Vol.3 No.3 - BirdLife Northern Queensland?

Contact Call
Newsletter of Birdlife Northern Queensland
Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife
Northern
Queensland
Upcoming
Events:
Annual crane
Count
Mungalla Station
weekend with
Townsville group
Bird Week/
Birding in
Backyards
Birding for
beginners
morning at
Mission Beach
Pied Heron photo courtesy of Giselle Grabau. Giselle is in Grade 5 at Freshwater State
School. She entered this photo in the Cairns Show and was awarded a "Highly
Commended". Well done Giselle!
Annual PIP count
Contents
1.
From the Convenor’s travels
8.
Recent literature about birds in north QLD
2. Congratulations to Graham Harrington –
BirdLife Distinguished Service Award
9.
Calls for assistance
3. Port Douglas Big Weekend in June
10. Local artist helps inspire us all
4. A night with the Night Parrot
11. Great Aussie Backyard Bird Count
5. Northern Cape York History (….and a bit
about Indigenous “birding culture”)
12. Gardening for birds
6. Pied Imperial-pigeon foraging habitat – an
unsolved puzzle
13. Staying in touch
7. Pied Imperial-pigeon counts at new sites in
2013
14. Noticeboard and outings
birds are in our nature
Birdlife Northern Queensland
From the Convenor's
travels
Imperial Pigeons along our coastline during the
month of November.
I've just returned from a fabulous trip to England,
during which I had the opportunity to visit a
number of birding reserves in Yorkshire, “God's own
county”. Each was awash with breeding seabirds,
waterfowl and waders, along with appreciative
members of the public, both birders and non-birders
alike. But what struck me most is that each was
run by a private, non-government organisation –
with funding and resources provided mostly by
private individuals and businesses. With not much
reliance upon government. It just shows that if you
can build up your membership and supporters to
over 1 million individuals, then you can wrestle back
some of the initiative from our governments! All
the more reason to get behind our BirdLife's drive
to increase our membership and supporter base.
Happy birding, Kath Shurcliff
Hope to see you at one of our activities over the
coming months!
A wall full of Puffins at Inner Farne Island, a UK National Trust
reserve in northern England. Image by Kath Shurcliff.
Two of our BirdLife Northern Queensland members
have recently been recognised for their long-term
efforts and achievements to build our understanding
of birds and their habitats. Graham Harrington
received a BirdLife Distinguished Service Award at
the recent BirdLife AGM meeting, for his work on
Important Bird Areas (see article in this newsletter
issue). And he is still at it, as he is leading another
grasswren survey in August, to sort out details
about the apparent distribution gap between
Kalkadoon Grasswrens near Mt Isa, and Dusky
Grasswrens in the Northern Territory.
Lloyd Nielsen has just won the prestigious John
Hobbs Memorial Medal for a life time of outstanding
studies by an amateur ornithologist. He will be
presented with his medal at our BirdLife Northern
Queensland meeting on 1st November – so please
mark that occasion in your calendar so that you can
help us congratulate Lloyd in style.
There is again a full calendar of activities organised
for the rest of the year, including Australia's first
national bird survey during 20-26 October, known
as the Aussie Backyard Bird Count (more details
available at www.aussiebirdcount.org.au). There is
also another joint outing with Townsville BirdLife
during the October long weekend – this time at
Mungalla Station near Ingham, which promises to
be very successful, both on a birding and social
front. We also invite you to help count Pied
2
Your Northern Queensland Committee
Convenor - Kath Shurcliff
Deputy Convenor – Martin Willis
Secretary - Murray Hunt
Treasurer - Ian Northcott
Activities Coordinator - Doug Herrington
IBA Coordinator - Graham Harrington
Birdlists and Brochures - Dominic Chaplin
Conservation Coordinator – Peter Valentine
Crane Count Coordinator - Virginia Simmonds
Outreach/Media Officer – Sam Willis
Website Management - Mikey Kudo
Newsletter Editor - Ceri Pearce
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Congratulations to
Graham Harrington –
BirdLife Distinguished
Service Award
BirdLife Australia has continued the tradition started
by BOCA, for awarding members who have given
outstanding service to our organisation with a
Distinguished Service Award. These awards are
only considered for a member who has consistently
given of their time and expertise over the last 10
years, to achieve success in an important initiative.
This year we are pleased to announce that Graham
Harrington, a founding member of our Northern
Queensland group, has been presented with this
well-deserved gong at the recent BirdLife Australia
AGM in Melbourne. As some of you will know,
Graham was the first Convenor for the RAOU North
Queensland branch back in 1994. He has also been
a Board Director and the national President of RAOU
in the past.
I'd like to take us back to the beginning and quote
from Graham himself, after that first inaugural
meeting – He was buoyed by “the enthusiasm to
participate in the projects which were suggested
and discussed for the future. These offer the
opportunity to put the records in our notebooks to a
productive use and to direct at least some of our
birding activities towards improving the knowledge
and management of birds in our region.”
Well, twenty years later it has been Graham that
has successfully harnessed that enthusiasm to turn
this promise into reality, and it’s for these efforts
that Graham received this latest award.
His achievements are summed up in the nomination
for the award:
“As Important Birds Area (IBA) Coordinator on the
Northern Queensland committee, Graham has
initiated monitoring programs for the critical IBAs
which support the Carpentarian Grasswren, as well
as the Wet Tropics and Atherton Tablelands. He
developed survey methodology, organised and
trained our members to participate, led the field
work and even gained outside funding. He then
also ensured that the data collected was published
in both scientific journals and more generalist
magazines. He is the person responsible for
ensuring that we know what is happening with
critical species in our north Queensland IBAs. And
ensures that our members are engaged in finding
out, are well informed, and have fun at the same
time!”
On behalf of all our members, I would like to say a
very heartfelt “thank you” to Graham, and wish him
our congratulations for this well-earned award and
recognition!! Well done, Graham, and thank you!
