15 2 15

Lower Bunyip

Koo Wee Rup Tower 4 Waterway 2 32 3 40 3 40 4 46

West Peninsula Rivers & Creeks

Bittern Reservoir 1 Devilbend IBA (PV) 0 0 0 0 2 41 3 50

Devilbend Reservoir 1 Devilbend IBA (PV) 12 107 18 108 26 115 29 118

Briars central trib 3 works evaluation 0 0 1 8 2 13 2 13

Briars eastern trib 3 works evaluation 0 0 1 7 2 11 2 11

Briars wastern trib 3 works evaluation 0 0 1 7 2 10 2 10

Industrial estate Retarding Basin 4 MW retarding basin 0 0 3 19 5 27 9 46

MPS Tootgarook Wetland Res boundary 4 non MW 0 0 2 41 4 55 8 65

Sanctuary Park Res 4 Non MW 0 0 4 50 19 84 28 91

Tern Ave Wetland 4 Non MW 0 0 3 35 7 52 13 54

Tootgarook swamp - A McNaughts lake 4 non MW 2 43 6 64 9 71 15 76

Tootgarook swamp - C Moona swamp 4 non MW 2 14 3 18 3 18 5 22

Tootgarook swamp - D Moona swamp 2 4 non MW 2 12 4 21 7 32 10 36

Tootgarook Swamp 92W 4 non MW 0 0 4 25 17 53 25 60

Tootgarook Swamp, McNaught accumalitive 4 non MW 2 39 6 61 10 69 15 80

Tootgraook swamp - B Gahnia swamp 4 non MW 2 21 6 47 10 53 15 62

Truemans Rd landfill 4 Non MW 0 0 4 30 15 59 24 65

West Peninsula Rivers & Creeks

Woods Res 4 Non MW 17 82 29 86 42 92 64 94

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Table 12. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Yarra Catchment throughout the project period

surveys species surveys species surveys species survey species site name category significance 12-13 12-13 12-14 12-14 12-15 12-15 12-16 12-16

Darebin Creek (Urban)

Darebin Parklands 4 Non MW 5 49 8 58 11 61 13 67

Diamond Creek (Rural)

Works evaluation - site 13 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 19 14 42 24 48

Works evaluation - site 14 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 14 14 31 24 45

Works evaluation - site 15 3 works evaluation 0 0 3 22 19 48 26 48

Works evaluation – site 16 3 works evaluation 0 0 1 20 4 41 9 47

Gardiners

Valley Res retarding Basin, Waverly 4 MW retarding basin 0 0 5 29 14 41 45 52

Wurundjeri Walk, BlackburnSth 4 Waterway 34 53 68 63 116 69 154 72

Ashwood – Queens Parade 4 Waterway 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 24 Gardiners Creek – Station St to Burwood Highway 4 Waterway 1 10 7 30 18 39 28 44

Huntingdale Wetlands 4 Waterway 15 55 65 76 130 87 190 90

Jingella Park – Gardiners Creek 4 Waterway 0 0 7 41 23 46 27 47

Merri Creek (Urban)

Galada Tamboore South, Merri Creek 2 SoBS 4 44 7 50 12 55 17 62

Lakeside Dve Res 4 Non MW 2 19 7 32 11 35 16 42

Moir Drive Res 4 Non MW 0 0 2 22 6 41 10 46

Wintersun Crt Res 4 Non MW 2 18 5 31 9 37 13 42

Moonee Ponds

Wright Street retarding Basin 2 SoBS 4 40 11 60 17 62 24 72 MW constructed Jacana Wetlands (south) 4 wetland 4 33 6 41 11 46 15 47 MW constructed Jancana Wetlands (north) 4 wetland 8 68 16 77 27 82 41 96

Moonee Ponds Creek, Westmeadows 4 Waterway 1 14 4 22 9 34 12 41 MW constructed Trin Warren Tam-boore wetlands 4 wetland 1 19 20 68 46 84 93 98

Westbreen Creek - Gavin Park 4 Non MW 1 6 4 21 6 26 11 31

Westbreen Creek - Joyce Res 4 Non MW 1 7 4 16 6 21 9 24

Woodlands Park, Essendon 4 Non MW 0 0 6 32 12 38 16 38

Mullum Mullum

Mullum Mullum Creek Currawong Park 3 works evaluation 0 0 15 42 58 52 98 55

Mullum Mullum Park 4 waterway 37 43 46 45 50 61 50 61

Yarran Dheran Res 4 Non MW 12 43 20 50 29 52 42 54

Olinda Creek

Silvan Reservoir Park 2 SoBS 5 65 6 77 12 85 15 85

Olinda Creek, control 3 works evaluation 0 0 8 29 17 35 27 38

Olinda Creek, staged removal 3 works evaluation 2 16 11 33 20 40 29 45

Olinda Creek, Willow removed 3 works evaluation 2 16 11 41 21 50 30 53

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Table 13. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Yarra Catchment throughout the project period

surveys species surveys species surveys species survey species site name category significance 12-13 12-13 12-14 12-14 12-15 12-15 12-16 12-16

Plenty River (Rural & Lower)

Dunnetts Road Swamp, Plenty River 2 SoBS 2 25 4 47 7 54 10 62

Yan Yean Resevior Park 2 MW reservoir 1 35 3 58 20 96 67 127

works evaluation - site 1 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 23 13 41 23 44

works evaluation - site 10 3 works evaluation 0 0 1 7 13 43 23 53

works evaluation - site 2 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 26 14 59 25 68

works evaluation - site 3 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 22 12 51 19 58

works evaluation - site 4 3 works evaluation 0 0 0 0 1 12 1 12

works evaluation - site 5 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 14 14 42 24 51

works evaluation - site 6 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 19 13 46 23 53

