The Atlas of the of for lorikeets or a fond- Brisbane, brings together ness for falcons? The data from eBird into a Atlas needs your help! user-friendly package Pick your favourite that birders can explore group of birds and start and use to aid their - writing. Contact one of ing, as well as promote the editors, Richard conservation. The Atlas Fuller or Louis Back- - is providing information strom for more infor- on the distribution, mation on how to get abundance, breeding, started (see back cover). seasonality and trends for every bird species If writing species ac- known to have occurred counts sounds daunt- in Brisbane and adjacent ing, that’s fine too – Coral Sea waters. please look around the website and let us have Last week, the Atlas any feedback on the passed a huge milestone texts that are up. – 50 draft species ac- boundary will make their counts written! This is a Finally, the easiest way way into the Atlas dataset, great achievement, but to contribute to the Atlas and provide critical infor- more than 350 accounts is by going out and bird- mation on the status of our remain to be written. It’s ing! Any checklists sub- wonderful local birdlife. up to you: do you have a mitted to eBird from passion for pittas, a love within the Brisbane city Story by Louis Backstrom ·

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Like April, May was a happy. · relatively subdued Rare were · month for Brisbane rari- the order of the month. ties, although a steady A single Red Wattlebird · stream of notable birds, turned up at Metroplex · mostly brought into the on the 20th (CA), and One of four Red Wattlebirds at region by cooler weather · Michael Daley found a Tingalpa Creek Reserve on 26th arriving from the south group of four birds at May. Photograph by Michael Da- and west, kept twitchers ley.

Tingalpa on 26th. Both records were one-day wonders, rich re- wards for dedicated patch work- ers. A Spiny-cheeked , also a less than annual visitor to the city, was seen at Prior’s Pocket on the 19th by several observers participating in a National Parks Association of QLD bird walk (also found independently by Chris Bur- well). These birds also did not lin- ger, to the disappointment of any would-be twitchers. The other major rarity this month was an immaculate Eastern Rosel- Adult Eastern Rosella at Tinchi Tamba Wetlands Reserve on 5 May la found by Campbell Paine at (CPa). Although associating with Pale-headed Rosellas, this bird shows Tinchi Tamba on 5th. It is great to no obvious signs of being the result of a hybridisation with that species. see the extensive photo- Hybrids often have red and yellow colours admixed, and also some blue documentation of this bird, which on the underparts. allows us to confidently rule out a hybrid. banded Plovers over the month, bane. Australasian Shovelers, an uncom- although the average reporting Waterbird rarities for the month mon winter nomad, were at Ked- rate for this species is lower in included Black-necked Storks at ron Brook Wetlands on the 2nd May than in April or June. Per- Prior’s Pocket on the 25th and (DS) and 4th (MG), while Cotton haps there is a passage through Nudgee Cemetery on the 26th, Pygmy-Geese were still present at Moreton Bay in March and April both by Chris Burwell, White- the Brisbane Entertainment Cen- before the bulk of the non- necked away from the tre Lagoons throughout the breeding birds arrive in June. western strongholds at Kedron month. Interestingly, two more More eBirding of key sites around Brook (GT), Lytton (ES, RSt), Ox- birds appear to have arrived, with the city for this species (PoB, Man- ley Creek Common (various ob- several counts of three birds. It ly, Moreton Island) will hopefully servers), and a fantastic record of will be interesting to follow this clarify the picture. a Black at Fitzgibbon species’ presence on the northside May turned up pretty much the Bushland on the 20th by Ross throughout the winter months. A entire haul of regular night birds, Smith. There are presumably one Freckled Duck was found by Stu- with Owlet-nightjars at Mt Coot- or two pairs of this species on the art Pickering at Minnippi Park- tha, Enoggera Reservoir and Gold northside, as there have been sev- lands on the 19th and was Creek and Mount Glorious, Mar- eral records now from Fitzgibbon twitched by several birders. This bled Frogmouth and Sooty Owl and others from Tinchi Tamba and may be the same bird that was also on Mt Glorious, Masked Owl several creeks leading into More- present at Oxley Creek Common at Pullenvale, Grass Owl at Ked- ton Bay. Be sure to check all suita- for several months up until Febru- ron Brook and Powerful Owl at Mt ble habitat for these birds, alt- ary. Coot-tha. hough as we know from Sandy As would be expected for the win- Buttonquail were around through- Camp Rd Wetlands, where a bird ter months, shorebirds were down out the month too, with Painted has been in residence for years, in numbers and diversity over Buttonquail at Anstead on the 4th they can be incredibly difficult to May, although most core sites (RG) and 19th (BM), and a great pin down and a sighting is a prod- such as Manly and the Port still record by Matteo Grilli of a Red- uct of skill, hours spent in the had decent birds around. Of note backed Buttonquail at Oxley field, and a good dose of luck. was a Sooty Oystercatcher at Creek Common on 6th. This is just Winter is a good time for raptors, Nudgee Beach on the 23rd. There the second record this year of this and this May didn’t disappoint. were no eBird records of Double- rare and erratic species in Bris-

