Western Australian Bird Notes Quarterly Newsletter of the Western Australian Branch of BirdLife Australia No. 161 March 2017 birds are in our nature Eastern Curlew, Back Beach, Karratha (see report, p31). Photo by Lou Leidwinger Female Australasian Darter, Canning River (see report, p44). Photo by Ian Wallace Great Crested Grebe near a Tiger Snake, Herdsman Lake. Photo by David Free Left: Southern Scrub-robin and below: Panoramic view of the bushfire near the Eyre Bird Observatory (see report, p48). Photos by Philip and Judy Brace Front cover: Osprey with fish, Alfred Cove. Photo by Danny McCreadie (see report, page 28) Page 2 Western Australian Bird Notes, No. 161 March 2017 Western Australian Branch of EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, 2017 BirdLife Australia Office: Peregrine House Results of the annual elections 167 Perry Lakes Drive, Floreat WA 6014 on 27 February 2017 Hours: Monday-Friday 9:30 am to 12.30 pm Telephone: (08) 9383 7749 Chair: Dr Michael Bamford E-mail: [email protected] BirdLife WA web page: www.birdlife.org.au/wa Vice Chair: vacant Chair: Mike Bamford Secretary: Dr Kathryn Napier BirdLife Western Australia is the WA Branch of the national organisation, BirdLife Australia. We are dedicated to creating a Treasurer: Frank O’Connor brighter future for Australian birds. Committee: Bruce Buchanan, Mark Henryon, Felice General meetings: Held at the Bold Park Eco Centre, Perry Morcombe, Paul Netscher, Lou Scampoli and Jennifer Lakes Drive, Floreat, commencing 7:30 Sumpton (four vacancies). 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 Print ISSN 1445-3983 Online ISSN 2206-8716 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 Notes for Contributors Mistletoebird, Baigup Wetlands (see report, p45). The Editors request contributors to note: Photo by Ian Wallace • 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 MS Word 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. Vasse River marshes 33. Crossword • except for Observations, contributions will be published revisited 30 years on 34. Notices unless the contributor is informed to the contrary. 6. Letters to the Editors • Full Editorial Policy is in WABN 74:10-12 37. New members • WABN is not peer reviewed 8. Obituary 38. Country branches 9. Observations 42. Excursion reports 12 BirdLife WA reports 47. Observatory reports Printing Deadlines (at the BirdLife WA Office) 23. Across the Nullarbor: 49. Coming events June 2017 issue: 1 May News from National Office September 2017 issue: 1 August 53. Crossword answers December 2017 issue: 1 November 24. Naming of birds 54. Calendar of events March 2018 issue: 1 February 26. Members’ contributions Western Australian Bird Notes, No. 161 March 2017 Page 3 Vasse River marshes revisited 30 years on The Vasse-Wonnerup wetlands are a hydrologically 2016. Covering most of the shallows on this day and modified system of shallow, fresh to hyper-saline three days later, our searching totalled about 18 person- wetlands draining into Geographe Bay near Busselton. hours. Water was significantly, perhaps 40–50 cm, Most of the system is within a Ramsar Site first deeper than on the corresponding date 30 years before, designated in 1990, with boundary extensions in 2000 due to a closed sand-bar at the system’s sea-mouth. Only (Government of Western Australia 1990, 2000). a few, small narrow ridges were above water and depths were typically around 120 cm in the main channel and Much of the waterbird information that supported 10-40 cm in the marshes. A water sample measured 0.4 the listing was collected by BirdLife Australia (RAOU) ppt (fresh). Small numbers of healthy trees and saplings volunteers from 1981 to 1985; the results of those 61 (Melaleuca spp.) were scattered around the centre of surveys were published in RAOU Report 30 (Jaensch et the marshes; there was a richer shrub, sedge and forb al. 1988). Additional surveys were conducted by BirdLife community than on adjoining samphire marsh grazed by volunteers and RJ cattle. Tiger snakes during 1985-87, were abundant, by Bamford and with six being Bamford (1995) in encountered in a little 1994-95, and by over two hours on 25 staff of the former November, mostly in WA Department the samphire shrubs of Conservation & we were searching. Land Management, principally AC and JL, No Australasian during 1998-2000. Bittern was seen In their report on or heard but we the latter, Lane et concluded that it al. (2007) provided could re-occur at an overview of