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
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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
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