Square-tailed Kites were at Tinchi Finally, several Tamba (GT), Brisbane Entertain- other notable pas- ment Centre (DA), Kedron Brook serines turned up (JA), Taringa (DB), Mt Coot-tha around the city (PL), Oxley Creek Common (MB) this month, in- and Chapel Hill (CB). Little Eagle cluding White- were rarer, with two reports from bellied Cuck- Kedron Brook (CM, GT) being the ooshrikes at sev- only records for the month. Spot- eral locations, ted Harrier were recorded at sev- including a ro- eral sites, including Oxley Creek busta at Minnippi Common (T&AB) and Prior’s Pock- Parklands on et (CB, M&G), while Grey Gos- 20th (TA), small hawk were recorded from Tinchi groups of Dusky Terence Alexander photographed this cracking White- Tamba (GT), Aspley (JL), Pullen- Woodswallows at bellied Cuckoo-shrike on 20th May at Minnippi Parklands. vale (MR, JT, anon), Anstead (JD, Lake Manchester Records of this species peak in winter, perhaps an influx of KB) and Prior’s Pocket (CB). Fi- (SM) and Ross southern birds. This one appears to be an immature ro- nally, two Black Falcon records Road Parkland busta, with extensive black on breast, and bars on belly. were the raptor highlights for the (AB, PS, SK, CP), month, coming from Fitzgibbon on Plum-headed Finch at Sandy the 18th (GT) and Prior’s Pocket Camp (IS) and Prior’s Pocket (JD, on the 19th (CB). KB, CB, M&G), and White-eared It was a good month for rare par- Monarch at Lake Manchester, rots and cockatoos, with a Glossy Gold Creek and Anstead. All in all Black-Cockatoo at Pullenvale on a solid May, but no major rarities. the 28th (JT), Musk Lorikeets at Round-up by Louis Backstrom, Sandy Camp on the 6th (MD, TA). Richard Fuller and Sandra Gal- The month was also good for rain- lienne. Note that sightings report- forest species, with most of the ed here may or may not be con- specialists recorded throughout firmed, and records of rarities are the period, including Noisy Pitta pending acceptance by relevant at Enoggera and Gold Creek and rarities committees. Red-browed Treecreeper up on the top of Mt Glorious. This Musk Lorikeet was at Sandy Camp Road Wetlands on 6th May (Photo: TA).

This begging juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater was photo- graphed at Lake Manchester on 7th May (photo: SM). This is the first occurrence of breeding in Brisbane documented on eBird.

