Very interesting info Michael. And it does explain what Barbara and I have seen at Majura over our last several surveys. Where it occurs, the shrubby understorey has definitely thickened up and also grown taller.
Kim
On Sat, Jul 15, 2023 at 8:47 AM Michael Lenz <> wrote:
Noisy Miners
To add to previous comments:
At the woodland survey sites on Mt Ainslie the Noisy Miner is still one of the most widespread species, but over the last 2 years numbers have certainly been lower. Now, the species doesn't like sites with too much vegetation in the lower layers. After
the rare 3-year La Nina event we just experienced, the vegetation in the woodlands is certainly far more voluminous and denser than I have ever seen. Could it be that this is affecting numbers in the woodlands? But Golf courses and other open spaces (e.g.
the big increase of the species in Civic) would not be affected, hence numbers are still very strong at those sites. Just a thought!
Michael Lenz
On Fri, 14 Jul 2023 at 21:11, Kim Farley via Canberrabirds <> wrote:
I don't think it's a trend - just an oddity of different conditions.
To answer Phillip's musing thought. The multiple sites are surveyed in the same order every time, and starting at the same time of day, 10 minutes each site. We also note birds heard off the site, but depending on the size of a Noisy Miner territory
we may or may not hear them I guess.
Kim
On Fri, 14 July 2023, 3:31 pm Philip Veerman, <> wrote:
Is it reasonable to suggest it could be a matter of random timing. Whole groups of Noisy Miners may move around and thus just most of them just be somewhere
else at the time of the survey.
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of Geoffrey Dabb
Sent: Friday, 14 July, 2023 10:09 AM
To: 'Kim Farley'; 'Canberra birds'
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Report of the COG Woodland Survey at Majura , 30 June
How interesting about the Noisy Miners, Kim. Not many reports of that trend. I wonder if they are deterred by something in the Defence area. They have certainly taken over on the adjoining Fairbairn Golf Course which is brimming with
potential colonizers. Not many trees just over the fence, though. More like Stubble Quail country.
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Kim Farley via Canberrabirds
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2023 4:59 PM
To: Canberra birds <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Report of the COG Woodland Survey at Majura , 30 June
On Friday the 30th of June, Barbara Allan and I visited the Majura Defence Training Area for the
quarterly COG Woodland Survey. It was a sunny and calm morning after the very cold weather of the previous days.
Overall, we saw only 25 species at the eight sites we surveyed. Barbara said this is likely the lowest number of species ever
seen during her many years doing the survey. On the other hand, we saw more water bird species than is usual, including Aust Grebe on a dam that has never produced a single sighting of any species. We also counted 65
Pacific Blacks Ducks, with most of these at just the one site. And as with the March survey, there were far fewer
Noisy Miners than has been usual. Five Scarlet Robins were recorded, along with
Striated, Buff-rumped and Yellow-rumped Thornbills at multiple sites and along the tracks between sites
Kim Farley and Barbara Allan
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