Kath Shurcliff
Birding for Beginners
If you are interested in learning how to look for
and identify birds, then this FREE beginners
workshop is for you.
The beginners workshop will be at Lacey Creek
Picnic Area, Mission Beach at 8.00am on the 15th
November. Bring binoculars if you have them, or
let us know if you need to borrow binoculars.
The President of Birdlife Australia, Gerald Early, presenting
the Distinguished Service Award to Graham Harrington.
3
Please register with Ceri Pearce, Phone
0488131581 or email [email protected]
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Port Douglas Big
Weekend in June
The Birdlife NQ Port Douglas Big Weekend began on
Saturday, 7th June. Heading out from Port Douglas
in the dark and the drizzle for a 6.30 am departure
from Daintree Village, Ceri and I were filled with
anticipation of another great river trip hosted by our
own Daintree Boatman, Murray Hunt. As the sky
began to lighten we could not help but notice the
ominous black clouds overhead. Grabbing the
binoculars and raincoats, we waited whilst Murray
made the boat ready. Looking around we saw very
few familiar faces and wondered whether we were
the only passengers. When we were invited to
board, other people around the boat-ramp stepped
forward and we found ourselves in the company of
some new faces, all wearing wet weather gear and
holding cameras wrapped in plastic bags.
watching us and laughing. We finished the
afternoon at the fish farm near Wonga Beach where
the Black-winged Stilt and Radjah Shelduck were
numerous.
We came together again in the late afternoon at the
Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas. Taking advantage
of the free entry for members attending the evening
get-together, we arrived in time to see a new
exhibit with White-browed Woodswallows flying
around our heads and Gouldian Finches perched on
the branches. A good crowd had gathered with
many new faces. Murray had prepared an
interesting bird quiz to test our knowledge of some
little-known facts (e.g. What is a Monkey Duck?)
and handed out chocolates for every correct
answer.
Setting off, Murray showed us how high the river
had risen in Cyclone Ita. Debris could be seen high
in the trees. Thinking that the current bad weather
was heading away from the coast, we set off
downstream. As we approached the first bend, a
snowstorm of egrets took off from the starboard
bank flying in front and overhead--an amazing
spectacle.
Thanks to Murray's knowledge of the river and
many keen eyes on the lookout, including Doug’s
who had assumed the position of the boats
figurehead, we saw many good birds that morning.
A highlight for me was seeing an Azure Kingfisher
and a female Shining Flycatcher on the same low
branch, close to the boat. A true Kodak moment, if
only I had taken my camera. In addition to the
expected numerous water birds, we had good views
of many smaller birds. It was hard to tear ourselves
away. An added bonus was that we never did get
wet.
After breakfast in Daintree Village, a small group of
us headed off to make the best of a wet day, and
were incredibly lucky in managing to miss the rain
whenever we stopped. We headed away from the
coast and set off along Bamboo Creek Road, finding
a good number of birds wherever we stopped. Then
we moved to Newell Beach where we were unable
to locate the Beach Stone-curlews despite following
their tracks in the sand. I expect they were
4
You get a gold star if you know that ‘monkey duck’ is a
common name for Freckled Duck. Image courtesy of Dick
Daniels http://carolinabirds.org/
The staff of the Wildlife Habitat were celebrating
their 25th anniversary. Manager Clare Anderson
explained how things had changed and developed
over the years. They now run successful Blacknecked Stork and Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo breeding
programs, care for over 300 sick or injured animals
per year and facilitate behind the scenes scientific
work. A semi-tame Quoll was brought in to delight
us, as well as an Amethystine Python.
The evening culminated with an interesting talk by
Del Richards about the history of birding in FNQ. He
told us about birders who were soldiers stationed on
the Tablelands during the war and their exploits,
and about his work many years ago with Lloyd
Nielsen and the discovery of a Pacific Swallow.
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
The weather on Sunday was very wet and windy.
With the Cook Highway to the south closed for the
entire day due to an Ironman Race, Ceri and I
decided to set off first thing to find birds on the
drier Tablelands. How wrong can one be? It rained
all the way home to Innisfail, even in Biboohra and
Mareeba! We made the best of the situation by
buying lunch and eating it in the shelter of the hide
at Hasties Swamp, where there was little to be
seen.
All in all, a fantastic weekend, despite the road
closures and the weather.
Sandra Christensen
Birds are in our nature
A night with the Night
Parrot.
We all watch birds. John Young lives birds. His
success with the rediscovery of the Night Parrot in
Western Queensland last year shows his proven
genius, whose perception, determination along with
background knowledge is beyond that of any
investigative ornithologist working in Australia
today.
John's presentation in Cairns on 5th July afforded
the ninety plus BNQ members and locals the
opportunity to hear of his difficulties over the many
years spent in the 'process of elimination' between
fact and folklore of this mystery bird.
Over almost a decade he travelled fourteen
thousand kilometres by Quad Bike investigating
fence lines for feathers, caves and likely 'old growth
Spinifex' habitat. He travelled to both locations
where dead specimens had been found in the last
twenty years to try and gain insight into the
circumstances of their presence.
In the locale where he photographed the bird there
was a single waterhole, the only one within ten
kilometres. Sixty-three bird species visited here
over many months, however with set cameras John
was able to conclude that the nearby Night Parrots
didn't need to drink at all.
After watching John's vision and photographs, he
opened the floor and an interesting and frank
discussion ensued. He also gave insight into the
dilemma that he faced with future secrecy
Peter Valentine chaired the evening and John made
special reference to the support tendered by his
wife Lindy and partners Tom and Katherine Biggs.
Without them the success with the Night Parrot
would not have filled us with pride that a “local”
could achieve so much.
Del. Richards, Mossman, NQ.
5
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Northern Cape York
History (….and a bit
about Indigenous
“birding culture”).
