Warbler
Volume 5 Number 3 September 2016
EDITOR’S NOTE – Peter Crane
The Book Corner has three book reviews and a publication
update this quarter.
Welcome to the September 2016 issue of Warbler, the
quarterly
e-newsletter
of
BirdLife
Southern ‘The Genius of Birds’ details current knowledge of intelligent
bird behaviours. ‘Plants of Central Queensland’ is a plant field
Queensland, your region of BirdLife Australia.
guide and would be useful to all birders to assist in
recognising the plants our birds use. ‘Mateship with Birds’
With a variety of interesting and informative articles there
reviews this recently republished 1922 book from one of the
should be something for all readers.
forebears of Australian birding. ‘Jizz; An update on its Origin’
is an update on research published 20 years ago on this term
This quarter has been a significant time in BirdLife Southern
that we use frequently.
Queensland and our Convenor, Judith Hoyle, provides a
summary of each of these significant events.
The Back Page provides a summary of upcoming events,
outings and surveys.
Two Distinguished Service Awards were presented during the
2016 AGM and are appropriately recognised in Warbler.
Until next quarter best wishes with your birding activities and
please consider submitting a Warbler article.
Judith Hoyle and Sheena Gillman have submitted an article
on the recent National Campout in the Lockyer Valley.
We have also published a Warbler QOC16 Special Edition for
your perusal.
Oddments again provides a number of interesting bird or
other animal behaviours and general interest items submitted
by our readers. There is one response from a previous article
Peter Crane
and this is great as it indicates a level of reader interest.
INDEX
Sue Chatfield has submitted an article about her visit to
Parrys Lagoon, WA. Our second travel article is from Neil Editor’s Note and Index ------------------------------------------------------ 1
From the Convenor ----------------------------------------------------------- 2
Humphris who tells us about a recent southern trip.
Distinguished Service Awards 2016 ----------------------------------------- 3
In The Green Corner Rochelle Steven has drawn our attention
to a number of significant, and depressing, conservation
issues. Sheena Gillman draws our attention to the inaction of
all levels of government. Vince Bejuga has submitted another
interesting report on the autumn Adopt-A-Farm Granite Belt
surveys. Bob Waterman’s article summarises the background
to the very significant Broadwater issue.
Funds from the combined BSQ and BQ Twitchathon were
directed to Carpentarian Grasswren research and Nick
Leseberg has provided a report of this research.
National Campout Report – Judith Hoyle, Sheena Gillman ---------------- 4
Oddments --------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
On Tour
Parrys Lagoon – Sue Chatfield ------------------------------------------- 10
An Adventure South to West of Australia – Neil Humphris ------------- 11
The Green Corner
Conservation Corner – Rochelle Steven --------------------------------- 12
Government Actions – Sheena Gilman ---------------------------------- 12
Adopt-a-Farm Granite Belt Autumn Survey – Vince Bejuga ------------ 14
Gold Coast Broadwater Features – Bob Westerman -------------------- 15
Carpentarian Grasswren Research – Nick Leseberg -------------------- 17
Living with Cassowaries – Yvonne Cunningham ------------------------ 18
Some of our birds are more than backyard birds and this is
Birds in Backyards – Holly Parsons ------------------------------------- 21
proven in Yvonne Chapman’s very interesting ‘Living with
Update: Yandina, Toondah and Broadwater – Judith Hoyle ----------- 22
Cassowaries’ article. Holly Parsons the BirdLife Australia Birds The Places That Matter The Most – IBAs ---------------------------------- 23
in Backyards Program Manager reminds us that our birds will
Palmgrove IBA – Rochelle Steven --------------------------------------- 24
sooon be looking for nestboxes including ones that you have Over the Border
provided. Judith Hoyle has provided a summary of three
From the Nation’s Capital – Shorty -------------------------------------- 25
current and very significant conservation issues – Yandina,
Over the Water
Toondah and Broadwater.
A Thai Dish – Barry Heinrich --------------------------------------------- 26
Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are sites of global bird
conservation importance. Rochelle Steven has drafted an
informative article on the Palmgrove IBA.