works evaluation - site 7 3 works evaluation 0 0 2 25 14 68 24 72

works evaluation - site 8 3 works evaluation 0 0 1 10 13 51 23 57

works evaluation - site 9 3 works evaluation 0 0 3 20 15 48 25 57

PG- Marshland/Carex/Tortoise Pond 4 Non MW 0 0 8 67 16 78 21 83

PG- Mother in Law's Leap 4 Non MW 0 0 9 56 17 63 23 75

PG- North East Wetland 4 Non MW 0 0 10 71 19 83 24 92

Watsons Creek

A Track- BICA 4 Waterway 2 32 4 42 5 42 5 42

B track- BICA 4 Waterway 1 28 1 28 1 28 1 28

C track- BICA 4 Waterway 2 48 3 52 4 54 5 59

Powerline Easement- BICA 4 Waterway 1 20 1 20 2 41 5 51

Proper-Yanakie- BICA 4 Waterway 0 0 0 0 1 43 1 43

Watsons Crk N of Bridge- BICA 4 Waterway 4 78 8 92 14 104 17 107

Yarra Middle & Lower

Andersons Creek East Retarding Basin 2 SoBS 0 0 4 37 6 45 6 45

Bolin Bolin Billabong 3 works evaluation 21 71 30 75 44 79 50 83

Salt Creek, Rosanna Parklands 3 works evaluation 3 16 13 35 25 35 32 37

Duff's to Gully 4 Waterway 2 39 3 50 3 50 3 50

Gongflers Peninsula 4 Waterway 0 0 1 43 1 43 2 50

Henley Rd, East 4 Waterway 1 45 3 68 3 68 3 68

Market Garden Bend 4 Waterway 2 41 2 41 2 41 7 69

Murunduka Swamp 4 PV significant site 0 0 6 71 20 86 26 88

Ruffey Lake Park 4 non MW 3 59 9 71 19 73 34 79

Westgate Park 4 Non MW 25 70 44 75 65 82 87 93

Yaruk Tamboore 4 Non MW 0 0 4 39 7 45 8 47

Yarra Upper (Rural)

Yering Backswamp 2 SoBS 4 55 10 81 13 86 14 87

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b) Significant populations The main purpose of the MWrbm project is to collect data which will continue to inform on site condition based on accumulated reporting rates across species.

The calculation of the riparian sub-index excludes invasive species as non-contributors to site biodiversity. Equally it gives no extra weighting to threatened species, migratory species and doesn’t take into account wetlands or quantitative data (Steele 2011, Herman 2015). However as custodians of several international, national and regionally significant wetland sites, Melbourne Water regularly reports on occurrence, abundance, habitat quality and extent of threatened species, migratory species and significant populations of waterbirds. Several Melbourne Water sites, including Ramsar listed wetlands (Figure 8) and Important Bird Areas (IBAs), are listed as such due to their significance for threatened and range restricted species, or internationally significant numbers of one or more shorebird species (>1% of the East Asian Australasian Flyway population) or overall populations of waterbirds (>20,000 waterbirds).

Figure 8. Among other sites, Melbourne Water manages vegetation and hydrology at Edithvale Wetlands to provide habitat for significant bird populations. Photo: Andrew Silcocks.

i) Threatened species

Accordingly a number of these sites are subject to some level of sympathetic management to sustain threatened species populations of plant and animals in accordance with legislative obligations. By conserving habitats for these umbrella species, it is presumed that species (at several trophic levels) with less demanding spatial, physical, chemical and biotic habitat requirements will also be protected.

The diversity, regularity and often breeding success of threatened species at Melbourne Water managed sites, whether a function of targeted species level habitat management or broader waterway condition works, is a testament to the success of the ongoing management effort.

In the study period 22 threatened species were recorded from MWrbm project sites including four2 federally listed species (Table 14, Appendix 2).

2 A fifth species, Orange-bellied Parrot (CR), is regularly recorded at Melbourne Water’s Western Treatment Plant however were not observed during MWrbm. As coordinators of the mainland OBP monitoring program, BirdLife work in close conjunction with Melbourne Water operations staff to ensure optimal habit outcomes.

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Table 14. Threatened species recorded at target sites between 30/6/2015 and 30/6/2016. sites maximum EPBC Victorian Common Name Scientific Name observations breeding observed observed listing Advisory listing

Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus 33 12 3 EN EN Australasian Shoveler Anas rhynchotis 225 33 226 VU Baillon’s Crake Zapornia pusilla 42 12 4 VU Black Falcon Falco subniger 14 5 2 VU

Blue-billed Duck Oxyura australis 307 25 5000 EN Brolga Grus rubicunda 37 6 1 4 VU Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 11 5 2 VU Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia 124 19 64 VU Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 68 22 947 CR EN Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis 1 1 5 CR VU Eastern Great Egret Ardea modesta 498 65 6 VU Fairy Tern Sterna nereis 3 3 38 VU EN Freckled Duck Stictonetta naevosa 59 14 65 EN Hardhead Aythya australis 300 53 705 VU Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia 3 1 1 EN Lewin's Rail Lewinia pectoralis 25 8 4 VU Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis 99 24 100 VU

Musk Duck Biziura lobata 85 23 66 VU Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva 3 2 4 VU

Powerful Owl Ninox strenua 1 1 1 VU

Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor 6 2 8 CR EN

White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster 25 14 2 VU

Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 41 9 6 VU

Table 15. Additional information on the management requirements for federally listed bird species known to occur across Melbourne Water managed sites. Habitat Catchments of EPBC preference significance sympathetic management Common Name listing (EVC) undertaken Species notes Orange-bellied Parrot CR 9, 10, 140,  Werribee  saltmarsh restoration. Melbourne Water manages the most 196  Westernport  Selective slashing of significant wintering habitats for the agricultural weeds. species. Works undertaken by  Track closures. Melbourne Water to optimise habitat  April-October have been critical in the species survival. Curlew Sandpiper CR 9, 10, 653,  Dandenong  draw downs in non-tidal Supratidal habitats provide 136  Werribee wetlands <5cm preferential feeding and roosting  Westernport  September-March opportunities and are particularly important for the species in dry years (Clemens unpublished) Eastern Curlew CR 9, 10  Werribee  Intertidal output to Eastern Curlew are a coastal obligates  Westernport optimise benthos. but may be impacted at coastal roost September-March sites and indirectly by influences on intertidal benthos. Swift Parrot CR 15, 55, 15  Yarra  Plantings of eucalypt The species is highly dispersive and  Westernport species including only occurs on Melbourne Water Spotted Gum, Red properties in low densities. Foraging Ironbark and box distribution on the mainland is highly species. dependent on flowering of eucalypt  Environmental flows species. Australasian Bittern EN 656,  Dandenong Inundation of tall marsh and Melbourne Water manages some of 969,136,821  Werribee the most significant wintering  Westernport habitats for the species. Fairy Tern VU NA  Werribee Fairy Tern are coastal obligate although may roost or feed in near coastal supratidal ponds such as treatment plants or salt works.

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ii) Migratory species

A number of the threatened species listed above are migratory shorebirds. Each spring and summer two million shorebirds migrate up to 11,000km from breeding grounds in the northern hemisphere to Australian wetlands and coasts. During this time shorebirds must derive enough energy from their chosen habitat to fuel the return trip to their breeding grounds the following autumn.