This area has a unique collection of Indigenous
peoples due to various conflicts and political
interventions. Until recent times of contact, the
Injinoo Aboriginal people were a semi-nomadic
group of many dialects subsisting by hunting and
collecting off land and sea. Crops were also
cultivated making them an unusually partially
agrarian culture in Aboriginal Australia. There was
interaction and trade with nearby Torres Strait
Islanders. They, like the Islanders, were sea-faring
to some degree.
Although there was contact with the Dutch in 1606
and James Cook (Possession Island landing 1770),
it was not until the Kennedy trek (1848) and the
arrival and establishment of the Jardine family at
Somerset (1864-5) and then the laying of the
Overland Telegraph Line (1880s) that major
impacts ensued. Introduced diseases, kidnappings
and shootings brought the population from an
estimated 3000 down to 300 in the early 1900s
according to government estimates of the day.
Children were “stolen” from before WWI. At this
time the remnant tribes collected at Cowal Creek to
establish a community which exists today. These
are the traditional owners.
From the late 1940s Saibai Islanders moved to the
mainland as a result of flooding of their water
supply. They established “Islander” communities at
Bamaga and Seisia which have been swelled by
people from other Torres Strait islands over the
years.
The 1960s saw forced removals of entire Aboriginal
communties from elsewhere in the Cape and
creation of 2 new local communties: Lockhart River
(adjacent to Iron range) was moved to Umagico
and Mapoon (north of Weipa) moved to New
Mapoon.
The two Australian indigenous groups are
supplemented by people from PNG and other Pacific
Islands.
6
“Avaadi” Australian Brush-turkey (Cape York race). Image
courtesy of Ian Montgomery Birdway.com.au
Pacific Islanders from various countries have been
prominent in the Torres Strait since the late 1800s
due to the pearl shell boom. They tended to
own/run the luggers and the local Torres Strait
Islanders and Aboriginals were their crew. There is
still much movement between all these land- and
island-based people. Having both indigenous groups
in the same general community makes this a unique
township for Australia.
There are language names for some of local birds in
use by the Injinoo people; often those that were
hunted for food previously: e.g. “Manmatha” (Pied
imperial pigeon), “Itanggaw” (Orange footed scrub
fowl), “Avaadi” (Brush turkey), and “Uwuyn”
(Australian bustard). These are hunted less today
but some duck shooting does occur. Luckily in the
dry most of the ducks sit at one of the 3 sewage
farms and this appears to obviate the desire to eat
them given their food source and its origins. Small
boys often “slingshoot” and eat Rainbow lorikeets
and possibly other birds.
On the other hand, sick and dead birds are often
brought to me for repair or identification. It is not
unusual to find one on my desk or even my
doorstep in the mornings. Some people make a
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
“Itanggaw”
Orange-footed
Scrubfowl.
Image courtesy
of Ian
Montgomery.
Birdway.com.au
Pied Imperial-pigeon
foraging habitat – an
unsolved puzzle
Monitoring of Pied Imperial-pigeons (PIPs) in the
Mission Beach area began on the recommendation
of Dr John Winter, with the first counts organised in
2007 by Jo Wieneke. The project was supported
initially by BA and BOCA and now by Birdlife
Northern Queensland and Birdlife Townsville.
form of traditional headband from particularly
colourful feathers if found dead e.g. Buff-breasted
Paradise Kingfisher.
There are also language names from various island
dialects transported to the mainland for some birds
found both on Torres Strait islands and also locally.
Local folk find bird-watching only a bit odd and are
tolerant of it. The rangers like to talk about what
they see and what they know; often eager to pass
on “hot tips” of new arrivals or locations. Having a
guide book handy for them to flick through helps
considerably.
Luckily, the occasional butterfly catcher turns up
and people find this to be downright weird
behaviour.
Robert Reed
Can you pick the difference between
these Australian Brush Turkeys?
There are two races of Australian Brush Turkey: the
Southern Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami
lathami) with its distinctive yellow collar, and the
Cape York Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami
purpureicollis) with its distinctive purplish collar.
Which turkey is which?
7
The original objective was to understand the use of
mainland habitat by the PIP colony on North Brook
Island. The island colony was decimated 50 years
ago by recreational shooters. PIP numbers have
shown a gratifying partial recovery since protective
legislation was enforced. However, the increase has
been very slow, probably due to loss of foraging
habitat.
PIPs choose to nest and roost on small islands that
offer safety but lack food. To breed successfully, the
birds must make daily trips to the mainland to feed.
However, no one knows which mainland areas are
most important for them, and potentially in need of
long-term protection.
For the past seven years, total PIP numbers
observed at our regular Mission Beach sites have
been modest (details in Contact Call Vol 3:1 March
2014). If North Brook Island was the destination of
all PIPs observed heading in that direction, the birds
we counted would have comprised only a tiny
proportion – on average 1% – of the island colony.
So, where do 99% of North Brook PIPs forage? And
where do PIPs from other island colonies forage? To
find answers, we are working to extend the PIP
monitoring project’s coverage. New sites were
counted for the first time in 2013 (see next page)
and we are hoping for more participants this year.
Please help with the next round of counts if you
can. It only needs one afternoon at a pleasant
coastal site, on any day in November that suits you.
Choose your own site, or team up with others.
Please contact Julia Hazel ([email protected])
or download count information from pipwatch.net
Julia Hazel
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Pied Imperialpigeon counts at
new sites in 2013
Report by Julia Hazel
Image left: Individual PIPs sometimes forage in parks
and gardens, like this one in Cairns, but important
foraging areas for island-breeding PIP colonies remain
unknown. [Photo Julia Hazel]
Note: the currently accepted correct name for Pied
Imperial-pigeon (PIP) is Torresian Imperial-pigeon. For
historical purposes, we choose to continue to use the
abbreviation ‘PIP’ for Torresian Imperial-pigeon.
The first stage of expanding the PIP monitoring
project began last year with great help from people
spread out between Portland Roads and Hay Point.