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Each year (and soon to be every down to the coast for sunset and Coolmunda. Once at Coolmunda, six months), the eBird community then pick up any remaining night we quickly realised it would be comes together for a massive bird- birds on the second night. So, with tough going, with drizzle setting in ing effort: a big day, where eBird- litres of coffee stockpiled and which was to accompany us for the ers race around their local area snacks aplenty (for there would be rest of the day (and probably cut trying to find as many species or no casual stops to stock up on 20 species off our tally). However, notch up as many checklists as food), we departed UQ at 9pm. the lake was popping, and we possible in a 24-hour period. This We assembled expectantly at our managed to pick up several fantas- year, the Big Day was held on 4th starting point at 11:45pm: Mur- tic waterbirds, including Freckled May and proved to be no excep- phy’s Creek, a good site for Sooty Duck, Musk Duck, Hoary-headed tion, with a staggering 6,900 spe- Owl and Powerful Owl (courtesy of Grebe, Double-banded Plover (the cies recorded by nearly 35,000 Tyde Bands). Midnight ticked most inland QLD eBird record!) birders across 90,000 checklists. over, and the race was on. We and Yellow-billed Spoonbill. After As usual, Australians performed pretty quickly picked up a calling half an hour we pressed on, the well despite the poor seasonal tim- Sooty Owl, which eventually gave tally sitting at a comfortable 70 ing for us, with a total of 482 spe- us nice views, and a couple of us species. We picked up several cies across 1300 checklists – put- heard a Fan-tailed Cuckoo calling more species on the road out to ting us 14th in the world for diver- as well. Powerful Owl proved Durikai, our next stop, including sity and 8th for survey effort – not much harder, but eventually Alec Cockatiel and Red-winged Parrot. bad! heard one calling off in the dis- Once at Durikai, it was immedi- A week prior to the day, Braden tance – two dirty birds to start the ately obvious that the dams were McDonald, a UQ student, and Alec night was less than ideal, but we very quiet, and we spent a lot of Hopping, a visiting exchange stu- had plenty more time yet to pick time looking for birds that simply dent from Cornell University, de- them up. Southern Boobooks call- weren’t there. We did eventually cided to make a true Big Day out ing in the valley rounded off our pick up White-winged Chough, of it and attempt to see as many stop at Murphy’s Creek, and it Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Purple- species as possible over the 24- was on to the next stops. We made backed Fairywren and White- hour period. The rules were sim- our way round the base of the eared Honeyeater, among others ple: 95% of species had to be either range for the next couple of hours, though, sitting at 80 species on seen or heard by everyone on the picking up Barn Owl, Australian 9am. By chance, we stopped by the team (the remaining 5% could be Owlet-nightjar, Tawny Frogmouth side of the road on the way out observed by anyone but were and Powerful Owl all before dawn. and stumbled on a phenomenal termed “dirty birds”. Any further No Barking Owls or White- mixed flock of , collect- birds would be excluded from the throated Nightjars was disap- ing 14 species in 15 minutes, in- end count) over the course of the pointing but not altogether sur- cluding Fuscous, White-naped, day, and the day was from mid- prising. We drove toward Ingle- Brown-headed, Black-chinned night to midnight. Alec and wood, stopping briefly at a site Honeyeaters, Buff-rumped and Braden invited Richard Fuller, known for Banded Lapwings un- Yellow Thornbills and Speckled who in turn invited Brad Wood- successfully before dawn, and ar- Warbler – probably the best 15 worth and I, and a team was as- rived at our first major stop at minutes of birding in my career sembled – team name? "two Aus- sunrise: Mosquito Creek Road. thus far and an absolute highlight sies, a Brit, a Canadian, and an We had several key target species of the day for me. American walk into a bar-tailed here, and all things considered did A stop at Leyburn for non-existent godwit." quite well in the relatively short Plum-headed Finches was frus- The plan was relatively straight- time spent at the site, picking up trating but did get us over the 100 forward: drive out in the evening 30 species. Highlights were Great- species mark, the 100th being prior to Toowoomba, midnight on er Bluebonnets, a White-winged Spotted Dove! Next on the list was the range for our first dose of Fairywren, Yellow-throated Min- a brief dash up to Toowoomba for night birds, then down towards er, Inland Thornbill and Australi- Red Wattlebird and Musk Lori- Inglewood for sunrise. Back to- an Raven. At 7am, our count stood keet, both of which we managed to wards Brisbane through the Lock- at 37 species – not bad, not amaz- get, and we were at 111 species at yer Valley, up to Mt Glorious, ing. Onwards toward Lake the start of our descent into the