Recognising that the long-term conservation of viable populations of the world’s species requires the identification, protection and management of their habitats, many governments have initiated conservation measures and signed international conservation agreements. The international agreements pertaining to Australia’s shorebirds include the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention), the World Heritage Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention), the Convention of Biological Diversity, the Asia–Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy and the East Asian–Australasian Shorebird Reserve Network. There are also several bilateral agreements, including the China–Australia Migratory Birds Agreement (CAMBA), the Japan– Australia Migratory Birds Agreement (JAMBA) and, most recently, the Republic of Korea–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (ROKAMBA). In addition, Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) recognises migratory shorebirds as species of National Environmental Significance (NES), further highlighting the importance of shorebird conservation. All of these agreements require the identification and protection of areas for conservation. iii) Global shorebird population trends Throughout the world, many populations of shorebirds appear to be declining (Wilson 2000; Morrison et al. 2001; IWSG 2003; Olsen et al. 2003; CHSM 2004; van de Kam et al. 2004; Murray et al. 2013). In 2003, trend estimates were available for 41 per cent of the 499 populations of shorebirds around the world. Of these, 44 per cent appeared to be declining, 13 per cent were increasing, 39 per cent were stable and 4 per cent had become extinct (Delaney 2003; IWSG 2003). The population declines that were detected coincide with accelerating loss and degradation of shorebird habitat (United Nations Environment Programme 2006; Rogers et al. 2009; Murray et al. 2013). In the East Asian– Australasian Flyway, a disproportionately high number of shorebird species have been classified as threatened, and many are under increasing threat from habitat destruction (IWSG 2003; Murray et al. 2013). The Red List Index (RLI), which uses information from the IUCN Red List to track trends in the projected overall extinction risk of sets of species, is among the indicators adopted by the world’s governments to assess performance under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Of the 49 Australian species which had deteriorated in status in the last 20 years, over half were migratory shorebirds or seabirds (Szabo et al. 2012). Population-trend analysis of the BirdLife Australia Shorebird 2020 database shows strong evidence of declines in the Australian populations of 12 species of migratory shorebirds, and evidence of declines evident in another eight species of shorebirds (BirdLife Australia unpublished data).

Recent analysis undertaken by the University of Queensland utilising BirdLife Australia Shorebird 2020 data (11,000 of the 93,000 counts from 153 shorebird areas across Australia, spanning the years from 1973 to 2014), revealed decreases in abundance in 12 of 19 migratory shorebirds (Clemens, unpublished data). Three of these species regularly occur in Melbourne Water wetlands and adjacent coastal areas, however with rates of decline as high as 8 per cent per annum (Figure 9) numbers in the region have declined proportionately.

10% 8% 6% 4% 2%

0% Annual rate ofdecline rate Annual

Figure 9. Rates of population decline of seven species of shorebirds in the East Asian–Australian Flyway 1973 - 2014 (R. Fuller, unpublished data).

27

In alignment with these identified trends of decline, the following migratory shorebird species were listed as threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) Critically Endangered  Limosa lapponica menzbieri (Bar-tailed Godwit [spp menzbieri])  Calidris tenuirostris (Great Knot)

Endangered  Calidris canutus (Red Knot)  Charadrius mongolus (Lesser Sand Plover)

Vulnerable  Limosa lapponica baueri (Bar-tailed Godwit [spp baueri])  Charadrius leschenaultii (Greater sand Plover)

These species remain listed ‘migratory’ and ‘marine’ under the EPBC Act.

As custodian of internationally significant wetlands Melbourne Water undertakes a wide range of works to manage habitat for migratory waders. The sympathetic management of non-tidal ponds at the Western Treatment Plant not only provides feeding and roosting habitat for up to >12,500 shorebirds (Rogers et al. 2014) but provides critical drought and sea-level rise refuge for a large suit of waterbirds. This is also evident at Edithvale Wetlands which supports internationally significant populations of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers during (Figure 10).

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Table 16. List of East Asian-Australasian Flyway migratory shorebird species that occur in the Port Philip Westernport region.

WPE5 estimate is the current global population estimates summed across relevant subspecies for the EAAF (Wetlands International 2016).

Conservation status refers to IUCN status listed in Garnett et al. (2010), except for bolded species which are listed in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (Department of the Environment 2016).

† these species have two or more subspecies which are recognised in the EAAF. Population estimates and thus, 1% population criterion, differ between subspecies and hence, the 1% criterion for each species is not presented here. See Waterbird Population Estimates (2016) for the most recent values. * Bar-tailed Godwit subspecies menzbieri listed as Critically Endangered and subspecies baueri listed as Vulnerable under recent (5 May 2016) EPBC Act changes.

Conservation Scientific Name Common Name WPE5 estimate 1% EAAFP status Pluvialis fulva † Pacific Golden Plover 135,000-150,000 1,350 Pluvialis squatarola Grey Plover 104,000 1,040 NT Charadrius bicinctus Double-banded Plover 50,000 500 Charadrius mongolus † Lesser Sand Plover 188,500-218,500 1,885 E Charadrius leschenaultia Greater Sand Plover 79,000 790 V Gallinago hardwickii Latham’s Snipe 25,000-1,000,000 250 Limosa limosa Black-tailed Godwit 139,000 1,390 V Limosa lapponica † Bar-tailed Godwit 279,000 2,790 CR * / V Numenius phaeopus Whimbrel 55,000 550 NT Numenius (Far) Eastern Curlew 32,000 320 CR madagascariensis Xenus cinereus Terek Sandpiper 50,000-55,000 500 Actitis hypoleucos Common Sandpiper 50,000 500 Tringa brevipes Grey-tailed Tattler 44,000 440 NT Tringa nebularia Common Greenshank 100,000 1,000 Tringa stagnatilis Marsh Sandpiper 100,000-1,000,000 1,000 Tringa glareola Wood Sandpiper 100,000 1,000 Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone 28,500 285 NT Calidris tenuirostris Great Knot 290,000 2,900 CR Calidris canutus † Red Knot 99,000-122,000 1,100 E Calidris ruficollis Red-necked Stint 315,000 3,200 Calidris subminuta Long-toed Stint 25,000 250 Calidris melanotos Pectoral Sandpiper 1,220,000-1,930,000 12,200 Calidris acuminate Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 160,000 1,600 Calidris ferruginea Curlew Sandpiper 135,000 1,350 CR Calidris pugnax Ruff 25,000-100,000 250

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During the study period 14 species of migratory shorebirds were observed at MWrbm sites during standardised surveys. These included both Curlew Sandpiper and (Far) Eastern Curlew which were recently uplisted to Critically Endangered due to the rate of population decline currently occurring in the flyway. An additional eight species listed under international agreements (JAMBA, CAMBA, ROKAMBA) were also recorded during the 2015-16 period. These included Caspian Tern, Common Tern, Crested Tern, Cattle Egret, Oriental Pratincole, Oriental Plover, Red-necked Phalarope, and White-throated Needletail.

