Small Birds
Australia’s small birds need our help. The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife want you to know that you can help small birds to breed and flourish in Narromine. All you have to do is plant the right plants on National Tree Day on Sunday. "This National Tree Day we’re urging people to provide a haven for small birds by planting shrubs,” Ms Suzanne Medway, President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia said. "Small birds need dense foliage to hide amongst to stay safe from cats, dogs and larger, more aggressive birds. If the right conditions are provided, small birds like Willie wagtails, fairy wrens and yellow robins will come to visit.” According to Ms Medway small birds are lovely to watch and wonderful to have around the garden as they keep insects in check. "Many homeowners and councils have planted trees such as bottlebrush and melaleucas in recent years. Rainbow lorikeets, noisy miners and wattlebirds have all flourished in response to these tree plantings,” Ms Medway said. "Now it’s time to do our bit to help the small birds.”
You too can enjoy wonderful wrens, fancy finches and ravishing robins flittering and fluttering in your backyard. How to attract small birds to your garden: Ask your local nursery for advice on locally native shrubs. Plant shrubs that will grow into dense foliage and give small birds somewhere to hide. Plant shrubs close together in clumps. Provide some water in your garden for birds to drink and bathe in. Invite your neighbours or friends to get involved in shrub planting, and make it a community effort. The more habitat there is around your area for small birds, the more of them you’ll see. Good shrubs for small birds include grevilleas, such as grevillea rosemarinafolia, and hakeas. Prune your shrubs to form dense hedges as small birds love to dart in and out of them. The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife also supports the planting of shrubs for the benefit of small birds and runs a program called Backyard Buddies. *Narramine News
For more info about making your backyard wildlife friendly visit .. http://www.australian-backyard-wildlife.com
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Lyrebirds 10/8/11
Lyrebirds
After a twenty year absence in Willoughby’s (NSW) bushland, lyrebirds are now returning to the area with two sightings reported in Castlecrag and Bicentennial Reserve. One of Australia's best-known native birds, lyrebirds have an extraordinary mimicking ability and males are recognised for their striking long tail feathers. As a result of Willoughby City Council’s designated Wildlife Protection Areas and the successful fox and feral cat control program, Willoughby has seen an increase of wildlife recently, with echidnas, bandicoots, brush-turkeys and wallabies returning to the local bushland to nest and forage. Find out more about lyrebirds and other local wildlife at the Willoughby Fauna Fair on the 21 August at Willoughby Park. Birds Australia, the National Parks Association and council will provide helpful tips on protecting and improving wildlife habitats and there will also be free dog obedience and trick training. Have you spotted a lyrebird in your area? Contact Willoughby City Council on 9777 1000 or email@willoughby.nsw.gov.au
After a twenty year absence in Willoughby’s (NSW) bushland, lyrebirds are now returning to the area with two sightings reported in Castlecrag and Bicentennial Reserve. One of Australia's best-known native birds, lyrebirds have an extraordinary mimicking ability and males are recognised for their striking long tail feathers. As a result of Willoughby City Council’s designated Wildlife Protection Areas and the successful fox and feral cat control program, Willoughby has seen an increase of wildlife recently, with echidnas, bandicoots, brush-turkeys and wallabies returning to the local bushland to nest and forage. Find out more about lyrebirds and other local wildlife at the Willoughby Fauna Fair on the 21 August at Willoughby Park. Birds Australia, the National Parks Association and council will provide helpful tips on protecting and improving wildlife habitats and there will also be free dog obedience and trick training. Have you spotted a lyrebird in your area? Contact Willoughby City Council on 9777 1000 or email@willoughby.nsw.gov.au
Birds Blog 10/8/11
Parrot Tourism
Australia should forget beaches and bikini-clad models as tourist drawcards, and promote the country as a land of parrots to rival the Amazon, a leading tourism expert says. Griffith University eco-tourism research centre director Professor Ralf Buckley said Australia was "clueless" about promoting its wildlife to a profitable overseas market for environmental tourism. Global tourism trends show bird watchers are among the worlds highest spending tourists, paying upwards of $10,000 for off-the-track tours led by experts. Professor Buckley said Australia was much safer than some politically volatile and remote South American parrot-watching spots. "We are truly clueless in marketing our wildlife. We should promote our large, brightly coloured birds. Overseas visitors are blown away by the brilliant colours of our parrots," he said. And two of the worlds leading experts on parrots and cockatoos, Canberra residents Joe Forshaw and Denis Saunders, say the ACT should market its birdlife as a major tourist attraction.
