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LIVERPOOL PLAINS WOODLAND BIRD SURVEY VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
A Birds Australia project funded by the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF), Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) and the Threatened Species Network
(TSN)
INFORMATION
Birds Australia has recently commenced a study of the birds of
the Liverpool Plains. The Liverpool Plains are located in north-west NSW and
comprise approximately 1.2 million hectares of some of Australia’s most
productive land. The main towns in the area are Gunnedah and Quirindi, with
villages such as Mullaley, Tambar Springs, Breeza, Carroll and Curlewis. The
major landuses of the Liverpool Plains catchment are cropping and grazing. The
study will determine the bird species found in the area. It will then develop
recommendations for landholders on how they can manage their land to increase
biodiversity and, therefore, farm sustainability.
To determine this, Birds Australia has proposed to conduct some
on-ground surveys of the Liverpool Plains Catchment and invites interested
people to get involved. The surveys will identify areas that are important for
woodland birds. They will also be instrumental in developing specific guidelines
on how landholders can manage their land sustainably. By participating in the
surveys, you will not only be aiding the research, you’ll also get to learn
about the birds of the Liverpool Plains and the factors that affect them.
METHOD
The surveys will comprise of two types.
- Ongoing Birds Australia Atlas surveys on public lands across the Liverpool
Plains region. We encourage any individual birdwatchers/birdwatching clubs and
groups intending to travel through and/or visiting the Liverpool Plains
region, to conduct Atlas surveys across areas of public land (i.e. State
Forests, Stock Routes, public reserves etc) in the Liverpool Plains region. We
also encourage those surveyors to complete Atlas Habitat sheets, and/or
unusual sightings. There are a number of public accessible sites within the
region that have currently not been surveyed and it would be fantastic if we
could obtain some data for these areas.
- The second type of surveys will be targeted surveys on landholders private
land. These surveys will involve small groups of birdwatchers conducting Atlas
surveys on private land with the Birds Australia Project Co-ordinator during
the months of October-December. At this point we have a number of landholders
who have given us permission to conduct surveys on their land and we hope that
many more will come onboard over the following weeks. During these surveys, at
some survey locations, permission may be given to us to bush camp on the
landholders private property. This will depend on the discretion of the
landholder, and all volunteers will be notified prior to the surveys of the
whether bush camping is allowed on the particular owner’s land. If not, there
are many options for accommodation within the region. Surveys will occur on
weekends.
We currently have a number of people interested in these surveys, but require
more. If you are interested in participating in any of these surveys and you
require more detailed information, feel free to contact:
Peter A. Ekert
Birds Australia Project
Co-ordinator
(Liverpool Plains Woodland Bird Project (North
NSW))
The Wetlands Centre
PO Box
292
WALLSEND NSW 2287
Ph. 02 49516466 Mob. 0410566104 Fax. 02
49501875
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