Les Oiseaux d'Australie
Die Vögel Australiens
Newsletter 69
NEWSLETTER No. 69
Edited by Stein Boddington. <newsletter at absa dot asn dot au>
To search contents of this and other newsletters, click here.
This Newsletter was posted with the Corella of December 2002
VOLUNTEER FIELD ASSISTANTS NEEDED
ABSA AGM AND SCIENTIFIC DAY - 2003
PROPOSED SPEAKERS AT SCIENTIFIC DAY
ABSA PELAGIC OUT OF WOLLONGONG - February 2003
COXEN'S FIG-PARROT (Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni) RECOVERY PLAN
We welcome the following new members to the Association:
Mr Chris Lloyd, of Thirroul, NSW
Mr Paul Michael, of Kearns, NSW
Mrs Sarah Comer, of Albany, WA
Mr Lawrie Conole, of Fairfield, Vic.
Mr Sydney Curtis, of Hawthorne, Vic.
You will see in the next couple of months, a call for public comment on a revision of the Animal Research Act 1985 (NSW). ABSA has already made extensive written and oral submissions to this process, and we will be following these up with further submissions at this time.
Our concerns are outlined in the submission that is on our website, and revolve around the effect on banding if individual projects are forced to submit to a piece-by-piece animal ethics approval process. Many amateur researchers, outside the university system, do not have the resources to access, or convene an animal ethics committee. Our position is that banding studies are conducted by people who are trained in animal ethics, are approved by a body that has animal welfare as a prime requisite, and are all undertaken using a set of standard operating procedures that have stood the test of time, and include both training in and procedures for handling birds in a safe and safe way.
Contributors to Corella are reminded that the option of having colour photographs is open to anyone willing to pay for them. If you have a paper in the offing, and wish to explore this option, please contact the editor at < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. > or by post to the association's address.
Extracts from " Centennial History of New South Wales" (1888) Vol 1. By W. Frederic Morrison. Published by The Aldine Publishing Company.
"The Honey Eater (Melephagidae) is represented in more than fifty species, and is among the most numerous of the birds of this land. Their chief delight seems to be an increasing devotion to the flowers of the field. Their low songs of gladness speedily announce their presence with the coming of spring time. Where the flowers bloom they congregate. These birds are not remarkable for the sweetness of their music, yet their notes are sufficiently clear to win for them names which they have fairly won - as the Bell Bird, whose notes are clear as the ringing of a bell; Friar Bird, whose voice, low and solemn, chants forth a strain as doleful as the tomb; and Knife grinder, as sharp as the grindstone's wail till its work is done. They prefer the Banksiae, or Honeysuckle." (Anyone knowing what a 'Knife-grinder' might be, please email the editor on < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. >)
"Among the Kingfisher family….the most wonderful specimen…is the Laughing Jackass (Dacelo gigas) or the Gogobera of the natives. It is a marvellous bird. Why it is called by such a repulsive name is not difficult to understand when one becomes better acquainted with its nature and habits. It is one of the oddest of the winged tribe in the Australian Continent. It is a kingfisher of great size, almost as large as a crow. It is of a brownish hue, and has a remarkably large head and long heavy beak. Its chief delight is to pounce down upon a snake, or other reptile, and carry it by the neck to the branch of some neighbouring tree, where he is joined by his mate, sometimes by a great number of others. They delight in biting their prey, or amusing themselves by dropping it on the ground and picking it up again, and repeating the amusement amid the clatter of a general din. As the traveller passes by them, they seem to take great delight in joining in a most hideous exhibition of their vocal organs, that reminds one very much of the braying of an ass. When many of them are together they provoke laughter by the ridiculous tones they make in concert, ludicrous in the extreme, and contagious in effect."
Volunteer Field Assistants Needed
Volunteer research assistants are required for study of a rare bird species in Australian coastal heathland. I am a Ph.D. student with Melbourne University studying the habitat ecology and breeding behaviour of the southern emu-wren. The emu-wren is one of Australia's smallest and most secretive birds. I require assistance with mist-netting and banding birds, observing pairs and their habitat use, finding nests, and carrying out insect and botanical surveys. The study is conducted at two heathland sites, both situated in Portland, far west Victoria. Food and accommodation are supplied and assistants are required from mid November 2002 to mid February 2003. Commitment for one month or more is preferable.
If you are interested in the position, please contact Grainne Maguire at:
<s.maguire at pgrad dot unimelb dot edu dot au> or phone (03) 5521 7770 after 8pm weekdays.
KE CHUNG KIM (Professor of Entomology at Penn State) and EDWARD O. WILSON (Emeritus Professor of Biology at Harvard) wrote in the New York Times (10-12-02):
The demilitarized zone, a ribbon of land running 155 miles across the entire Korean peninsula, was established in 1953 to separate the two Koreas and diminish hostile confrontation between them.
During the half century following the Korean War, a new kind of peace has descended on the fallow land: its forests and other wild habitats have rebounded luxuriantly, and with them an abundance of wildlife. Rare and endangered animal and plant species, including leopards and possibly tigers, have increased in population. In addition, the demilitarized zone now offers a secure refuge for endangered migratory birds, most notably white-naped and red-crowned cranes and the black-faced spoonbill. Thus the conflict's unforeseen legacy includes the peninsula's largest and best nature preserve. Fenced off, guarded and mined, nearly the entire zone was until recently a place where no human had set foot since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.
A preserve carved from the demilitarized zone could be the source for replenishing endangered plants and animals lost to development in both North and South. It could also serve as a laboratory to study nature's resilience. In little more than five decades, the natural world has reclaimed an area devastated by war. There is no comparable place on earth.
However, the window of opportunity for preservation may be closing. In September the two Koreas signed an agreement to build two rail lines and adjacent highways through the zone. Efforts to remove mines have already begun. Roads are likely to follow, and thereafter harm to the environment.
That would be a tremendous loss, particularly because preserving this refuge and promoting ties between the Koreas are not mutually exclusive. All it takes is planning. Routes could be established to avoid endangered species' habitats, wetlands and flyways. Vehicles crossing the zone could be restricted to the least-polluting fuels. Passengers could be prohibited from getting out in the corridor until the area is explored, its species cataloged and its critical habitat protected. Workers could enter the zone only to build the roads and rail, leaving no other permanent structures.
A lasting foundation for peace would be the common North-South enterprise of a nature preserve. The United Nations should encourage and offer assistance to the two Koreas to form a peace park. Our colleagues in the scientific world could be mobilized to help.
It may seem a forlorn hope that an insular nation with a habit of threatening its neighbors with nuclear weapons would cooperate with the international community (and its enemy of 50 years) to preserve nature. But the benefits are great, the costs small and the contribution to our planet invaluable.
ABSA PELAGIC OUT OF WOLLONGONG - February 2003
After the success of the last excursion,, another pelagic has been booked. SOSSA have suggested this time as it offers an opportunity to see some of the more unusual species from the Coral Sea as the "Tasman Front" of the East Australian Current is further south at this time. Possible species include Red-tailed Tropicbird, Sooty Tern, Grey Ternlet, White Tern, Tahiti and Black Petrel amongst others. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will see any Albatrosses.
We will be joining the 'Sandra K' out of Wollongong Harbour, and heading for the edge of the continental shelf - 40 to 50 km off the coast. The Southern Ocean Seabird Study Association (SOSSA) hosts these trips, and participants have the opportunity to assist in banding a range of pelagic birds, and, if the last trip is anything to go by, seeing an extraordinary variety of oceanic fauna.
Date: Sunday 9th Feb, 2003. Cost: $70 Book by contacting David Geering:
Freecall 1800 621 056 (W) 02 6887 8440 (H) email <training at absa dot asn dot au>
Get in early as places are limited. Bookings will close in late January, and participants will be sent information on location, dealing with sea-sickness, weather etc.
Volunteer rangers are urgently needed for Birds Australia's Newhaven Reserve (NW of Alice Springs in the southern NT) from November 2002 to March 2003. If you're interested in covering a month or more of this time please contact:
Elaine Sheridan, email: <grems at austarnet dot com dot au>, Phone: (08) 8952 6842 (h), (08) 8952 0190 (w).
For more information about the Reserve, please look at the website:
< www.birdsaustralia.com.au/newhaven/index2.html>
I have recently begun my PhD at the University of Wollongong, in which I am looking at the translocation of the endangered Eastern Bristlebird at Jervis Bay. The project involves the monitoring of a range of aspects during the translocation involving the founding individuals, the source population and the host environment. Techniques I will use include aural surveys, mist netting and banding, radio-tracking and bird searches. The translocated population will act to reduce the impact of fire on the species, seen as the biggest threat to Eastern Bristlebird persistence, and increase knowledge in the conservation of small, cover-dependant passerine bird species.
