Melbourne Water Rbm 2014 Annual Report

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Recommended citation: Purnell, C., 2014. Melbourne Water Regional Bird Monitoring Project. Annual report: July 2013 –June 2014. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by BirdLife Australia.

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

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

This report is prepared without prejudice to any negotiated or litigated outcome of any native title determination applications covering land or waters within the plan's area. It is acknowledged that any future outcomes of native title determination applications may necessitate amendment of this report; and the implementation of this plan may require further notifications under the procedures in Division 3 Part 2 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth).

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

This report was prepared by: Chris Purnell.

Cover photos: Observers survey Carrum IBA (top), Red-necked Avocet at Western Treatment Plant, Dean Ingwersen (bottom). Photos in this report are by Chris Purnell unless noted otherwise.

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Contents

Figures and Tables ...... 2 Acknowledgements ...... 4 Executive Summary ...... 5 Introduction ...... 6 Avian index calculation ...... 7 Methods ...... 8 Site identification...... 8 Observer engagement ...... 15 Survey techniques ...... 18 Occupational Health and Safety ...... 20 Results and discussion ...... 21 Survey coverage ...... 21 ...... 26 Significant populations ...... 26 Threatened species ...... 27 Migratory species ...... 28 Abundance data ...... 29 Breeding records ...... 30 Dandenong Valley Constructed Wetland Surveys...... 31 Management Recommendations...... 33 References ...... 37 Appendix 1: Species selected to determine the avian index of waterway condition...... 40 Appendix 2: BirdLife Australia volunteer registration form ...... 41 Appendix 3: threatened species occurrences 1/7/2013 – 30/6/2014 ...... 42

Figures and Tables Figure 1. BirdLife volunteer observers surveying Melbourne Water’s Cardinia Reservoir...... 4 Figure 2. Wetland and waterway sites identified for targeted surveys as part of the MWrbm...... 9 Figure 3. MWrbm sites within the Dandenong catchment...... 10 Figure 4. MWrbm sites within the Maribyrnong catchment ...... 11 Figure 5 .MWrbm sites within the Werribee catchment...... 12 Figure 6. MWrbm sites within the Western Port catchment...... 13 Figure 7. MWrbm sites within the Yarra catchment...... 14 Figure 8. BirdLife staff conduct a community bird walk at River Gum Reserve. Photo: Kim Lambie (MW)...... 15 Figure 9. Observer training resources...... 16 Figure 10. Public engagement resources developed in partnership with Melbourne Water, the Environment Protection Authority, City of Casey and Port Philip Western Port CMA ...... 16 Figure 11. The Melbourne Water biodiversity survey site interactive map (left) and associated birdata data entry portal...... 17 Figure 12. A representation of 4 common standardised survey types used in the MWrbm project...... 18 Figure 13. Monthly monitoring at Inlets Waterway Reserve (SoB) accounts for seasonal changes in biotic and abiotic habitat variable such as surface water and seeding events. Observers also record impacts of invasive species on habitat in this case Sambar (right) ...... 19 Figure 14. Varying methods of willow treatment along Olinda Creek are being measured for their comparative effects on biodiversity...... 21 Figure 15. A summary of the regularity and diversity of surveying across 157 targeted MWrbm sites between 1/7/2012-30/6/13 (left bars) and 1/7/13-30/6/2014 (right bars)...... 22 Figure 16. Peregrine Falcons have nested at Valley Lake Reserve for the second year running. Photo: Anna Lanigan ...... 26

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Figure 18. Accumulated waterbird counts across MW managed Ramsar areas June 2012-July 2014. Sites in WTP (25 sites), Edithvale (8) and Seaford (7) have been consolidated to give a site wide count. Sites are managed in line with seasonal requirements...... 29 Figure 17. Internationally significant numbers of (>1% of the estimated flyway population) Sharp-tailed Sandpipers regularly utilised managed ponds at the Edithvale wetlands. Photo Andrew Silcocks ...... 29 Figure 19. A continued positive response to MW revegetation works is evident in data for 7 species which utilise reed bed and low to medium scrub for foraging at Edithvale Wetlands. 1990-2013...... 30 Figure 20. Activity summary of bird communities observed at 14 constructed wetland sites in the Dandenong Valley...... 31 Figure 21. Proportion of habitat used (all behaviours) across 14 sites 1/7/2013-30/6/2014 ...... 32 Figure 22. Summary of habitat utilised by birds (all behaviours) across 14 constructed wetlands (data accumulated) from 2007-2014...... 32 Figure 23. Invassive flora like soursob and watsonia readily colonise Fussel Rd Retarding Basin from neighbouring properties...... 33 Figure 24. The remains of a fox in saltmarsh 60m from a baiting station. Inlets Waterway Reserve...... 34 Figure 25. Although willows remain in the Olinda Creek (staged removal) site the undertory is being gradually ameliorate by the removal of blackberry and carpetting weeds...... 34 Figure 26. Defaced signage at River Gum and Kilberry Boulevard Wetlands. photo: Graeme Hosken ...... 35 Figure 27. Community memebers feeding waterfowl at Jawbone Reserve. Photo: Andrew Silcocks ...... 36 Figure 28. MWrbm project sites with registered observations of threatened species between 1/7/2013 and 30/6/2014...... 42

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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 throughout the project. We would like to thanks the many operations and community engagement 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, Friends of Tootgarook Swamp, 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 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.

Figure 1. BirdLife volunteer observers surveying Melbourne Water’s Cardinia Reservoir.

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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 every 5-6 years on changes across the region at appropriate spatial scales.

The results of the Melbourne Water Regional Bird Monitoring Project (MWrbm), which is part of the larger Healthy Waterways strategy, will derive a metric score for wetlands and waterways based on bird community ‘condition’. 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.

Consequent to the development of a conceptual model which describes and quantifies how on ground works affect bird communities, BirdLife Australia began a regional bird monitoring program which, in its second year saw, the collection and management of appropriate data by over 500 birdwatchers and experts. During this period 5,784 standardised bird surveys were submitted to the BirdLife Australia’s Atlas of Australian Birds from within the Melbourne Water management region. This report summarises the results of the targeted survey effort across 200 MWrbm wetland and waterway sites resulting in:

• 1,502 surveys from 157 sites (an increase of 58% on the previous year’s survey effort). • Over 15,599 hours of surveying, data input and travel contributed by Atlassers. • 36,635 species records of 256 species. • Records of 33 species listed as threatened on the Victorian Advisory List. • Records of 3 species listed as nationally threatened in the EPBC Act 1999 • Records of 19 migratory species protected under international bilateral agreements. • 325 instances of breeding by 59 species

The 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 attracted new observers to the project and in several cases accessed previously unconsolidated data sets. An increase in survey coverage and regularity across wetlands and waterways has also exposed a large number of people in the community to the significant role Melbourne Water play in maintaining biodiversity in urban and near urban landscapes.

The ongoing collection of data throughout the most significant sites in the Port Philip and Western Port Bay Catchment not only aids management within the area but continues to inform researchers on larger scale population trends and species movements. Melbourne Water should be commended for their ongoing commitment to what will be an invaluable dataset unrivalled anywhere else 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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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 and forested water supply catchments supporting rare and threatened species, 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.), the Catchment & Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic.), Victoria’s Native Vegetation Management Framework and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). Recognizing this responsibility, Melbourne Water’s Strategic Framework goal is to “protect, conserve and improve natural assets and use natural resources sustainably, including biodiversity”… and, further, that “biodiversity is monitored, conserved and improved” (Melbourne Water 2009a, p. 9).