Mr Forshaw, the former head of wildlife conservation for the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, is the author of 17 ornithology books including a guide to the worlds parrots. "I've taken parrot tours around the world, and they're a huge attraction. In Peru and Costa Rica, there are entire communities built around parrot tourism," he said. In Canberra, Mr Forshaw has hosted visitors from Europe and the United States who were enthralled by gang-gangs, crimson rosellas, king parrots and flocks of galahs. "We take galahs for granted, but to overseas visitors their colours are remarkable." Dr Saunders, a former CSIRO chief research scientist who identified two new species of West Australian cockatoos, has taken visitors to local parks to see yellow-tailed black cockatoos, eastern rosellas and gang-gangs. More than a dozen parrot species are found in Canberra, and many are on "the life lists", or wish lists, of overseas bird watchers, he said. Mr Forshaw said early maps used by spice traders to the Dutch East Indies showed a southern land mass known as Terra Psittacorum, the Land of Parrots. "Many of the ships brought parrots to take back to Europe, and were told by local merchants of a southern land that was full of parrots. That was Australia." * Canberra Times
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Bird Tourism
Bird watchers have been flocking to Minnippi Wetlands at Carina on Brisbane's eastside to see a white-fronted honeyeater, one of the rarest birds seen on the coastal strip. The honeyeater boasts what is described as a "moustache" and is more commonly found in far western NSW, Victoria and sometimes Queensland's distant interior. Birds Queensland spokesman Mike West said yesterday that dozens of bird watchers had gone to the wetlands to try and catch a glimpse of the rare visitor. "You have to shoulder your way in to get a look at it but it hasn't been seen lately so it may have moved somewhere else," Mr West said. "Normally you have to go well out west to see them. It's hard to fathom out why this one was drawn to the coast. "They've not been seen in Brisbane before, that I know of." It's the second rare species to be seen in the southeast during the past two months, with a New Zealand South Island pied oystercatcher in residence at Point Halloran in Redlands, east of Brisbane. "It took me ages to find him," Mr West said. "He's with a flock of about 50 pied oystercatchers. "He's nearly all white under his wings, whereas the other oyster-catchers are black and white. "But he has shorter legs than the locals and if he sits down, you lose him in the crowd."
Bird watchers, or twitchers, aim to see as many birds as possible, although at this time of the year they are more likely to be enjoying the wetland antics of common Australian coots, which are currently in their winter-spring mating period. They are black with red eyes, white beaks and have Frankenstein-looking feet. Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife chief executive Susanna Bradshaw said coots were highly territorial during winter and spring. "They swim menacingly towards any intruders and can fight like champion boxers," she said. "Coots are fascinating to watch, particularly when they run along the surface of the water as they take off. Mating displays are also impressive." Ms Bradshaw said many water birds and marine animals were feeling the pressure as rubbish, chemicals, garden rubbish and run-off entered waterways. Residents could help keep waterways clean by picking up litter, binning cigarette butts, not pouring chemical or household waste into drains and washing cars on grass so cleaners did not run into drains. *Courier Mail
Australia should forget beaches and bikini-clad models as tourist drawcards, and promote the country as a land of parrots to rival the Amazon, a leading tourism expert says. Griffith University eco-tourism research centre director Professor Ralf Buckley said Australia was "clueless" about promoting its wildlife to a profitable overseas market for environmental tourism. Global tourism trends show bird watchers are among the worlds highest spending tourists, paying upwards of $10,000 for off-the-track tours led by experts. Professor Buckley said Australia was much safer than some politically volatile and remote South American parrot-watching spots. "We are truly clueless in marketing our wildlife. We should promote our large, brightly coloured birds. Overseas visitors are blown away by the brilliant colours of our parrots," he said. And two of the worlds leading experts on parrots and cockatoos, Canberra residents Joe Forshaw and Denis Saunders, say the ACT should market its birdlife as a major tourist attraction.
