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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ORNITHOLOGIST VOLUME 43 - PARTS 1&2 - November - 2018 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ORNITHOLOGIST VOLUME 43 - PARTS 1&2 - November - 2018 Journal of The South Australian Ornithological Association Inc. In this issue: Decline in shorebirds in Dry Creek Saltfields, SA, 1985-6 to 2015-6 Distribution and taxonomy of White-eared Honeyeaters in SA Wedge-tailed Eagle population stability on Fleurieu Peninsula Osprey distribution and population stability in SA White-bellied Sea Eagle distribution and population stability, SA President: John Gitsham The South Australian Vice-Presidents: Ornithological John Hatch, Jeff Groves Association Inc. Secretary: Kate Buckley (Birds SA) Treasurer: John Spiers FOUNDED 1899 Journal Editor: Merilyn Browne Birds SA is the trading name of The South Australian Ornithological Association Inc. Editorial Board: Merilyn Browne, Graham Carpenter, John Hatch The principal aims of the Association are to promote the study and conservation of Australian birds, to disseminate the results Manuscripts to: of research into all aspects of bird life, and [email protected] to encourage bird watching as a leisure activity. SAOA subscriptions (e-publications only): Single member $45 The South Australian Ornithologist is supplied to Family $55 all members and subscribers, and is published Student member twice a year. In addition, a quarterly Newsletter (full time Student) $10 reports on the activities of the Association, Add $20 to each subscription for printed announces its programs and includes items of copies of the Journal and The Birder (Birds SA general interest. newsletter) Journal only: Meetings are held at 7.45 pm on the last Australia $35 Friday of each month (except December when Overseas AU$35 there is no meeting) in the Charles Hawker Conference Centre, Waite Road, Urrbrae (near SAOA Memberships: the Hartley Road roundabout). Meetings SAOA c/o South Australian Museum, feature presentations on topics of ornithological North Terrace, Adelaide interest. Visitors are welcome. S.A. 5000, Australia The Association has a library at the meeting For Journal only subscriptions venue and books are available to all members Write to SAOA Memberships, for loan. It also maintains an image library and or email [email protected] an audio library. Website: www.birdssa.asn.au ABN: 76 339 976 789 Regular day trips are arranged to places of ornithological interest, both during the week Printer: and at weekends, and weekend campouts are Abbott Printers & Stationers held several times a year. 315 Port Road, Hindmarsh, SA 5007 All Rights Reserved ISSN 0038-2973 November 2018 1 The decline in Holarctic shorebirds using Dry Creek Saltfields, South Australia, from 1985-86 to 2015-16 COLIN ROGERS AND JOHN COX Abstract After arrival in Australia, most generally follow east or west coastal routes before arriving at Dry Creek Saltfields was one of the primary roost sites destinations in southern Australia, but many also for migratory Holarctic shorebirds in Gulf St Vincent, move south across the continent on a broad front South Australia, until their numbers sharply declined making short hops using ephemeral wetlands between 1992 and 2000. This decline is linked to an when conditions are suitable (Lane 1987: 31-32, Australia-wide drop in shorebird numbers arriving from Figure 2.1). Asia but was especially noticeable in south-east coastal areas during the Millennium Drought of 1997-2009 The most notable species which regularly, but not when it is probable many birds avoided the arid interior exclusively, use the trans-continental route are and became diverted to the south-west. A numerical Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva, Black-tailed examination of ten species that had regularly used Dry Godwit, Limosa limosa melanuroides, Sharp-tailed Creek Saltfields since 1985 revealed all were locally Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata, Curlew Sandpiper, declining, with no indication of a recovery after the Calidris ferruginea, Red-necked Stint, Calidris drought, and their numbers had collapsed by 2016. This ruficollis, Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia, collapse was primarily caused by changes to the saltfields and Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis (Badman environment which are an additional factor to the general and May 1983; Lane 1987: 32, Table 4), whereas drop in shorebird numbers arriving from Asia. Saltfields more maritime feeders such as Grey Plover, production ceased in 2013, after which important Pluvialis squatarola, Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus, roosting areas for shorebirds were allowed to dry out and Eastern Curlew, Numenius madagascariensis, Bar- water regimes changed, causing a loss and degradation tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica baueri, Ruddy of