Table 17. Migratory shorebirds recorded at targeted sites between 1/7/2015 and 30/6/2016. Maximums in bold exceed thresholds for internationally significant populations (>1% of the total estimated East Asian Australian Flyway). * denote summed counts of nearby sites counted individually but considered as a single management unit (e.g Western Treatment Plant conservation ponds and Edithvale section 1-7)

sites maximum 1% Common Name Scientific Name observations observed observed EAA Jamba Camba ROKAMBA Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva 3 2 4 1350 J C R Latham’s Snipe Gallinago hardwickii3 223 45 30 250 J C R (Far) Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis 1 1 5 320 J C R Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 11 5 2 500 J C R Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia 124 19 64 1000 J C R Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis 99 24 100 1000 J C R Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 41 9 6 1000 J C R Red Knot Calidris canutus 3 3 4 1100 J C R Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis 114 22 2000 3200 J C R Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos 13 7 4 12200 J R

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata 210 32 3580* 1600 J C R Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 68 22 947 1350 J C R Broad-billed Sandpiper Calidris falcinellus 2 2 1 250 J C R

BirdLife Australia’s Shorebird 2020 project collects nation-wide data on shorebird habitat and populations. The database houses the national data set which is supplemented by long-term shorebird counts conducted by the Arthur Rylah Institute on behalf of Melbourne Water.

3 Under the Commonwealth Wildlife Conservation Plan for Migratory Shorebirds 2015 a threshold figure of at least 18 individuals is used to identify areas of national significance for this species.

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iv) Abundance data

Whilst reporting rates and species lists provide a valid means of establishing condition scores across non uniform sites, site significance can be lost if all species are treated as equally abundant. Key wetland areas are recognised as such because they do support high numbers of birds, and appropriate management of these areas is essential to ensure the resources and habitat conditions required for these super-abundant species is maintained. Abundance data is vital under these circumstances. Trends in abundances are driven by both natural events such as rainfall or seasonal changes or may drive or be driven by management. An understanding of how birds are using the sites, how many individuals are present and what activities may be driving appearance and disappearance to sites is useful when developing on ground works and management programs.

The ongoing collection of abundance data throughout the most significant sites in the study area not only aids management within the area but continues to inform researchers on larger scale trends and species movements. Melbourne Water is to be commended for their ongoing commitment to what will be an invaluable dataset unrivalled anywhere in Australia. Figure 12 provides the total counts for waterbirds across the significant wetlands that Melbourne Water manages. This data shows the variability in the abundance of birds not only between seasons, but from year to year. Carrum IBA support significantly high numbers of birds particularly over the summer months (corresponding with the arrival of migratory shorebirds and potentially the drying of smaller and inland wetlands), though peaks in May/June of 2013 and 2015 emphasise the inconsistencies in these peak periods. The high counts across the Eastern Treatment Plant are dominated by a few species of waterfowl such as Eurasian Coots Fulica atra, Grey Teal Anas gracilis and in more recent years Pink-eared Duck Malacorhynchus membranaceus, supplemented by Sharp-tailed Sandpipers when they arrive from their breeding grounds. Edithvale is also dominated by Eurasian Coots and Purple Swamp-hens Porphyrio porphyrio, again with the influx of Sharp-tailed Sandpiper pushing the numbers up (Figure 10). Waterbird populations at Seaford Wetlands tend to be much more consistent. Counts are dominated by waterfowl such as Eurasian Coots, Chestnut Teal A. castanea and Grey Teal, and whilst migratory shorebirds are recorded at this site they are not in the numbers at other locations within the IBA.

Figure 10. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper occur in internationally significant numbers at Edithvale Wetlands in the absence of wetland inundation inland.

The diversity, consistency and extent of habitats at Western Treatment Plant conservation ponds support high numbers of resident nomadic waders, such as Red-necked Avocets Recurvirostra novaehollandiae. These species react opportunistically to large scale climatic changes in similar pattern to waterfowl such as Teal and Pink-eared Ducks which flock at the site during times of privation. Whilst Sharp-tailed Sandpipers contribute to bird abundances during the summer, it is Red-necked Stints that are the dominant migratory wader at these sites.

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Conservation ponds

Figure 11. Total waterbird counts across Melbourne Water managed Ramsar areas June 2012-July 2016. Sites in Western Treatment Plant (25 sites), Edithvale (8 sites) and Seaford (7 sites) have been consolidated to give a site wide count. Carram IBA includes data from all sites across the Eastern Treatment Plant, Edithvale Seaford and Boggy Creek (23 sites). Sites are managed in line with seasonal requirements. Breaks in the trend lines are reflective of months where no data was collected for the site(s).

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c) Works Sites One of the key aims of the Melbourne Water monitoring program is to collect data that allows Melbourne Water to assess their onground management actions against their conservation requirements.

As such, three experimental areas were established in response to the recommendations AECOM (2012). These works sites are riparian areas along the Plenty River and Arthurs Creek/Running Creek in the north west of the Yarra Catchment (Figure 12) and riparian areas along Olinda Creek in the south east of the Yarra Catchment. Initially 16 sites were defined in the north west across four experimental treatments (x4 replicates per treatment) – control sites where remnant native vegetation exists, sites where weedy species have been removed >10 years ago, sites where weedy species such as willows have been removed <10 yrs ago and sites where weeds like Willows and Poplars continue to dominate the vegetation. Of these sites two sites – works site 11 and works site 12 have never been surveyed and works site 4 and work site 16 have limited surveys due to issues with accessibility. Table 18 provides a summary of the survey effort undertaken across these sites to date, with location provided in Figure 12.

The south east sites along Olinda Creek comprise of three treatments (Figure 14) – a control site where no works had been undertaken (meaning that willows were the dominant tree type), a staged willow removal and a full willow removal. The differences in the location and treatments of these sites drove the decision not to include them in the general analysis. A summary of findings is provided for these sites below.