Mr Forshaw, the former head of wildlife conservation for the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, is the author of 17 ornithology books including a guide to the worlds parrots. "I've taken parrot tours around the world, and they're a huge attraction. In Peru and Costa Rica, there are entire communities built around parrot tourism," he said. In Canberra, Mr Forshaw has hosted visitors from Europe and the United States who were enthralled by gang-gangs, crimson rosellas, king parrots and flocks of galahs. "We take galahs for granted, but to overseas visitors their colours are remarkable." Dr Saunders, a former CSIRO chief research scientist who identified two new species of West Australian cockatoos, has taken visitors to local parks to see yellow-tailed black cockatoos, eastern rosellas and gang-gangs. More than a dozen parrot species are found in Canberra, and many are on "the life lists", or wish lists, of overseas bird watchers, he said. Mr Forshaw said early maps used by spice traders to the Dutch East Indies showed a southern land mass known as Terra Psittacorum, the Land of Parrots. "Many of the ships brought parrots to take back to Europe, and were told by local merchants of a southern land that was full of parrots. That was Australia." * Canberra Times
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bird Tourism
Bird watchers have been flocking to Minnippi Wetlands at Carina on Brisbane's eastside to see a white-fronted honeyeater, one of the rarest birds seen on the coastal strip. The honeyeater boasts what is described as a "moustache" and is more commonly found in far western NSW, Victoria and sometimes Queensland's distant interior. Birds Queensland spokesman Mike West said yesterday that dozens of bird watchers had gone to the wetlands to try and catch a glimpse of the rare visitor. "You have to shoulder your way in to get a look at it but it hasn't been seen lately so it may have moved somewhere else," Mr West said. "Normally you have to go well out west to see them. It's hard to fathom out why this one was drawn to the coast. "They've not been seen in Brisbane before, that I know of." It's the second rare species to be seen in the southeast during the past two months, with a New Zealand South Island pied oystercatcher in residence at Point Halloran in Redlands, east of Brisbane. "It took me ages to find him," Mr West said. "He's with a flock of about 50 pied oystercatchers. "He's nearly all white under his wings, whereas the other oyster-catchers are black and white. "But he has shorter legs than the locals and if he sits down, you lose him in the crowd."
Bird watchers, or twitchers, aim to see as many birds as possible, although at this time of the year they are more likely to be enjoying the wetland antics of common Australian coots, which are currently in their winter-spring mating period. They are black with red eyes, white beaks and have Frankenstein-looking feet. Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife chief executive Susanna Bradshaw said coots were highly territorial during winter and spring. "They swim menacingly towards any intruders and can fight like champion boxers," she said. "Coots are fascinating to watch, particularly when they run along the surface of the water as they take off. Mating displays are also impressive." Ms Bradshaw said many water birds and marine animals were feeling the pressure as rubbish, chemicals, garden rubbish and run-off entered waterways. Residents could help keep waterways clean by picking up litter, binning cigarette butts, not pouring chemical or household waste into drains and washing cars on grass so cleaners did not run into drains. *Courier Mail
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
New Appeal for Animal Flood Victims!
Sydney Pet Rescue & Adoption, has launched the Australian Animal Flood Victims Emergency Appeal, and together with various other rescue groups, they are working hard to raise funds to support animals affected by the recent devastating floods in Qld. The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia is one of the organisations they have chosen to support with the Appeal. We will be using the funds they raise to support foster carers in the worst affected and priority areas, with financial support to assist with the rescue and foster care of wildlife. ……….We thank SPRA and all the rescue groups who are working hard with them, for their support…..
Please click on this link to find out more about the appeal: SPRA Flood Animal Appeal Here!
Please click on this link to find out more about the appeal: SPRA Flood Animal Appeal Here!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Birds Dying 19/1/11
At the beginning of this month when about 5,000 red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in one night in Arkansas, biologists were called on to put a damper on public speculation about pesticides and secret military tests by reminding everyone how many birds there are and how many die. They often do so as a result of human activity, but in far more mundane and dispiriting ways than conspiracy buffs might imagine.
Related
Times Topic: Birds
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Get Science News From The New York Times » “Five billion birds die in the U.S. every year,” said Melanie Driscoll, a biologist and director of bird conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Flyway for the National Audubon Society.
That means that on average, 13.7 million birds die in this country every day. This number, while large, needs to be put into context. The federal Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that a minimum of 10 billion birds breed in the United States every year and that as many as 20 billion may be in the country during the fall migratory season.
Even without humans, tens of millions of birds would be lost each year to natural predators and natural accidents — millions of fledglings die during their first attempts at flight. But according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, people have severely complicated the task of survival. Although mortality rates are difficult to calculate for certain, using modeling and other methods like extrapolation from local research findings, the government has come up with estimates of how many birds die from various causes in the United States.
Some of the biggest death traps are surprising. Almost everyone has an experience with a pet proudly bringing home a songbird in its jaws. Nationally, domestic and feral cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year, according to the government. One study done in Wisconsin found that domestic rural cats alone (thus excluding a large number of suburban and urban cats) killed roughly 39 million birds a year.
Pesticides kill 72 million birds directly, but an unknown and probably larger number ingest the poisons and die later unseen. Orphaned chicks also go uncounted.
