The Chat - December 2018 1. Little ones helping little ones! 9. Gippsland Lakes Projects Update 2. Photos of 24 raptor species 10. Strathfieldsaye Bird Monitoring 3. APO flag report 11. Searching for Regent Honeyeaters 4. Southern Boobok loves the carport 12. Spring Camp at Toora 5. A Box of Parrots 13. Review of GLIBA Survey Data 6. Orange-bellied Parrot Monitoring 14. Christmas Gift idea 7. Short Trip to WA 15. Schedule of Outings Jan - April 8. Raymond Island News Note: The full Schedule of Outings for 2019 will be published on our webpages later in December Little ones helping little ones! What do you get when you combine the Bairnsdale Joey Scout Group and Birdlife Australia? An enthusiastic group of kids constructing specially designed chick shelters for the benefit of endangered bird species!! Photo left: Hooded Plover Chick. Glen Ehmke Photo below: Joey Scout Mia Stephenson with completed shelters The Bairnsdale Joey Scout Group recently embarked on a project to help protect the many different beach nesting bird species found across the Gippsland Lakes. BirdLife East Gippsland Project Manager, Deb Sullivan, said it was great to join forces to build the chick shelters. “Chick shelters are a really simple design,” explained Ms Sullivan. “They form a basic A-frame which is partially buried in the sand on beaches to provide protection for shore birds that nest on the beach, such as the Hooded Plover, Fairy Terns and Little Terns. Bairnsdale Joey Scout Team Leader, Genelle Hammond secured funding for the project from the Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grants program. “Our Joey Scouts attacked the task with boundless enthusiasm,” said Ms Hammond. “Especially when taking turn on the drills! The simple design of the shelters is suited to the skills of our five to seven-year-olds, under the watchful eye of team leaders and some helpful adults.” “The Joey’s built the shelters largely on their own. They drilled, attached screws and labelled the shelters and then lacquered and sprinkled with sand to make them more attractive to the birds.” Ms Sullivan was thrilled to have the children involved. “It’s a really fun, hands on activity. But the kids are also learning about the beach nesting birds who share the Lakes with us. “These shelters are a successful tool in the fight to protect chicks of beach nesting bird species. They offer shade and protection for newly hatched, highly mobile chicks and are used regularly by the young birds.” The chick shelters have been installed at a number of significant sites for breeding birds across the Gippsland Lakes. Beach goers are asked not to disturb these A frame shelters if seen as they provide critical support for endangered beach nesting birds and are a key contributor to assist in survival. The Bairnsdale Joey Scout Group will have the opportunity to see their chick shelter constructions in place when they embark on a boat tour later in November aboard the ‘Lady Jodie’. The tour will include conversations and activities with Parks Victoria at Rotamah Island and BirdLife Australia. My project to photograph all 24 of Australia’s raptor species Chris Cope Four hundred metres to the west of where I was parked beside the Strzelecki Highway, lay a cluster of low, scrubby hummocks. These hummocks were small islands of sand in a gibber plain. The sand was of a consistency to support the burrows of many rabbits. The rabbits were the prey for a variety of raptor species drawn to the hummocks in the midst of the desert. As an example, tens of black kites soared on the thermals above the hummocks. The scene looked appealing until I stepped out of the air-conditioned vehicle. I was hit by an extremely unpleasant wall of heat, wind, dust and flies. Suck it in, I thought, you have driven for 17 hours on your own to get here. I was here to photograph one of Australia’s 24 raptor species, the Letter-winged Kite. My solitary journey to this isolated spot was part of a project I had set myself, to take quality images of all 24 raptor species. The Letter-winged Kite was distinguished by being rare and the only night-time feeder among the raptors. As I walked towards the hummocks my excitement grew. There was a white bird sitting in one of the stunted trees. I immediately applied a technique that I had found to be successful previously for getting closer to raptors. I took an image at long distance. I magnified the image on the back of the camera and identified the bird as a Letter-winged Kite. Then I watched the bird carefully. It was watching me but I stood still and it soon lost interest and looked away. While it was looking