AUSTRALIAN BIRD STUDY ASSOCIATION Inc.
NEWSLETTER No. 98
Edited by Stein Boddington. info AT absa DOT asn DOT au
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This Newsletter was posted with Corella dated March 2010
Contents
Editorial
ABSA Scientific Day
AGM
President's Report
Editor's Report
Treasurer's Report
Australian BirdFair
Do Australians Value Birds?
World's Rarest Birds Photo Competition
Birding in the War Zone
First Photos of Fiji Petrel
NEW MEMBERS
We welcome the following people to membership of the Association:
Mr. Simon Robinson, of Bundanoon NSW
Ms. Jolene Scoble of Flinders Park SA
Dr. Nina Svedin of Epping NSW
Ms. Hazel Watson of Hillsdale NSW
EDITORIAL
Now that the AGM is out of the way, we can start to concentrate
on the future of this Association. We are aware of the tentative moves
within other organisations to amalgamate, in the face of financial
difficulties. I wish to reassure members that there are no such moves
within ABSA, which looks to a long future as an independent
organisation.
We will, however, look at any proposal that might swell our membership
base, or our print volumes on Corella and the Newsletter. It is
unfortunate that our print run is on the cusp of being too small for
large-scale, and too large for small-scale printing methods.
We may be near to finding a way to allow payment of subscriptions and
conference registrations online. This will be a convenience for
members, and take a huge load off the Treasurer.
The suggestion was made at the AGM that older volumes of Corella be
made available in digital format. We will look at the feasibility
of this, knowing how it would advantage anyone searching the
literature. The easier it is for Corella to be accessed, the more
likely we are to be cited in papers, and citing is the currency of the
scientific economy.
We are on the lookout for a volunteer bookkeeper for the
Association. We believe this would be one way of lightening the
load on the Treasurer. If anyone is, or knows of someone who
might do this job, please contact me at <info AT absa DOT asn DOT
au>.
Stein Boddington
SCIENTIFIC DAY 2010
About 38 people attended the Scientific Day, and heard an
illuminating set of lectures on DNA - how it works, how it it is useful
to bird research, and how it may help us in the future. A big thankyou
to John Farrell and Graham Fry for organising the event; to Ros Farrell
for catering; to BASNA volunteers for opening the Discovery Centre for
us; to Pixie Maloney and Judy Harrington for advice and support;
and all the others who lent a hand.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Sixteen people attended the AGM, and the following reports were presented:
President’s Report
Thank you all for attending this AGM. I welcome those
non-members here, and someone will twist your arm later to fill out a
membership form. The year under report is a short one, as we ended up
holding a delayed AGM in only August last year. In that time, the
Association has carried on its business as normal, producing Corella
and the Newsletter.
I thank John Farrell for the design work done on the Newsletter format,
and we hope to see it bedded down in 2010. Likewise, the
appearance of Corella has improved, with better quality paper,
and the more liberal use of colour. John will also report later that
the flow of papers gives us great confidence in the future of the
journal.
We were saddened by the death last year of Durno Murray, an original
and founding member of the Association, who continued his work for us
right up until his death. Committee has decided to commemorate his
contribution to Australian ornithology by instituting an annual prize
for the best paper published in Corella. We are in the process of
developing guidelines for the awarding of the prize, and it will most
likely consist of a cash prize and a subscription.
Members are reminded that we award two other prizes - for the best
student poster at the biennial Australasian Ornithological Conference,
and each year the outstanding student in ornithology at Charles Sturt
University receives the Bill Lane Award.
Our attempt at formulating a strategic plan continues. Some of the
items have already been acted upon - the improvements to Corella and
the newsletter. We are starting to join with BASNA in organising a
series of training courses that will allow people to step up a level
from merely birdwatching, to learn field skills, surveying skills, bird
handling skills, and maybe one day even doing bander training and
taking on a project themselves. Current plans are for five such courses
to be held this year. We believe this is the most productive step we
can take to address the slow drop off in numbers of banders.
Some of the other ideas discussed may take some time to unfold.
I welcome the nomination of two new members to the committee - after
several years of pleading. We hope that this will see the end of the
quorum problems we have suffered lately.
Those problems may also be allayed when the new regulations governing
Incorporation come into effect later this year. We will then be able to
legally explore the use of technology in the conduct of meetings, the
taking of votes etc. Eventually the new rules will require
constitutional amendments, which you can anticipate at the next AGM.
I am pleased to announce that, after many years of searching, we have
found a new Manager for the Mist Net Service. He will be taking over in
the next few months, and we beg your forgiveness if there are a few
hiccups during the transition. Don and Jude Ripper have provided a
professional and efficient service for many years, and we are indebted
to them for their tireless work. Not only did they run the Mist Net
Service, but they also held the archives of the Association, and stored
and distributed the back copies of Corella.
