RE: Chestnut-rumped Heathwren at Pierce's Creek

[martin butterfield <>]

Steve, Denis et al

I regard the overall 'look and feel' of the area is currently very heath-like.  It reminded me of parts of the area on the Sandstone plateau above Etrema Gorge where I went rogaining a few years ago (although the native species are different and fortunately far less prickly).

I have suggested to ANPS that this area could be a good target at some stage for one of their Wednesday expeditions.  The diversity of the vegetation looked rather good to me, although I am still hopeless at plant ID.  The common plant I'd add to your list was Acacia buxifolia - very common further down the rock-blocked track and over the saddle past that track.  

I got two big surprises (of the few plants I could recognise):

• Xanthorrhoea australis in reasonable numbers further down off the left side of the rock-blocked track; and
• what looked very like well-developed 50cm high Grevillea robusta - presumably this is from seed flown in by birds - just below the track with the concrete structures referred to by Milburn.

Martin

On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 8:22 AM, Steve Holliday <> wrote:

Hi Denis

 

The area is hilly country with mostly native vegetation regenerating from the 2003 fires. Much of the  area used to be pine forest. Larger plants would be mostly less than 5 metres high and consist of eucalypts and wattles (especially Red Stem Wattle Acacia rubida) and the occasional Kurrajong. There are many shrubs including Daviesia, Pomaderris, Cassinia, Bursaria and probably heaps of other things that I missed, I didn’t pay as much attention to the plants as I could have. The slopes and ridges tend to be dry and rocky, while there is lusher vegetation in the gullies. There is also lots of blackberry, which the heathwrens seem to use quite happily. Structurally I guess it is pretty similar to some of heathy habitats I’ve seen. In any case it obviously suits the heathwrens, they do seem to like a good shrubby understorey.

 

Someone once told me they thought that heathwrens may be a fire succession species, moving into burnt areas once regenerating vegetation reaches a suitable stage. I’ve seen them in other burnt areas of varying ages so there may be something in this but I don’t think anyone has actually studied it. I have seen them in unburnt habitat too.

 

I think heathwrens are quite widespread in the sandstone heath type country you describe but I guess they would be just elusive there as anywhere else.

 

cheers

 

Steve

From: Denis Wilson [
Sent: Wednesday, 6 May 2009 11:22 PM
To: Lindsay & Diana Nothrop; Steve Holliday;
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] RE: Chestnut-rumped Heathwren at Pierce's Creek

 

Out of curiosity, would someone please describe the habitat in which these Heath Wrens are found?

 

I assume it is "heath" of some form, but my (very rough) memory of the Pierces Creek area does not fit with this comment: "As there are thousands of hectares of that type of country".

 

My interest is sparked by having just come back from a trip into sandstone heath country in the Budawangs, and am now wondering if I might have missed an opportunity to look for these Heath Wrens. Predominant shrub flora was low Epacrids, Kunzeas, and patches of Banksia, occasional Mallee-form Eucalypts, interspersed with sedge-like vegetation.

 

Cheers

 

Denis Wilson
www.peonyden.blogspot.com