away I took 5 paces forward. I repeated the process of taking an image and watching the bird. I’m glad nobody was watching my antics as the bird was totally unconcerned and in a series of 5 steps forward I ended up directly under the bird. Here I took the up close and personal image that I was after. Photo below: Letter-winged Kite I was not at this spot on the Strzelecki Highway by chance. My project to photograph all 24 of Australia’s raptor species was simplified by the kindness of the Australian birding community. As with many of the rarer raptor species I had been given a precise location to take my camera. I was also living in the Bendigo area at the start of the project – an area that was the home for 16 of the 24 species. I became pals with a group of dedicated local birdos and swapped advice on photographic techniques for trips to raptor locations. I moved to Paynesville 2 years ago. I was surprised by the variety of raptor species close by. I heard the birds in my backyard go off one afternoon and walked outside to see a Square-tailed Kite metres above my rooftop. Only a few years ago these birds were unknown this far south. In addition to the locally common Sea-Eagles and Whistling Kites I have came across Wedge-tailed Eagles, and Grey and Brown Goshawks on my daily walks. Most times that I drive from Paynesville to Bairnsdale, Swamp Harriers are cruising above the reeds of MacLeod Morass. On one occasion I had to swerve my vehicle to avoid a low-flying Swampie with a snake gripped in its talons. Photo below: White-bellied Sea-Eagle I completed my project with a trip to the Northern Territory in August. The Red Goshawk is Australia’s rarest raptor. Indeed, locals claimed there was only one known nest in the Territory. We stayed a long way from this precious nest. Luckily we came across the male bird sitting in a distant tree with a carefully plucked lorikeet – breakfast for its mate. The Red Goshawk female sits on the nest permanently during incubation, interestingly, to keep the eggs cool. We snapped a couple of photos of the male and quickly left the birds to their fraught task of perpetuating their species. Now that I have completed my project, what’s next? Recently I came across a stunning Azure Kingfisher while in my boat on the Nicholson River. I wonder how many kingfisher species there are? Photo below: Red Goshawk Australian Pied Oystercatcher flag report - Reuben Worseldine Thanks to the efforts of a number of BLEG members, we have had 11 new APO flags reported so far for 2018. Most of these were banded in mid-2017 around Corner Inlet, however, one flag, Red N6, was banded in 2011 at the age of at least 1 year. APO leg flag sightings can be sent to [email protected] Include the flag details, (colour and digit/number), date and location and observer. Boobook still loving our carport Merryl and Ian Wright In the September issue of The Chat we reported that a Southern Boobook had been roosting at night in our carport. We were amazed at that time that The Owl had been there for 16 weeks on a pipe which runs close under the carport ceiling right above our rubbish bins and only a metre or so from the car bonnet. But I can now report that after 28 weeks (more than 6 months) it seems to be a permanent fixture. On two occasions, we woke to find two boobooks in the carport, but both times bird Number Two took off at the sight of a human coming out of the house. Hoping that we could encourage a more permanent family arrangement, Ian made a wooden nesting box with a platform which bird Number One now uses as his preferred roost, but the other boobook has not been seen again. However, there have been times when The Owl has chosen an unacceptable site such as the roof of the car, where some gentle prodding was required before it reluctantly relocated. It seems unperturbed by activity in the carport or close by, seemingly dozing through two hours of the plumber unblocking the pipes, Ian starting up the ride-on mower, or cars/people going in and out. We have wondered if there is some kind of hibernation or slowdown mechanism operating as sometimes it seems to ignore us completely. We have grown very fond of The Owl and hope that it will continue to ‘come home’ each morning so that we can enjoy seeing such a handsome bird close up. Life, Death and a box of Parrots Deb Sullivan When you work with wildlife there’s always a Plan A and a Plan B because inevitably the wildlife determines which is going to be the most challenging for the researcher to deal with! But occasionally when one plan leads to another, an unexpected outcome presents itself of a different kind.