Some populations of birds are very stable from year to year, others vary a lot. The graphs in the GBS Report quickly show that, in a very accessible and local
form. The magpie is by far the most stable. There is no point listing species that are unstable. That is just one sample but the principle is probably widespread to anywhere, So to follow up on the below: Red-rumped Parrots are probably the most abundant around
my house than at any time in the last 40 years that I have been here. I am not overly concerned about that. But Crescent Honeyeaters, Rose Robins and a few others that were regular winter visitors have not been here for many years. But I can also say that
Common Starling flocks were an almost constant presence on my lawns for the first 15 years of my time here and I have not had one on the yard for several years. Superb Fairy-wrens, White-browed Scrubwrens and Brown Thornbills, are still are around my home
somewhat regularly.
It is an appalling and pathetic travesty that after all the years of work (that I did, at my own initiative and cost, etc) to create the GBS database and analyse and write up and
publish the GBS results, to make them cheaply available to everyone, that absolutely nothing of output or useful information has come out of the ongoing survey for many years. It would be so easy to just do an update and see what has actually happened in the
22 years since the period covered by my report. COG made a lot of money out of the two, mediocre at best, books, then seemed to have lost interest. There must be data of relevance about local population changes (or stability) of Superb Fairy-wrens White-browed
Scrubwren, Crescent Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Satin Bowerbird, Brown Thornbill, Koel, Superb Parrot, etc (probably about 240 species by now).
It is remarkable the extent of the changes described for the Superb Fairy-wrens at ANBG, because they have real data for many years. The level of detail of
baseline data suggests that there could well be real changes and not just impressions. The suggested reason is interesting and appears feasible but would be hard to prove.
As for the comment on “that now totally useless and irrelevant organisation, Birdlife Australia”. As this email chat line is not theirs, I don’t think that
it helps much to be criticising them in this forum. I think they are doing more outreach than they probably did in the 1970s and earlier.
I suggest that to say that Birdlife Australia should be doing - ANOTHER NATIONAL BIRD ATLAS is awkward. Mainly because it is an easy sentence to type on an email but an immense
effort to do it. Besides, if that was tried, it would give as little information as the earlier ones did, about abundance of bird species. It was only about distribution, as shown by presence of an individual of a bird at a place, and that is only very crudely
connected to abundance data. It would probably show changes in the distribution of many species. Survey methods are changing now.
As for: “Neil is no longer the President of COG!” OK fine. Does that mistake really matter much in that forum? It did not say “current”. It could be an old contact. It is curious
that America still refers to all their past presidents addressing them as “President”. And not just because the current one is such a………
Philip
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of eremophila1--- via Canberrabirds
Sent: Saturday, 13 September, 2025 11:17 AM
To: 'Mark Clayton';
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Fairy-wren decline
Mark
I am beginning to think you are right. I went to the Australian Network for plant conservation Conference (APCC14) and was able to put that question to a BLA connection and got the response to the effect that a Bird Atlas was probably
not on the agenda.
I am seeing signs that the local birds are having to search more widely for food sources. For instance, there was a Red-Rumped parrot in one of the trees in this local Australian Native Garden and that is the first one near this garden
in four decades.
Alan Ford
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Mark Clayton via Canberrabirds
Sent: Saturday, 13 September 2025 9:59 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Fairy-wren decline
I have been around the local birding scene for 60+ years and have been saying for years that a lot of the so-called common species are in decline but keep getting disagreed with ..... "but they are still being recorded".... yes but in far fewer numbers than
previously. I have been to the ANBG and NOT seen either Superb Fairy-wrens or White-browed Scrubwrens on at least one occasion and very few of those species on other visits. From the time I and others helped the late Steve Wilson band in the ANBG in the mid
1960s onwards, the overall numbers of most species have declined dramatically. The Crescent Honeyeater was a relatively common bird previously, now only the odd bird turns up, very few Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are to be seen except possibly now when migrating.
Certainly other species are now being recorded such as the Bassian Thrush and Satin Bowerbird but these are relatively recent arrivals. When doing the "Blitz" on previous occasions I have been to Lee's Creek and New Chum's Roads, both areas I know very well,
and NOT recorded either White-browed Scrubwrens or Brown Thornbills, two of the most common birds we used to band in the Ranges. Birds that in previous years I used to band in my garden are either in severe decline or gone altogether! I now no longer band
in the garden.
It is time that now totally useless and irrelevant organisation, Birdlife Australia, stopped trying to give every Australian subspecies a "common name" or trying to reorganise its administrative structure and did what it should be doing - ANOTHER NATIONAL
BIRD ATLAS - I think they will be surprised and concerned at the results.
And yes Anthony, Neil is no longer the President of COG!
Mark
On 13/09/2025 9:22 am, Geoffrey Dabb via Canberrabirds wrote:
Ah, the media these days ! No wonder young people are becoming suspicious about what they are told. But what about the fairy-wrens? Do we believe that ? Do we think there is ground for concern? Do I hear a yawn in the background?
From: Anthony Overs
Sent: Friday, 12 September 2025 6:10 PM
To: Geoffrey Dabb
Cc: Canberrabirds
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Fairy-wren decline
I thought Kim Farley is the current COG president
On 12 Sep 2025, at 2:19 pm, Geoffrey Dabb via Canberrabirds <>
wrote:
