Mornington Peninsula Birdlife Volume 6 Number 3 September 2017 Striated Fieldwren, photographed at Greens Bush by Mark Lethlean CONVENOR’S REPORT disposable cups thus reducing our waste footprint. The survey we issued to ascertain opinions for our newsletter Friends of Cranbourne Botanic Gardens are holding an event have been evaluated and the results are included as an similar to our “What Bird is That” on October 29. We will be insert in this issue. The survey result was referred to the full providing assistance at this event in the form of leaders for a committee of the branch for a resolution. morning bird walk and a speaker. Our involvement in the Greens Bush to Arthurs Seat Biolink We have formed a funding sub-committee to look at options Project has commenced with bird surveys completed on five for financial assistance for our branch activities. The properties as part of the ongoing evaluation of the Biolink committee members are John Rawlins, Liz Thomas and projects goals. The partners in this project are Port Phillip Penny Gillespie; if you have any suggestions on funding and Westernport CMA, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Parks please contact the secretary. Victoria, Bunurong Land Council, Melbourne Water and two Landcare Groups. The project will run until 2020. Max Burrows The committee has appointed Pam Hearn as Deputy Convenor to fulfil the constitutional requirements of the Contents BirdLife Australia branch committee structure. “What Bird is That” will again be held on 22 October. This event is aimed at 1. Branch news the general public, please tell your friends and neighbours 5. Habitat for wildlife and mark the date in your diary. We will need helpers on the day. 8. Outings program and reports COMMITTEE NOTES 12. Eastern Treatment Plant wetland surveys 14. Ospreys and other birds The committee is looking at providing re-useable cups for our morning tea events to facilitate the dumping of 15. Observations Branch news AGM After returning from the bird walk and a chat over a cuppa and bikkies we assembled in the theatrette for our Annual General Meeting. With thirty-five members present the meeting got underway and after the normal formalities the new committee was appointed. With Rab and Danny stepping down Liz Thomas and Diane Tomlin were duly elected to fill the vacancies. I wish to thank both Danny and Rab for their committee work over a number of years and we hope to have their company on our outings program. The appointed committee is: Convenor Max Burrows, Deputy Convenor Pam Hearn, Secretary Denis Goss and Treasurer Penny Gillespie. General Committee: Susan Clark, David Ap-Thomas, John Rawlins, Roger Richards, Diane Tomlin, Liz Thomas. Penny, Max and Denis conducting the AGM business. A talk given by Richard Loyn on conservation issues ensued, this was enthusiastically received by all and we thanked Richard for his very interesting dissertation. N.B. The position of Deputy Convenor was appointed by the committee at a subsequent meeting to align our branch with the constitutional requirements. Presidents AGM report 2017 Your committee has again worked cohesively to deliver a well-planned program that has overseen a membership increase to now over 300 and an outings program that once again exceeded 500 participants and was more than in 2015. Our annual “What Bird is That” public participation event at Richard Loyn: Informative, entertaining and very enthusiastic. The Briars was well attended and introduced people to our Photos by Danny Vits organisation and more importantly to our Peninsula bird life. The Coolart Reserve July talk was well attended with Roger Peninsula. We manned a tent exhibition and talk in the Standen as the speaker giving us an insight into the Roebuck observatory at the Science Week event at Coolart Reserve in area of Western Australia. August. The outings program included our annual Western Treatment Conservation Plant event ably led by John Barkla and the Christmas outing at Dunns Creek Winery was another highlight of our year, the Roger Richards our conservation officer has been active at outings sub-committee has again delivered an impressive Devilbend Reserve in relation to a proposal to allow non- program as indicated by an overgrowing attendance. powered boats for fishing on the reservoir, we are strongly opposing this initiative as this reservoir is a Key Biodiversity We are now in an environment of having to fund our Area (KBA) previously designated an Important Bird Area activities and to this end John Rawlins has been most active (IBA) for the protection of Blue-billed Ducks, we await the in eliciting funds from diverse organisations across the decision. Elgee Park monitoring project was completed and peninsula and we thank him for this effort. the owners were presented with the report at a function on the property, follow up monitoring will take place. We Our flagship Mornington Peninsula Birdlife newsletter