Lockyer. A fruitless drive-by of Our route down the mountain really), then over the river to Prince Henry Heights Park only picked up a couple more species Kianawah Road, where we spot- yielded 5 ticks, and by 11:30am we along the way, including Little lighted Red-kneed Dotterel and were sitting on 116. Wattlebird and Little Lorikeet, out to Manly where we picked up Our first stop in the Lockyer yield- and we stopped at Dowse Lagoon Bush Stone-Curlew. Once at Man- ed a nice flock of Red-tailed Black- in the hopes of several ticks, most ly, we set up camp outside the Cockatoos, followed by 5 more of which didn’t eventuate. We wader roost for a while, listening ticks at Lake Apex in Gatton, were rapidly running out of day- for shorebird calls and eventually three more along the road and light and pressed onto Nudgee managed Lesser Sand-Plover and three again at Lake Clarendon, Beach, our final daytime stop, in Common Greenshank thanks to including Rufous Songlark. We the hopes of picking up several some brilliant work by Alec and picked up King- Rich. Our final Parrot and stop on the coast White-bellied was Sandy Camp, Cuckooshrike where we collected on the road to- Spotless Crake ward Atkinson's calling, Nankeen Dam, before Night- and netting three Osprey. new species at In the final couple Atkinson's prop- of hours, we made er, including the long trek in- Black - tailed land to Pullenvale, Godwit. Then picking up Aus- began the race tralian Masked- up toward Mt Owl with some Glorious, with a brilliant views of brief stop in the local pair. We Lowood courte- decided to try one sy of some intel last time for White from Brad that -throated Nightjar got us Magpie Racing against time scanning for shorebirds at Nudgee Beach in the fad- at Anstead on mid- Goose and ing light. We later picked up a few more by ear while standing at the en- night, but it was Plumed Whis- trance gate to the Manly Wader Roost! From left to right Richard Fuller, not to be, finishing tling-Duck. Brad Woodworth, Braden McDonald. Out of shot Louis Backstrom and the day on a re- The road up the Alec Hopping. Photo by Louis Backstrom. spectable but beat- able 184 species, mountain was shorebirds. productive, and several stops got five very tired but ultimately very us key species including Shining Once at Nudgee, we were treated happy birders. Bronze-Cuckoo, Wonga Pigeon, by some good luck, and managed The day was not without some , White-eared Mon- to collect 10 ticks amid a glorious killer dips though – we missed out arch, Rose Robin and Paradise sunset (the other highlight of the on Bar-shouldered Dove, Red- Riflebird. However, once we were day for me), including Pacific backed and Variegated Fairywren, up the top it was tougher going, Golden-Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit Tawny Grassbird and Golden- with heavy mist limiting birding (phew) and Torresian Kingfisher. headed Cisticola, among numerous productivity. We managed to con- We finished the day’s light on 176 others. All the more reason to do it tinue accumulating species at a species. From there, we debated all again in October, when the decent rate, however, and finished how to spend the rest of the night next Big Day rolls around. Hope- our brief stint on the mountain at – most of us were pretty tired but fully we’ll have some competition 160 species at 4pm. By this stage we pressed on, first to Kedron from the SEQ birding community! Brook Wetlands for a failed at- it was clear we would struggle to Story by Louis Backstrom. hit our aspirational goal of 200. tempt at Grass Owl (or anything

Exactly where you plot your birding different checklist at each stop, and to can easily plot a new one. Zoom the locations on the map is critical. Specif- record each one independently in map in and click to plot your new loca- ic location information is better for the eBird. tion and type a name. If the location is Atlas, and also means that your bird- one that you'd like to share with other The eBird mapping tool is great for ing lists are built correctly. It's always birders, you can select the 'Suggest as plotting specific locations and for se- better to enter shorter checklists from birding hotspot' box, but only do this if lecting from existing ones. Use the more refined locations than longer the location is not private or personal initial page to restrict the view to a checklists from a string of unrelated to your birding (e.g., your backyard). county or state. Once you're looking at locations. the map you'll see a bunch of red Using a GPS to find your location is a Every time you enter an observation markers and, if you've used eBird be- great way to be accurate. Your iPhone into eBird you are required to describe fore, a few blue markers. The red or Android will even give you GPS where you were birding. In the past markers are existing "Hotspots", while coordinates, and with the ability to many birders have collected single the blue ones are your personal loca- use eBird Mobile to note your observa- checklists for a whole day's birding. tions. Zoom in and click on one of the tions in the field, this is often already These checklists typically involve stop- red markers. You'll see the name of done for you! ping at many locations throughout the the location appear in the "Location eBird has a suite of tools that allows day and sampling a variety of habitats name" window to the right of the map. you to refine your existing locations. and their associated birdlife. eBird is If this is where you were birding, Read more about those here. Story hoping to steer birders in a new direc- you're done, simply click continue. If adapted from the eBird help pages. tion, by encouraging you to keep a you don't see the location here, you