They conducted independent counts while travelling
or near their home areas, following the standard
afternoon count protocol. We received record sheets
for 32 new sites and some people also did follow-up
counts at their sites, very valuable for assessing
day-to-day variation. Huge thanks to all
participants!
Biggest numbers were observed at beaches near
Cooya, Newell and Wonga. Counters in that area
had a combined tally of 2,702 departing PIPs, all
apparently heading for Low Isles. A non-concurrent
count at Low Isles (conducted 10 days later by the
island caretakers and local volunteers) reported a
total of 22,942 incoming PIPs.
These counts suggest that forests inland of the
Cooya to Wonga coastline were providing forage for
more than 10% of the Low Isles colony at that time.
And where were the foraging areas for about
20,000 other PIPs that flew out to Low Isles? No
one saw them depart. Hopefully more observers in
November 2014 will help to fill in the gaps.
One other site reported a large number: Weary Bay
had 1,465 PIPs flying out, potentially heading for
Hope Isles. The birds observed could have
represented around 3% of the Hope Isles PIP
colony, if it had maintained numbers reported in
2008. There is no recent data for Hope Isles.
8
Portland Roads, the northern-most new count site,
had no PIP flocks heading off the coast. In
mangroves nearby, over a hundred PIPs were
observed roosting but no nests were seen. Rocky
Island, close to Portland Roads, had no PIPs
although a large colony existed previously. On the
positive side, anecdotal accounts were passed on,
indicating large numbers of PIPs (not counted) at
some islands in the far north.
Surprisingly, no one reported PIP flocks flying out
near Cairns, although PIPs can be seen in and
around the city throughout the summer and many
nest nearby at Green Island. Palm Cove and
Yorkey’s Knob, the only count sites in this area, had
no departing PIPs.
Counts along the next stretch of coast indicated
some PIPs apparently nest or roost on the
Frankland and Barnard Islands. However, there was
no evidence of very large numbers. Highest totals
were Russell River 228, Cowley Beach 108 and
Kurrimine 200. Three other sites reported zero to
15 PIPs.
A little further south, Hull Heads, Googara and
Cardwell seemed well-situated to observe a
substantial proportion of the North Brook Island
population, but there were very few PIPs to be
seen. The combined tally for these three sites was
only 266.
The Townsville region had counts at scattered sites
between Saunders Beach and the Ross River mouth.
Three sites reported no PIPs, 4 departures were
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
reported from Saunders Beach and three to six PIPs
(on different days) were seen leaving Rowes Bay,
potentially heading for Magnetic Island.
Further south there were no departures at Cape
Gloucester and zero to 12 at sites near Sarina.
According to anecdotal reports, rats had devastated
the breeding colony that existed previously on
Irving Island. More encouraging was the report of
400 to 500 PIPs (on different days) flying out near
Hay Point. These birds were thought to be roosting
on a small island nearby but there was no
confirmation of nesting.
Considering the November 2013 coastal
observations overall, it was worrying that more than
half the new sites had zero counts, although all
sites were within flight range of islands currently or
previously hosting breeding PIPs.
From the archives: the first Mission Beach PIP count in 2007.
Organizer Jo Wieneke is second from left. [Photo courtesy Ian
Montgomery]
This might indicate former colonies have diminished
or disappeared. On the other hand, many PIPs could
have flown out unobserved due to very wide
spacing between count sites. Hopefully many more
PIPs will be recorded if we have more count sites
this year.
Please help with the next round of counts if you
can. It only needs one afternoon at a pleasant
coastal site, on any day in November that suits you.
Choose your own site, or team up with others.
Please contact Julia Hazel ([email protected])
or download count information from pipwatch.net
Philip Haig, youngest of many wonderful contributors to the
2013 coast count, kept watch at Saunders Beach with the
help of his Mum and little sisters. [Photo courtesy Julia Haig]
9
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Recent literature
about birds in north
Queensland
Compiled by Don Franklin
Non-technical
Frith C, Frith D. 2014. Satin avenues. Australian
Birdlife 3(1): 65. [a 4-walled, 3-avenue bower,
with photo]
Gill B, Grant J, Harrington G, Scambler E,
Simmonds V. 2014. The mysterious affair of the
Sarus Crane. Australian Birdlife 3(1): 32-36.
Other
birds. PLoS ONE 8: e74333. [near Torrens Creek,
SW of Charters Towers]
Rae S. 2013. Probable protective nesting
association between Australasian Figbird, Noisy
Friarbird and Papuan Frogmouth. Australian Field
Ornithology 30: 126-130. [Iron Range]
Tarburton MK, Tarburton SR. 2013. Colony stability
of cave-nesting Australian Swiftlets in Queensland:
What are the impacts of severe weather events?
Australian Field Ornithology 30: 131-151.
[Chillagoe, Mackay]
Woinarski JCZ, Legge S. 2013. The impacts of fire
on birds in Australia’s tropical savannas. Emu 113:
319-352.
Status of the Capricorn Yellow Chat
Houston WA, Black RL, Elder RJ. 2013. Distribution
and habitat of the critically endangered Capricorn
Yellow Chat Epthianura crocea macgregori. Pacific
Conservation Biology 19: 39-54.
Laurance SGW, Jones D, Westcott D, Mckeown A,
Harrington G, Hilbert DW. 2013. Habitat
fragmentation and ecological traits influence the
prevalence of avian blood parasites in a tropical
rainforest landscape. PLoS ONE 8: e76227.
McDonald K, Burnett S, Robinson W. 2014. Utility of
owl pellets for monitoring threatened mammal
communities: an Australian case study. Wildlife
Research 40: 685-697. [Lesser Sooty Owl,
Danbullah]
Nguyen JMT, Boles WEW, Trevor H, Hand SJ, Archer
M. 2014. New specimens of the logrunner Orthonyx
kaldowinyeri ( Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from
the Oligo-Miocene of Australia. Alcheringa 38: 245255. [fossils from Riversleigh; c. 25 million years
before present]
Nguyen JMT, Worthy TH, Boles WE, Hand SJ, Archer
M. 2013. A new cracticid (Passeriformes :
Cracticidae) from the Early Miocene of Australia.
