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 March 2002
Contents
New Members
Editorial
Colour Marked Albatrosses
Pelagic Trip for ABSA Members
WA Bird Research Forum
Red Wattlebirds and Toadstools
Iron Range Reminder
Black-eared Miners in Victoria
Feedback Forum.
Roseate Terns found
Outback Twitchathon
Petrels Scientific day
Towers and Bird Deaths
Bird Drinking Rates
New Members
We welcome the following people as members of the Association:
Ms Cheryl Gole, of Gooseberry Hill, WA.
Mr David Ball, of Mornington, Vic.
Ms Jo Wieneke, of Belgian Gardens, Qld.
Miss Emma Crossfield, of Adelaide, SA. .
Ms Doris Graham, of North Fitzroy, Vic.
Ms Tracey Adams, of Oatlands, NSW.
Mr Ben Lewis, of Wingham, NSW.
Dr Ian Wardrop of Kew, Vic.
Mrs Leslie Hook, of Camden, NSW.
Editorial
· We hope to see
many of you at the AGM and
Scientific Day on the NSW North Coast in April.
· The immediate threat to outsource the Banding Office has receded, but it has been replaced with the alarming decline in the staffing of the office, and the subsequent downgrading of the activities of this essential service. Continued monitoring by the birding community is warranted.
COLOUR-MARKED ALBATROSSES
High numbers of Black-browed Albatrosses will be coloured this season
in the Falkland Islands. Anyone going to sea in the next few
months is requested to look out for these birds. The Falkland Islands
Conservancy project intends colour marking 10,000 fledgling
Black-browed Albatrosses from the Jason Islands, and then collecting
at-sea sightings to determine their dispersion pattern, and also
potentially their level of fisheries-associated interactions and
mortality.
All birds are marked with volcanic orange.
Whilst it is not expected that the birds will make their way into Australian waters, we don‚t really know for sure. People are also asked to pass on this information to anyone who may be in a position to keep an eye out for them.
Ben Sullivan
South-west Atlantic Seabirds at Sea Team
Falklands Conservation
PO Box 705
Stanley,
Falkland Islands
Tel: 500 22247Fax 500 22288
PELAGIC TRIP FOR ABSA MEMBERS
Speak to any member of SOSSA (Southern Oceans Seabird Study
Association) and they will soon tell you that REAL birds eat
squid! Well this is your chance to find out.
ABSA have enlisted SOSSA to conduct a pelagic banding trip out of Wollongong on Saturday 21 September, 2002. The "Sandra K" will leave Central Wollongong Harbour at 7 am and return at about 4 pm after venturing out to the edge of the continental shelf some 35 km east of Wollongong. This will be essentially a banding trip although many other seabirds will also be seen. ABSA members are being given first option on this unique experience. You need not be a bander to participate, two banding teams will be operating on the boat with a need for catchers, scribes and general helpers.
September is one of the best months to go seabirding and we can expect to encounter penguins, albatross, petrels, storm-petrels, jaegars and shearwaters. Whales and other "sea-monsters" are also likely to be encountered.
Any bander that has ever been bitten by a Crested Shrike-tit has a story to tell. Well, this is an opportunity to confront the 15 cm plus business end of an albatross with a three metre wingspan! There is even a chance of re-capturing a bird banded on one of the subantarctic islands or one banded over forty years earlier.
Get in early as places are limited. Bookings can be made by contacting David Geering on Freecall 1800 621 056 (W) or 02 6887 8440 (H), email <training at absa dot asn dot au>.
Cost for the day is $70.
Want further information about SOSSA and pelagic seabird trips? Have a look at: <http://members.ozemail.com.au/~sossa/>
WA BIRD RESEARCH FORUM
The Western Australian Bird Research Forum is an informal forum
scheduled for Saturday 18th May 2002, in the Zoology Department,
University of Western Australia.The forum aims to develop better
communication between those who are conducting bird study projects in
Western Australia.
The day will be free of charge and anyone who is studying birds is encouraged to attend. The only requirement is that you be prepared to spend a few minutes describing your project and interests.
Registration for the forum closes 30 April 2002. If you are unable to attend the forum, we would still be very interested in obtaining your details and project title/summary.
More info and online registration can be found at: <http://www.birdswa.iinet.net.au/birdforum> or you can request an e-mail registration form (or information) by contacting:
Wes Bancroft
Zoology Department
UWA
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley
WA 6009
Phone: 61 8 9380
1493 Fax: 61 8
9380 1029email: <wes at
cyllene dot uwa dot edu dot au>
RED WATTLEBIRDS AND TOADSTOOLS
This description was give to me by the Wires rescuer concerned. The
call came through to Wires in late afternoon that birds were falling
from the sky in Katoomba. When the rescuer arrived the first thing
she saw were two Red Wattlebirds almost dead in the middle of the
road, necks twisted, wings spread out and legs splayed. One was
bleeding from the eyes, the other had the third eyelid over the eyes.
Both were barely moving and the pulse was faint.