I want to finish by thanking ALL the people who contribute to the
running of the association. They give their time freely so that
you get your Corella and Newsletter, so that events such as today
happen, and so that the scientific integrity and reputation of Corella
and the Association is maintained and enhanced.
Just to give you an idea, I am going to list the names: John Farrell,
Graham Fry, Annette Cam, Chris Lloyd, Alan Lill, Don and Jude Ripper,
Peter and Judy Smith, Peter Ewin, Alan Leishman, Stephen Debus, Stuart
Halse, Peter Fullagar, Geoff Smith, That’s fifteen people whose
volunteer efforts sustain the Association. And one last one, who has so
far gone unacknowledged - my step-daughter Erin, who has Down Syndrome.
Erin loves putting stickers on anything, and I shamelessly use this to
our advantage when the labels for Corella envelopes arrive, and she
spends an evening sticking them on. She has cheerfully done this
job for over ten years now.
I also thank our auditor, Ross Fowler, for doing it on the cheap for
us, and the auditor in Sale, Robert Cherry for the many pro bono audits
of the Mist Net Service he has done whilst it was located there. With
the Mist Net Service moving to the Blue Mountains area, we would love
to identify someone who could do the audit for both arms of ABSA pro
bono. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
Without all these people, the Association would do nothing. If you wish
to join them, talk to any member of the Committee, and we will find
something for you to do.
Stein Boddington
President
Editor of Corella’s Report
In 2009 we again published a large range of papers covering a
variety of topics on Australian birds, including several book reviews.
In 2007 and 2009 we dedicated special issues to the iconic Wedge-tailed
Eagle and the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, respectively. I thank Stephen
Debus again for his inspiration and work in tracking down and preparing
papers for these issues. We are now looking at producing another
special issue – this time on rare raptors. I once again would encourage
supervisors of honours, masters and PhDs (and candidates themselves) to
think about getting their research published in Corella. It is an ideal
venue!
The number of manuscripts continues to rise and we now have a working
backlog of papers ready for publication and again will be able to
publish 4 issues this year. This is in contrast to a few years ago when
we were down to only 3 issues per year.
In conjunction with our printer we have changed the paper used for
printing Corella to a glossy finish. This has enabled us to produce
more vibrant colour photos and graphs and thus make our journal a much
more interesting read.
I would like to again thank all those people who have worked behind the
scenes: our sub-editors, Geoff Smith, Peter Fullagar, and particularly
Peter and Judy Smith, and Stuart Halse who handle most of the
manuscripts submitted and Peter Ewin for compiling the volume index.
A special thanks must go to Alan Leishman for supervising the final
production of Corella (a very time consuming job) and for continuing to
work with the Bird and Bat Banding Scheme in the compilation of
Recovery Round-up.
As I mentioned last year, it has been a pleasure working with
sub-editors and authors in the publication of Corella. Our journal
continues to fill an essential niche in disseminating knowledge of
Australian avian fauna.
John Farrell
Editor, Corella
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer gave a brief spoken report, in which she mentioned
that the Association’s income from subscriptions has been slowly
declining, but that generally the accounts show the Association to be
in a healthy position for the time being.
Audited Accounts (Summary)
General Fund:
Income: $18,448.87
Expenditure: $16,609.78
NET SURPLUS $ 1,839.09
Research Fund:
Interest received: $ 3,885.02
Expenditure: -
NET SURPLUS: $ 3,885.02
Mist Net Service Report: Report not available
AUSTRALIAN BIRDFAIR
This annual Australian Birdfair will once again be held in Leeton, NSW on 17-19th September 2010.
The event will include Birdwatching, optics, art and cultural events,
photography, seminars, lectures, ecotourism and of course, birdwatching
tours of the region, including Binya State Forrest, Fivebough Wetlands
and Oolambeyan National Park.
Details on <www.australianbirdfair.org.au>
HOW DO AUSTRALIANS VALUE BIRDS?
Can you help us find out?
We are looking for a volunteer to help measure the various wildlife
values people place on different species of native Australian birds,
for example: consumptive (e.g. hunting, shooting) or non-consumptive
(recreational, scientific, symbolic, aesthetic, artistic, cultural and
religious). Other people use the terms intrinsic (value in their
own right) or extrinsic (value for human purposes). Yet other terms
relate to use, non-use, option, bequest or existence values.
We have a number of small projects looking at ways some of these values
are expressed and how they might be measured. One example is to
identify which bird species appear on stamps, street signs and in
figures of speech.
If you are good at tracking down information, want to learn more about
birds and society and have about a week or more to spare in March
(flexible hours) then please contact:
Gill Ainsworth at the School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin
University, Darwin; email: <gill DOT ainsworth AT cdu DOT edu DOT
au> phone: 08 8946 6413.
