Overgrowth at Crace Wetland

[John Harris <>]

There doesn’t seem a pattern to the times of day the Spotted Crakes emerge and forage on the edge of the reed beds..

They are becoming LESS visible because of the growth of the reeds etc. I don’t quite know what to do about this, if anything, and would welcome suggestions. There used to be a little mudflat on the north side of the wetland bit, half way along the path. It is now almost fully overgrown with reeds although it is still the place to see them as they forage along the edge.  There are very few shallow spots now in the wetland and what there is is decreasing and may disappear altogether this summer.

While I realise the water-cleansing function of the reed beds, they are also supposed to be a bird habitat and it would be a pity if the habitat became unsuitable to wading birds etc.

Some years ago there were open shallow patches in the old bed of Ginninderra Creek, not the constructed section which is tne dam outlet joining the original creek about 400 metres downstream. Crakes were always in the old bed, which had become a kind of billabong, flowing only in very heavy rain, but as it got overgrown with reeds the crakes disappeared. The old bed is now completely choked which is fine for the Reed warblers and Grassbirds but little else. Do we want Crace wetland to go down this path?

John Harris

Rev Dr John Harris,

36 Kangaroo Close,

Nicholls, ACT 2913

AUSTRALIA

P: 61-(0)2-62418472

E: 

From: John Brown <>
Date: Monday, 3 November 2014 7:08 am
To: John Harris <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Baillon's Crake still at Crace

John,

Thanks. That's curious, because I only drop I occasionally and have only see the spotted' since! I'll try dropping in a bit more often for a bit and see how I go. Perhaps I'll try different times of day. I suspect the spotteds dont emerge early in the morning?

John

On 2 Nov 2014, at 7:41 pm, John Harris <> wrote:

I walk over there almost every day. The pair of Spotted Crakes are almost always visible. I had held high hopes for them breeding but no evidence yet.

Baillon’s Crake is a bit more elusive and I probably only see it about once a week. I cheat a bit and if I see it, I tend to choose that as my reporting day. After all, COG doesn’t really want a daily report.

I have not seen the Spotless crake since last year.

 

From: John Brown <>
Date: Sunday, 2 November 2014 7:05 pm
To: chatline <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Baillon's Crake still at Crace

 

It’s not always possible to spot the crakes at Crace pond, but I was in luck today!

 

John