Last month’s challenge was clearly a shorebird, but which one? The bird has clean white underparts and greenish legs. This is a combination that leaves only Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper as candidates. The legs aren’t yellow enough for the super-rare Lesser Yellowlegs, and in any case the wingtips project beyond the tail tip in that species. The bill is frustratingly hidden in the water, but Marsh Sandpiper at Kianawah Rd on Can you identify this bird? The picture what we can see of it looks very thin, 17 Dec 2018 (RAF). was taken in Brisbane. Answer next and this, combined with the overall month. dainty appearance of this bird, and its long tibiae means it can only be a Marsh Sandpiper.

If you can, please donate your time ed in the Atlas. If you have old records and expertise to help make the Atlas stored away on notebooks and such, of the Birds of Brisbane the best it can you can enter them into eBird too! “All eBird records in Brisbane be. For full details, see the Contrib- will be automatically included uting section of the Atlas website— Write some text for the Atlas, or edit in the Atlas” http://brisbanebirds.com. Here are and improve the existing text. Full some of the key things you can do to instructions are in the Contributing help create this landmark resource. section of the Atlas website, or contact an administrator for a Word document Go birdwatching in the Brisbane City that you can edit. ([email protected]) or Rich- Council area and enter your observa- ard Fuller ([email protected]) tions on eBird, a free tool for recording Contact the Atlas administrators with bird observations. All eBird records in any questions or suggestions: Louis Brisbane will be automatically includ- Backstrom

Brisbane is divided into 2 x tracks that run un- 2 km Atlas squares. Each through this square, tapped square has a target of 12 allowing for moder- poten- birdwatching visits in each ately easy access for tial of the four seasons. a dedicated birder. here, so it’s well worth the ef- Plenty of potential for this It’s not too far off the fort. The upper reach of square in the north west road either - some Enoggera Creek runs through forests of D’Aguilar National Only one birder has planning is required this square, so some birding Park. There are a couple of been to this but there is plenty of along here might uncover some square!!!!! good birds. Down- load the survey sheet here.

Your birdwatching data submitted to eBird are revealing that the Common Myna is in fact declin- ing in Brisbane. It also shows a strong seasonal pattern, being much more widespread in the sum- mer than in the winter. Read on to find out more. Common Myna at Kianawah Road Wetland, 18 Nov 2018 (RAF).

Each month we will reproduce a Category C; Common widespread for this pattern. Not of conserva- draft species account from the At- resident. Widespread introduced tion concern owing to pest status. las. If you spot errors, or see any pest species that may be declining additions that can be made, con- locally despite rapid expansion The Common Myna is an intro- tact an editor—see back cover. Or nationwide. Appears to exhibit duced species of starling, native to email Richard Fuller some seasonal variance within south east and the Indian ([email protected]) for a Word Brisbane, being twice as abundant Subcontinent. It is unmistakeable Document that you can edit. over summer, but no clear reason within the Brisbane region, with

across the seasons (Higgins et al. 2006; Pell & Tidemann 1997), so this may be what is happening in Brisbane, but more work is needed to confirm this.

