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Western Australian Bird Notes Quarterly Newsletter of the Western Australian Branch of BirdLife Australia No. 155 September 2015 birds are in our nature Hooded Plover, Mylies Beach, west of Hopetoun, Fitzgerald River National Park (see p18). Photo by John Tucker Brown Quail, Bold Park (see p11). Photo by Paul Sellers See Faure Island report, p4. Figure 2 shows a fluctuation over the six surveys in the abundance of significant species in this suite of birds. Compared with 2013, in 2014 there were more Lesser Sand Plovers (682 in 2014, 676 in 2013) and Grey-tailed Tattlers (251, 237) Front cover: South Polar Skua seen off Albany (see report, p11). Photo by Plaxy Barrett Page 2 Western Australian Bird Notes, No. 155 September 2015 Western Australian Branch of EXECUTIVE Committee BirdLife Australia Office: Peregrine House Chair: Mike Bamford 167 Perry Lakes Drive, Floreat WA 6014 Co Vice Chairs: Sue Mather and Nic Dunlop Hours: Monday-Friday 9:30 am to 12.30 pm Telephone: (08) 9383 7749 Secretary: Kathryn Napier E-mail: [email protected] Treasurer: Frank O’Connor BirdLife WA web page: www.birdlife.org.au/wa Chair: Mike Bamford Committee: Mark Henryon, Paul Netscher, Sandra Wallace and Graham Wooller (three vacancies). BirdLife Western Australia is the WA Branch of the national organisation, BirdLife Australia. We are dedicated to creating a brighter future for Australian birds. General meetings: Held at the Bold Park Eco Centre, Perry Lakes Drive, Floreat, commencing 7:30 pm on the 4th Monday of the month (except December) – see ‘Coming events’ for details. Executive meetings: Held at Peregrine House on the 2nd Monday of the month. Communicate any matters for consideration to the Chair. Western Australian Bird Notes ISSN 1445-3983 Joint WABN Editors: Allan Burbidge Tel: (08) 9405 5109 (w) Tel/Fax: (08) 9306 1642 (h) Fax: (08) 9306 1641 (w) E-mail: [email protected] Suzanne Mather Tel: (08) 9389 6416 E-mail: [email protected] Production: Margaret Philippson Printing and distribution: Daniels Printing Craftsmen Tel: (08) 9204 6800 danielspc.com.au Freckled Duck stretching its wings, taken at a time (4:00 pm) when the Freckled Ducks were more active than usual, Herdsman Lake. Photo by Ian Wallace Notes for Contributors The Editors request contributors to note: • WABN publishes material of interest to the WA Branch; • contributions should be written or typed with double spacing—a copy on disk or emailed would assist, especially if in MSWord as a document without styles; do not embed pictures or graphics in MS Word; • contributions to be sent direct to the Editors, either at the office or by email: Sue Mather: [email protected] C o n t e n t s Allan Burbidge: [email protected] • WABN uses BirdLife Australia recommended English names; 4. Monitoring bird 28. Crossword • except for Observations, contributions will be published populations on Faure Is. 29. Notices unless the contributor is informed to the contrary. 10. Obituary 32. New members • Full Editorial Policy is in WABN 74:10-12 • WABN is not peer reviewed 10. Letters to the Editors 33. Country branches 11. Observations 36. Excursion reports 14 BirdLife WA reports 39. Observatory report Printing Deadlines (at the BirdLife WA Office) 15. BWA member survey 41. Coming events December 2015 issue: 1 November 45. Crossword answers March 2016 issue: 1 February 17. BWA projects June 2016 issue: 1 May 22. Naming of birds 46. Calendar of events September 2016 issue: 1 August 23. Members’ contributions Western Australian Bird Notes, No. 155 September 2015 Page 3 MONITORING BIRD POPULATIONS ON FAURE ISLAND, OCTOBER 2014 INTRODUCTION Birds Australia Western Australia (BAWA) as BWA then was, first surveyed the Faure bird population in 2008, followed by 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Collaboration with like-minded conservation organisations A summary of previous surveys and incidental reports has been an integral objective of the BirdLife Western indicated that the avifauna was poorly known and that Australia Branch (BWA) for a number of years. The there were no published reports on the landbirds (Dell & annual survey of Faure Island, a collaborative exercise Cherriman 2008). Ninety-seven bird species are known with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), is from the island but as the annotated list resulting from a good example of this (Mather 2010, 2011). Faure this summary indicates, the records did not provide any Island is listed internationally by BirdLife International population data for the species that BWA has recorded and BirdLife Australia as an Important Bird Area (IBA). consistently in the six, September to November, surveys Faure Island, east of Point Peron in Shark Bay, was since 2008. leased to AWC in 1999 with the aim of contributing The aims of these annual surveys were to survey both to conservation of Australia’s biodiversity through the shorebirds and terrestrial species on the island, establishing viable populations of threatened mammals gathering abundance