The Waterways Group of Melbourne Water has the role of improving ‘river health’ (Melbourne Water 2007a, 2007b, 2009b). To date this has been interpreted to mean improving Index of Stream Condition (ISC) sub-indices and improving native fish habitat/ passage. While the current Regional River Health Strategy (Melbourne Water 2007a, 2007b) generated enormous financial investment and led to extensive works to improve the condition of waterways across the Region there were a number of limitations to this Strategy. The focus on ISC sub-indices and fish habitat meant that wetlands, estuaries and floodplains were excluded from the Strategy, and investment and works were largely restricted to the bed-and-banks of waterways. Management targets were also limiting. For example, revegetation was a valid activity that met Strategy targets whereas natural regeneration of vegetation, while useful, did not contribute towards any targets and was largely excluded from investment and research.

With the ongoing development of the next five-year Regional Healthy Waterways Strategy there is an opportunity to broaden the definition of river health to include key ecosystem elements outside the ISC, such as riparian wildlife and the watering regimes of floodplains and wetlands. It is proposed to add native biodiversity as a ‘value’; requiring metrics for biodiversity of wet ecosystems to be derived, and suitable targets for biodiversity conservation and rehabilitation to be described.

The biodiversity elements in the ISC include riparian vegetation and aquatic macroinvertebrates. Assuming that the ISC, as a State-wide tool, will continue to be used and that the necessary data will continue to be collected, Melbourne Water wishes to improve data collection on other elements of biodiversity – essentially vertebrate wildlife.

The work of Vesk & Mac Nally (2006), Vesk et al. (2008), Loyn et al. (2007) and others shows that it can take decades for management interventions, such as revegetation, to provide some ecosystem function and structures, and consequently any detectable changes in bird community. However, work by others such as 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) suggests that there can be detectable responses in bird communities to revegetation and other management actions within a few years. Melbourne Water has investigated the potential of an avian index to evaluate waterway management works and increase our understanding of the association between our waterway management works and riparian bird assemblages (AECOM 2011, 2012. Steele 2011).

In order for Melbourne Water to calculate an index – or ‘score’ – for rivers, estuaries, wetlands and floodplains that will show changes in ecological condition in response to management interventions over a c. 20-year timeframe several metrics have been investigated (Steele 2011). These metrics utilize regular, standardized, site based bird data and provided sufficient data is collected throughout the 20 year period will permit them to report every 5 years on changes across their Region at appropriate spatial scales.

The Melbourne Water Regional Bird Monitoring project (MWrbm) has seen the collection of such data by birdwatchers and professional zoologists on bird communities near waterways and wetlands across the Port Phillip and Western Port Region to allow calculation of an avian index at two spatial scales: • By management unit (Melbourne Water 2007a) or one of 14 ‘systems’ defined by Alluvium (2011). 2 • By site, or works scale (i.e. <1 km ).

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To be useful to Melbourne Water an avian sub-index of waterway wetland condition would ideally display detectable responses within five years of on-ground works at the site scale. Site scale is taken here to mean an 2 2 2 area between 1 ha and 1 km ( or 10,000 m to 1,000,000 m ).

Avian index calculation There are numerous characteristics of an avifauna community that might be useful measures of change in that community: the abundance of individuals (e.g. British Trust for Ornithology undated), the relative abundance of the most common species, species richness (diversity) (e.g. Furness & Greenwood 1993), proportion of species that are native, proportion of individuals that are native, breeding numbers and success (e.g. Crozier & Gawlik 2003; Warkentin et al. 2004), mortality rates, proportions and diversities of guilds (Scaro 1986) and presence of rare or threatened species.

However, recognizing that collecting useful and accurate data on breeding success and rates of mortality is difficult and time-consuming, only methods of deriving a bird index that are based on bird census and survey data have been considered (Melbourne Water 2010).

An obtainable avian index of aquatic and riparian ecosystem condition will be calculated from the relative species richness score of appropriate native species of bird, weighted according to their frequency of occurrence.

The avian index provides a relative score since it will be most useful for comparing one area over time but of limited use when trying to compare different areas.

Raw species richness is not always a good indication of habitat quality/ extent/ connectivity. The index proposed here includes only appropriate native species of bird and ignores introduced species, vagrants to the Region, pelagic seabirds, coastal seabirds, species with a limited distribution across our Region and arid zone or open- country birds. A list of wide-ranging riparian species was generated from assessment of the entire Birds Australia Bird Atlas database and modified in light of expert opinion (Appendix 1). Preliminary analyses show that species richness using this restricted list of bird species does track waterway condition (AECOM 2011, 2012.). A second list of wetland dependent birds is used for the wetland index (Appendix 1, table 2).

It is known that recorded species richness increases with survey effort. For this reason the reporting rate of each species is considered. The reporting rate is simply the proportion of surveys in an area during which a species was recorded. Based upon species accumulation curves the avian sub-index is calculated only for areas having at least 40 relevant bird surveys (AECOM 2012.).

The best avian index would be based upon quantitative count data (e.g. BTO undated; MacHunter et al. 2009). A major assumption is that we will not have sufficient count data at sufficient sites across our Region to develop a quantitative sub-index using birds. By using presence/absence data we include many more bird surveys than would otherwise be possible. We also go some way towards overcoming the problem of observer bias. An avian sub-index based upon species richness allows us to exploit the vast mass of bird survey data already gathered across our Region through the Birds Australia bird atlas.

The application and gaming of the effectiveness of several potential metrics and the assigning of appropriate condition categories is the subject of a seperate project and is not investigated further in this report.

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Methods 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) 2. Melbourne Water Sites of Biodiversity Significance (SoBs) 3. Melbourne Water works 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) 1 5. Dandenong Valley, Melbourne Water constructed wetland case study sites .

Table 1. Summary of survey categories and justification. Category Site Purpose Type 1 Ramsar • To support compliance reporting of bird population trends and community composition. IBA • 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 and determine trajectories over time. Melbourne Water sites • To evaluate works and management at sites.

3 Works evaluation sites. • To evaluate effectiveness of specific works on bird community.

4 Sites centred within 250 • To collect sufficient data (n = 40+ surveys) to generate bird sub-metric metres of waterways and for each of 67 management units across Region every five years. wetlands

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

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 2, 2,3,4,5 & 6.) 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.

Site access details were also collated for all sites with public access. This notably included over 90 hours of work provided by one volunteer to map 8 riparian works sites containing 22 individual 200m transects.

The resulting polygons also form the basis for an online interactive map tool which is discussed further below.

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 refered to in a separate category due to their different particular data collection methods.

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

Figure 3. 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 4. MWrbm sites within the Maribyrnong catchment

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

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

WTP - T Section Lagoon 4 Figure 5 .MWrbm sites within the Werribee catchment.