I am currently looking for volunteers to assist me during the translocation. I will be needing volunteers to help mist net, band and attach radio-transmitters to Eastern Bristlebirds immediately prior to translocation. Volunteers for mist netting must be 'A' class banders, as I will only be holding an 'R' class banding licence. Keen non-banding volunteers are welcome for help with radio-tracking. The period for the translocation is from the end of February to around the end of April 2003. Volunteers would be required to commit for several days to a week at a time - longer if wanted. However extenuating circumstances at the release site and weather will dictate dates for translocations. Accommodation is planned to be provided and transport from Wollongong or Nowra can be arranged.
For more information contact:
David Bain,
Dept. Biological Sciences,
Wollongong University
<dwb01 at uow dot edu dot au>
Coxen's Fig-parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni) Recovery Plan
Summary of the draft recovery plan for the Coxen's Fig-parrot prepared by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, March 2002.
Conservation Status Listed as Endangered under Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995(NSW), Schedule 2 of Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulations 1994 (Qld), and under the EPBC Act 1999.
Distribution The accepted core range is from Gympie in south-east Queensland, to the Richmond River in north-east NSW, and as far west as the Bunya Mountains and the Koreela Range.
Ecology and Behaviour. This is largely unknown. It is a cryptic species, feeding quietly and moving swiftly and silently. They are omnivorous, feeding mainly on native figs and other native fruits and/or insect lava. They nest in a chamber excavated on the underside of a dead or dying limb, breeding from Oct. to Jan. Clutch size probably two, and no incubation and fledging details known. No predator information known.
Habitat Their probable preference is for alluvial areas within sub-tropical rainforests, which support higher numbers of figs and other fleshy-fruited plants. Much of this habitat has been cleared; the remainder is fragmented, and recent sightings have all been from other types of habitat with fig trees.
Threats and Reasons for Decline The species may have been in decline from natural causes well before 1788. Current contributors may include: the inadequate extent and quality of habitat; loss of connectivity between and disturbance of feeding areas; low numbers preventing social breeding triggers being activated, and limiting communal food searches; increased competition; change to social structures and disease. All of these make the species vulnerable to stochastic events such as drought.
Species Ability to Recover Prediction of the species ability to recover is limited by the lack of information. Indications are that it will take time, even after threats are removed or mitigated. Captive breeding programs, to preserve a founder group, are under consideration, and protocols are being developed at Currumbin Sanctuary using the Red-browed Fig-parrot. No parental stock identified.
Recovery Plan Objectives Protect and maintain wild populations and their habitat; protect and maintain the full genetic diversity of the species; understand the ecology of the species; secure and breed a captive population; and increase the extent, quality and connectivity of the habitat of Coxen's Fig-parrot.
Recovery Actions
Increase community awareness: publicity; promotion of fig planting; incentives to preserve/plant habitat, and to report sightings; articles in magazines, newspapers, electronic media; volunteer involvement.
Conduct ecological research and monitor wild populations: locate wild populations - use of decoy birds; conduct nest surveys; conduct food tree surveys; analyse predator prey remains to identify predators; build a formal records appraisal system; collect ecological data; build data base; undertake predictive modelling; clarify taxonomic status, investigate related species; remote surveys.
Captive breeding and release: Do analogue studies with Red-browed Fig-parrots - to refine capture, transport, husbandry, breeding and release techniques; acquire stock; ensure security; monitor program.
Habitat assessment: Map habitat and distribution of food plants.
Habitat protection and enhancement: Develop logging protocols for identified habitat; regulate land use; restore extant habitat to good health; propagation of food species, and the planting of such in suitable habitat; develop labels indicating "Coxen's Fig-parrot Food for nurseries and retail outlets selling plants.
Biodiversity Benefits The decline of the Coxen's Fig-parrot highlights the importance of habitat conservation. The conservation and study of Coxen's Fig-parrot will benefit a unique and rare rainforest type which forms at least part of its habitat. This rainforest type, in turn, supports other threatened species. Through awareness of the plight of the Coxen's Fig-parrot and the opportunity to participate in its recovery, the profile of all threatened species is raised in the community, with flow-on effects for their conservation, and the increased protection of biodiversity generally.
For further information contact: Coxen's Fig-parrot Recovery Co-ordinator , Threatened Species Unit, Northern Directorate, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, PO Box 914, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 Phone: (02) 6659 8200