Good morning COG/Canberra Birds members and chat line subscribers, a reminder that the monthly COG/Canberra Birds meeting will be held tomorrow evening Wednesday 11 September
from 7:30 pm at our usual Canberra Girls Grammar School venue. However, please note the changed access arrangements which will be in place while the construction in the Gabriel Drive parking area continues.
Details are below. There will also be signs to help you navigate your way - unfortunately the map is too big to put on the COG chat line.
Everyone is welcome so please come along to hear 2 presentations about local birds, including those in the Namadgi NP, a favourite spot of many members/subscribers.
There will be the usual raffle and you will also be able to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee after the meeting.
Jack Holland
The September 2024 meeting will be a normal face-to-face one held at our usual venue. As COVID is still widespread in the community attendees should heed social distancing and
good hygiene practice etc, and use their common sense and stay home if they have COVID symptoms. Mask wearing is recommended.
Laura Rayner and Brett Howland - Mapping the ACT Woodland Bird Community Condition
Jim Hone - Birds of Namadgi National Park
Please note that construction is currently occurring around the Gabriel Drive parking area, and access to there is not available. So please use the Chapel Drive entrance
and park there. Then proceed to the Multi-media Centre (MMT) using the alternative route the Canberra Girls Grammar School has provided as shown in the map which can be accessed using the link on the Home Page of the COG/Canberra Birds web site under LATEST
NEWS.
Once parked proceed down past the Chapel and smaller Admin Offices, keeping them to your left. Just past the latter turn left along a relatively flat and straight broad path
keeping the columns to you left. Near to the end, go left up the 3 m wide steps, turn half right and you will find an open glass door. Go through this, across the empty room and past the toilets, and then either enter the MMT either through the bottom MMT
door or go further along and up the steps where you reach the usual entry door. Though it is well lit, as it will be dark a torch for finding your way to the MMT and back to your car after the meeting is recommended.
The short presentation will be by
Laura Rayner and Brett Howland of the ACT Government Environmental Offsets – Research and Evaluation area and is entitled “Mapping the ACT Woodland Bird Community Condition.”
Laura and Brett will show COG/Canberra Birds members a new ACT Government product that they hope members will find interesting. They’ve conducted an analysis of where woodland
bird communities are considered is their highest condition. What does that mean? They’re going to tell you! An important result of their analysis includes areas of the ACT where limited bird sightings restricted their mapping. They have ideas about how
to improve coverage and maybe COG/Canberra Birds members would like to help.
The main presentation will be by
Jim Hone, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Canberra, on “Birds of Namadgi National Park”
The bird community at seven sites in the eastern part of Namadgi National Park was surveyed each year for 16 years. A total of 92 species was recorded. Two species, the
Common Bronzewing and the Common Starling, increased over the study and six species declined, including the
Eastern Rosella, Eastern Yellow Robin and the Scarlet Robin. Five Threatened species were recorded. The theoretically expected pattern of many smaller birds and fewer larger birds was observed, with a surprising aspect. Monitoring of the birds
in Namadgi is recommended as part of on-going Park management.
Jim Hone studies wildlife population dynamics and management, including conservation. He has published on many Australian birds, such as helmeted honeyeaters, malleefowls, common
mynas, and grassland, woodland and forest birds, and British birds, such as barn owls and grey herons. Jim has contributed to bird atlas work in Australia, NSW and the ACT.