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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 MW Cardinia res - Predominantly introduced veg MW Cardinia res - Lowland forest MW Cardinia res - Damp heathy woodland MW Cardinia res - Shrubby Gully Forest MW Cardinia - Open water MW Cardina res - Banksia woodand Dalmore Outfalls Leisureland Drive drain Leisureland Drive Wetland Lower Bunyip Koo Wee Rup Tower West Peninsula Rivers and Creeks Tootgraook swamp - B Gahnia swamp Tootgarook Swamp, McNaught accumalitive MPS Tootgarook Wetland Reserve boundary Tootgarook Swamp 92W Woods Reserve Devilbend Reservoir Bittern Reservoir Briars woodland Briars western trib Briars central trib Briars eastern trib Truemans Rd landfill Industrial estate Retarding Basin Sanctuary Park Reserve Tootgarook swamp - D Moona swamp 2 Tootgarook swamp - C Moona swamp Tootgarook swamp - A McNaughts lake Tern Ave Wetland

Figure 6. 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 Merri Creek (Rural and Forested) works evaluation - site 2 Donnybrook Rd Lake works evaluation - site 3 Merri Creek (Urban) works evaluation - site 10 Galada Tamboore South, Merri Creek works evaluation - site 7 Galada Tamboore, Merri Creek works evaluation - site 5 Lakeside Dve Reserve works evaluation - site 4 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 Yarra Upper (Rural) Westbreen Creek - Joyce Reserve Yering Backswamp Tullamarine (Wright Street) retarding Basin, Mullum Mullum Mullum Mullum Park Mullum Mullum Creek Currawong Park

Figure 7. MWrbm sites within the Yarra catchment.

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Observer engagement As a large scale regional project it was anticipated that the bulk of the monitoring effort across the proposed 250 wetland and waterways sites would be taken on by BirdLife Australia’s large network of citizen scientists. Several avenues have been utilized to effectively recruited and retain observers to regularly submit standardized surveys for MWrbm sites.

Engaging current Atlassers.

The BirdLife Atlas of Australian Birds currently has close to 4,000 registered observers in Victoria alone and 1,863 have registered postal addresses within the MW management region, however only a portion of these are active and fewer submit regular surveys for individual sites. By interrogating the existing dataset BirdLife continues to identify Atlas observers to provide survey coverage at targeted sites.

Engaging external community groups.

Additional observers were sourced by utilizing networks including friends of groups, field naturalist clubs and existing Melbourne Water citizen scientists. A list of the groups can be found in the acknowledgements section and include the Friends of Braeside Park who contributed 430 surveys spanning 1993 to the present.

Events

A number of local workshops and walks promoting the Atlas project and MW RBMP component were conducted to recruit and train new and existing Atlassers:

• Melbourne Water RBM project “thank you” event for observers at Rigby’s Wetland (supported by MW). • BirdLife Melbourne Branch meeting (Carlton). • BirdLife Melbourne Branch meeting (Balwyn). • BirdLife Mornington Peninsula (57 attendees). • Friends of Tootgarook Swamp World Wetland event (120 attendees). • Melbourne Water World Wetlands Day – Werribee (100 attendees) • RMIT - Conduct Biological Surveys course (27 attendees) • 4 community bird walks in association with Melbourne Water, the Environment Protection Authority, City of Casey and Port Philip Western Port CMA (Figure 8 and 9). The monitoring Project has also been promoted at one local festivals where BirdLife were represented: • Knox City Council, Stringy bark Festival.

Figure 8. BirdLife staff and volunteers conduct a community bird walk at River Gum Reserve. Photo: Kim Lambie (MW).

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Media and observer resources

The project has been promoted through several BirdLife networks including Atlas Newsletter, Volunteer Newsletter, BirdLife e-news, BirdLife Magazine and several friends of group newsletters in the region.

The development of an online interactive map which sits on the “Melbourne Water biodiversity surveys” project page (www.birdlife.org.au/projects/melbourne-water-biodiversity-surveys ) allows current observers and members of the community to navigate through the 155 mapped survey sites and view dynamic data on: • Access requirements • Species lists for each site • Details on when the last survey was conducted The interactive map also allows users to click through to the survey sites relevant “group site” on page (birdata.com.au/community_front.vm) where they can access more information on the site, recent surveys and enter survey data . Group sites are discussed further in the Survey Techniques section of this report (Figure 11).

The “Melbourne Water biodiversity surveys” project page also provides users with information on how they can get involved in the project and access to training resources including wetland bird ID sheets and a “Wetland birds filed guide” app (winner of the Whitely Award for best app field guide) Figure 9.

Figure 10. Public engagement resources developed in partnership with Melbourne Water, the Environment Protection Authority, City of Casey and Port Philip Western Port CMA

Figure 9. Observer training resources.

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Figure 11. The Melbourne Water biodiversity survey site interactive map (left) and associated birdata data entry portal.

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Survey techniques The Atlas of Australian Birds has traditionally accepted five different survey methodologies for recording 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 12). 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 being 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 MW rbm 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 12. 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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Figure 13. Monthly monitoring at Inlets Waterway Reserve (SoB) accounts for seasonal changes in biotic and abiotic habitat variable such as surface water and seeding events. Observers also record impacts of invasive species on habitat in this case Sambar (right)

The recent development of the Group Site platform for registering habitats has taken this approach to a more open sourced level. In this instance observers are encouraged to register a Group Site on the Birdata portal (Error! Reference source not found.) which is accessible to all other registered users. MWrbm sites will be mapped and identified as belonging to the program and 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 spatially and temporally.

To increase the 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).

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

Minimum data type

Survey contributors are asked to record all species seen and heard within the site boundaries. For category 1, 2, 3 and 5 sites observers are also requested to record species abundance including estimates on birds heard within the site boundaries.

Table 7. Summary of site categories and data requirements.

Category Preferred Survey Type Minimum Minimum Frequency Data type 1 Fixed route survey (Type 5) Monthly Quantitative

2,4 Wetland: Area Search <500 m (Type 2) Seasonal Quantitative Waterway: Fixed route survey (Type 5) 3 Wetland: Area Search <500 m (Type 2) Seasonal Quantitative Waterway: Fixed route survey (Type 5) 4 All, except Incidental Searches As possible Presence/ absence

5 Area Search <500 m (Type 2) Monthly Quantitative + habitat/activity data

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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, but they are not designed 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. 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 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013).

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.

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 (Appendix 2) 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.

Incident reports 2013-14.

In the 2013-14 project period a sole incident was reported to BirdLife from a volunteer surveying the Banyan waterhole. BirdLife was notified immediately and a hazard report form was promptly filed and reported to Melbourne Water. The incident, which involved livestock, prompted a review of OH&S policies and the formulation of a new working with livestock procedural document. During the review period all surveying undertaken as part of the project ceased and only recommenced once documentation approved by BirdLife and MW had been viewed and signed off on by observers.

The observer suffered no immediate or consequent injuries. Melbourne Water took action to mitigate the threat of future incidents at the site.

BirdLife Australia’s OHS, incident/hazard procedure manuals and MWrbm TRA and Working with livestock documents can be provided upon request. More detail on BirdLife’s Workers Compensation and Public Liability insurance policies can be found in project proposal or provided upon request.

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Results and discussion

Survey coverage Excluding incidental searches, a total of 5,7842 surveys have been submitted from within the Melbourne Water management region between 1/7/2013 and 30/6/2014. A quarter of these surveys (1,502) were conducted at MWrbm project sites distributed across 25 management units and 5 catchments ( Table 8). This represents a 58% increase in monitoring effort across the targeted sites from the previous year and is expected to increase significantly again the following year as project a development and site identification phase precluded spring and summer surveys at some sites in 2012/13 (Figure 15). The input from professionals and citizen scientists across these target sites alone equates to over 989 survey hours, 427 hours of data entry and 789 hours of travel covering 49,000km.

