On Friday night, a celebratory dinner was held to mark the ending of the
Barmah-Millewa Forum, a cross-border liaison body with respect to water
management in Barmah-Millewa Forest (250km north of Melbourne). There were
representatives from various government agencies and interest groups. For
the past few years, I have represented bird observers on the Forum. There
were also representatives of the timber industry, aboriginal groups, local
government, Parks Victoria, Forestry NSW, DSE (Victoria), Department of
environment and natural Heritage, irrigators, Murray River Water,
Echuca-Moama Tourism, Arthur Rylah Institute (native fish), Southern
Riverina Field Naturalists and non-wood forest users. The independent chair
was a deputy chair of the Murray Darling Basin Commission (a South
Australian). The Forum employed a Project Officer and can take much credit
for a number of management initiatives and research projects (e.g. into
colonial waterbird breeding). Most Forum members seem disappointed that the
Forum is coming to an end, at least in its present form.
Under the Living Murray Agreement, CMAs will assume a responsibility for
managing this key ecological asset. A chief asset manager has been
appointed and three committees are being appointed. Together, they will
assume the responsibilities of the Barmah Millewa Forum which set a model
for community involvement and cross-border liaison between agencies.
Before I joined the Forum, Allan Corry, who grew up in Barmah Forest, was
the bird observers representative. Prior to Allan's appointment, Jon
Hosford was on the steering committee which helped set up the Forum.
So it was fitting that Allan, Jon and I got together on Friday. Jon
recalled how, one particularly hot summer's day, when the temperature was
well above 40 degrees Celsius, he and Allan walked in the forest to
Deadman's Swamp in Moira Forest. (I suppose, to be politically correct, it
should now be called Deceased Persibling Wetland).
There, John and Allan observed Intermediate Egrets dropping dry sticks from
their nests into the swamp below. Adult birds would then swoop and pick up
a wet stick, possibly one they had just dropped, and fly with it back up to
their nest.
'Why?', they wondered. Then it dawned. Evaporative air conditioning!
Yesterday, Jon, who now resides in Tasmania, wished to observe the
condition of Moira Forest and Gulpa Island (in NSW), adjoining areas of the
Barmah-Millewa Forest. So I drove Jon in my small 4WD. He was delighted
with the state of the forest and with environmental works which have been
carried out to help allow wetlands to dry out in late summer. Allan was too
ill to join us.
We observed a group of Intermediate Egrets in a dam alongside the Cobb
Highway (B75). Hopefully, egrets will nest later this year.
Egrets nest later than ibis and other water birds. They also demand a food
supply close to their roosts. They are more fussy in their requirements
than ibis or most other water birds. Their specific requirements must be
met before successful breeding can occur.
So it is important that a wetland is allowed to dry out for a few years
before flooding so that a food supply can build up. Jon reckons that if a
wetland is not dry enough to drive over (in Moira Forest and Gulpa Island
some tracks traverse areas subject to inundation), then it is not wet
enough for the food supply to build up when flooding occurs.
It is also important that, in Barmah-Millewa at least, floods be high
enough to kill the young red gum saplings which spring up on the Moira
Grass plains which surround potential nesting sites. Egrets nest in trees
but like to feed in areas of Moira Grass, possibly because of a degree of
visibility as well as because of the food supply.
Unfortunately, because of changed water regimes, the bulk of the Moira
Grass plains have been over taken with red gums. The floods are less deep
and less frequent these days. It may upset some conservationists if the
saplings are logged or burnt but, if there is not a decent flood about once
every three years, affirmative action may be needed to remove the saplings
and promote the growth of Moira Grass.
Environmental water has recently been released into much of the forest.
Substantial recent rainfall has helped. Irrigation rejection flows ~ water
ordered by irrigators and released from storages but not needed because of
the rain ~ may also be released into parts of the forest. It is important
that some environmental water is held in reserve so that, if egrets
commence to nest, water levels can be maintained at a sufficiently high
level for them to successfully complete their breeding cycle. It would be
disastrous if the water levels in the forest are allowed to drop beforehand.
Jon and I had a lot of difficulty leaving the forest yesterday. It started
to rain fairly heavily and the forest roads became like skating rinks.
Thank goodness I took my 4WD. It was first gear and a slow speed all the
way back to the highway. There were several weekend campers in the forest.
Those with conventional vehicles are unlikely to be able to venture out of
the forest today!
Some highlights of our visited included seeing a pair of Dollar Birds
courting, calling continuously ragther like the initial calls of laughing
Kookaburras, which are also in the Roller family. We saw several emus,
including a group of a dozen.
On Langmans Sandhill on Gulpa Island alongside The Edward, we stopped to
track down a Gilberts Whistler when I spotted a Superb Parrot sitting on a
branch near to us. We are confident that we saw and heard a Gilberts even
though there were Rufous Whistlers (male and female) in the vicinity. Jon
carefully checked Slater to make sure. Other interesting birds on the
sandhill included Yellow Rosella, Brown Treecreeper, White-browed Babbler,
Rainbow Bee-eater, Grey Shrike-thrush and Masked Woodswallow. A
White-necked Heron flew over.
Amongst the birds we observed at the Reed Beds bird hide (assessible by
bitumen road) three Great-crested Grebes, Australasian Grebe, Coot, Musk
Duck, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Black Swan (one with six cygnets), a Swamp
Harrier, White ibis, Little Black and Little Pied Cormorant and Grey Teal.
A Wedgetailed Eagle was observed eating carrion on the Cobb Highway.
A great place Gulpa Island, but, apart from the hide, don't try to check it
out for a while guys or you may be there a little longer than you
anticipated, especially since another regulator is about to be opened,
allowing more of the island to flood! I wonder how much food those campers
with conventional vehicles have.
Before Friday night's dinner, Jon and I checked out a number of spots along
the Perricoota Tourist Road, which runs north-west from Moama through
farmland and forest on the NSW side of The Murray. Some of the birds we
observed included Sacred Kingfisher, Brown Treecreeper (prolific),
Buff-rumped Thornbill, Black-tailed Native Hen, Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike,
Little and Long-billed Corella, Superb Fairy Wren, Rufous Whistler,
White-throated Treecreeper, Hardhead, Musk Duck, Purple Swamp Hen, yellow
form of Crimson Rosella and Grey Fantail.
About 65 bird species over two days.
P.S. I recently led a outing for Birds Australia along this road, the
group observing about 76 species, including Hardhead, Black Kite, Swamp
Harrier, Brown Falcon, Nankeen Kestrel, Dusky Moorhen, Eastern Rosella,
Red-rumped Parrot, Striated Pardalote, Western gerygone, Singing
Honeyeater, Restless Flycatcher, White-winged Chough, Grey-crowned Babbler,
Diamond Firetail, Southern Whiteface, Richards (Australian) Pipit,
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater and Fiary Martin. Highlight of that day was
visiting a large farm and observing how the property was managed with
consideration to birds and indigenous vegetation. It was especially
pleasing to note the protection which the farm owners were giving to
Grey-crowned Babblers and other less-common native birds.
Keith Stockwell
Echuca-Moama
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