continue to monitor Tootgarook Wetlands, Balcombe Estuary continues to receive accolades from its readership and once and Sunshine Reserve. A new project is being discussed it more we thank Val Ford for her dedicated editorship. We will involves monitoring properties in the Greens Bush to Arthurs be having further discussions regarding the newsletters Seat Biolink Project. future. A number of our members received Life Membership of BirdLife Australia this year and we say congratulations to General Comments them. We lost some very admired members this year in June I would commend all of our dedicated committee members Elmer, Ian Dowling and Peggy Mitchell we are indeed for their contribution this year to the success of the branch. indebted to them. Two of our committee are not standing this year Danny Vits and Rab Siddhi and we owe them a vote Education of gratitude for their dedication, well done! Pam Hearn and Susan Clark our education officers have been Thank you to all our committee and those off committee active with many primary school talks and talks to other people who keep our branch afloat. We have some organisations. We again participated in the State Schools challenges ahead for the new committee. Environment Week at The Briars delivering talks and exercises to school children from across the Mornington Max Burrows 2 Mornington Peninsula Birdlife Branch news MEMBER PROFILE Dennis Gosper Lives at Balnarring How I started birding My interest in birds began in primary school, probably influenced by growing up in the 1950s on a dairy farm on the floodplain of the Clarence River (Northern NSW) with its extensive wetlands, and at school, the Nature Study radio broadcasts by Crosbie Morrison and Gould League activities. Its annual journal, Gould League Notes, contained articles by such ornithologists as P A Bourke, K A Hindwood and M S R Sharland which I avidly consumed. There were also writing competitions such as ‘The Most useful Bird in my District’ which my teacher encouraged me to enter, no doubt viewing Dennis at Waterberg Plateau, Namibia 2016. Photo by Carl Gosper this as an excellent vehicle for development of my literacy skills! My parents gave me a copy of ‘What Bird is That?’ and later a pair of 7 x 35 binoculars, before guiding me to join Range, Cape York over Christmas-New Year in 1979, for the the Clarence Valley Field Naturalists’ Club. sheer number of new species. By mid-high school I had joined the Bird Observers Club and Watching grass finches, particularly Gouldians, Long-tails RAOU (later Birds Australia) and the Australian Bird Study and Pictorellas in the Kimberley is something one never tires Association. During my working life, spent mostly in rural of, especially given their past history of trapping. northern NSW, birding focussed on projects that could be undertaken outside work, mostly systematic surveys carried Since retirement, the opportunity to travel overseas has led out on weekend mornings, or breeding biology studies in the to some stunning experiences. South America is definitely hours before and after work …… such is the lot of the the ‘birdiest’ continent and quite overwhelming if one amateur ornithologist! chooses the likes of Brazil as one’s first destination …… 20+ new families and easily 450+ new species in three weeks! If Once our children were school age we started taking holidays I could make a return to visit just one place I’d nominate the to more out-of-the way places. The annual Gould League Bird Pantanal. However, for the ultimate wildlife experience it is Study Camps provided great experiences, usually camping, hard to go past Kenya for its combination of bird and or accommodated in shearers’ quarters, on properties in mammal viewing. remote locations mostly in western NSW. Birding ambitions Favourite birding spots on the Peninsula I treat every chance to be in the field as an opportunity to As a recent ‘blow in’ there are many parts of the Peninsula I conduct a survey which in turn is entered into BirdLife have yet to explore. Close to home, Balbirooroo wetlands are Australia’s Birdata Atlas. This is a simple on-line process by always worth a look, being a reliable site for Freckled Duck in which one’s recreational birding serves a useful purpose by recent years. Also regularly surveyed are Buckley Nature adding to the accumulated data on Australian birds. In Reserve, and Woods and Gordon Rolfe Bushland Reserves. addition to continuing the long-term surveying of local sites, Other favourite birding spots my wife Sue and I hope there are many years of exploring Australia ahead of us (and many Atlas surveys to enjoy!). Most are in the tropics or subtropics, many near our other home in northern NSW. These include the rainforests of the When starting to travel overseas I thought a possible goal Border Ranges and Richmond Range NPs and the dry might be to try to see representatives from all the bird sclerophyll forest of south of Casino.