Bird Guide for the Great Western Woodlands Male Gilbert’s Whistler: Chris Tzaros Whistler: Male Gilbert’s Western Australia PART 1. GWW NORTHERN Southern Cross Kalgoorlie Widgiemooltha birds are in our nature ® Australia AUSTRALIA Introduction The birds and places of the north-west region of the Great Western Woodlands are presented in this booklet. This area includes tall woodlands on red soils, shrublands on yellow sand plains and mallee on sand and loam soils. Landforms include large granite outcrops, Banded Ironstone Formation (BIF) Ranges, extensive natural salt lakes and a few freshwater lakes. The Great Western Woodlands At 16 million hectares, the Great Western Woodlands (GWW) is close to three quarters the size of Victoria and is the largest remaining intact area of temperate woodland in the world. It is located between the Western Australian Wheatbelt and the Nullarbor Plain. BirdLife Australia and The Nature Conservancy joined forces in 2012 to establish a long-term project to study the birds of this unique region and to determine how we can best conserve the woodland birds that occur here. Kalgoorlie 1 Groups of volunteers carry out bird surveys each year in spring and autumn to find out the species present, their abundance and to observe their behaviour. If you would like to know more visit http://www.birdlife.org.au/projects/great-western-woodlands If you would like to participate as a volunteer contact [email protected]. All levels of experience are welcome. The following six pages present 48 bird species that typically occur in four different habitats of the north-west region of the GWW, although they are not restricted to these. Eight areas to visit are then described including some of the birds that often frequent or live in these places. At least 215 bird species have been recorded in the Great Western Woodlands, with 181 of those recorded during surveys from 2012 to 2014. Map: Sites to visit in the north-west region of the Great Western Woodlands. KEY 1. Karlkurla Bushland Park 2. Rowles Lagoon 3. Karalee Rock 4. Jaurdi 5. Helena and Aurora Range 6. Cave Hill & Victoria Rock 7. Lake Douglas 8. Elachbutting and Beringbooding Rocks BIRDS OF THE WOODLAND Striated Pardalote Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Weebill Yellow-plumed Honeyeater Grey Butcherbird Purple-crowned Lorikeet Australian Ringneck Rufous Treecreeper WOODLAND BIRDS continued White-fronted Honeyeater White-eared Honeyeater Female Male Crested Bellbird Red-capped Robin Grey Shrike-thrush White-browed Babbler Chestnut Quail-thrush Chestnut-rumped Thornbill BIRDS OF THE TOWNS Singing Honeyeater Red Wattlebird Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Yellow-throated Miner Pied Butcherbird Australian Magpie Australian Raven Willie Wagtail BIRDS OF THE SKY Tree Martin Welcome Swallow Wedge-tailed Eagle Black-faced Woodswallow Rainbow Bee-eater Dusky Woodswallow Nankeen Kestrel Brown Falcon BIRDS OF FRESHWATER LAKES Australian Wood Duck Australian Shelduck Grey Teal Pacific Black Duck Eurasian Coot White-fronted Chat Black Swan Hoary-headed Grebe OTHER GREAT WESTERN WOODLANDS BIRDS Magpie-lark Galah Common Yellow-rumped Bronzewing Thornbill Crested Pigeon Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Emu Grey Currawong KARLKURLA BUSHLAND PARK A Class Reserve Karlkurla (pronounced gull-gurl-la) is the Aboriginal name for the Silky Pear, Marsdenia australis, a creeper with woody pear-shaped fruits. Karlkurla Bushland Park is a 200ha woodland site of natural bush on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie. The vegetation of the park has regenerated after the tree-felling activities in the early 1900s that supported the wood fired steam engines, underground gold mines and formation of the woodlines (narrow gauge railway lines). Kalgoorlie-Boulder Urban Landcare Group (KBULG) manages the park for the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. The park showcases the goldfields woodland using a network of meandering walk trails (4km in length), complete with interpretive signage and lookout. All three fairy-wren species have been recorded in and around Karlkurla Bushland Park (Blue-breasted, White-winged and Splendid Fairy-wrens). The Mistletoebird is a regular visitor to the park. Karlkurla Bushland Park is on the northern edge of Kalgoorlie, five minutes from the Central Business District. It is open all year round, with access from Mistletoebird the car park at the end of Nankiville Road. There are toilets and seating available. The Goldfields Naturalists’ Club regularly conduct bird surveys at Karlkurla Bushland Park. Karlkurla Bushland Park ROWLES LAGOON Conservation Park After substantial rainfall Rowles Lagoon transforms into a freshwater wetland attracting a wide range of waterbirds. It is a geological oddity being a semi- permanent freshwater lake perched on top of a saline Yellow-billed water table – but it is this Spoonbill fresh water that draws the feathered visitors to Rowles Lagoon and makes it a breeding ground for nomadic waterbirds. Thousands of waterbirds can occur here and in the neighbouring lagoons at one time, including Grey