Emu 113: 374-382. [fossil from Riversleigh related
to currawongs and butcherbirds; c. 20 million years
before present]
Price B, McAlpine CA, Kutt AS, Ward D, Phinn SR,
Ludwig JA. 2013. Disentangling how landscape
spatial and temporal heterogeneity affects savanna
10
Capricorn Yellow Chat. Image courtesy of Fitzroy Basin
Association Inc.
Abstract to Houston et al. (2013): “The Capricorn
Yellow Chat (Meliphagidae: Epthianura crocea
macgregori) is a poorly known, endangered
passerine of coastal north-eastern Australian
wetlands. Recent research has highlighted the need
for evidence based management and that recovery
programmes may be hampered by a lack of sound
ecological knowledge.
Capricorn Yellow Chats were found at 15 sites near
Rockhampton between Broad Sound and the Fitzroy
River delta in the south.
Overall, suitable habitat was limited with an area
occupied of about 6 000 ha, confirming the need for
careful management. Habitat may be typified as
grass-sedge wetlands or tall supratidal saltmarshes
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
that are temporarily flooded, with pools becoming
brackish to hypersaline as they dry.
Over 96% of sightings were on coastal plains
formed by marine sedimentation processes, most
without current tidal influence, and many less than
5 m above sea level. The remaining 4% were
associated with alluvial-formed plains, but only
where these bordered existing marine plain sites;
suggesting a preference for marine plain habitats,
possibly reflecting structural differences and
foraging preferences (marine plains tend to be more
open due to the presence of salt-tolerant samphire
vegetation).
Sea level rise was identified as a major threat to the
subspecies with chat sightings at most sites
averaging less than 2 m above current highest
astronomical tidal influence, and sites becoming
tidal or with regular storm surge influence under
future modest predicted sea level rise scenarios of
0.5 m by 2100.
Most sites had some form of banking to reduce tidal
influence and promote freshwater pasture grasses
for cattle production. The site supporting most chats
had small banks that allowed floods to flow around
them, maintaining connectivity with the
downstream marine systems.
This study contributes to baseline information
essential to the evaluation of any future
management interventions; thus avoiding the
pitfalls hampering much of the global conservation
efforts directed at threatened species.”
Nesting of the Australian Swiftlet
Abstract from Tarburton & Tarburton (2013): “A
study of 31 Australian Swiftlet Aerodramus
terraereginae colonies at Chillagoe, Queensland,
over 28 years and a study of two colonies at Finch
Hatton Gorge near Mackay, Qld, over 25 years have
shown that some colonies are more vulnerable than
others to extinction from severe weather events.
Flooding and strong cyclones can also change
breeding practices, forcing Swiftlets to use different
chambers or caves, or even change the time of
breeding. Extreme weather can cause the extinction
of exposed colonies and severe reduction of
protected colonies.”
Lesser Sooty Owls in Danbullah
National Park
Two females with radio-transmitters attached had
activity areas over two months (mid-August to midOctober) of 163 and 257 hectares respectively
(McDonald et al. 2013). Pellets collected from 16
roosts contained the remains of at least 14 species
of mammal, plus geckoes, birds and dragons. The
most common prey species, between them
comprising 65% of identified individuals, were the
Bush Rat (Rattus fuscipes), Fawn-footed Melomys
(Melomys cervinipes) and the Atherton Antechinus
(Antechinus godmani).
Nesting close for safety
Abstract from Rae (2013): “A pair of Australasian
Figbirds Sphecotheres vieilloti flaviventris and a pair
of Noisy Friarbirds Philemon corniculatus nested
within 1 metre of a pair of nesting Papuan
Frogmouths Podargus papuensis. This is likely to be
an example of a protective nesting association
whereby the passerines benefitted from the
protective umbrella of the Frogmouths, which would
be likely to exclude potential predators from the
mutual nesting area. If so, this is the first record of
a caprimulgid acting as a protective species in a
nesting association.”
11
Lesser Sooty Owl. Image courtesy of Doug Herrington.
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Calls for assistance
1. Please report Fork-tailed Swift
and White-throated Needletail
sightings
Some members report their Fork-tailed Swift (FTS)
and White-throated Needletail (WTNT) sightings to
ebird or Birdline, but some I am sure do not. If you
know of anyone who has sightings and have time to
pass them on to me, I would really appreciate that.
Some members currently reporting on ebird do not
provide the number of birds sighted. It would be
really helpful if everyone could include that
information in the future.
The WTNT has been in decline since 1950 and I am
still tracking the numbers but sightings without
counts or estimates of bird numbers are not very
much use.
Many thanks for your help. Happy birding. Mike
Tarburton. Email: [email protected]
or phone: (03) 9893 3857.
Adult White-throated Needletail. Image courtesy of Tom
Tarrant (via Michael Tarburton).
2. House Sparrows
My name is Amanda Griffith and I am a biologist
with Macquarie University in Sydney, NSW. I am
writing to you to see if anyone in your group may
be able to help us with a research project we are
undertaking.
Assoc. Professor Simon Griffith and team are
working on a research project looking at
invasiveness/adaptive attributes of House Sparrows
across their range in Australia. This includes
sampling and setting up study populations along the
eastern half of the continent from Tasmania to
north/western QLD. The initial stage of the project
is to gather basic population level data on the
distribution and abundance of the species and also
collect blood samples to study population genetics.
Juvenile White-throated Needletail (The juvenile bird has dark
flecking on the white under-tail. Juvenile birds are most
commonly seen in Australia). Image courtesy of Mat & Cathy
Gilfedder (via Michael Tarburton).