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).

• 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 60 sites listed above, 97 sites were identified by Melbourne Water, Atlassers or BirdLife staff and surveyed at least once during the study period (Table 9). These areas vary in significance and include nationally and regionally significant Sites of Biodiversity (SoBs), Ramsar listed wetlands not managed by Melbourne Water and IBAs not managed by Melbourne Water. A further 43 sites were identified as candidates for the project however due to logistical obstacles were not surveyed during the study period (Error! Reference source not found.).

A key objective of the MWrbm project is to provide data on at least 50 works evaluation sites (category 3) throughout the course of the project. Works conducted along waterways ideally comprise of 3 separate sub-sites , subject to varying treatments and have been selected to evaluate the effectiveness of specific works on bird communities (Figure 14). The identification and mapping of works evaluation sites has been provided by Melbourne Water as necessary. Given many riparian works sites are non-discrete and can often only be accessed through private property, not all sites were surveyed during the study period. In 2014, monthly surveying commenced on 12 of the 16 riparian transects identified and surveyed as part of AECOM’s pilot study along Plenty River and Arthurs Creek. This data will be valuable in assessing, long term affects of works on bird populations.

Figure 14. Varying methods of willow treatment along Olinda Creek are being measured for their comparative effects on biodiversity.

2 Fifty-five of these surveys have been submitted but were not processed at the time of data analysis, therefore are not represented in the following summaries.

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Figure 15. A summary of the regularity and diversity of surveying across 157 targeted MWrbm sites between 1/7/2012-30/6/13 (left bars) and 1/7/13-30/6/2014 (right bars).

Table 8. Summary data for targeted sites by Melbourne Water management unit. # surveys # surveys # species # species CATCHMENT Management unit 12/13 13/14 year 1 year 1 & 2 Dandenong Blind Creek 7 24 87 100 Dandenong Corhanwarrabul, Monbulk & Ferny Creeks 20 27 98 132 Dandenong Dandenong Creek Lower 164 241 139 159 Dandenong Dandenong Creek Middle 51 83 132 146 Dandenong Eumemmerring 72 75 128 136 Dandenong Kananook 108 178 155 165 Maribyrnong Jacksons Creek 0 4 0 38 Maribyrnong Maribyrnong River 0 3 0 28 Maribyrnong Steele 1 6 18 37 Werribee Cherry Main Drain 7 11 80 85 Werribee Kororoit Creek Lower 39 88 147 166 Werribee Laverton 16 33 124 146 Werribee Little River 160 214 98 121 Werribee Skeleton Creek 2 21 85 127 Werribee Werribee Lower 78 100 88 123 Westernport Cardinia, Toomuc, Deep and Ararat 38 90 116 146 Westernport Dalmore Outfalls 2 1 11 15 Westernport Lower Bunyip 2 1 32 40 Westernport West Peninsula Rivers and Creeks 35 53 131 143 Yarra Darebin Creek (Urban) 5 4 56 63 Yarra Gardiners 34 54 61 71 Yarra Merri Creek (Urban) 3 11 42 61 Yarra Moonee Ponds 15 54 100 116 Yarra Mullum Mullum 37 14 67 68 Yarra Olinda Creek 4 29 23 48 Yarra Plenty River (Rural and Lower) 1 31 23 101 Yarra Yarra Middle and Lower 21 41 113 133 Yarra Yarra Upper (Rural) 4 11 57 82

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Table 9. Survey summaries for targeted sites across the Melbourne Water management region from 1/7/2013 - 30/6/2014. (sites with no surveys recorded in the database are not listed) Site name significance category #surveys 13-14 #species 12-14 Braeside Park Carrum IBA (PV) 1 2* 97 Boundary Road Wetland, ETP Carrum IBA 1 26 113 Eastern Treatment Plant Carrum IBA 1 19 133 Edithvale - Zone 1 Carrum IBA 1 11 49 Edithvale - Zone 2 Carrum IBA 1 29 117 Edithvale - Zone 3 Carrum IBA 1 11 49 Edithvale - Zone 4 Carrum IBA 1 11 34 Edithvale - Zone 5 Carrum IBA 1 11 63 Edithvale - Zone 6 Carrum IBA 1 13 27 Edithvale - Zone 7 Carrum IBA 1 14 105 Edithvale - Zone 8 Carrum IBA 1 12 58 Serpentine area, ETP Carrum IBA 1 5 49 PARCS Wetland, ETP Carrum IBA 1 8 82 Seaford Wetlands - Zone 1 Carrum IBA 1 19 120 Seaford Wetlands - Zone 2 Carrum IBA 1 11 43 Seaford Wetlands - Zone 3 Carrum IBA 1 11 64 Seaford Wetlands - Zone 4 Carrum IBA 1 11 74 Seaford Wetlands - Zone 5 Carrum IBA 1 11 67 Seaford Wetlands - Zone 6 Carrum IBA 1 11 46 The Doughnut, ETP Carrum IBA 1 12 78 Cheetham Saltfields Cheetham/Altona IBA (PV) 1 23 140 RAAF Lake Cheetham/Altona IBA (PV) 1 9 73 Devilbend Reservoir Devilbend IBA (PV) 1 9 110 WTP - 270S Borrow Pit Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 79 WTP - 35E Pond 8 Cons Pond Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 56 WTP - 35E Pond 9 Cons Pond Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 56 WTP - 5W Pond 10 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 45 WTP - 5W Pond 11 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 40 WTP - 5W Pond 9 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 47 WTP - 85WC Pond 9 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 46 WTP - Little River, Lower Reaches Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 75 WTP - Summer Pond 1 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 12 58 WTP - Summer Pond 2 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 15 77 WTP - T Section Lagoon 1 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 37 WTP - T Section Lagoon 2 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 52 WTP - T Section Lagoon 3 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 77 WTP - T Section Lagoon 4 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 50 WTP - T Section Lagoon 5 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 14 53 WTP - T Section Lagoon 6 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 35 WTP - T Section Lagoon 7 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 14 57 WTP - Western Lagoon 3 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 12 35 WTP - Western Lagoon 6 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 33 WTP - Western Lagoon 7 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 14 37 WTP - Western Lagoon 8 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 13 41 WTP - Western Lagoon 9 Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 14 65 WTP - Western Lagoon Ponds 4&5 (rehab) Port Philip Bay W shore Ramsar 1 14 56