Table 18. Summary of riparian works sites established to explore the effects of on ground weed removal on riparian birds. Number of surveys Site Waterway Treatment 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Plenty River Remnant Vegetation works evaluation - site 1 2 11 10 (EVC 83) Plenty River >10 years since willow works evaluation - site 2 2 12 11 removal Plenty River >10 years since willow works evaluation - site 3 2 10 7 removal Plenty River Remnant Vegetation works evaluation - site 4 1 (EVC 83) Plenty River >10 years since willow works evaluation - site 5 2 12 10 removal Plenty River >10 years since willow works evaluation - site 6 2 11 10 removal Plenty River Weed infested works evaluation - site 7 2 12 10 (untreated) Plenty River Remnant Vegetation works evaluation - site 8 1 11 10 (EVC 83) Plenty River Weed infested works evaluation - site 9 3 12 10 (untreated) Plenty River <10 years since willow works evaluation - site 10 1 12 10 removal Running Creek Weed infested works evaluation - site 11 (untreated) Arthurs Creek Remnant Vegetation works evaluation - site 12 (EVC 83) Arthurs/Running <10 years since willow works evaluation - site 13 2 12 10 Confluence removal Running Creek Weed infested works evaluation - site 14 2 12 10 (untreated) Running Creek <10 years since willow works evaluation - site 15 2 14 10 removal Running Creek <10 years since willow works evaluation - site 16 1 3 5 removal

Olinda Creek

Olinda Creek, control Control 8 10 9 Olinda Creek, staged Staged removal removal 9 10 8 Olinda Creek, Willow Willow removal removed 9 10 9

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Figure 12. Map of north west Yarra Catchment works sites established to test the effects of weed removal on birds within riparian sites.

Results Plenty River and Arthurs Creek/Running Creek works sites

This section is a preliminary exploration of the data collected across these works site to date. It is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis.

To date 292 surveys have been undertaken across the established works sites. These have been consistently carried out by the same surveyor reducing the risk of observer bias at these experimental sites.

Figures 13a and 13b show the average number of individual birds recorded per survey across the three survey periods and between treatments.

Figures 13. a and b average number of birds recorded per survey for each survey period and treatment types (pooled across waterways). Numbers indicate total number of surveys undertaken.

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Counts of individual birds per survey over the three survey periods is showing a decline. This is reflected in the mean number of species recorded per survey, with 15.5 species recorded on average per survey in 2013-14, 15.3 species recorded on average per survey in 2015-16, with a drop to 13.3 species on average recorded per survey in 2015-16. A non-parametric ANOVA (Kruskal-wallis) test across the count data showed that the total bird abundances were statistically significant between survey periods.

Survey_period N Mean Rank Test Statisticsa,b

Total 2013-14 24 189.52 Total

2014-15 145 158.52 Chi-Square 17.972

2015-16 123 123.93 df 2

Total 292 Asymp. Sig. .000

a. Kruskal Wallis Test

b. Grouping Variable: Survey_period

Similarly non-parametric ANOVA found that the change in abundance of birds between treatments was also statistically significant, with fewer individuals recorded at the weedy sites than in the control sites.

Test Statisticsa,b

Treatment N Mean Rank Total

Total Control 46 181.39 Chi-Square 13.330

>10 yrs 92 144.78 df 3

Weedy 73 123.66 Asymp. Sig. .004

<10yrs 81 149.22 a. Kruskal Wallis Test

Total 292 b. Grouping Variable: Treatment

Species diversity between treatments found greater diversity of species recorded per survey at the control sites (16.1 species) than: >10yrs sites (14.5 species), <10yrs (14.3 species) and weedy sites (13.8 species).

Exploration of the bird species recorded across these works sites found some interesting results. Pooling data across all surveys found a total of 122 bird species recorded over all surveys. Generally the most abundant and most frequently recorded species are small species, generally insectivorous, though Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis and Silvereyes Zosterops lateralis are represented in this cohort. Table 19 presents count data and reporting rates for the 20 most abundant bird species recorded. Also included are three species (Spotted Pardalote Pardalotus punctatus, Striated Pardalote P. striatus and Grey Shrike-thrush Colluricincla harmonica in bold) that are not included in the most abundant species, but are within the top 20 most frequently encountered (reporting rate) species.

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Table 19. Common species recorded across riparian works sites. Abundance and reporting rate are also provided.

Common Name Count Reporting Rate Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus 833 77.73973 Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis 762 31.84932 White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis 580 83.21918 Silvereye Zosterops lateralis 531 41.78082 Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla 402 65.41096 Grey Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa 306 62.32877 Yellow-faced Honeyeater Lichenostomus chrysops 306 48.28767 Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys 272 8.90411 Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen 249 40.41096 Little Raven Corvus mellori 239 33.56164 Yellow Thornbill Acanthiza nana 217 33.21918 Common Blackbird Turdus merula 216 52.39726 Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris 193 8.219178 Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata 171 26.36986 European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis 161 20.89041 Musk Lorikeet Glossopsitta concinna 151 11.30137 Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena 142 23.28767 White-plumed Honeyeater Ptilotula penicillata 138 27.73973 Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans 137 20.89041 Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus 132 18.83562 Spotted Pardalote Pardalotus punctatus 110 27.05479 Striated Pardalote Pardalotus striatus 105 24.31507 Grey Shrike-thrush Colluricincla harmonica 69 19.52055

There are some interesting findings even in these data. Species such as Long-billed Corella and Musk Lorikeets, whilst not frequently recorded (about 8% and 11% of surveys) are recorded in high numbers when they do occur (accounting for the high abundance counts), whilst conversely Grey Shrike-thrush are recorded during almost 20% of surveys, but only in low numbers.

Bell Miners, whilst relatively abundant have been recorded only within the <10yr willow removal sites and only along the Arthurs Creek/Running Creek water course (sites 13 and 16). Figure 15 provides a breakdown per species of the mean number being recorded per survey with treatments. Noisy Miners have been recorded at one site only – Works site 13, and whilst consistently recorded at this site, numbers are around 2-3 individuals.

Whilst these preliminary results suggest that there are detectable differences between the birds across weed removal treatments it is difficult to state conclusively that this management action is the driver of these differences. The variability of habitat structure across sites as well as the floristic composition may be more important to the bird diversity than the management treatment. Additional habitat data would be of value to further explore the drivers of these bird trends.

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Olinda Creek

Figure 14. Location of Olinda Creek works sites

A summary of the Olinda Creek data found similar trends to those across the other works sites. Counts of individual birds across the sites appears to be declining over the study period with greater abundances in sites with lower willow coverage (Figures 15a and b).

Figures 15. a and b average number of birds recorded per survey for each survey period and treatment types across the Olinda Creek works sites. Numbers indicate total number of surveys undertaken.

Table 20 presents the 20 most abundant species recorded across the Olinda Creek sites. As seen with the other works surveys, the most commonly recorded and abundant species are small, predominately insectivorous species. However, unlike the Plenty River/Arthurs Creek there are few large, generalist bird species, or species strongly associated with disturbance such as the Miner species (Manorina sp.), being recorded across these sites. Fewer bird species have been recorded at these sites (62 across all surveys), however the species composition is quite different to that seen at the Plenty River/Arthurs Creek sites. Again, species in bold are those that whilst not abundant are regularly recorded during surveys as seen by the calculated reporting rates.

