Neighbours Noticing Nature

Powerful Owls (Ninox strenua) have been sighted and heard in our local area recently and there’s a good reason for that as the update from the The Powerful Owl project, run by Birdlife Australia explains.

What are the owls up to now?

At this time of year (April), singles are calling for a partner, and the established pairs are cementing their pair bonds, investigating tree hollows, and deciding whether to nest in the same tree as last year or move to a different one. The owls are also visiting the perimeters of their territories and calling to remind the neighbours where the boundaries are. Around the end of May/beginning of June, the females of this year’s breeding pairs will enter their hollows to lay their eggs and brood.

You may be wondering what the juveniles from last year are doing now? Some will have already dispersed, and over the coming weeks the rest will leave the territories where they were born, to find a territory of their own.

An article from the ABC describes the eating habits of Australia's largest and most powerful owl , the only owl in Australia that has an owly hoot.

Powerful Owls are capable hunters and include sugar gliders, greater gliders, ringtail possums and brushtail possums in their diet. According to Dr Raylene Cooke from Deakin University, Powerful Owls eat an astounding 250 to 350 possums a year. Dr Cooke analysed 2500 owl pellets to determine this fact.

Unseen and unheard, the winged hunter swoops onto an unwary possum, grasping it with its claws and breaking its neck. In one great bite the Powerful Owl can eat a possum's head. The male will then take the headless possum back to the roost and eat some more, as well as provide meat for the female and two chicks.

Powerful Owls will also eat mice, insects and a range of other birds, including quite large prey such as white cockatoos, magpies, and even ravens.

They specialise in their diet, but eat a broad range of animals over their habitat area. Coastal Powerful Owls will favour Ringtail Possums, while in the high country they prefer Greater Gliders.

We are very fortunate to have Powerful Owls in our area, they are listed as Vulnerable in NSW. There are some simple actions we can take to make sure the Powerful Owl will always have a home on our peninsula

• If you happen to know where a Powerful Owl is nesting please do not disturb it.
• If you have a cat keep it indoors, especially at night, for its safety as well as that of the owls.
• If you have a rodent problem consider using the less toxic first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as Warfarin, Coumateralyl (Ratblitz) because they break down more quickly than second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides which accumulate in the predator’s bodies and can result in their death.

Catherine Wroe- Wildlife carer

Very sadly, in early September I found one of the powerful owl chicks dead not too far from the water tank. It had been attacked - most likely from a fox... it may have come to ground because it was not well and then got attacked.... we can't be sure... The good news was that I saw both parents and the other young last week, so fingers crossed that this one makes it.

National Tree Day Planting perfect for Threatened Species

This year’s National Tree Days have been a celebration of community enthusiasm. 

On Schools Tree Day 120 Stage 3 students and Kinder buddies from Coal Point Public School planted 240 Blue Flax Lilies and native grasses as a border to the expanding Squirrel Glider Garden that has been growing since 2015. The joy and skills exhibited by these students was inspirational.

On the community-planting day, Sunday, The Rotary Club Toronto Sunrise pitched in and

planted with perseverance and purpose, 1260 plants forming an instant forest on the site of the decommissioned water tank and Whitelocke Street edge of Hunter Water’s land.

Thanks go out to Hunter Water for providing the resources not only for making the planting possible but also for providing professional bush regenerators to tackle the weed infestation that was compromising the integrity of the West Ridge Reserve.

Overseeing the planting were our resident high profile Powerful Owl duo (Ninox strenua). The avian intel is that the pair have produced another chick this year due to the amazing hundred year hollow that is home-sweet home.

Rod Warnock, Wildlife Photographer, captured some amazing photos of the Powerful Owl on National Tree Day. He’s also taken this photo of a Regent Honeyeater that was at Blackalls Park recently, just a flutter away. The Regent Honeyeater is listed as endangered because it has been badly affected by land clearing. A lot of the planting of winter flowering plants that has been undertaken for the Threatened Species Last Stand project is an attempt to increase the numbers of nectar producing trees for Regent Honeyeaters and Squirrel Gliders. If you see the Regent Honeyeater please share the joy it’s quite rare.

More information about it is on the Birds in Backyards website http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Anthochaera-phrygia.

Coal Point chick hatched in a hollow

This is an exciting time of year for the Powerful Owls, when chicks start to emerge from the nest hollows! The local Powerful Owl pair have produced another white fluff-ball of a chick. It will gradually get more and more chevrons on its chest as it ages. Some lovely images by Paul van Gaal are on the Owls of Australia Facebook page.