And then there is flying into objects, which is most likely what killed the birds in Arkansas. The government estimates that strikes against building windows alone account for anywhere from 97 million to nearly 976 million bird deaths a year. Cars kill another 60 million or so. High-tension transmission and power distribution lines are also deadly obstacles. Extrapolating from European studies, the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates 174 million birds die each year by flying into these wires. None of these numbers take into account the largest killer of birds in America: loss of habitat to development.
All of this explains why about a quarter of the 836 species of birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are in serious decline. For a third of the other birds there is not enough information to be sure about the health of their populations.
Of course, poisons and electric wires are not as exciting to think about as secret government plots, but Ms. Driscoll says it is time we pay attention to them anyway.
“It is the story that the press and the public have largely missed, and it is important, and timely, given the current concern,” she said. “And it is what gets those of us who work in bird conservation motivated every day to try to deal with human-induced changes to our habitats, our landscape and our very climate.”
A version of this article appeared in print on January 18, 2011, on page D4 of the New York edition.
Meanwhile, Dead Birds and Fish
In the last 2 months, 22 instances of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dead birds and fish have been recorded worldwide. There have been many speculations about the cause of death, and autopsies apppear to have found nothing untoward. Some local wildlife carers are telling us they are getting more birds into care than ever before.....
Read more http://www.naturalnews.com/030985_mysterious_deaths_birds.html
and here http://www.naturalnews.com/030996_bird_deaths_pole_shift.html
Related
Times Topic: Birds
RSS Feed
Get Science News From The New York Times » “Five billion birds die in the U.S. every year,” said Melanie Driscoll, a biologist and director of bird conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Flyway for the National Audubon Society.
That means that on average, 13.7 million birds die in this country every day. This number, while large, needs to be put into context. The federal Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that a minimum of 10 billion birds breed in the United States every year and that as many as 20 billion may be in the country during the fall migratory season.
Even without humans, tens of millions of birds would be lost each year to natural predators and natural accidents — millions of fledglings die during their first attempts at flight. But according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, people have severely complicated the task of survival. Although mortality rates are difficult to calculate for certain, using modeling and other methods like extrapolation from local research findings, the government has come up with estimates of how many birds die from various causes in the United States.
Some of the biggest death traps are surprising. Almost everyone has an experience with a pet proudly bringing home a songbird in its jaws. Nationally, domestic and feral cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year, according to the government. One study done in Wisconsin found that domestic rural cats alone (thus excluding a large number of suburban and urban cats) killed roughly 39 million birds a year.
Pesticides kill 72 million birds directly, but an unknown and probably larger number ingest the poisons and die later unseen. Orphaned chicks also go uncounted.
And then there is flying into objects, which is most likely what killed the birds in Arkansas. The government estimates that strikes against building windows alone account for anywhere from 97 million to nearly 976 million bird deaths a year. Cars kill another 60 million or so. High-tension transmission and power distribution lines are also deadly obstacles. Extrapolating from European studies, the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates 174 million birds die each year by flying into these wires. None of these numbers take into account the largest killer of birds in America: loss of habitat to development.
All of this explains why about a quarter of the 836 species of birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are in serious decline. For a third of the other birds there is not enough information to be sure about the health of their populations.
Of course, poisons and electric wires are not as exciting to think about as secret government plots, but Ms. Driscoll says it is time we pay attention to them anyway.
“It is the story that the press and the public have largely missed, and it is important, and timely, given the current concern,” she said. “And it is what gets those of us who work in bird conservation motivated every day to try to deal with human-induced changes to our habitats, our landscape and our very climate.”
A version of this article appeared in print on January 18, 2011, on page D4 of the New York edition.
Meanwhile, Dead Birds and Fish
In the last 2 months, 22 instances of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dead birds and fish have been recorded worldwide. There have been many speculations about the cause of death, and autopsies apppear to have found nothing untoward. Some local wildlife carers are telling us they are getting more birds into care than ever before.....
Read more http://www.naturalnews.com/030985_mysterious_deaths_birds.html
and here http://www.naturalnews.com/030996_bird_deaths_pole_shift.html
Monday, December 6, 2010
New Parrot Species 7/12/10
New Parrot Species
DNA experts from Australia have discovered that dwindling populations of ground parrots in Western Australia belong to a different species than those found in the rest of the country, a find with important conservation implications. A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy used DNA from 160-year-old museum specimens to learn of distinct differences between the ground parrots in the east and west and that the western populations should be recognized as a new species. It has been named Pezoporus flaviventris. The DNA study suggests the two species diverged from each other some 2 million years ago. "Our findings demonstrate that museum collections, some going back more than 150 years, continue to be relevant and can provide critical information for understanding and conserving the world's biodiversity into the future," said team member Jeremy Austin, of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide.