12
We have just completed our first field trip around
regional and outback NSW collecting blood samples,
and are just about to commence sampling across
QLD. As such we are in need of some study/sample
sites and was hoping your members might be able
to help us locate some. We are interested in
catching sparrows in Brisbane, Toowoomba, Roma,
Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Cairns, Atherton,
Charters Towers, Mt Isa and Townsville. However,
we are relatively flexible with respect to the location
and obviously need to go where the Sparrows are.
We would also like to sample some populations in
the western half of the state so any knowledge on
the presence or whereabouts of local populations in
that region would also be appreciated.
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
We had great success with some birding group
members across NSW offering their backyards for
us to catch sparrows in, so if any of your members
would be happy to do the same that would be
great.
I know House Sparrows are not the most appealing
species for the majority of your members but any
help you could provide would be greatly
appreciated. I can be contacted via email
[email protected] or by phone on 02
4342 6880 or 0421 465 552
Thanks in advance, Amanda Griffiths
Local artist
helps inspire
us all
Gabi Sturman of Yungaburra has won $500 by
inspiring the logo which will represent the future of
natural resources in the Wet Tropics region.
“We like her creative logo design as it clearly and
simply illustrates the fundamentals of our lifestyles
and livelihoods - land and water.” said Terrain
NRM’s CEO Carole Sweatman. “Importantly, the role
of people in looking after it is also depicted.”
Gabi said, “My design visually represents the
interconnectedness of the rainforest, land, rivers
and ocean, nestled within a pair of caring hands. I
believe that my design has included the vital
elements that make up our Wet Tropics community,
visually embodying the philosophy of 'landscape
stewardship'.”
Terrain’s Director for Catchment and Community, Ken Keith
presenting Gabi with her $500 prize for inspiring the logo.
The NRM Plan logo, based on Gabi’s design, will
enable the community to easily identify with the
new NRM Plan. Terrain is the custodian of the Plan
which is owned by the whole Wet Tropics
community. We are seeking input and ownership
from the broad community. The logo competition
was one of the ways we have encouraged
engagement.
Furthermore, Terrain is offering a chance for a
club/group in the region to win $500 by sharing
what they value about the Wet Tropics’
environment. For more on the cash prize for
clubs/groups, go to www.terrain.org.au or email
[email protected].
The logo competition was rolled out over recent
months to promote the Wet Tropics’ Natural
Resource Management Plan and encourage the
community to embrace it as their own.
The Plan is under review and will be a fresh new
‘living’ web-based tool which seeks to connect the
community with the Wet Tropics natural
environment, and allow prioritisation of land
management projects in the future.
13
For great bird watching activities in the
Cairns area, also check out:
http://cairnsbirds.blogspot.com.au
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Great Aussie Backyard
Bird Count
Did you know that there are over half a million
Australians who identify themselves as being
birdlovers? Yet BirdLife only has 10,000 members.
So how do we get some more of those birdlovers to
become members and supporters of BirdLife? Well,
our national office is planning the first ever Aussie
Backyard Bird Count to tap into this broader
interest in birds, and what better way than to start
than in one's own backyard. During the week of
18-26 October we will be promoting everyone to
spend a short period of just 20 minutes in your
backyard, local park, school yard or other favourite
spot, to note down all the birds you can see and
identify in that period.
This event serves two purposes – a nation-wide
survey, which over the years as an annual event
will show how well our birds are faring. Such
annual counts have been done for decades now in
Europe and the US, and are proving to have real
scientific value for keeping tabs on their birds. And
by promoting this event, it may bring in some of
those “bird lovers” who want to know more about
the birds in their own backyards, but do know
where to start.
As part of the promotion there is a special web site
at www.aussiebirdcount.org.au and a free app,
which will be available in early September. Both
the website and app will have a Bird ID look-up to
help you to identify the birds, and a special form to
record and send in your count results. All the
results from across Australia will be available live!
And there will also be prizes. All details will be
available on the aussiebirdcount web site. So that
we reach out to non-members, why not invite some
of your friends who secretly admire and envy your
own passion for birds – invite them over for a
breakfast with the birds!
Kath Shurcliff
Spangled Drongo photographed at Julatten, Queensland,
Australia, July 2014. Image courtesy of Doug Herrington.
14
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
The following is the plant species they
recommended for their areas.
Lake Barine area:-contributed by
Margaret Merrall
Xanthostemon verticillatus (Penda) – profuse cream
flowers most of the year, very lush green foliage
and a spreading habit.
Micromelium minutum – flowers and small orange
fruit both attractive for wildlife. They can be a bit
rangey so need shaping (at least initially). They
grow very well at Kingfisher Park.
Macleays Honeyeater enjoying a bath at Allen and Barbara’s
home, ‘Wild Wings & Swampy Things’, Daintree. Image
courtesy of Barbara Maslen.
Gardening for birds
Are you interested in creating places for birds in
your backyard? I’ve just moved into new digs, and
have a large garden filled with exotic plants and
quite a few weeds (I have a mission to annihilate
Singapore Daisy and Syngonium – Arrowhead vine).
As a keen birder, I want to rejuvenate my new
garden to attract all the local birds to (selfishly!) my
place, so my first step was to do a bit of research to
find out how. Some things are fairly obvious, a bird
bath in a sheltered position (not that there is a
shortage of water in Innisfail!), and plan a garden
to develop a suitable habitat for birds to be able to
feed, shelter and hopefully nest. It was with this
second goal that I started to have serious
questions.
Most of the information provided in factsheets and
websites in regards to planting choices is very
generic or southern Australian centric (this is the
same woe I have with gardening programs on TV!).
I live in the (very) wet tropics. What plants could I
grow to attract birds in my area that would survive
the rainfall? And that started me wondering if
birders from other areas in northern Queensland
were asking the same question?
So… I asked some friends for advice: - “What are
the top bird attracting plants in your garden?”
