Woodland survey Mt Ainslie - 7 Dec 2018 - Noisy Friarbirds

[Martin Butterfield <>]

WRT Noisy Friarbirds, things are pretty good at Carwoola.  We do have plenty of Red and Yellow Box for them to feed in.  They nested one year in a Red Box, last year in a Pin-Oak and this year in a willow!!

That being said not only do Governments not give a rats razoo about the environment they often demonstrate incompetence in trying to prove they have got such a policy.  A classic was a few years ago where a householder got a notice ordering them to remove, as a safety hazard, a large eucalypt beside their house a week after they had been served with a preservation order on the same tree.

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On Sat, 8 Dec 2018 at 07:55, Mark Clayton <> wrote:

Morning all,

I am finding the complete opposite to Wayne and Paul and have done so for quite a few years now. Many years ago I used to band quite a few Noisy Friarbirds in my Kaleen yard each spring (especially) and summer but now consider myself lucky if I even hear one in the local area. I have put this demise down to the fact that the ACT Government has knocked down just about every decent sized Eucalypt between my place and the ACT/NSW border so that they can fit in more houses on tiny blocks where you couldn't put in a decent veggie patch, let alone a reasonable sized tree! Noisy Friarbirds are still reasonably common in areas where there are extensive patches of Yellow Box, Red Box and Blakeley's Red Gum that have areas of continuous vegetation so that they are able to move freely. These areas are the "high quality" habitat that is the preferred habitat that this, and many other species require, eg, Superb Parrot, Swift Parrot (in season) and Regent Honeyeaters, all species listed nationally as threatened or worse. I am afraid that this Government doesn't take its own environmental laws seriously but then again which governments do?

I am sure people will disagree with me but I have been birding locally for 60 years and have seen many changes to our bird life over that period.

Mark

On 7/12/2018 10:12 PM, Wayne Gregson wrote:

Do other chatliners share my impression that there are more Noisy Friarbirds around this summer than usual ?  In the last few years I have been lucky to see a handful but in the last few weeks I have been seeing/hearing them regularly.

 

Wayne Gregson

 

From: Michael Lenz

Sent: Friday, December 7, 2018 9:15 PM

To: COGwoodland ; m("canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");"> chatline ; Bounds, Jenny ; m("anu.edu.au","robin.hide");"> Robin Hide

Subject: [canberrabirds] Woodland survey Mt Ainslie - 7 Dec 2018

 

Robin Hide and Michael Lenz carried out the survey of the 9 sites on the eastern lower slopes of Mt Ainslie on 7 Dec, under fine, almost still, warm conditions. The area is heavily overgrazed by kangaroos and many areas of soil are disturbed where the animals rest. With the warm, sunny weather, most kangaroos had moved from the grassland into the reserve. The foliage of many of the older eucalypts has thinned out considerably.

 

We recorded 34 species at sites and another 13 while moving between sites. The most widespread species was the Noisy Friarbird (7 sites), followed by Crimson Rosella, Noisy Miner, Striated Pardalote, and Leaden Flycatcher, each at 6 sites.

 

Of note, Brown Goshawk, a total of 9 White-winged Trillers (8 males, 1 female, the latter on a nest) (but only 1 Triller at a site), Varied Sittella and Brown-headed Honeyeater (off site), and 3 pairs of White-browed Woodswallows (also off site, but 2 nests with young). Also on nests Magpie-lark, Dusky Woodswallow and Willie Wagtail, and Rufous Whistler nest-building). A Wedge-tailed Eagle, circling quite high,  was harassed repeatedly by a single Dusky Woodswallow.

Virus-free. www.avg.com