and species presence data. The and initiating research to increase the effectiveness of data gathered is providing feedback to AWC, assisting in threatened species management in arid Australia. The their management of the island. These data were also AWC lease does not include the intertidal habitat of the submitted to the BirdLife Australia national databases, majority of the bird species, significantly the habitat of Shorebirds 2020 and BA the threatened species Atlas. recorded. However, the Fig. 1: Faure Island with important foraging sites within and management of the adjacent to the mangroves which are shown as shaded areas. terrestrial environment Birridas are shown in stippled areas. could be having a METHODS positive impact on this habitat. Study area A pastoral lease since 1873, initially for The 5816ha Faure pearling interests and Island is within the then for angora goats Shark Bay Heritage and sheep, stocking Property, is surrounded rates were well beyond by the Shark Bay capacity at 2700 sheep Marine Park and is 26 in 1974. Unfortunately, metres above sea level due to this grazing at its highest point. history, 21 weed Intertidal mudflats species have invaded surround the island the island, the most and it is those to the significant being Buffel north, north-west and Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) north-east that are and African Boxthorn significant foraging (Lycium ferocissimum). sites for shorebirds. When AWC took over Mangals follow the the lease, the island creek lines in these was de-stocked and areas (Fig. 1). This area 40 or so feral cats supports a very rich were eradicated by burrowing invertebrate researchers from the fauna, especially small Department of Parks polychaetes and bivalve and Wildlife (Algar molluscs (Slack-Smith et al. 2010). AWC 1990). have translocated and established several Survey methods small to medium sized native mammals that Roost sites of fossil records showed shorebirds known from once existed on the previous work were island. searched by participants working in pairs from Responding to an 6-10 October 2014. invitation from AWC, Previous experience Page 4 Western Australian Bird Notes, No. 155 September 2015 MONITORING BIRD POPULATIONS ON FAURE ISLAND, OCTOBER 2014, ctd suggested that the birds congregated to roost on either Species richness the north-west or north-east side of the island, flocking to the roosts from the extensive mud flats off shore. Fifty-six species were recorded during this survey, including 36 shorebird species of which 17 were trans- All shorebirds were identified and counted. The shoreline equatorial migratory species. This is fewer than in 2013 was accessed through existing tracks and the starting (45 and 21). We recorded two species, Common Tern and point of each survey was recorded. Each team was Orange Chat, which had not previously been recorded on equipped with telescopes, binoculars, radios and GPS. the island. Our record of Banded Lapwing was the first The use of radios and two since 2005. vehicles made it easier to co- Species richness in the AWC 2ha ordinate participants and to make vegetation plots was greatest at the most efficient use of the the Date Palm site (8) but this limited time. would be skewed by the presence For landbirds, we used the BA of water at the tank and by one Atlas method of a 2ha 20 minute of the few eucalypts left on the search, recording presence, island. Species richness at the abundance and breeding remaining sites ranged from zero evidence. Incidental sightings, (four sites) to five (one site) outside the survey areas, were (Appendix II). also recorded both for presence and abundance. The surveys Breeding were done at 2 ha sites already Fairy Terns were noted breeding established by AWC to monitor with estimated 20-25 nests, 63 flora and fauna on the island. Faure Island East Creek (see also pp2, 47). birds and one only juvenile. Red- capped Plovers also had runners. The taxonomic order and Photo by Sue Mather The Singing Honeyeater was nomenclature of Christidis and recorded as breeding. Boles (2008) was used for all bird records. Breeding was recorded for both shorebirds and landbirds. DISCUssion BWA’s 2014 survey has again shown the importance RESUlts of this site for shorebirds, particularly trans-equatorial species that migrate from their breeding habitat in the The overall estimate of the number of birds on the Arctic tundra to this area of the southern hemisphere island was 12 244. Estimates of the birds recorded for the Austral summer. The data again confirmed the outside the survey areas were dependent on the areas island’s listing as an IBA. travelled through so the figure of 12 244 is probably an The difference in the shorebird abundance results over underestimate. For example, Tree Martins and Zebra the six surveys could be attributed to the differing census Finches range all over the island yet were only counted at dates, the population fluctuations of each species and 2ha survey sites and incidentally.
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