15
Callistemon Hinchinbrook – profuse red flowers
which I deadhead constantly to help flowering.
Austromyrtus dulcis – a small bushy plant which
has small cream flowers and purple fruit. Great for
garden bed edges.
Baeckea (or Babingtonia) Mt Tozer. A compact
bush with small green leaves, white flowers and a
spreading habit.
Cooktown: -Contributed by Kath
Shurcliff
Melaleuca leucadrandra – a potentially tall tree with
masses of flowers twice a year. A favourite of
nectar loving birds.
Asteromyrtus brassi and A. symphyocarpa
(Liniment tree) – red or orange globular flower
heads loved by the white streaked honeyeaters
Chionanthus ramiflorus - native olive These native
shrubs or trees (3–25 m tall) are usually found in
woods and thickets, from sea level to 2000 m. They
produce bluish-black fruit that look like olives. Birds
love to eat them
Orthosiphon artistatus (Cats whiskers) – a
medicinal herb that grows up to 1 m tall. The white
or mauve flowers attract honeyeaters.
Callistemons and Grevilleas (for your area and
space). They seem to flower nonstop and the
flowers attract honeyeaters.
Native grasses can also be grown to provide food
for seed eating birds.
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Daintree area – contributed by
Barbara Maslin
Archontophoenix alexandrae (Alexandra Palm) they do grow very tall but their fruit is very
attractive to many birds including our beautiful fruit
doves.
Leea indica (Bandicoot Berry) - these are fast
growing very tall shrubs and will become leggy
without regular pruning. I think they are worth the
effort as they often have fruit, popular with Catbird,
Oriole and Wompoo.
Costus potierae (Native Costus) - is easily confused
with Costus speciosus as I have explained here:
http://wildwings.com.au/2014/05/27/after-the-wet2/ We have only been growing this in our garden
for a few years and have found that it is favoured
by many birds and butterflies.
Rose crowned pigeon enjoying the fruit of an Alexandra Palm.
Image courtesy of Barbara Maslen.
Melastoma affine (Native Lasiandra) - can get very
straggly without some pruning and many people
might be surprised at its inclusion in my list.
However, clumps of this shrub provide wonderful
cover for wrens, and fruit which is attractive to
many bird species as well as young children.
Xanthostemon verticillatus (Bloomfield Penda) - is a
wonderful garden plant, it doesn’t grow much over
2 metres, responds well to pruning and flowers for
many months of the year providing a nectar source
for lots of birds and butterflies.
Some local nurseries sell bird attracting plants (Eg.
Yuruga Nursery and Limberlost Nursery). Even local
revegetation nurseries may have bird attracting
plants that are known to provide food for native
birds. My local Cassowary Coast Revegetation
Nursery also provides lists of plants to choose from.
If you can suggest other plants that you find are
very attractive to your local birds, then please let us
know. Your information may help others to add a
few plants to their garden to bring birds in.
Ceri Pearce
For more information about creating bird
friendly spaces in your garden, also check
out: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/places
16
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Staying in touch
Our Website
Thanks to Mikey Kudo, the Birdlife
Northern Queensland website is a
great portal to access all the latest
news and trip updates.
And it’s not just us northerners who
use the website. In July this year,
there have been 7365 hits from
Australia, 1695 hits from the USA, 721
hits from Brazil, 622 hits from the
United Kingdom and 552 hits from
China, out of the top 25 countries
currently accessing the website. There
is a lot of international interest in our
unique birds and NQ bird watching.
All up, there has been an astounding
4866 unique visitors and 9721 website
visits so far this year. Keep up the
great work Mikey!
Website address:
http://birdlifenq.org/
Facebook: Instant contact
You don’t have to be an internet wiz to use Facebook. Doug Herrington is our
Facebook site manager. With over 139 ‘friends’ with our Facebook group, there has
never been a better time to get involved.
On our Facebook site, be the first to:
 download the newsletter
 see new additions and changes to the club calendar, and what events are
coming up next
 see what your fellow members are posting
 show off your photo's or request a bird id for your photo
 tell us about your great birding day out
 ask where to go to see a certain species
 tell others about your planned outings and invite them along
JOIN US ON
FACEBOOK
Have you thought about instant bird watching? Just post the day, time and place you want to go bird
watching before your trip to invite some of your Facebook mates to join you.
Contact Call – Our Birdlife Northern Queensland Newsletter
Contact Call is our quarterly newsletter. It contains great news updates, articles, science, trip reports, images
and calls for assistance. Colour versions of Contact Call can be downloaded directly from Facebook, the
Website or via email.
If you are a member and don’t receive the newsletter or email updates, contact us on
[email protected]. If you have a slow internet connection such as dial-up, you may wish to receive
the newsletter by mail. Contact head office for postal delivery of printed newsletters. Phone:1300 730 075
If you would like to contribute to the newsletter or promote your birding related enterprise by advertising in
the newsletter, please contact Ceri at [email protected]
17
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Recent Sightings
Notice board
The following is a list of recent sightings sourced
from [email protected] (thanks John
Searle and team) and Birdline North Queensland
([email protected]).
Next newsletter deadline
ESPLANADE
Plenty of whimbrel, a few Bar-tailed Godwits, Greytailed Tattlers, fifty Great Knot a few Terek
Sandpipers. Also 30+ Pelicans. A Buff-banded Rail
has also been seen in the grass of the Pelican
roosting area.
26 Jul: Rufous Owl - 4 O’Clock Club (Has been
quite regular in the last week). - High in the large
Mango tree diagonally opposite McDonalds
Esplanade and above the 2 Telstra phone booths or
in the large fig tree just south of the toilet and
office area on the other side of the footpath.
14 Jul: Royal Spoonbill - On northern paddock Lake
Street near the new airport access road- Pippi
Cannon
18 Jun: Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher Smithfield Conservation Park/Cairns- Panguna St
access. G. Santos
27 Jul: White-browed Crake - Townsville Bush
Garden. A pair - foraging along grass edges of small
'bay' near weir - close, long views - about 9 am.
