Martin,
No thoughts as to a successful method of censusing quails such as King Quail, however the use of
ropes dragged through suitable habitat is one which should not be recommended or
encouraged.
People have employed this technique in
grassland habitats such as the Terricks (in northern Victoria for those not aware) to search for Plains-wanderers, and were,
like others employing this technique, unsuccessful. The impact that this
technique may have on ground birds, while not fully known, may include injury
to a bird, and the damage to and destruction of nests and eggs. Not something
particularly desirable in threatened species management. Then there are other
species to consider.
One method I have used when searching
partially flooded grasslands (due to excessive rainfall) for Plains-wanderers
is to walk through an area with three or more people spaced at a suitable
distance. We picked up Plains-wanderers, and also Stubble Quail, Little
Button-quail, Pipits, and Songlarks. A reminder would
be that this was undertaken at night and not in habitat like on French Island. Whether the technique can be employed during the daytime would be
one that could be worth testing.
Cheers
David Parker
Deniliquin, NSW
-----Original Message-----
From:
[ On Behalf Of
Sent: Tuesday, 15 February 2005 5:13 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Censusing
quail (Vict.)
Importance: High
Am interested in list members skills and experience wit
censusing quail, in particular King Quail.
The
species is listed as a threatened taxon under the Victorian Flora and Fauna
Guarantee Act and Friends of French Island (FoFI) are keen to check for the
presence of the species at its main locality in the state (French Island).
Parks
Victoria rangers have put the birds up while slashing fire breaks on French Island
but the birds are otherwise very difficult to flush and census. In the
past I know that FoFI members have used a rope held between two people dragged
over suitable habitat as a technique but this failed to result in any quail
being recorded.
Does
anyone have advice, references or other information that provides insights on
how to census quail in dense, often damp habitats?
Look
forward to any responses.