*Additional surveys conducted but not processed

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Site name significance category #surveys 13-14 #species 12-14 Andersons Creek East RB SoB 2 5 42 Birdsland, Monbulk Creek RB SoB 2 11 85 Boggy Creek Waterway Reserve SoB 2 2 42 Cherry Lake north, Big Bend SoB 2 1 30 Cherry Lake, Cherry Creek SoB 2 10 85 Colchester Road RB SoB 2 3 39 Dunnetts Road Swamp SoB 2 2 46 Jacana Wetlands (south) SoB 2 3 41 Jancana Wetlands (north) SoB 2 11 91 Kororoit Creek Escarpments north SoB 2 2 35 Kororoit Creek Escarpments south SoB 2 2 37 Lakewood Park Res, Riddel Road RB SoB 2 14 71 Liverpool Road RB SoB 2 14 87 Lower Koroit Creek Waterway Reserve SoB 2 2 45 MW - Fussel Rd RB SoB 2 3 47 MW - Wannarkladdin Wetlands - east SoB 2 7 62 MW - Wannarkladdin Wetlands - north SoB 2 6 41 MW - Wannarkladdin Wetlands - west SoB 2 11 74 Old Joes Creek RB SoB 2 2 32 Police Rd RB Wetland SoB 2 1 34 Skeleton Creek Saltmarsh SoB 2 8 64 Tamarisk Waterway Reserve, Langwarrin SoB 2 1 24 The Inlets Waterway Reserve, Cardinia SoB 2 10 77 Tirhatuan Wetlands, Dandenong Creek SoB 2 15 64 Truganina Swamp, Laverton Creek SoB 2 20 116 Tullamarine (Wright Street) rb SoB 2 4 51 Winton Wetlands SoB 2 11 56 Yering Backswamp SoB 2 11 82 Little Boggy Creek RB SoB 2 2 39 Cardinia Creek RB SoB 2 1 25 Bolin Bolin Billabong works evaluation 3 1* 70 Briars central trib works evaluation 3 1* 8 Briars eastern trib works evaluation 3 1* 7 Dandenong Wetlands, Koomba Park works evaluation 3 10 80 Jacksons Creek Downstream Control works evaluation 3 3 26 Monbulk Creek Upstream Control works evaluation 3 1 21 Olinda Creek, control works evaluation 3 10 29 Olinda Creek, staged removal works evaluation 3 10 33 Olinda Creek, Willow removed works evaluation 3 10 41 Rosanna Parklands, Salt Creek works evaluation 3 8 36 Ruffey Lake Park works evaluation 3 5 70 Williams Landing (Cedar Woods) works evaluation 3 2 38 works evaluation - site 1 works evaluation 3 1* 16 works evaluation - site 2 works evaluation 3 1* 16 works evaluation - site 6 works evaluation 3 1* 16 works evaluation - site 7 works evaluation 3 1* 16 works evaluation - site 9 works evaluation 3 2* 18

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Site name significance category #surveys 13-14 #species 12-14 ETP Boggy Creek Wetland MW constructed wetland 4 9 75 Namatjira Wetlands, Clayton South MW constructed wetland 4 12 54 Trin Warren Tam-boore wetlands MW constructed wetland 4 26 84 Woodlands Estate Wetlands MW constructed wetland 4 18 97 Greens Rd wetlands MW constructed wetland 4 5 49 ETP Rossiter Rd Lagoon (beside Banyun) MW ephemeral 4 9 65 Cardinia Reservoir area (accumulative) MW reservoir 4 79 119 Valley Reserve RB, Waverly MW retarding basin 4 17 47 Darebin Parklands waterway 4 4 63 Galada Tamboore South waterway 4 1 32 Koo Wee Rup Tower waterway 4 1 40 Leisureland Drive drain waterway 4 1 15 Mullum Mullum Park waterway 4 14 60 Westbreen Creek - Gavin Park waterway 4 3 21 Westbreen Creek - Joyce Reserve waterway 4 3 16 Wurundjeri Walk waterway 4 37 64 Berwick Springs wetlands non MW 4 7 95 Edithvale Common non MW 4 3 39 Elsternwick Park non MW 4 6 59 Turf farm non MW 4 9 71 Fitzgerald Rd Grasslands & Andersons lake non MW 4 1 9 Flemington Racecourse non MW 4 3 28 Gisborne Swamp non MW 4 1 25 Iramoo Wetlands non MW 4 2 40 Karkarook Park non MW 4 43 112 Koomba Park North non MW 4 6 58 Lakeside Dve Reserve non MW 4 4 32 Moir Drive Reserve non MW 4 2 22 Moonee Ponds Creek, Westmeadows non MW 4 4 22 Murunduka Swamp non MW 4 4 44 MWPG- Marshland/Carex/Tortoise Pond non MW 4 5 67 MWPG- Mother in Law's Leap non MW 4 9 56 MWPG- North East Wetland non MW 4 9 71 Newport Lakes non MW 4 24 111 Sanctuary Park Reserve, Tootgarook non MW 4 4 49 Industrial estate RB, Tootgarook non MW 4 1 10 Tern Ave Wetland, Tootgarook non MW 4 1 16 Tootgarook swamp - A McNaughts lake non MW 4 3 58 Tootgarook swamp - C Moona swamp non MW 4 1 18 Tootgarook swamp - D Moona swamp 2 non MW 4 1 16 Tootgarook Swamp 92W non MW 4 6 27 Tootgarook Swamp, McNaught accumulative non MW 4 4 68 Tootgraook swamp - B Gahnia swamp non MW 4 3 44

Truemans Rd landfill, Tootgarook non MW 4 4 30

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Site name significance category #surveys 13-14 #species 12-14 Valley Lake Reserve non MW 4 6 37 Westgate Park non MW 4 14 81 Wintersun Crt Reserve non MW 4 4 31 Woods Reserve non MW 4 14 86 Yaruk Tamboore non MW 4 4 39 Jawbone Reserve non MW 4 55 125 Frog Hollow Wetland MW constructed wetland 5 14 72 Golf Links Road MW constructed wetland 5 11 82 Hallam Valley Floodplain MW constructed wetland 5 3 (12) 96 Troups Creek MW constructed wetland 5 13 100 Heatherton Road North MW constructed wetland 5 14 83 Heatherton Road South MW constructed wetland 5 14 93 Kilberry Boulevard MW constructed wetland 5 14 82 Rigby's Wetland MW constructed wetland 5 12 100 River Gum Creek Reserve MW constructed wetland 5 13 93 Springvale rd Wetlands MW constructed wetland 5 16 93 Waterford Wetlands MW constructed wetland 5 12 57 .

Figure 16. Peregrine Falcons have nested at Valley Lake Reserve for the second year running. Photo: Anna Lanigan

Significant populations The main purpose of the MWrbm project is to collect data which will form the foundation for an avian index of wetland condition based on 1) accumulated reporting rates across species and 2) the number of species within each guild represented.

At this stage the allocation of condition scores applies no extra weighting to threatened; migratory or breeding species and doesn’t take into account quantitative data. However as custodians of several international, national and regionally significant sites, Melbourne Water regularly report 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 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).

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Threatened species A number of Melbourne Water managed sites are subject to some level of sympathetic management to sustain threatened species populations of plants and animals in accordance with legislative obligations. By conserving habitat for these umbrella species, it is presumed that sympatric species 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, wether 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 33 threatened species were recorded from MWrbm project sites including 4 federally listed species (Table 10, Appendix 2 Figure 28).