Brian & Meg Johnson
Please submit stories/news/reports by October 31st
2014 for the December Edition to
[email protected].
*please note, if you have requested to receive
printed newsletters from Birdlife Australia, these are
usually posted out with the Australian Birdlife
Magazine. The electronic version of Contact Call is
available earlier, via email or on our web site.
Would you like to advertise in Contact
Call?
Advertisements and sponsorship help support
Birdlife Northern Queensland. Any profit is used for
education and conservation projects. The
advertisements must be relevant to Birdlife
Northern Queensland members and compatible with
Birdlife Australia objectives and fund raising
guidelines.
Quarter page advertisements for 4 issues can be
purchased for $70 plus GST, or $20 plus GST for
single issue advertisements. Contact the Editor of
Contact Call for further information.
Activities
Come and join us. Everybody's welcome.
28 Jul: Pictorella Mannikin - Georgetown
racecourse. At least ten birds, including three
adults, seen coming down to drink at water source.
Also present were Zebra Finch, Black-throated Finch
and a couple of Masked Finch. Michael Wood
For day trips, do bring a hat, sunscreen, lunch,
refreshments/water and a folding chair.
25 Jul: Grey Tattler - East Hope Island, near
Cooktown. High tide roost on lee shore of a windy
day clustered together. Burnice Starkey
Doug Herrington, Activities Coordinator
8 Aug: Latham's Snipe - Mungalla Station, Ingham.
Two Latham's Snipe feeding in muddy pool beside
Palm Creek at Mungalla Station this morning.
Another lone bird seen by creek later. First I've
seen this season, as usual close to Aug 1. Tony
Ashton
18
For more information about an outing or an event,
contact the leader listed or check the website.
DON’T FORGET
THE ANNUAL CRANE COUNT
6th September
Please express your interest to Virginia
Simmonds Phone: 07 4095 8302 ASAP
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014
Birdlife Northern Queensland
Calendar of events
Date
Sat.6th
Sept.
Time
Options
Morning
/day
3pm for
afternoon
count
Sun. 7th
Sept.
Labour
Day
Weekend
4th, 5th &
6th Oct.
Sun. 5th
Oct.
7pm
Dinner
meeting
6.30am
6.30am
Fri. 17thTues 21st
Oct.
Locality
Meeting place and other information
The annual Crane Count -Call for Participants
This year we are again planning a day count and the
traditional evening count.
You don't need to be an expert birder to take part in
this survey. This is also a great opportunity to learn
about local birds as we always have experienced
birders in each group.
Please express your interest to Virginia Simmonds at
phone 07 4095 8302 ASAP
Leader
Virginia
Simmonds
Cairns
Centenary Lakes Bird Walk with John Seale (meet
opposite Rondo Theatre)
Ingham area
Mungalla Station joint camp-out with BirdLife
Townsville. Mungalla Station is situated near Ingham.
Suitable camping and caravan sites are available on
the property. BYO everything. Basic showers and
toilets are on site. Other accommodation is available at
Ingham (14K away) and Forrest beach (4k away).
Northern Queensland members contact Ceri Pearce to
register for this camp.
Centenary Lakes Bird Walk with John Seale (meet
opposite Rondo Theatre)
John
Searle
Ceri
Pearce and
Ian Boyd
Tableland area
– you will be
allocated sites
by Virginia
Hastie’s Swamp
bird hide for
allocation of
roosting sites
Malanda Hotel
Cairns
Half hour out of
Innott Hot
Springs
20th –
26th Oct.
The annual survey of Bush Heritage property "Yourka".
Arrive Friday the 17th any time, spend the weekend
surveying. Those able to stay through until Tuesday
will be very welcome but just Saturday and Sunday
will be a great help. Accommodation is in a rough bush
camp with fully equipped kitchen. Vegetation extends
from rainforest margin to dry Eucalypt woodland. Red
Goshawk recently confirmed! Join us even if you are
hesitant about your bird ID abilities. We will be happy
to help you.
Aussie Backyard Bird Count
The Aussie Backyard Bird Count is Australia’s first
nationwide bird survey! Join thousands of people
during BirdLife Australia’s Bird Week and help us
discover how our birds are faring. All it takes is 20
minutes in your backyard, neighbourhood park or
favourite green patch to be a part of this exciting
citizen science event.
Afternoon club meeting. Presentation of the John
Hobbs medal to Lloyd Nielsen. To register for this
event, contact Murray Hunt
Sat. 1st
Nov.
2-4pm
Skybury Coffee
Centre near
Mareeba
Sun. 2nd
Nov.
Sat. 15th
Nov.
6.30am
Cairns
Centenary Lakes Bird Walk with John Seale (meet
opposite Rondo Theatre)
8 am
Birding for beginners
7am with Graham Harrington
Sat. 15th
Nov.
Sat. 6th
Dec.
2pm
onwards
6 to 8pm
Mission Beach.
Lacey Creek
Picnic area
Mission Beach
Cairns
Club meeting and Christmas Party at Cominos House,
Greenslopes St.
Sun. 7th
Dec.
19
Phone/email
Ph: 40958302
Annual PIP Count and Dinner
24hr Twitchathon
Ceri Ph: 0488
131 581
Ian on Email
ninox45@bigp
ond.com or
Ph: 47733070.
John
Searle
Graham
Harrington
Ph:
07 4096 5051
riflebird1@gm
ail.com
www.aussiebir
dcount.org.au
Murray
Hunt
John
Searle
Ceri
Pearce
Trish
Pontynen
Murray
Hunt
Dom
Chaplin
Ph: 0417 651
929. Email
northernqld@b
irdlife.org.au
Ph:
0488 131 581
Ph:
04 1773 5410
Ph:
0417 651 929
Contact Call. Volume 3 Number 3 August 2014