Changes to the vegetation (see comments in management section for Olinda Creek Control) raise questions as to the ongoing benefits of monitoring these sites as works evaluation sites.

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Table 20. Common species recorded across Olinda Creek riparian works sites. Abundance and reporting rate are also provided.

Common Name Count Reporting Rate Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla 640 91.8605 Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans 495 73.2558 Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus 317 74.4186 Silvereye Zosterops lateralis 228 43.0233 White-browed Scrubwren Sericonis frontalis 219 70.9302 Grey Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa 168 76.7442 Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis 123 24.4186 Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis 80 66.2791 White-naped Honeyeater Melithreptus lunatus 70 29.0698 New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae 65 20.9302 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita 61 32.5581 Yellow-faced Honeyeater Lichenostomus chrysops 46 23.2558 Common Blackbird Turdus merula 41 36.0465 Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae 41 24.4186 Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus 40 36.0465 Grey Shrike-thrush Colluricincla harmonica 38 33.7209 Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis 26 17.4419 Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons 24 10.4651 Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Zanda funereus 24 6.9767 Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata 23 9.3023 Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris 21 19.7674 White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaea 21 23.2558 Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii 19 13.9535

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5) Management Recommendations and Site Observations The following observation of how site management may influence bird values or survey effectiveness were provided by observers to be considered by Melbourne Water site managers. In many cases recommendations are for continuation of threat mitigation or habitat works that are currently being undertaken by management. Note; only Melbourne Water managed sites are included in this section.

In order to inform planning and ongoing conservation management BirdLife recommend the following investigations:

Management recommendations for Edithvale and Seaford Ramsar wetlands are included in a separate report. v) Birdsland, Monbulk Creek Retarding Basin:

1) Still low compliance to dog restriction on site.

2) Feeding of waterfowl is common. Appropriate signage may be effective.

3) The Blackwood Forest Track has now been reopened.

4) Wandering Trad, is prevalent along Monbulk Creek between the entrance gate and the picnic areas and along German Creek at the picnic ground car park. Coordinated weeding with Yarra Ranges Council

vi) Bolin Bolin Billabong

5) Fulton Hogan Ecodynamics are carrying out weed control and revegetation woks at the site. Focus species African Boxthorn, Willow and Desert Ash have received some treatment however distribution of common species such as Blackberry, Spear Thistle (DNW), English Ivy and Wandering Trad appear to have increased in 2016. The implications of these increasing weed infestations on birds are unclear.

a) b)

c) Figure 16. Three common environmental weeds established at Bolin Bolin Billabong a) Spear Thistle b) English Ivy c) Wandering Trad.

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vii) Cherry Lake north, “Big Bend” Kororoit Creek:

6) This section of Kororoit Creek is heavily vegetated with tall grasses and reed beds (>2m). This is raising questions as to the effectiveness of current survey techniques and the detection of priority bird species. viii) Dunnets Rd Swamp

7) The site remains largely pristine. A wet autumn and winter have filled the ephemeral Red Gum swamp for the first time in several years.

8) Rabbits and foxes are prevalent. An outbreak of mange spread to the wombat population in 2015 and is still evident. An integrated fox and rabbit management program with neighbouring properties may alleviate the issue.

9) Footholds including nails and carvings were found on a large Red Gum utilised by several species for nesting suggesting unauthorised access to the site has/is occurring for photography or egg collection.

a) b)

c) Figure 17. a) A young wombat showing signs of mange. b) A young fox with signs of mange scavenging an Eastern Grey Kangaroo. c) A dead adult wombat with signs of mange.

ix) Frog Hollow Wetlands:

10) Low compliance to dog restriction on site. Increased signage.

x) Fussel Rd Retarding Basin:

11) This site was not surveyed during the first six months of 2016 due to ongoing works.

12) Invasive flora - Large blackberry thickets have been treated and removed, Watsonia is no longer extant however Honeysuckle is prvelant along the shared boundary in the north west wooded section of the site which abuts neighboring horse paddocks (some treatment apparent).

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13) Invasive fauna – Foxes, rabbits.

xi) Hallam Valley Rd:

14) Removal of Gorse from the southern boundary of the wetland has been successful, However the open areas of grass reduce cover for small birds. Planting of native surrogates such as Prickly Moses may encourage recolinisation of small insectivores.

15) Paterson’s Curse (Declared Noxious) colonised areas where Gorse had been removed. Subsequent treatment of Paterson’s Curse has been effective.

16) Tea-tree surrounding 50% of waterbodies may deter wading species. A thinning of thick vegetation surrounding waterbodies will increase variability of habitat and diversity/abundances of waterbirds. It will also increase observer access and visibility at the site.

17) Large numbers of rabbits and foxes

18) Continued illegal entry of 4WD vehicles by cutting of perimeter fences.

19) Fishermen have been recorded on several occasions and are potentially responsible for reintroducing Carp at the site. Fishing equipment and refuse is often left on site creating risk of waterbird entanglement or ingestion of lures.

Figure 18. The last remaining stands of Gorse pictured were removed in early 2014.

xii) Heatherton Rd North:

20) Low compliance to dog restriction on site. Increased enforcement of restriction may lead to higher compliance.

xiii) Liverpool Rd Retarding Basin:

21) This site was not surveyed during the first six months of 2016 due to ongoing works.

22) Low compliance to dog restriction on site. Dogs observed chasing waterbirds on several visits.

23) Feeding of waterfowl is common. Appropriate signage may be effective.

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xiv) Kilberry Boulevard wetlands

24) Rubbish entering the site with stormwater flows often accumulates at outlet grids to the point that they become blocked.

25) Fisherman have been recorded on several occasions and are potential responsible for reintroducing Carp at the site. Fishing equipment and refuse is often left on site creating risk of waterbird entanglement or ingestion of lures.

xv) Olinda Creek (control):

26) Invasive flora – select removal of Blackberry, Wandering Trad, Tutsan, Mapel, Willow, Bamboo, Pine, Arum Lily, Sweet Pittosporum on the south bank of the creek.

27) Extensive areas of vegetation (mostly dense willow saplings) have been removed from the north of the creek holus-bolus, reducing the effectiveness of the site to act as a control. Invasive species have colonised the areas of disturbed soil. At the time of writing this report Spear Thistle (Declared noxious) was recorded covering 90% of the disturbed area. Low bird densities have been recorded in this area since.

Figure 19. Olinda Control site soon after vegetation removal March 2015 (left) and in June 2016 (Right) xvi) Olinda Creek (Willows removed):

28) There has been minimal change in the overall structure or floral composition of the site since the initiation of surveys.

Invasive flora – Bridal Creeper (weed of national significance) Tutsan (

Figure), Wandering Tradescantia, Maple, Blackberry.

