Hi All,
Bad news folks. Many of you will know the classic "Tyre-in-the-pole"
Rufous-crowned Emu-wren site on the Santa Teresa Rd south of Alice Springs. The
eastern half of the site was burnt out in a huge wildfire in 2011, and sadly I
can report that the western half of the site now appears to be on the route for
a new stretch of road that is being constructed. I was on the site on Monday as
part of my normal bird tour route and witnessed an excavator clearing
old-growth spinifex and demolishing the rocky ridges pretty much in the centre
of the resident Emu-wren's home range. As the vegetation is dry and
temperatures are high I wouldn't be surprised if a spark from a excavator blade
didn't start a fire in the remaining spinifex. Work is already progressed so
the time to influence the route has long gone. We local birders are all flat
out with our own projects, jobs and lives (!) and somehow missed the plans to
re-route the Santa Teresa Rd right through this important birding location. The
Emu-wren occurs at many other locations in the region, I have some good
alternative sites to take birders for this species but it breaks my heart to
think that I won't see the sun rise from that hill while Emu-wrens and
Grasswrens frolic at our feet ever again. Should the spinifex stands to the
west escape being burnt or cleared during this construction, in time the site
will be usable again for birding but I think in the meantime its effectively
finished.
The moral of the story is if you have a place you love birding never assume its
safe- we have to do what we can to safeguard these places both for the birds
and ourselves or we'll be left with nothing.
Regards
Mark Carter
Birding and Wildlife.com
T ++61 (0) 447358045
http://www.birdingandwildlife.com
ABN 31234450010
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