I went back out to Pierces Creek this morning arriving after 8 am. The next 3 hours were spent searching unsuccesfully for the heathwrens. Luckily there were almost no trail bikes present today. In that time I only heard the birds twice, both times their extended song.
I did find a single Fuscous Honeyeater, several Common Bronzewing, and a small group of Brown-headed Honeyeaters passing through. Also a Collared Sparrowhawk hunting low over the shrubland.
The most interesting sightings were a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater at the Cotter Lookout, where I went afterwards. It flew through with a flock of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters towards Mt MacDonald. And earlier 2 Peaceful Doves along the Cotter Rd just past the entrance to Riverview horse agistment. They flew up from the roadside when I passed.
Cheers
Marnix
On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 8:08 PM, martin butterfield <> wrote:
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.
MartinOn 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.
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