Teal, Pink-eared Duck, Blue-billed Duck, Freckled Duck (Australia’s rarest waterfowl), Yellow-billed Spoonbill and four heron species. The surrounding vegetation includes eucalypt woodlands that support the Rufous Treecreeper, while the sheoak woodlands of Casuarina pauper (Black Oak), to the south, support the White-browed Treecreeper. Rowles Lagoon is located 73km north of Coolgardie and can be accessed via the Coolgardie North Road (a gravel road). Access from Kalgoorlie is via Goldfields Highway. Rowles Freckled Lagoon has barbecue, picnic Duck and camping facilities. The site is 2WD access on a gravel road. Rowles Lagoon in June 2014 KARALEE ROCK AND BOONDI ROCK Karalee Rock and Boondi Rock are both large granite outcrops. Dams were built on these granite rocks in the late 1800s to provide water for steam trains. Both rocks provide places to walk and admire the expansive views and space of the Great Western Woodlands. Granite outcrops are always wonderful places for birds, especially honeyeaters when plants are in flower, and species to be found here include the Yellow-plumed, Brown, Spiny-cheeked and White- eared Honeyeaters. In summer, birds can be seen coming in to drink at the dam water, with honeyeaters and seed-eaters such as the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo and Common Bronzewing commonly seen in the area at this time. Both Karalee Rock and Boondi Rock are located on the north side of the Great Eastern Highway with Karalee Rock 52km east of Southern Cross (approximately 5km north of the highway) and Boondi Rock 72km east of Southern Cross (3km north of the Highway). Boondi Rock is within the Goldfields Woodlands National Park. Free camping facilities are provided at Karalee Rock and Boondi Rock. At Karalee Rock there are toilets and barbecue pits. At Boondi Rock there is a ring track with camping bays and a toilet. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos predominantly occur in the north-west corner of the GWW, north of the Great Eastern Highway. They are stunning birds with conspicuous red and yellow banding in their raised crest. Major Mitchell's Cockatoos JAURDI STATION Proposed Conservation Reserve Jaurdi, an ex-pastoral station, demonstrates the diversity of land uses in the Great Western Woodlands. In the past, Jaurdi Station has provided grazing land for livestock, sites for several small gold mines, a source of cut timber to fuel steam engines and an area for sustainable sandalwood harvesting. More recently it has been the focus of exploration for iron ore and nickel. Despite these activities, Jaurdi remains largely uncleared with intact eucalypt woodland, breakaways and low Banded Ironstone Formation (BIF) ranges. Jaurdi supports at least 105 bird species. The expected range of nectar feeders (Purple-crowned Lorikeet and 10 honeyeater species), insect feeders and seed eaters can be found at Juardi. Occasionally, uncommon species have been seen, such as the Scarlet-chested Brown Parrot, Black Honeyeater Honeyeater and Crested Shrike-tit. Situated 178km west of Kalgoorlie, the main public access to Jaurdi Station is via Ryans Find Road heading north of the Great Eastern Highway just east of Boorabbin Rock (approximately halfway between Yellowdine and Coolgardie). Camping at the old homestead site can be arranged through the Department of Parks and Wildlife Goldfields Office in Kalgoorlie. White-winged Fairy-wrens are found mainly in the northern area of the GWW, such as at Credo Station and Karlkurla Bushland Park. Male White-winged Fairy-wren Female White-winged Fairy-wren HELENA AND AURORA RANGE (BUNGALBIN) Conservation Park The rugged Helena and Aurora Range (also known as Bungalbin) is a spectacular Banded Ironstone Formation (BIF) range in the northern Great Western Woodlands. The steep slopes with their orange- Peregrine red iron-laden rocks and Falcon tall White Gums make for a stunning landscape, a wild contrast to the otherwise more sedate granite outcrops in the woodlands. The ironstone formations are culturally and ecologically important, and home to several endemic flora species. Peregrine Falcons and Little Woodswallows nest on the rock faces, and Chestnut Quail-thrush and Gilbert’s Whistler can be seen in the adjacent woodlands. Located 100km north-east of Southern Cross, the Helena and Aurora Range is mainly accessed from Southern Cross via Koolyanobbing and then the Mt Dimer Track. Access to Helena and Aurora Range is 4WD for the last 50km and crosses several haul roads. Under wet conditions, can be difficult to traverse. Camping is allowed, though no facilities Little are provided. Woodswallow Outcrops and small caves on Helena and Aurora Range CAVE HILL Conservation Park AND VICTORIA ROCK Nature Reserve Cave Hill is a spectacular and distinctive granite outcrop with a wave rock formation, large cave and several man-made dams. Victoria Rock is just as large, though not as high, with many boulders and considerable vegetation. Malleefowl occur in the area and Western Rosellas have been seen at both granite rocks. A total of 14 honeyeater species feed on flowering plants on the granite including the Purple-gaped Honeyeater.