From the Powerful Owl Project…

Powerful by name, and powerful by nature - the Powerful Owl Ninox strenua is Australia’s largest owl with an impressive wingspan of 135cm. It occurs from eastern and south-eastern Australia (east of the Great Dividing Range), from south-eastern Queensland to South Australia, mostly in large continuous forest. Despite being classified as threatened in all Australian states across its range, Powerful Owls can survive within cities. They are found throughout the suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Lake Mac, particularly where bushland remnants are close by. However, increasing urbanisation is likely to impact the long-term persistence of the Powerful Owl.

Despite their impressive size, little is known about the ecology of Powerful Owls, particularly those living in cities. Since 2011, the Powerful Owl Project, with the aid of citizen scientists, has collected critical data on the Powerful Owl population.The information gained from this study is used to inform the conservation status of the Powerful Owl, and help drive management recommendations for their continued survival in urban areas.

You can register to be a citizen scientist with the project through Birdlife Australia.

You can help these birds by:
• Having some trees in your yard for them to use
• Avoiding rat and mouse baits - eating a poisoned mouse can be deadly for these birds. Instead use traps to rid your house of these pests
• Installing a nest box. You can build your own using the dimensions outlined here.

Do you have an eye on the sky or binoculars on the bush?

The Aussie Backyard Bird count is being held during Birdweek, 19-25 October. Putting your observational skills to use for the Aussie Backyard Bird count is a way to help understand the changing nature of nature and contribute to a very impressive national database of bird distribution and abundance. The information helps to understand the trends in bird communities, which birds are doing well and which are not.

Last year in the 2283 postcode 24 species were sighted, with four checklists submitted and 108 birds sighted. In this state Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Miners and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos topped the count.

Nationally the top 10 birds were Rainbow Lorikeet, Noisy Miner, Australian Magpie, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, House Sparrow, Common Myna, Silver Gull, Red Wattlebird and Welcome Sparrow.  

Sooty Oystercatcher at Coal Point-Image Rod Mackay

If you get out and about for the recommended 20 minutes of surveying you might see a Sooty Oystercatcher foraging on the tip of Coal Point, you’d have to be very lucky though, one of our local enthusiasts has only ever seen one. You might even get a glimpse of the Powerful Owl pair and their progeny…yes they’ve had babies. 

More likely you’ll see the more common species and they’ll be easy to identify because there’s a built in field guide in the Aussie Backyard Bird app and on the birdsinbackyards website.

If you’d like to see how the professionals do it Tom Clarke & co will conduct the local Spring Bird Survey on Monday 12th October. There are four spots available for community folk to participate in the bird surveys along the peninsula. Contact Suzanne for meeting details.

Everyone can indirectly support the bird survey team by keeping dogs on leashes on that Monday morning (12/10/15), or perhaps trying out the leash free areas at Hampton St Reserve (Pony Club) or Gurranba Reserve.

Neighbours Noticing Nature

Have you noticed there don’t seem to be as many possums about lately? 

That was certainly the verdict of Dr Chris McLean after the Squirrel Glider Spotlighting session. Only one brushtail possum was sighted but, from two different angles, and not much else. Another exploratory session on the eastern end of Coal Point around Stansfield and Threlkeld Reserves was a similar situation, 2 hours of searching and only 2 possums.

There are a couple of suggestions about the reasons for the absence. The April storms felling lots of habitat trees or the new neighbour…a Powerful Owl on the prowl which has taken up residence on the West ridge. This is indeed exciting news for the Powerful Owl enthusiasts. They eat a possum a night and have also be known to sup on lorikeets and other birds. These new residents are the top of the food chain. So if your possums appear to be tip toeing rather than tap dancing these days they’ve probably head about the new neighbour.

Neighbours Noticing Nature

Long term Chronicle sponsor Rod Mackay Yacht Brokerage is also a birding enthusiast…”Logged a positive audible sighting of a Powerful Owl in the vicinity of the reservoir on Coal Point Ridge on Tuesday (30/4/15) night about 6.30pm. Was calling for about 20 minutes, then stopped. Wish they would come down the hill a bit and call in my back yard!”

Nature Watch in June

Look out for…

• Winter Solstice 22nd 
• Pixie Cap & Greenhood Orchids appearing
• Snakes hibernating
• Fungi abundant
• Acacia myrtifolia in flower

Woo Who

The Draft Interim Large Forest Owl Planning and Management Guidelines has been released by LMCC for comment.  It discusses why the Powerful Owl, Masked Owl, Sooty Owl and Barking Owl are all listed as threatened (Vulnerable) species. 