Seasonality

Common Mynas present an inter- esting question with regard to their seasonality. Within most lit- erature, both from their native and introduced range, birds are reported as being mostly seden- tary, and yet Brisbane’s birds ex- brown and black plumage and a Common Mynas are found all hibit a clear seasonal trend, indi- striking yellow beak and bare eye across the suburban fabric of Bris- cating local or perhaps long- skin. Mynas are common around bane, with records from nearly distance migration with seasonal the built-up areas of the city, be- every surveyed grid square. They changes. Birds are far more com- ing less common in areas with appear to be absent from Moreton mon in summer than in winter. remnant habitat. Recent data sug- Island (where birds have never Some work beyond the Brisbane gest this species is declining in been recorded) and much of the area has found that birds move Brisbane, but the reasons for this forested area of the Camel’s Head between suburban and bushland are unclear. and south west section of the LGA. environs across the year (Higgins In Brisbane they are mostly a low- et al. 2006), and this may be the A colonial species of open habitats land species, although records up case in Brisbane, but more work is around Brisbane, Common Mynas to 150m in altitude are not uncom- needed to determine this. Interest- are an introduced pest species that mon and there have been reports ingly, the average count per check- are widely distributed across the as high as 400m. There is no clear list increases slightly over winter, region. Interestingly, although the seasonal variation in their eleva- indicating that birds are flocking species can be regularly found in tion, although beyond the Bris- together in larger numbers during large flocks, birds appear to be bane region birds are reported to the colder months, which may in- declining in abundance quite rap- display some local altitudinal directly lead to decreased overall idly, with a 50% decrease in re- movements. reporting rate without a decline in porting rate over the last decade. net abundance, but once again Mynas are found in nearly any Mynas have been reported from more work is needed. open areas of the city, especially in most habitats in Brisbane, but are non-remnant, built-up, wetland by far most abundant in open Birds have been reported breeding and estuarine habitats. spaces, specifically in non- 20 times in Brisbane, from differ- remnant, built-up, wetland and ent parts of the city and at differ- Although the species is often estuarine habitats, where they are ent times of the year, but all in the found in large flocks of over 50 recorded on over 20% of checklists. warmer months of the year, which birds, the average count is much Birds are occasionally reported in is in line with their known breed- lower, sitting around 3.5 birds per wet sclerophyll and dry woodlands checklist. The high count is 500 (5%), and there are a handful of birds at Stones Corner (Yong records from rainforest. The spe- 2013), with several counts of 150 cies has never been recorded in birds also recorded. Birds are pre- heath (which is almost exclusively sent in Brisbane all-year round, found on Moreton Island) or the but display quite a significant lev- ocean. The distribution of Com- el of seasonal variation in abun- mon Mynas in Brisbane shows no dance, with an increase in report- clear seasonal variation, with ing rate from 15% in winter to birds being present at roughly the 30% over summer. same locations year-round, except that they are significantly less abundant in winter than in sum- Distribution and Habitat mer. Birds have been found to move between different habitats

ing season across the rest of Aus- on Moreton Island tralia (Higgins et al. 2006). Given the increase in records over sum- Key Conservation Needs mer, it is perhaps likely that birds move into the Brisbane region to · Monitor population within breed over summer then disperse Brisbane and prevent reintro- more widely over the cooler ductions months of the year, but this is un- Determine which species are clear at the moment and would · benefit from further investigation. worst-affected by Myna inva- sions and care for them

Trends

Reporting rate for Common Mynas has drastically decreased over the “If you spot errors, or see any past decade, with birds being re- additions that can be made, ported on just 20% of complete contact an editor—see back checklists in 2017 compared to 40% in 2005-2006. This may be cover.” associated with a dedicated culling program sponsored by Brisbane City Council, but it also may be a result of other variables that are as yet unclear. Given the pest sta- tus of this species and their in- credible ability to dominate any environment, such a decline is welcome in the city and hopefully will be associated with a rebound in the biodiversity seen amongst our native birdlife.

Given the species is an introduced pest, the birds are not of any con- servation concern themselves, alt- hough they do pose significant conservation risks to many other species. The population must con- tinue to be monitored for further declines and the reasons for such changes in abundance determined.

Information Gaps

· Ascertain where birds go over winter · Determine the causes for the long-term decline in abun- dance of this species · Find out which species are be- ing worst-affected by the intro- duction of these birds · Collect more breeding data · Determine if the species is pre- sent in the western forests and

ence Alexander. AB Alan Boardman; BM Braden McDonald; CA Chris Attewell; CB Chris Burwell; CM Chris Murray; CP Carla Perkins; CPa Campbell Paine; DA David Anderson; DS David Stanton; ES Emily Stroud; GT Ged Tranter; IS Ian Starling; JD Jill Duncan; JL James Lam- bert; JT Jane Turnbull; KB Ken Bissett; MB Mike Bennett; MD Michael Daley; M&G Mal & Gail Highgate Hill; MG Malcolm Gra- ham; MR Margaret Robertson; PL Peter Lowe; PS Peter Storer; RAF Richard Fuller; RG Rod Gardner; RSt Rebecca Stroud; SK Stuart Kelly; SM Stephen Murray; T&AB Terry & Audrey Burgess; TA Ter-