A thorough search found 22 more birds (all Red Wattlebirds). Some were lying on their sides, four were perched in trees, fluffed up and with heads down, and others were lying where they had fallen, either in the garden or road. The callers advised that they had seen the birds converge on the toadstools (Amanita muscaria - big red toadstools with white spots, usually found under pine trees) and start to eat them. Our rescuer checked several of the toadstools and found that the red fleshy tops had been extensively pecked at but the white part of the fungi had not been eaten. One wattlebird (a juvenile) was observed pecking at the toadstool during the rescue and when approached moved away. Within 2 minutes it was dead. It fell down, convulsed and died. Blood was coming from its eyes and its body was limp.
In all, 24 birds were rescued and two flew away (they seemed to be OK). Twelve birds died before the rescuer could treat them - three adults and nine juveniles. Some had blood coming from their eyes, others had the third eyelid across or their eyes rolled back. All had limp necks, splayed legs and spread wings. Some had thick, yellow diarrhoea.
The remaining 12 birds were slowly warmed and then given tepid water with lectade. They were very thirsty and took the fluid readily from an eyedropper. They could still not support their heads and some were convulsing intermittently. They were kept warm and given fluids throughout the night. The next morning all appeared fully recovered. They were given another drink and released. All flew well and dispersed. A few stayed around for a couple of days, feeding, drinking and flying normally. The rescue area was checked over the next few days and no other birds were found.
Does anyone have any other records of this or any ideas on how the birds could be treated if it happens again?
Jill Dark
PO Box 7,
Hazelbrook,
NSW 2779
<jilldark at pnc dot com dot au>
IRON RANGE - IT‚S ON AGAIN!!!!!!
York Peninsula
Queensland
November 17 to 24, 2002
Just a note to remind those who are interested to print out and fill
in the form below and register yourselves early. Details of the
trip can be found on the website (under ŒComing Events‚),
or by contacting:
Fred van Gessel, ph./fax 02-4343 1283, email <fredvg
at trentvale dot com dot au>, or
Mark Clayton (phone 02-62413620 (ah)) email < Mark.Clayton
at csiro.au>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Banding Campout at The Iron Range National Park, Cape York Peninsula,
Qld.
November 17 to 24, 2002
I/we....................................................No. of
persons...........
Of...................................Postcode.............
Phone
(home)..........................business....................email..................
wish to attend the campout at Iron Range during the week commencing
17th Nov 2002.
Please tick the following appropriate boxes and provide
information as required:-
I have my own 4WD vehicle [ ]
Make............................Reg No.....................
I will have room for…….passengers
from....................................
I DO NOT have a 4WD and seek transport (if possible) in a private
4WD from .........................
I wish to hire/share a hired 4WD from Cairns [
]
I will fly to Lockhart River and will need to be picked
up [ ]
(Please provide organisers with details of your flight date and times
etc...................................).
Any medical condition or medication to be aware of
..........................
Anything else you consider
relevant...................................
BLACK-EARED MINERS IN VIC - (volunteers needed, spare seats from Melbourne)
I'm looking for two volunteers to join me for some or all of a field trip to the Murray Sunset National Park (Vic) with maybe a quick visit to Gluepot Reserve (SA) from 22-23 March for 4 weeks, to monitor five Black-eared Miner translocated to Victoria from SA over the past two years.
We usually walk between 6 and 14 km per day, playing recordings of miners. You need to be reasonably fit, experienced in walking in the bush OFF TRACKS, familiar with both GPS AND compass, and have some birding experience.
Autumn in the mallee gives mild temperatures and calm conditions (Usually!!!) making for very pleasant field work. Around the release sites we regularly record other mallee specialists (Malleefowl, Mallee Emuwren, Striated Grasswren etc) so even if we don't see Black-eared Miners every day there's always something of interest about. We provide an EPIRB and a GPS and ensure walkers are competent before turning them looseAs usual for our long stay volunteers (a week or more) food will be provided.
I can provide a lift to and from Melbourne and all transport while in and around the park. If you're interested in joining me or know somebody who might be, it would be great to hear from you. If emailing please provide a phone number so I can give you a call.
Many thanks
Rohan Clarke (PhD Candidate) 'Conservation Biology
of the Black-eared Miner'
Department of Zoology
La Trobe University
Bundoora
Vic. 3083
Tel 03 9479 1672 Mobile 0408 947001Email <rohan at
zoo.latrobe.edu.au>
|
FEEDBACK FORUM - a selection of feedback responses from the website Feedback from Herbert Byaruhanga at <byaruhanga
at hotmail.com> Feedback from Liz Dovey at <lizd at
sprep.org.ws> My main work is to implement two regional strategies, one for birds and one for invasives. They have a lot in common as the main threat to the birds out here is invasive pests, mainly predators such as rats. If anyone has the resources to get themselves out here to one of the countries in their own time, I would be happy to suggest important projects that need to be done by people with appropriate skills. Copies of the two regional strategies can be obtained from me. We have also just helped publish a new guide to the Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia by Dr Dick Watling - (email me for his address). |
ROSEATE TERNS - MISSING BIRDS LOCATED
One of the long-standing mysteries of bird life has been solved with
the finding of large numbers of Roseate Terns on six coral cays
called Swains Reefs, 250 km north-east of Rockhampton. Until
now, it had not been known where the birds went during their annual
migration from the Northern Hemisphere.Almost 25,000 were counted by
a research team headed by Queensland National Parks and Wildlife
Service, and it is believed that this is almost the entire South-east
Asian population of Roseate Terns, except for first-year birds.