Table 10. Threatened species recorded at target sites between 1/7/2013 and 30/6/2014. #sites Victorian Action Plan Common Name Scientific Name observed EPBC listing Advisory listing 2010 Subspecies 2010 Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus 9 EN EN EN Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 2 VU

Australasian Shoveler Anas rhynchotis 40 VU Australian Little Bittern Ixobrychus dubius 4 EN

Australian Painted Snipe Rostratula australis 1 EN CR EN Baillon's Crake Porzana pusilla 15 VU

Barking Owl Ninox connivens 1 EN LC assimilis NT; connivens NT Black Falcon Falco subniger 9 VU

Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa 3 VU NT melanuroides NT Blue-billed Duck Oxyura australis 26 EN NC

Brolga Grus rubicunda 6 VU Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 2 VU 3 Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 25 VU Eastern Great Egret Ardea modesta 64 VU

Fairy Tern Sternula nereis 2 EN VU exsul EN; nereis VU Freckled Duck Stictonetta naevosa 19 EN

Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris 2 EN VU Grey Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae 3 VU

Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica 1 EN Hardhead Aythya australis 63 VU

Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia 9 CR Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 1 CR

Lewin's Rail Lewinia pectoralis 8 VU LC brachipus VU Little Egret Egretta garzetta 8 EN

Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata 6 EN Musk Duck Biziura lobata 19 VU

Powerful Owl Ninox strenua 1 VU Red Knot Calidris canutus 2 NT VU piersmai VU; rogersi VU 4 Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus 1 VUL (East) VU LC monarchoides EN Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia 40 VU

Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor 1 EN EN EN White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster 5 VU

Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 3 VU

3 An application for Curlew Sandpiper to be listed as Endangered in the EPBC Act is currently being processed 4 Records of a single Regent Parrot are assumed to be of an escapee.

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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 (Figure 17).

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 Ramsar Convention, the World Heritage Convention, the 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.

During the study period 19 species of migratory shorebirds were observed at MWrbm sites (Table 11. Migratory shorebirds recorded at targeted sites between 1/7/2013 and 30/6/2014.). One species, American Golden Plover, only been recorded on 2 previous occasions on the Australian mainland and never in Victoria.

Table 11. Migratory shorebirds recorded at targeted sites between 1/7/2013 and 30/6/2014. Common Name Scientific Name #sites observed Jamba Camba ROKAMBA Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 2 J C R Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa 3 J C R Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 3 J C R Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 1 J C R Gallinago Latham's Snipe hardwickii 37 J C R Long-toed Stint Calidris subminuta 1 J C R Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva 4 J C R Red Knot Calidris canutus 2 J C R Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris 2 J C R Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 25 J C R Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia 23 J C R Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus 2 J C R Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata 36 J C R Philomachus Ruff pugnax 2 J C R Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis 17 J C R Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis 29 J C R Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos 5 J R Oriental Plover Charadrius veredus 1 J R

American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica 1

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Abundance data As a pilot study, the use of reporting rates and species lists is the most effective way of establishing condition scores across properties of varying size and habitat type. Although this approach takes into account the regularity of occurrence it does not account for the abundance of each species and thus observations of a single individual of a species are represented in the same manner as 8,000 individuals. Condition change as result of management may not be instantly evident when considering presence absence data alone as even a 95% increase/decrease in a species will not be detected. Trends in abundances can be both drivers for management (Figure 18) or be driven by management (Figure 19) and can be seasonal (Figure 18) or long term (Figure 19).

If we consider the last 2 years of counts from Melbourne Water managed Ramsar sites (or part thereof) we can see episodic increases in the waterbird population during the summer period. In the case of the Western Treatment Plant (WTP) conservation ponds these spikes are largely driven by an influx of Australian Shelduck (max count 10,538) which utilise the shelter and consistency of the ponds as an annual moulting ground. Across the bay at the Eastern Treatment Plant, Eurasian Coot (max 8,350), Pink-eared Duck (max 6,000)and other dispersive waterfowl seek refuge at the site in summer as more ephemeral sources of water dry, whereas peaks in Sharp-tailed Sandpiper numbers at nearby Edithvale Wetlands account for spikes the site’s population as migrants return from Palaearctic breeding grounds. Management of wetlands for waterbird species should aim to coincide with these seasonal abundances. Within a regional context, a non proportion decrease of one or many species at any one site is likely to indicate a discrete change in condition.

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 should be commended for their ongoing commitment to what will be an invaluable dataset unrivalled anywhere in Australia.

Figure 17. Internationally significant numbers of (>1% of the estimated flyway population) Sharp-tailed Sandpipers regularly utilised managed ponds at the Edithvale wetlands. Photo Andrew Silcocks Melbourne Water Regional Monitoring Project 2013-2014: 2

Figure 19. A continued positive response to MW revegetation works is evident in data for 7 species which utilise reed bed and low to medium scrub for foraging at Edithvale Wetlands. 1990-2013.

Breeding records Monitoring the success and/or causes of breeding failure can provide a more accurate surrogate assessment of environmental condition than presence/absence or abundance data alone, especially in relation to waterbirds and highly mobile species (Chambers 2008). In general the presence of successfully breeding birds indicates that there is a surplus of readily attainable resources and a satisfactory level of threats that might decrease fitness and/or cause mortalities (e.g. Repeated successful fledging of ground nesting species may provide an indication of low local predator densities.)

During the study period 144 occurrences of breeding were recorded for 38 species across 40 MWrbm sites (Table 12).

Table 12. MWrbm sites where breeding was recorded between 1/7/2013 and 30/6/2014. # breeding # breeding site species site species Berwick Springs wetlands 1 MWPG- North East Wetland 5 Birdsland, Monbulk Creek Retarding Basin 8 Namatjira Wetlands, Clayton South 5 Cardinia Reservoir 4 Newport Lakes 4 Cherry Lake, Cherry Creek 2 Olinda Creek, Willow removed 1 Dandenong Wetlands, Koomba Park 1 PARCS Wetland, Eel Race Drain, ETP 3 Darebin Parklands 2 Rigby's Wetland 2 Edithvale - Zone 7 1 Ruffey Lake Park 4 Fussel Rd Retarding Basin 1 The Inlets Waterway Reserve 1 Iramoo Wetlands 4 Tirhatuan Wetlands, Dandenong Creek 2 Jacana Wetlands (south) 2 Tootgarook Swamp 92W 1 Jancana Wetlands (north) 1 Tootgraook swamp - B Gahnia swamp 1 Lakeside Dve Reserve 2 Trin Warren Tam-boore wetlands 7 Lakewood Park Res 2 Valley Lake Reserve 2 Little Boggy Creek Retarding Basin 1 Williams Landing (Cedar Woods) 4 Liverpool Road Retarding Basin 1 Wintersun Crt Reserve 2 Lower Koroit Creek Waterway Reserve 1 Winton Wetlands 3 Moir Drive Reserve 2 WTP - Summer Pond 1 1 Murunduka Swamp 2 WTP - T Section Lagoon 5 1 Wannarkladdin Wetlands - west 1 WTP - Western Lagoon 3 1 MWPG- Mother in Law's Leap 2 Wurundjeri Walk 10

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Dandenong Valley Constructed Wetland Surveys.

In 2007 Melbourne Water contracted Bird Observation and Conservation Australia (BOCA) to undertake a pilot monitoring program investigating the habitat utilisation of bird communities in 10 Melbourne Water constructed wetlands throughout the Dandenong Valley. Monthly surveys at the 10 sites (Table 9) have now been conducted for 5 years. In late 2012 Rigby’s Wetland (constructed in 2009) was added to the program. Due to its size it is split into 4 cells for monitoring purposes. Below is a short summary of results derived from the 2013/14 habitat use data.