“All species continue to be threatened by clearing of forest and woodland for agriculture, urban development, major infrastructure, mining, pine plantations and intensive harvesting practices for wood production in native forests (Kavanagh, 2002).
In particular, these species are susceptible to the felling of old growth forest and woodland as they and their prey are dependent on large hollow bearing trees (Kavanagh, 2002).”

The guidelines are packed full of amazing pictures and maps and puts in to context why corridors and landscape connectivity are so important for the survival of these amazing birds.

Forest Owls, Fungi-mapping & fossils

Lake Macquarie Landcare’s Super Saturday Session on July 12^th at the Landcare Resource Centre has something for everyone. Starting at 9.30am a presentation about the Forest Owls in our area will be given followed by a call to action to record the distribution of 100 of the more common fungi in the area via the fungi-mapping project. A break for lunch and then it will be off fossicking for fossils in the Tingirra Heights Insect Fossil beds, pondering the preservation of rare winged insects of the past. RSVP is essential to the Landcare Resource Centre on 4921 0392

Who gives a Hoot?

Powerful Owl

You can join the Powerful Owl Project on Sunday 13 April, 10am to 1pm at Coal point at Progress Hall, 197 Skye Point Rd

Come along to hear about the owl’s habitat and threats, the results of the Powerful Owl research project and receive training to become an owl observer.

Bookings essential to Council on 4921 0333.

Do you see what I see?

Eastern Spinebill

by Catherine Wroe- Local Wildlife Carer 24/3/14

I keep an close eye on the bird life on the West Ridge and wanted to let you know that today I have a Masked Owl roosting in a tree near my aviaries, unfortunately being harassed by all the local birds. I also saw a Powerful Owl a few weeks ago and a couple of Spangled Drongos - which is pretty unusual to get here, lots of Rufous Fantails, Eastern Spinebills and other small birds.... The Goshawks are gone so the birds are coming back, and the small bird population seems to be growing.

It's been lovely seeing all of the small birds and I've never seen so many Rufous Fantails with their young - I usually only see one or two. Now I'm lucky enough to be getting a family of Eastern Spinebills , Scrubwrens, Variegated Fairy-wrens, Easter whipbirds, Golden Whistlers and other small birds coming into my garden - the bushy plants I've planted have grown enough to entice them down and I'm stoked... Another area with lots of small birds, especially honeyeaters at the moment, is some bush next to the clay pigeon shooting site along the road going towards the Awaba garbage dump, great for any bird watcher.

Masked Owl

Goshawk

Spangled Drongo

Birds of Coal Point (and Turtles)

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 1^st 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.

On the prowl for the Powerful Owl

Several locals have heeded the call of Birdlife Australia and gone on the prowl for the Powerful Owl in the Toronto Area. 

The first couple of expeditions did not provide a sighting but recently a successful viewing occurred off Centennial Parkway. With the support of a local landowner nice clear whitewash (bird droppings) were seen, with a very furry pellet in the middle of it, so real evidence of local presence. The owl prowlers watched a Powerful Owl pull apart something furry then fly overhead to another perch and heard a Powerful Owl call several times. A glimpse was had of what was thought to be a female flying past then the calls came from further away so hopefully some chicks will be heard in the near future. 

Powerful Owls are the largest owls in Australia with possums, especially Ringtails being a favourite food. They will also take roosting birds and swoop on they prey grabbing them with their feet. 

The Powerful Owl mates for life, often 30 years,  and the pair defends its territory all year long. Their home includes an area that has open forests, woodlands, sheltered gullies with a watercourse and large vertical tree hollow for the nest. You can see why the Toronto area has been chosen by this local pair.

If you would like more information about the Powerful Owl project  contact David Bain  from Birdlife Australia david.bain@birdlife.org.au
M 0421 337 545 | T 02 9647 1875

A local Powerful Owl range being surveyed

Worried about possums in your roof?

Supporting the local Powerful Owl population is one way to keep possum numbers down. 

These large dark grey-brown owls are and few and far between. They mate for life, live for over 30 years, are in need of some good old growth trees for nesting and their preferred food is possum...one a night.
 
You can help provide local data on these big birds by joining in The Powerful Owl survey-http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/surveys/Powerful-Owl-Project