An important part of the TSLS project has been the monitoring of the birdlife in the local area. Birds are being used as indicators of the bushland health and to guide the bush regeneration strategies over the life of the project…and beyond.
Tom Clarke reported the Spring Survey highlights…” It was great to see the migrant birds (Sacred Kingfisher, Dollarbird, Channel-billed Cuckoo and Eastern Koel) back in the area again and busying themselves in re-establishment. A pair of Dollarbirds was encountered at Carey Bay and was suffering the attentions of Magpie Lark; we wait with interest to see if they can secure the advantage of the dead trees within the wetland.
Another sign of spring was the widely encountered behaviour of nest hollow inspection. Laughing Kookaburra were checking out and/or excavating nest hollows in various arboreal termite mounds at Noorumba Reserve, Burnage Reserve and West Ridge South while Rainbow Lorikeet were inspecting tree hollows at West Ridge Central and West Ridge South.”
The spring, summer, autumn and winter seasonal bird surveys and the 1st annual report are now available for viewing.
Additionally BirdLife Australia, through the Powerful Owl project has shown that there was a local chick hatched. This was the first year this project has extended beyond Sydney. An interesting observation noted in the report is that “Powerful Owls have been seen eating a higher number of birds this year along with the usual diet of possums, including Rainbow Lorikeet, Currawong, Kookaburra, Magpie, Channel-billed Cuckoo and even a Noisy Miner.
P.S The Hunter Central-Rivers CMA has recently produced a movie about marine turtles and with the warmer weather about you may be lucky enough to see some bobbing about.
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