Habitat use observations Observers noted a total of 14,722 instances (27% of all observations) of birds foraging and 14,282 instances of roosting (27%) in the wetlands. The most readily observed behaviour was travelling whether within site or beyond its boundaries (Figure 20). Birds were observed utilising all habitats available at each wetland and the relative proportions of observations in each habitat type (Figure 22) are, in part, a function of the habitat available at each wetland. However, it is also a function of the survey route undertaken by observers. As Melbourne Water is most interested in bird utilisation of constructed wetlands, survey routes were chosen to optimise the capacity for observers to view water-bodies.

Figure 20. Activity summary of bird communities observed at 14 constructed wetland sites in the Dandenong Valley.

When wetland habitat use observations (blue bars in Figure 22), are examined in isolation from non-wetland habitats (green bars) it is clear that each wetland is providing birds with slightly different wetland foraging habitats. Wetlands such as Heatherton Road South have limited areas of exposed mudflats or open water but relatively large areas of shallow vegetated swamps and dense tree/shrub cover. This habitat is more conducive to honeyeaters and small passerines which are more likely to be observed travelling but dense fringing shrub may preclude wading species like herons and shorebirds which are more likely to be observed roosting or feeding. In contrast, Rigby’s Wetland, consists of several large shallow open areas which encourage foraging or roosting by wading species, however as a relatively new site has very few developed shrubs or trees.

The unique size and distribution of habitats at each wetland will determine overall habitat usage and behaviour, however without data summarising habitat structure and composition at each site we can not determine the quality of each site and the habitats within it. A new project being undertaken as part of the 2014/15 BirdLife internship program will look to map habitat type at each of the 14 wetlands. The results will aid in comparing habitat type and condition within sites and between sites.

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Figure 21. Proportion of habitat used (all behaviours) across 14 sites 1/7/2013-30/6/2014

Figure 22. Summary of habitat utilised by birds (all behaviours) across 14 constructed wetlands (data accumulated) from 2007-2014.

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Management Recommendations The following management concerns relating to bird values or survey logistics were provided by observers to be considered by Melbourne Water site managers. In many cases recommendations are for continuation of threat mitigation or habitat amelioration that is currently being undertaken by management. Note only Melbourne Water managed sites are included in this section. Management recommendations for Edithvale and Seaford Ramsar wetlands are included in a separate report (Silcocks 2013).

Birdsland, Monbulk Creek Retarding Basin: • Low compliance to dog restriction on site. Increased enforcement of restriction may lead to higher compliance. • Feeding of waterfowl is common. Appropriate signage may be effective. • Surveys in this area would be greatly enhanced if we could access the Blackwood Forest Track and the new wetlands area. This has been closed to the public since the fires went through the area the week after Black Saturday, when it was closed on safety grounds. Access has been refused for survey purposes, though it is hard to envisage what the safety concerns now could possibly be. This is different habitat from the rest of Birdsland. Surveying now would document changes over time and be helpful for the future planning and management of this part of the site.

Boggy Creek Waterway Reserve: • The waterway bisects suburban Langwarrin and is therefore a sink for rubbish, domestic pets and urban adapted invasive flora and fauna.

Cardinia Reservoir • Invasive fauna- A significant population of Sambar are occasionally culled.

Cherry Lake north, “Big Bend” Kororoit Creek: • This section of Kororoit Creek is heavily vegetated with tall grasses and reed beds (>2m) which preclude effective surveying.

Fussel Rd Retarding Basin: • Invasive flora - Large blackberry thickets, mats of Soursob and clusters of Watonsia (Figure 23) are present in the north west wooded section of the site which abuts neighboring horse paddocks (some treatment apparent), Sweet Pittosporum.. • Invasive fauna – Foxes, rabbits

Galada Tamboore, Merri Creek (Barry Rd section) • Invasive flora – extensive areas of Blackberry, Spear thistle and Boxthorne Figure 23. Invassive flora like soursob and watsonia readily colonise Fussel Rd Retarding Hallam Valley Rd: Basin from neighbouring properties. • Tea-tree surrounding 50% of water-bodies may deter wading species. A thinning of thick vegetation surrounding water-bodies will increase variability of habitat and diversity/abundances of waterbirds. It will also increase observer access and visibility at the site. • Gorse is prevalent in the paddock directly north of the water-bodies and to the far west of the site (recent treatment evident). The eastern section which has partially cleared could further be optimized as a small ephemeral swale if Gorse were completely removed. Black-fronted Dotterels are already utilizing the site. • Water levels in the ponds have remained high throughout the year for the last 3 years. Previously natural drawn downs in spring and summer exposed areas of sediment and vegetated banks which provided wader and crake/rail habitat. Seasonal draw downs may improve biodiversity. • Continued illegal entry of 4WD vehicles by cutting of perimeter fences. Liverpool Rd Retarding Basin:

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• Low compliance to dog restriction on site. Increased enforcement of restriction may lead to higher compliance. • Feeding of waterfowl is common. Appropriate signage may be effective.

Inlets Waterway Reserve: • Invasive mammals – Samba, foxes (baiting visible has been visibly effective Figure 24 ), rabbits. • Invasive flora – Blackberry infestation particularly northern rail line and to a lesser extent on the minor channels. Areas of Bridal Creeper throughout the central Teatree Swamp (treatment apparent).

Figure 24. The remains of a fox in saltmarsh 60m from a baiting station. Inlets Waterway Reserve.

Kilberry Boulevard wetlands • Grass very long within the boundary fence. The company that is contracted to cut the grass needs more care near the new plantings at River Gum as several plants have been knocked over by the tractor • Signage installed as part of the River Gum project has been defaced.

• Olinda Creek (control): • Invasive flora - Blackberry, Wandering Trad, Tutsan, Maple, Willow, Bamboo, Pine, Arum Lily, Sweet Pittosporum. • Invasive fauna- Observers have noticed a makeshift camp with changing contents on the southern bank of the creek,. The camp has never been occupied during surveys.

Olinda Creek (Willows removed): • Invasive flora - Blackberry, Tutsan, Wandering Dew, Maple, Blackberry, . • Invasive fauna – Sambar.

Olinda Creek (staged Willow removal): • Invasive flora –Large extensive Blackberry thickets (very effective treatment apparent (Figure 25), Wandering Trad, Willow (some treatment apparent).

Police Rd: • Tea-tree surrounding 90% of water- bodies may deter wading species. A thinning of thick vegetation surrounding water-bodies will increase variability of habitat and diversity/abundances of waterbirds. It will also increase observer access and visibility at the site.

Figure 25. Although willows remain in the Olinda Creek (staged removal) Melbourne Water Regional Monitoring Project 2013-2014: site the undertory is being gradually ameliorate by the removal3 of

blackberry and carpetting weeds. 4

• Site access is difficult as the water-bodies 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 water-bodies and increase ease of surveying.

Salt Creek • 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. • Invasive fauna - the park is an off-lead dog park. The high number dogs impacts greatly on ground birds and water birds. Dogs are allowed to run freely in the creek causing bank erosion and contamination.

River Gum Creek Wetlands • Grass very long within the boundary fence. The company that is contracted to cut the grass needs more care near the new plantings at River Gum as several plants have been knocked over by the tractor • Signage installed as part of the River Gum project has been defaced (Figure 26). • Illegal dumping of building materials in the wetlands • Low compliance for dog walkers • Introduction of Carp by fisherman and consequent disturbance and accumulations of litter including hooks and baits left in and around water bodies.