While excited about the discovery, researchers were also concerned for the survival of these newly classified birds."The discovery has major conservation implications," said team member Stephen Murphy of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. "The western ground parrot has declined rapidly in the last 20 years; there are now only about 110 birds surviving in the wild, and most of these are confined to a single national park. It is now one of the world's rarest birds." *Our Amazing Planet
DNA experts from Australia have discovered that dwindling populations of ground parrots in Western Australia belong to a different species than those found in the rest of the country, a find with important conservation implications. A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy used DNA from 160-year-old museum specimens to learn of distinct differences between the ground parrots in the east and west and that the western populations should be recognized as a new species. It has been named Pezoporus flaviventris. The DNA study suggests the two species diverged from each other some 2 million years ago. "Our findings demonstrate that museum collections, some going back more than 150 years, continue to be relevant and can provide critical information for understanding and conserving the world's biodiversity into the future," said team member Jeremy Austin, of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide.
While excited about the discovery, researchers were also concerned for the survival of these newly classified birds."The discovery has major conservation implications," said team member Stephen Murphy of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. "The western ground parrot has declined rapidly in the last 20 years; there are now only about 110 birds surviving in the wild, and most of these are confined to a single national park. It is now one of the world's rarest birds." *Our Amazing Planet
Birds Fight Back 7/12/10
Birds Fight Back
A decade-long survey has found key species of birds that were in trouble because of land clearing and grazing are on the way back. For the past decade, David Lindenmayer and a team of scientists from the Australian National University have been keeping a close watch on woodland birds, studying 300 sites across 150 farms over a 10-year period. Over that time, many species that were considered to be in trouble have reappeared, including the speckled warbler, the diamond firetail and the rufous whistler. "In some cases we've seen the reporting rate, which is the number of times we record the birds on our sites, double, triple, even quadruple on some of these farms where there's been these kinds of interventions," Professor Lindenmayer said while visiting a property near Boorowa in southern New South Wales. "The fantastic thing is it is telling us now about the kinds of things that we might need to alter slightly on farms to actually have really good environmental outcomes." And it is not just birds that are reappearing. Reptiles are also being monitored and are also making a comeback.
"It's been a really buoyant year as far as the rainfall and things have been going on," scientist Geoffrey Kay said. "So we're picking up blind snakes and pink-tailed worm lizards. These are species that very rarely come up. They're subterranean and the moisture is really pulling them to the surface." The key to this biodiversity comeback is the landholder. Graziers and farmers are helping regenerate the land, replant the vegetation and grasslands, and over 10 years that has paid off. Grazier Neil Stuart signed up to the Federal Government's Environmental Stewardship Program and he is now taking great pleasure in watching the dramatic turnaround. "It gets you more involved because the more they find the more excited they get about the birds, reptiles, grasses and whatever," he said. "You go to some of these sites and you see these incredible wildflowers, that are endangered, growing. "I reckon it's great, and I just like talking to other people who are involved with this and they get a bit excited, because it's the first time they're seeing something happening." *ABC
A decade-long survey has found key species of birds that were in trouble because of land clearing and grazing are on the way back. For the past decade, David Lindenmayer and a team of scientists from the Australian National University have been keeping a close watch on woodland birds, studying 300 sites across 150 farms over a 10-year period. Over that time, many species that were considered to be in trouble have reappeared, including the speckled warbler, the diamond firetail and the rufous whistler. "In some cases we've seen the reporting rate, which is the number of times we record the birds on our sites, double, triple, even quadruple on some of these farms where there's been these kinds of interventions," Professor Lindenmayer said while visiting a property near Boorowa in southern New South Wales. "The fantastic thing is it is telling us now about the kinds of things that we might need to alter slightly on farms to actually have really good environmental outcomes." And it is not just birds that are reappearing. Reptiles are also being monitored and are also making a comeback.
"It's been a really buoyant year as far as the rainfall and things have been going on," scientist Geoffrey Kay said. "So we're picking up blind snakes and pink-tailed worm lizards. These are species that very rarely come up. They're subterranean and the moisture is really pulling them to the surface." The key to this biodiversity comeback is the landholder. Graziers and farmers are helping regenerate the land, replant the vegetation and grasslands, and over 10 years that has paid off. Grazier Neil Stuart signed up to the Federal Government's Environmental Stewardship Program and he is now taking great pleasure in watching the dramatic turnaround. "It gets you more involved because the more they find the more excited they get about the birds, reptiles, grasses and whatever," he said. "You go to some of these sites and you see these incredible wildflowers, that are endangered, growing. "I reckon it's great, and I just like talking to other people who are involved with this and they get a bit excited, because it's the first time they're seeing something happening." *ABC
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