30) Invasive fauna – Sambar.

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Figure 20. Tutsan has become prevalent throughout the clearing and on the banks of the Olinda Creek.

xvii) Olinda Creek (staged Willow removal):

31) Invasive flora –Large extensive Blackberry thickets have effectively been removed, Wandering Trad, Willow (some treatment apparent), explosion of Forget-me-nots in September 2015 (Figure 21).

32) Plantings throughout the understory Blackberry appear to have a quite high success rate compared other sites and are providing structure lost by removal of blackberry

Figure 21. Forget-me-nots dominate the understory of the Olinda Creek staged removal site (left). Plantings beneath in tact Willow (right).

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xviii) Police Rd:

33) Tea-tree surrounding 90% of waterbodies may deter wading waterbirds. A thinning of thick vegetation surrounding waterbodies will increase variability of habitat and diversity/abundances of waterbirds.

34) Site access is difficult as the waterbodies are bound by the Dandenong Creek on the south and a stormwater channel on the east. The only entry (and exit) to the site is by walking from Illawarra Ave in the south to the northern end. A few large stones in the southern channel would allow access to the main waterbodies and increase ease of surveying.

xix) Salt Creek

35) Litter- Large amounts of litter are washed down from the higher reaches of the creek and because the park use is so high, there is additional litter from park users.

xx) South Golf Links Rd

36) Continued illegal dumping of rubbish including green waste and building materials.

37) Grass very high and difficult to walk through on the north wetland.

xxi) River Gum Creek Wetlands

38) Low compliance by dog walkers both in terms of lead requirements and correct disposal of dog poo bags. The installation of bins at either end of the footbridge may prevent people constantly tying their bags to handrails.

39) Several new tree/shrub plantings knocked over by the mower in September 14.

40) Presence of Carp encourages fisherman on site and consequent disturbance and accumulations of litter including hooks and baits left in and around water bodies.

41) Rubbish entering the site with stormwater flows often accumulates at outlet grids to the point that they become blocked.

xxii) Troup Creek Wetland:

42) Grass remained unmown throughout autumn 2015. And remains long, particularly on the north side of the ponds.

43) Gate on Centre Road has been damaged and unauthorised entry gained by a covered utility which trailer camped under high tension power lines adjacent to the canal at the western end of the site.

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44) Dogs regularly recorded off lead.

xxiii) Truganina Swamp

45) Continued cutting of the fence by dirt bike riders and dog walkers

46) Non-compliance by dog walkers may be improved by providing more conspicuous and numerous signage on walking tracks, including the entrances to the park.

xxiv) Tootgarook Swamp (Chinaman’s Creek)

47) The dumping of hard rubbish and industrial waste around the retarding basin (Melbourne Water) is becoming more frequent. Strict enforcement of anti-dumping laws and interpretive signage explaining the biodiversity value of the wetland are recommended. 48) Where possible the natural state and hydrology of the swamp should be retained and/or ameliorated. Surface Water exits the system via Chinaman’s Creek, which bisects the wetland from south to north, debouching to Port Philip Bay via a channelized opening. Chinaman’s Creek drains the northern parts of the catchment, including McNaughts, 92W and Sanctuary Park Reserve, via a number of perpendicular channels (BMT WBM 2015) resulting in a rapid draw down of surface water in these areas 49) Securing and realigning flow path of and into Chinaman’s Creek and Drum Drum Alloc Creek would increase periods of inundation in high conservation areas including area adjacent to Chinaman’s Creek which have been found to be significant for Australasian Bittern. Hydrological controls applied downstream (discussed below) would allow longer retention of inputs and reduce flood risk on neighboring residential areas.

i) To prevent water readily escaping the northern swamp, the creek could be effectively blocked to a degree by a weir. A 2m high weir would retain water higher levels in the swamp for a longer period and would make a positive difference to overall biodiversity. A fish ladder could be provided for fish, eels and turtles. ii) Water levels and the residence time of water within the wetland are also likely to be affected by the condition of the constructed drains (i.e. silted up or blocked lower discharge rates) (BMT WBM). Works altering the hydrology of the drain and estuary should give consideration to associated water losses within areas of high conservation value within the wetland.

Figure 22. Hard waste including building materials are regularly dumped at Industrial estate retarding basin.

Cryptic Bird Species Remote sensing techniques were trialled at Tootgarook Swamp as a part of another BirdLife Australia project to determine if detection of cryptic species could be increased during surveys. Both methods – camera traps and acoustic recordings were successful in detecting target species. Camera traps successfully picked up Australasian Bitterns Botaurus poiciloptilus at Tootgarook Swamp on a number of occasions. Figure

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23 - 24 show example of the bittern images captured during the 2015-16 trials. Figure 25 shows an image of an owl species captured in August 2016.

Figure 23. (above) Clear image of Australasian Bittern captured on camera trap at Tootgarook Swamp, between June 2015- June16. Figure 24. (right) more cryptic image of Australasian Bittern (circled in red)

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Figure 25. Owl image captured on camera traps at Tootgarook Swamp, August 2016.

Acoustic monitoring was used to detect a number of cryptic species. Song Scope was used to develop “song scans”4 which enables the automatic detection of desired acoustic recording for Australasian Bittern, Spotted Crake Porzana fluminea, Spotless Crake Zapornia tabuensis, Baillon’s Crake Zapornia pusilla, Lewins Rail Lewinia pectoralis, Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae, Blue-winged Parrot Neophema chrysostoma and Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster. All wetland species were detected through acoustic recording as well as the Masked owl. Neither Neophema parrots were confirmed. Further information on the bittern results can be found in Purnell and Herman (2016).

These methods of surveying are useful in detecting cryptic species; however the results at this time are limited to presence or absence of species. Methods of estimating populations and abundances from camera trap data are still being developed – particularly in species where individual identification is problematic. Melbourne Water may want to consider exploring these monitoring options in the future.

4 Song Scope is a bioacoustics programme developed by Wildlife Acoustics that allows for the viewing of calls as spectrograms. It also has the facility to build “recognizers” which allow for the automatic searching of recording for specific vocalizations.

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6) References

Adams, A.L. and Purnell, C., 2016. Orange-bellied Parrots (Neophema chrysogaster): Review of current and alternative survey methods. Unpublished report for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning by BirdLife Australia.

AECOM (2011) ‘Bird Diversity Sub-indices for Waterway Quality Assessment: Melbourne Water Region’. report for Melbourne Water by AECOM Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne.

AECOM (2012) ‘Evaluation of Riparian Works - Bird Communities Projects A and C (Phase 1) - Conceptual Model and Site Selection for Bird Monitoring’ report for Melbourne Water by AECOM Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne.