Of 1,150 birds caught with cannon nets and fitted with white leg flags, 19 already had Japanese leg flags, and one also from Taiwan. This is a record number of foreign banded birds caught in Australia in such a short time. Significantly, These birds are not covered by the Japan or China Australia Migratory Agreement.
For more information, contact:Paul O‚Neal Principal Conservation Officer 07 4936 0547
OUTBACK TWITCHATHON
Birds Australia are holding an "Outback Twitchathon" to raise funds
for the recently purchased property "Newhaven Station", 335 km
north-west of Alice Springs, now a reserve protecting 15 nationally
threatened species of animals and plants including five nationally
threatened bird species and 19 species threatened in one or more
mainland States. Regionally threatened birds include Major
Mitchell‚s Cockatoo, Black-breasted Buzzard, Australian Bustard,
Bush Stone-curlew and Grey-crowned Babbler. It boasts ten
vegetation communities, none of which are well represented in
existing reserves. Members may enjoy this opportunity to join our
sister organisation in raising funds to continue the work there.
Dates & time: Any 36 hour period - 6 am the first day to 6 pm the 2nd day between 27/7 and 18/8/2002.
Where? You can start and finish in any part of arid Australia! They will send you an arid Australia map.
What do you need to do? Register a team by contacting BA Sydney office, details below. An Outback Twitchathon Kit will be sent to you immediately. (Registration must be received by 21 July, 2002).
Birds Australia (NSW), PO Box 1322, Crows Nest, NSW 1585
Tel/Fax 02 9436 0388 Email:<rosella63 at bigpond dot
com>
CONSERVING PETRELS BREEDING IN EASTERN AUSTRALIA
A survey of studies, methods, issues and conservation
- Call for participants and papers
A Scientific Day will be held in Sydney (venue to be announced), on Saturday 2 November 2002. The idea for this scientific day came when trying to get information on the crash in numbers of short-tailed shearwater in 2000. There were many people out there of whom I wasn't aware. Thus, a principal aim is to draw amateurs and professionals together to exchange ideas on their specific research projects, and to look at issues, such as (a) the occasional breeding failure of seabirds - what can we do? (b) what knowledge has been gained from all the years of research - where do we go from here? and (c) monitoring seabirds as indicators of change. Again, what other ideas are out there? I decided to confine it to petrels (and not include albatrosses) because of the relatively few times petrels are a main topic at conferences.
For more information contact Dr Irynej Skira, Nature Conservation
Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, PO
Box 44, Hobart, Tasmania 7001
Ph: 03 6233 6372 Fax: 03 6233 3477
Email <Irynej dot Skira at dpiwe dot tas dot gov
dot au>
This meeting will be hosted by The Australian Bird Study Association, Nature Conservation Branch Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment Tasmania, and National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW.
COMMUNICATION TOWERS & RISK TO NIGHT FLYING MIGRANT
BIRDS
Tall lighted structures are known to be dangerous to night-flying
migratory birds. Recent development of wireless communication has led
to the building of many new towers. The risk from the multiplication
of these towers has led to concern in North America (see
<www.towerkill.com> for a review). I have been asked to prepare
a journal article outlining: a) The worldwide extent of risk to
migrant birds b) The level of worldwide concern c) The extent of
efforts to reduce the threat to migrant birds. If you can help,
please email or write to me with answers to the following
questions:
Respondent_______________Country_______________
Organization_______________
1. Are many new telecommunication towers 60m or more in height
being built? YES NO
2. Are towers being built along most highways across the
countryside? YES NO
3. Are birds known to have been killed at towers during
migration YES NO
4. Is there any official (government, industry) concern with
the problem YES NO
5. Are any actions being taken to reduce bird deaths?
YES NO
Thank you for your help.
Paul K. Anderson
Emeritus Professor,
University of Calgary,
Canada
e-mail: <pkanders at cadvision dot com>
BIRD DRINKING RATES
We are trying to assess acceptable levels of cyanide in mine tailings
dams. The evaluation of risks hinges very much on how much different
species of birds (bats?) drink over what period of time. If you
know of information/literature on water consumption/drinking rates of
birds (bats), could you please contact me.
Ursula Munro
Dept of Environmental Sciences, Gore Hill Campus
University of Technology, Sydney
PO Box 123,
Broadway,
NSW 2007,
Australia
Phone: +61 2 9514 4150 Fax: +61 2 951 4
4079 Email: <Ursula.Munro at uts.edu.au>