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Hi Ralph,
The Woodland Birds Project is a joint
initiative of the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service and Birds Australia.
It is a 12-month project with the primary aim of informing the general community
about the decline in number and range of woodland birds. The focus is on the NSW
sheep-wheat belt.
This decline has been thoroughly
researched and documented, and it is now recognised that the main cause of the
declines is habitat loss. Broadly, this includes the degradation and
fragmentation of native vegetation over a large area and a long time period, as
well as the continuing large-scale clearing of the present
time.
A list of 20 species acknowledged to be
in decline has been drawn up, and includes species once common in their ranges,
such a robins and whistlers. The woodland birds in decline are mostly
insect-eaters, and, most importantly, are declining as a
group.
It is worth considering that the loss of
a whole suit of insectivorous birds may have serious long term consequences for
both agricultural and natural ecosystems. In any case, such a loss is certainly
a warning that all is not well, and that ecological processes are breaking
down.
The miner's canary has evolved into 20
of our best-loved birds, and we need to take this situation very
seriously.
If you contact me personally Ralph, I
will be happy to send you more information and one of our beautiful Woodland
Birds posters.
Judie Peet
Woodland Birds Project
Co-ordinator
email
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