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Appendix 1: Species selected to determine the avian index of waterway condition. Common Name Common Name Common Name Common Name Common Name Common Name Australasian Darter Fan-tailed Cuckoo Pallid Cuckoo Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Australasian Bittern Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo Australian Hobby Flame Robin Peregrine Falcon Superb Fairy-wren Australasian Darter Intermediate Egret Australian Magpie Fuscous Honeyeater Pied Currawong Superb Lyrebird Australasian Grebe Latham's Snipe Australian Raven Galah Pilotbird Swift Parrot Australasian Shoveler Lewin's Rail Australian Reed-Warbler Gang-gang Cockatoo Pink Robin Tawny Frogmouth Australian Pelican Little Black Cormorant Australian Wood Duck Golden Whistler Powerful Owl Tree Martin Australian Reed-Warbler Little Grassbird Azure Kingfisher Golden-headed Cisticola Purple Swamphen Varied Sittella Australian Shelduck Little Pied Cormorant Bassian Thrush Grey Butcherbird Rainbow Bee-eater Wedge-tailed Eagle Australian White Ibis Masked Lapwing Bell Miner Grey Currawong Rainbow Lorikeet Welcome Swallow Australian Wood Duck Musk Duck Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Grey Fantail Red Wattlebird Whistling Kite Baillon's Crake Nankeen Night-Heron Black-fronted Dotterel Grey Shrike-thrush Red-browed Finch White-bellied Sea-Eagle Black Swan Pacific Black Duck Black-tailed Native Hen Large-billed Scrubwren Red-browed Treecreeper White-browed Babbler Black-fronted Dotterel Pied Cormorant Brown Goshawk Latham's Snipe Red-capped Robin White-browed Scrubwren Black-winged Stilt Pink-eared Duck Brown Thornbill Laughing Kookaburra Red-rumped Parrot White-eared Honeyeater Blue-winged Parrot Purple Swamphen Brown Treecreeper Little Corella Restless Flycatcher White-faced Heron Buff-banded Rail Red-kneed Dotterel Brown-headed Honeyeater Little Grassbird Rose Robin White-naped Honeyeater Cape Barren Goose Red-necked Stint Brush Bronzewing Little Lorikeet Rufous Fantail White-plumed Honeyeater Cattle Egret Royal Spoonbill Brush Cuckoo Little Pied Cormorant Rufous Songlark White-throated Nightjar Chestnut Teal Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Collared Sparrowhawk Little Raven Rufous Whistler White-throated Treecreeper Curlew Sandpiper Silver Gull Common Bronzewing Long-billed Corella Sacred Kingfisher White-winged Chough Eastern Great Egret Straw-necked Ibis Crescent Honeyeater Magpie-lark Satin Bowerbird White-winged Triller Eurasian Coot Swamp Harrier Crested Shrike-tit Mistletoebird Satin Flycatcher Willie Wagtail Flame Robin Welcome Swallow Crimson Rosella Musk Lorikeet Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Yellow Thornbill Golden-headed Cisticola Whiskered Tern Dusky Moorhen Nankeen Night-Heron Silvereye Yellow-faced Honeyeater Great Cormorant Whistling Kite Dusky Woodswallow Noisy Friarbird Southern Boobook Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Great Crested Grebe White-faced Heron Eastern Rosella Olive Whistler Southern Emu-wren Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Grey Teal White-fronted Chat Eastern Spinebill Olive-backed Oriole Spotted Pardalote Hardhead White-necked Heron Eastern Whipbird Pacific Black Duck Striated Pardalote Hoary-headed Grebe Yellow-billed Spoonbill Eastern Yellow Robin Painted Button-quail Striated Thornbill Horsfield’s Bushlark

Table 21. The 113 riparian species of bird selected to determine the avian sub-index of waterway condition Table 22. The 57 wetland species of bird selected to 52 determine the avian sub-index of waterway condition. Table 10.

Appendix 2: Threatened species occurrence maps for bird species recorded between July 2015 – June 2016

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Appendix 3 Song Metre Background and Methodology (modified from Adams and Purnell 2016) The relatively recent advances in audio technologies, digital memory storage and subsequent data analyses has resulted in the development of commercially available products and software capable of autonomously collecting and analysing large volumes of sound recordings over extended time periods (Table 10). Automated recording devices (ARDs) are proving to be an efficient, cost-effective detection method for birds, especially for those species that are inherently difficult to survey and/or monitor (e.g. species that are cryptic, threatened, or rare.

Audio files generated from ARDs can be viewed and analysed using customised software such as Song Scope (Wildlife Acoustics Inc, 2011). Audio recordings are viewed as a spectrogram within Song Scope where users can play or manually scroll through each file to identify the species within each recording. Bird species with distinctive calls can be relatively easy to identify both aurally and visually, but this can be a time-consuming process if large amounts of data have been collected. Recent advances in automated pattern recognition technologies have resulted in the ability to automate the identification of vocalisations of target species present in field audio recordings (Agranat, 2007). Known vocalisations of the target species are sourced from sound libraries (or other resources such as private audio collections) and used as a template to develop a species-specific recogniser via classification approaches such as hidden Markov models (HMMs). Recognisers are then used to autonomously scan the large volumes of digital audio files collected by ARDs to detect the target species (Agranat, 2007). The use of automated species recognisers facilitates rapid data processing of the collected audio files. Therefore, automated species detection from audio recordings can maximise survey effort which is beneficial when resources are limited.

Automated recognisers were developed for Australasian Bittern, Australian Spotted Crake, Baillon’s Crake, Blue-winged Parrot, Lewin’s Rail, Masked Owls, Orange-bellied Parrot and Spotless Crake using Song Scope software. References calls were sourced from the website xeno-canto (http://www.xeno-canto.org/), a free site dedicated to sharing bird calls, or from the Bird Observers Club Australia (BOCA) A Field Guide to Australian Birdsong serried of cds.

Over 330 hours of audio files were collected from Tootgarook. This audio data was fed through Song Scope and desired recognisers applied, resulting in the positive detection of all target species, excluding the two Neophema parrots. This data allow only for the detection of species, as the calls individuals can not be identified. Results however confirm the presence of cryptic bird species that were not otherwise picked up in observational surveys.

Adams, A.L. and Purnell, C., 2016. Orange-bellied Parrots (Neophema chrysogaster): Review of current and alternative survey methods. Unpublished report for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning by BirdLife Australia.

Agranat, I.D. (2007). Automatic detection of cerulean warblers using autonomous recording units and Song Scope bioacoustics software.

Wildlife Acoustics Inc. (2011). Song Scope: Bioacoustics software version 4.0 Documentation

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