Figure 26. Defaced signage at River Gum and Kilberry Boulevard Wetlands. photo: Graeme Hosken

Rigby’s Wetlands: • The opening of a public bike path bisecting the wetlands has increase disturbance and potential habitat destruction by recreationalist and illegal dirt bike riders. • Vegetation nets have been recorded as the cause of death for several ducks and 2 Red-kneed Dotterels.

Truganina Swamp • Continued cutting of the fence by dirt bike riders, also • Accessibility and visibility in the swamp in heavily vegetated areas is low. Wader counts in particular may be misrepresented in the data as access beyond the gated fence precludes complete counts.

Wannarkladdin: • The site is becoming a monoculture of Phragmites, which is greatly reducing the visibility of water-bodies and attractiveness of the site for birds. Some clearing of the extensive beds of Phragmites during dry periods would increase habitat variability and visibility for observers (weed treatment to increase biodiversity has been scheduled for March 14’- July 15’). • Restrictions on dogs off-leash in the area. Although hard to police signage may improve compliance.

Williams Landing • The site is bordered by a train station on the east, a main road on the south and a construction site on the west so is a sink for rubbish and is subject to high levels of disturbance. • Invasive fauna – fox, hare, rabbit, rat.

Woodlands:

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• The plantings around the edge of the wetlands are growing very thick, reducing visibility for observers, particularly around the northern waterbody. As the vegetation continues to grow, the Northern Wetland in particular is getting harder to view, which is no doubt affecting the count of the waterbirds (more places for the birds to hide and not being able to view them). It would make viewing the wetland a lot easier if the vegetation could be cleared at several locations to allow clear viewing, particularly along the northern and eastern edges.

WTP - 270S Borrow Pit • As a conservation pond the water level of the Borrow Pits is manipulated to cater for different foraging guilds throughout the year. In 2013 a series of spring tides and heavy rain resulted in high water levels which inundated saltmarsh lined islands regularly relied upon by Orange-bellied Parrots for feeding. This not only precluded the birds from feeding when the water was up but prevented seeding of the saltmarsh from seeding even after it receded. Manual pumping or weir management could prevent this from happening in subsequent seasons.

Figure 27. Community memebers feeding waterfowl at Jawbone Reserve. Photo: Andrew Silcocks

Write Street Retardin Basin: • Large infestations of serrated tussock beside the pathway further upstream threaten to spread

Yerring Back Swamp • The Swamp proper has remained dry for the course of the project. An allocation of water is scheduled to be applied in July.

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References

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.

Alluvium (2010) ‘Healthy Waterways Trajectories: Birds’. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by Alluvium, Melbourne.

British Trust for Ornithology (undated) England Biodiversity Strategy Indicators. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, Norfolk, United Kingdom, viewed 20 Oct 2009,

Chambers, S.A. (2008) Birds as Environmental Indicators: Review of Literature. Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 55. Parks Victoria, Melbourne.

Crozier, G.E. & Gawlik, D.E. (2003) Wading bird nesting effort as an index. Waterbirds 26: 303–324.

DNRE (2002) Biosites: Sites of Biodiversity Significance in Port Phillip and Westernport Region, Victoria. Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Melbourne.

Environment Australia (2001) A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia, third edition. Environment Australia, Canberra.

Ecology Australia (2006a) Lewin's Rail: breeding season survey. Report prepared for Melbourne Water by L Conole, D Quin and C Renowden (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2006b) Wide Bend Area – Lower Kororoit Creek, Altona: Flora and Fauna Assessment. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by C Renowden, JS Kershaw, GW Carr and ED Moysey (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2007a) Skeleton Creek – Hoppers Crossing Crake and Rail Survey. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by DG Quin, C Renowden, ED Moysey and LV Crowfoot (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2007b) Big Flower Farm and Fishers Wetland, Phillip Island – Flora and Fauna Review. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by LVC Crowfoot and DG Quin (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2008a) Modelling Wetland Habitat Preferences of Lewin's Rail. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by B Schmidt and D Quin (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2008b) Skeleton Creek Improvement Project: Background to Impact Assessment and Net Gain Implications. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by C Renowden, LV Crowfoot and DG Quin (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2008c) Tamarisk and Boggy Creeks – Biodiversity Opportunities Plan. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by RM Marr, ARG McMahon and C Renowden (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield

Ecology Australia (2011) Growling Grass Frog Monitoring 2010/11 - Western Treatment Plant. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by R Marr and D Quin (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2012) Thomson and Latrobe River Floodplains - Fauna Surveys. Unpublished report prepared for the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority by J Urlus and J Ricciardello (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

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Ecology Australia (2013a) Sites of Biodiversity Significance Management Strategy - 2013. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by C Renowden, ARG McMahon and DG Quin (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

Ecology Australia (2013b) Sites of Biodiversity Significance Management Strategy - Background Document 2013. Unpublished report prepared for Melbourne Water by C Renowden, ARG McMahon and D Quin (Ecology Australia Pty Ltd: Fairfield)

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Lee, J., Finn, H. & Calver, M. (2010) Mine-site revegetation monitoring detects feeding by threatened black- cockatoos within 8 years. Ecological Management & Restoration 11: 141–143.

Loyn, R.H., McNabb, E.G., Macak, P. & Noble, P. (2007) Eucalypt plantations as habitat for birds on previously cleared farmland in south-eastern Australia. Biological Conservation 137: 533–548.

MacHunter, J., Menkhorst, P. & Loyn, R.H. (2009) Towards a Process for Integrating Vertebrate Fauna into Fire Management Planning. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report No. 192. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria.

Melbourne Water (2005) Sustainable Water – A Strategic Framework. Melbourne Water, Melbourne.

Melbourne Water (2007a) Port Phillip and Westernport Regional River Health Strategy. Melbourne Water, Melbourne.

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Melbourne Water (2009a) Strategic Framework: Working Together to Ensure a Sustainable Water Future. Melbourne Water, Melbourne.

Melbourne Water (2009b) Waterways: Melbourne Water’s Operating Charter for Waterway Management in the Port Phillip and Westernport Region 2008/09 to 2012/13. Melbourne Water, Melbourne.

Melbourne Water (2010b) ‘Biodiversity Indices for a Regional Strategy’. Internal discussion paper, Melbourne Water, Melbourne.

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Scorao. R.C. (1986) Guild management: an evaluation of avian guilds as a predictive tool. Environmental Management, 1986, Volume 10, Number 5, Page 681

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Steele, W. 2011 Calculation of an avian sub-index for aquatic and riparian ecosystem condition. Melbourne Water Healthy Waterways Stratergy Development report.

Vesk, P.A. & Mac Nally, R. (2006) The clock is ticking – Revegetation and habitat for birds and arboreal mammals in rural landscapes of southern Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 112: 356–366.

Vesk, P.A., Nolan, R., Thomson, J.R., Dorrough, J.W. & Mac Nally, R. (2008) Time lags in provision of habitat resources through revegetation. Biological Conservation 141: 174–186.

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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 9. The 113 riparian species of bird selected to determine the avian sub-index of waterway condition Table 10. The 57 wetland species of bird selected to determine the avian sub-index of waterway condition. Melbourne Water Regional Monitoring Project 2013-2014:

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Appendix 2: BirdLife Australia volunteer registration form

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Figure 28. MWrbm project sites with registered observations of threatened species between 1/7/2013 and 30/6/2014.

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