Find out more about the Social Values of Australian Threatened Birds project: <http://www.cdu.edu.au/ser/profiles/GillAinsworthProfile.htm>
WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS PHOTO COMPETITION
The new photo competition is now online at <http://www.theworldsrarestbirds.com>
with plenty of exciting prizes to be won. Photos of 623 species, all
presented in a list on the website, are eligible to take part in the
competition and many will be used in The World’s Rarest Birds which
will be published in the first half of 2011. Published photographers do
of course receive a free copy of the book and can buy more copies at a
discounted price. The submitted photographs will play an important role
in increasing awareness for these rarest birds of the world.
The World’s Rarest Birds has evolved from Rare Birds Yearbook and will
be produced by WILDGuides, a not-for-profit publisher and, as with Rare
Birds Yearbook, proceeds from sales will be donated to BirdLife
International’s Preventing Extinctions Programme. The facelift will see
the publication becoming a hardback and expanded to cover the 362
species categorised as Endangered as well as the world’s 192 Critically
Endangered species.
If you are on Facebook, please join the group Critically Endangered
birds and/or become a fan The World’s Rarest Birds. For more
information on The World’s Rarest Birds, please contact me at:
<editor@theworldsrarest.com>
Erik Hirschfeld Editor, The World's Rarest Birds
BIRDING IN THE WAR ZONE
From information on <http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications> and <http://www.world-science.net>
Researchers have braved the wilds of Afghanistan and spats of
inter-tribal fighting to confirm the finding of the breeding site for
one of the world’s least-known birds. The Large-billed Reed
Warbler, or Acrocephalus orinus was first collected in 1867, in
Northern Pakistan (4 specimens). A further collection was made in
1937 near the Wakhan Valley in north-east Afghanistan, but all five
specimens were mis-diagnosed.
R.J. Timmins observed the bird in June 2008, and took detailed notes
and recordings of its call, but was unable to identify it properly,
tentatively assigning it to Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus
dumetorum. Its identity was not revealed until further fieldwork
was prompted by a recording forwarded to Lars Svensson in Sweden, who
suspected it might be the Large-billed Reed Warbler.
In 2009, A team was sent out by the Wildlife Conservation Society
Afghanistan Program (based in New York), and several birds were caught,
examined, photographed and sampled, and the identity finally confirmed.
Not enough is known yet about the bird’s range and habitat to properly
assess its status, but it appears to be threatened by habitat loss as
local people gather firewood in wet “scrubby bushland” that it makes
its home. The local people fortunately do not hunt or trap passerines.
References:
Svensson L., R.Prys-Jones, P.C.Rasmussen & U.Olsson. (2008) Discovery of ten new specimens of large-billed reed warbler Acrocephalus orinus, and new insights into its distributional range. J. Avian Biol. 39: 605–610.
FIRST PHOTOS OF FIJI PETREL
<http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2009/09/fiji_petrel_discovery.html>
An expedition to find the Critically Endangered Fiji Petrel Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi
at sea has been successful, returning with stunning images and new
information on one of the world’s least-known seabirds. The team
included members of NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, the BirdLife Species
Guardian for Fiji Petrel.
Known from just one specimen collected in 1855 on Gau Island, Fiji, the
Fiji Petrel was lost for the next 130 years. Since 1984 there
have been a handful of reports of “grounded” birds that had crashed
onto village roofs on Gau. Until now there had been no confirmed
sightings of the seabird at sea.
The search for the elusive petrel is described in a paper in the latest
Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Up to eight individuals
were seen over eleven days in an area around 25 nautical miles south of
Gau. The species’ flight, behaviour and detailed comparison to other
species are also described for the first time.
The paper’s lead author, Hadoram Shirihai, said: “Finding this bird and
capturing such images was a fantastic and exhilarating experience”.
Fellow expedition member Tony Pym commented, “To see such a
little-known bird at such close range was magical.”
Finding Fiji Petrel at sea was no accident, combining meticulous
planning and luring the seabirds with a specially made food, called
“chum”. The main ingredients of chum? Fish offal cut into small pieces
and mixed with very dense fish oil, to which water was added and then
frozen in 10-kg blocks.
Frozen chum blocks persist for up to one-and-a-half hours, creating a
pungent and constant oil slick, which attracts petrels from some miles
away. On the second day, the first Fiji Petrel appeared, approaching
the chum slick from downwind, slowly zigzagging over the slick, and
suddenly changing direction to drop onto a small floating morsel.
Fiji Petrel is classified as Critically Endangered, with its perilous status confirmed by this expedition.
The expedition also gathered valuable distributional information on
many other seabird species, including the Endangered Phoenix Petrel Pterodroma alba and the Vulnerable Gould’s Pterodroma leucoptera and Parkinson’s Petrels Procellaria parkinsoni.
This news is brought to you by the BirdLife Species Champions and the
British Birdwatching Fair - official sponsor of the BirdLife
Preventing Extinctions Programme