The Book Corner
The Genius of Birds – Jennifer Ackerman ------------------------------- 27
Plants of Central Queensland – Eric Anderson -------------------------- 28
Mateship with Birds – AH Chisholm -------------------------------------- 29
‘Jizz’: An Update on it’s Origin – David Mcdonald ----------------------- 30
We live in a wide, diverse continent and an interesting world.
There are birding opportunities in each State and overseas. The Workshop
Binoculars – Judith Hoyle ------------------------------------------------- 31
Our regular contributors Shorty in Canberra and Barry
The Back Page -------------------------------------------------------------- 32
Heinrich from Thailand have again submitted articles.
FROM THE CONVENOR
BIRDLIFE SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND
Shorebird Conservation was high on the agenda at the
Queensland Ornithological Conference in July. I find the
plight of our shorebirds beyond belief. Birds that used to be
so common, now critically endangered. It truly does drive me
to tears! But soon we hope to give you a really ‘good news’
story! You can read about our Yandina Creek Wetlands,
Toondah Harbour, and Broadwater Shorebird campaigns later
in this newsletter.
Convenor & Acting Treasurer –
Judith Hoyle
Deputy Convenor –
Angelina Rowell
Secretary, Warbler Editor –
Peter Crane
Co-chair of Conservation –
Rochelle Steven
Co-chair of Conservation & PTBA Co-ordinator
Sheena Gillman
Chair Education Neil Humphris
Membership Officer, Co-chair Research & Conference –
Robert Clemens
Co-chair Research & Conference
David Exton
MailChimp/eNews Editor Monica Awasthy
Social Media Advisor Jessie Cappadonna
Research Sub-Committee Gary Fitt
Education Sub-Committee Val Catchpoole
Committee Elisha Taylor, Sam Price
We have just completed a mammoth ‘trifecta’: The
Queensland Ornithological Conference (QOC), our AGM and
the National Campout. Many of us are heaving a sigh of
relief as life can get back on a more even keel, but all three
will get a mention here.
The conference was an outstanding success! It has been a
privilege to witness our small regional conference evolving
into an event that can hold its own against any national
conference. Over 200 delegates attended to learn, in part,
about night parrots, shorebirds, grass finches and how the
study of genetics is turning our understanding of taxonomy
on its head! Peter Crane, our amazing editor of Warbler (not
to mention our Secretary, too) has done a great job of pulling
together a special Warbler edition devoted to the QOC.
Committee members may sit on several sub-committees
and/or hold special roles managing important BSQ activities.
LOCAL BRANCH CONVENORS –
Brisbane North –
Nick Leseberg
Brisbane South –
Sandra Gallienne
Gold Coast –
Beth Hall
South Burnett –
Julian Bielewicz
Sunshine Coast –
Ken Cross
The conference was a collaboration with Birds Queensland. A BSQ Photography (interim) –
Di Oliver
small, but extremely effective, Conference Subcommittee
lead by Co-Chairs David Exton and Rob Clemens from BSQ Postal Address - PO Box 375 Annerley QLD 4103
did a remarkable job putting the program together. Wayne
Lock and Rae Clark from Birds Queensland took care of the
WARBLER DISTRIBUTION POLICY
finances and raffle ticket sales respectively. We would have
been lost without them. I would also like to thank our Warbler is a quarterly e-newsletter available on the BirdLife
sponsors for their contribution to the day.
Southern Queensland website. A four-page monochrome
print copy is distributed with Australian Birdlife magazine.
Our AGM was no less successful and was well attended by This copy covers brief news items, announcements and short
members and by BirdLife Australia representatives. Thanks to summaries of the articles in the full issue. Photographs that
the following for coming to support us: John Barkla, the Vice include people require the subject’s consent before the
President of BirdLife Australia, Fiona Blandford (Network photograph can be published. Opinions expressed by authors
Development Coordinator), Margaret Quixley (Conservation, are not necessarily those of BirdLife Australia or BirdLife
Campaigns and Supporter Engagement Strategist), and Southern Queensland.
Kerryn Herman (Project Officer, Research and Conservation).