habitat suitable for shorebirds. Adjacent freshwater Turnstone, Arenaria interpres, Great Knot, Calidris wetlands, which were important attractions for some tenuirostris, and Red Knot, Calidris canutus, shorebirds that usually moved into the saltfields later generally follow the coastal routes (Lane 1987). during the summer, have also become severely degraded through changes in water usage, developments and other As part of a population monitoring program disturbances detrimental to shorebirds. (PMP), counts of shorebirds were undertaken over the years at many but not all coastal sites INTRODUCTION in Australia, with some understandable bias towards human population centres (Gosbell Many shorebirds that breed during the northern and Clemens 2006). In particular, there were no summer in Asia and Alaska migrate southwards PMP sites in the Gulf of Carpentaria, which was to spend the southern summer in Australia identified as one of the three primary shorebird (Battley and Rogers 2007). They travel down the sites in Australia (Lane 1987: 2-3), and the interior East-Asian Australasian Flyway (EAAF) and stop of the continent was largely unmonitored. The at many locations on the way (Conklin et al. 2014). only PMP sites shown for South Australia (SA) 2 South Australian Ornithologist 43 (1 - 2) were West Eyre Peninsula, Gulf St Vincent, The Counts using Method A were usually undertaken Coorong and the South-East Coast. annually at high tide on a designated date by several observers of varying experience. To be Gulf St Vincent, SA, was recognised to be an useful these formal counts should have been important feeding ground for shorebirds (Lane made consistently. However, it appears that 1987) and along its eastern shores the Dry Creek the regularity and frequency of counts using Saltfields (DCS) at St Kilda (34o 42’ S, 138o 30’ E) Method A was not maintained in SA for much of are located just north of Adelaide (Figure 1). the period. Harris (1994) had no counts for Gulf They were constructed in 1940, mostly east of the St Vincent for the seasons 1990-91 to 1992-93, existing mangrove belt and over the landward but had results for 1994-95 (Harris 1995), while samphire-fringed tidal pools and saltbush Skewes (2004) noted that Gulf St Vincent was not plains that were previous roosting sites for the counted in 2001-02. shorebirds that primarily feed at low tide on the extensive mudflats to the west. Since then, In addition, depending on the time of year, the DCS have acted as an alternative high-tide such counts using Method A often missed roost and were listed by Lane (1987) as one of the species that had several roosts which were not primary roost sites for Holarctic shorebirds in the necessarily visible on the date and time of a Gulf. They are part of a much larger eco-system formal count. Eastern Curlew and Black-tailed of mudflats and mangroves that extends along Godwit are prime examples of species that the coast north to Clinton Conservation Park and formed independent roosting flocks at the DCS then south down the east coast of Yorke Peninsula throughout the season but moved between to Price. Historically, shorebird monitoring has several roosts as tide heights varied during the referred to this area as Gulf St Vincent (Close and day and, depending on local conditions, used McCrie, 1986). different sites over the season. Such species were easily missed or under-counted on the The numbers of Holarctic shorebirds occurring particular day. Counts using Method B alleviated in Australia have significantly declined since the this problem by monitoring these species at early 1990s (Wilson 2000, Table 7) and possible irregular but continuous intervals over the reasons for their decline in central coastal districts season and often captured higher numbers of of SA are discussed below, but the principal some that flocked in the austral autumn shortly focus of this paper is on the decline of migratory before northward migration, whereas counts shorebirds using DCS. These saltfields ceased using Method A were usually conducted nearer production in 2013 when water regimes changed mid-Summer and consequently recorded lower along with a degradation and loss of habitat for numbers of the same species (see results below). shorebirds. In the early part of the sample period, the most METHODS notable problems with counts using Method B were the very large numbers of Red-necked Stint, Counts Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper and Counts of shorebirds were usually made by two Common Greenshank that were impossible for methods. Method A: regular and comprehensive one person to accurately count during one high- counts conducted by teams of people at high tide period and they were sometimes noted only tides as part of the PMP; and Method B: to be present in large numbers. Regular counts irregular and incomplete counts conducted by of these species are therefore
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