all the site because, surveys since 1981. based on our Lane et al. (2007) collective experience, cite the only previous habitat and cover record of Australasian seemed suitable and Bittern from Vasse- sufficiently extensive. Wonnerup: a single The centre of the site bird observed by Samphire and marsh club-rush habitat, Vasse River marshes, November 2016. is over 500 m from RJ on 22 November Photo by Roger Jaensch the nearest public 1986. Given the road and is relatively bittern’s status as undisturbed. Endangered under the EPBC Act 1999 and the current Smaller strips or preparation of a Vasse-Wonnerup ‘operational plan’ by patches of samphire-sedge marsh nearby could provide the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW), JL supplementary habitat. Most of the wetland system proposed that we revisit the site of the 1986 record. is hypersaline or dry in late summer, so the species is From RJ’s original notebook the target area was identified perhaps likely to be, at most, a seasonal visitor from as marshes where the Vasse River distributes into its other parts of the south-west, for example the more- estuary, immediately east of the Ford Road alignment. permanent freshwater wetlands of the south coast These mostly-seasonal marshes include several channels (Pickering et al. 2015). Recent satellite tracking has as well as extensive areas dominated by dwarf-shrubs confirmed that Australasian Bitterns do make (perhaps of samphire Tecticornia sp. and infused with swards regular) seasonal movements, of at least 400 km, in of marsh club-rush Bolboschoenus caldwellii and other south-eastern Australia (Herring et al. 2016), so the sedges. distance would not be prohibitive. The same area and habitat had also yielded by far the Six Australian Spotted Crakes were heard in the centre majority of records of several other secretive waterbird of the marshes (water depth around 25 cm) on 22 species, notably crakes and rails, from this wetland November 2016 and, in the north (depth 10–30 cm) on system. In December 1987, RJ found eight old nests 25 November, two were flushed and another two heard— of crakes, one with more than one layer of eggshell of thus possibly a minimum of ten present. The birds were Spotless Crake, although only Australian Spotted Crakes mostly associated with dense sedge, notably a narrow- (several) were observed. A single Baillon’s Crake was stemmed introduced species Carex divisa prevalent along flushed on 30 October 1987 and Buff-banded Rail was submerged sinuous ridges, but sometimes in otherwise sometimes recorded. Furthermore, the only record of the pure samphire. This crake tends to be most often Endangered (EPBC) Australian Painted Snipe from Vasse- reported in muddy conditions, so it was noteworthy that Wonnerup—a bird caught on a fence in early February it was present and relatively widespread despite scarcity 1986 (Jaensch 1986)—was from these Vasse River of exposed mud. Muddy conditions would occur in the marshes. coming months due to summer evaporation. Thirty years from the day of the singular bittern sighting, At least four Spotless Crakes were heard, uttering their we surveyed the Vasse River marshes on 22 November diagnostic rattling calls, on 25 November in the northern Page 4 Western Australian Bird Notes, No. 161 March 2017 VASSE RIVER MARSHES REVISITED 30 YEARS ON, ctd part of the site, one in the same vicinity as an Australian Australia for inclusion on the List of Wetlands of Spotted Crake. One to three Buff-banded Rails were International Importance, Ramsar Convention. recorded each day, in drier areas near Ford Road. No Nominating document prepared by WA Department of Baillon’s Crakes were found but habitat seemed highly Conservation and Land Management, Perth. 43pp. suitable, especially the swards of club-rush and mats of Government of Western Australia (2000). Wetlands water buttons Cotula sp. The wetlands were probably too nominated by the Government of Western deeply inundated for Australian Painted Snipe during our Australia for inclusion on the List of Wetlands of November 2016 visits, but RJ assessed the narrow ridges International Importance, Ramsar Convention. as likely to provide good habitat once partly emerged. Nominating document prepared by WA Department of Four or possibly five crake nests of undeterminable Conservation and Land Management, Perth. 48pp. species were found on 22 November and another three Herring, M., Veltheim, I. and Silcocks, A. (2016). Robbie’s on 25 November.