Please send articles for Warbler to Peter Crane, editor.
One of the highlights of the event for me is that I get to
present BSQs Distinguished Service Awards. This year they No part of Warbler may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
went to Neil Humphris and Sandra Gallienne for their system, or transmitted by any means without the prior
significant contributions to our strong organisation.
written
consent
of
BirdLife
Southern
Queensland.
COPYRIGHT © 2016.
I am also pleased to say that the entire committee, including
me, renominated again – and we also gained two new
members, Elisha Taylor and Sam Price. I was supposed to
sail off into the sunset at this AGM but those thoughts
evaporated earlier in the year. It turns out it was harder to
pull the plug than I thought – working with a great team and
a sense of unfinished business, particularly in relation to
lobbying for shorebird habitat conservation, were the main
drivers in making the decision to stand again.
The National Campout was a small affair. Sheena Gillman and
I were the Campout Gurus, though ably abetted by our
fabulous volunteer leaders! It seems that winter in the
Lockyer Valley is not for everyone. However, it did not
disappoint. We got a great tally of 156 species over the 3
days with a few cracking species to boot.
Judith Hoyle 0437549301
21 July 2016
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Peter Crane)
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2016 Distinguished Service Award
2016 Distinguished Service Award
Citation for Sandra Gallienne
Citation for Neil Humphris
Sandra joined the
after the merger
Observers Club of
post-merger days
transition for BSQ.
BirdLife Southern Queensland committee
between Birds Australia and the Bird
Australia. Her contribution in those early
played an integral part in the smooth
Neil Humphris was an active member of the BrisBoca Branch.
Immediately after the merger of Birds Australia and the Bird
Observer’s Club of Australia, he joined BirdLife Southern
Queensland’s committee.
Neil is the epitome of an exemplary committee member with
a long list of achievements against his name. He coordinates
our immensely popular Granite Belt Adopt a Farm Project,
and has recruited multiple farms and volunteer surveyors
into the program.
This is no mean feat as it involves
organising 4 seasonal surveys across multiple farms and
multiple sites within in each property.
His easy going
manner and capacity to develop strong ties within the
Sandra has been a moderator of the combined database farming community – not to mention his wry sense of
since its’ inception. Her tireless commitment to this role has humour – has made this one of our longest running and most
meant a great deal to BSQ. Sandra willingly drops everything successful programs.
to provide us with information about bird populations in any
given area. This activity allows us to address issues Like most of us, he has a clear understanding that the future
associated with development and habitat destruction in a of our birds’ rests in the hands of the young. But unlike most
timely manner. The importance of this service to us cannot of us, he has doggedly pursued avenues to turn this
be overemphasised: She is our ‘go to Gal’!
understanding into action. Whilst he has been ably assisted
by others, all recognise that he has been the pivotal person
She has initiated and participated in multiple surveys for in development and promotion of the book ‘The Birds of
BSQ, including, but certainly not limited to, Bimblebox, and South East Queensland’. Adults love this book – they like the
the Jingeri and Adopt a Farm surveys.
She is also layout and simplicity. But anyone who has ever put one of
instrumental in writing up many of our survey results.
these books in the hands of a 10 year old and upwards child
and has seen their reaction will know the true value of this
As Local Branch Convenor for Brisbane South, she book. It produces instant engagement! The child becomes
coordinates outings for that group which is much appreciated consumed with trying to see as many of the birds as
by all who attend. She mentors and educates new and old possible! The book has been so successful that we are in the
attendees about the birds of South East Queensland. Her throes of finalising the production of its 3rd reprint.
group also participates in Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot
surveys, and undertakes regular surveys at Waterhen Lake.
Neil is the Chair of BSQ’s Education Subcommittee, and sits
on the BSQ/Birds Queensland Joint Education Committee.
She has played a pivotal role in the production of our flagship Initiatives of these committees include multiple shorebird
book ‘The Birds of South East Queensland’. We have had two education outings with the Moreton Bay Environmental
editions of this book, which is now in its third reprint. The Centre; and highly successful primary school pilot education
outcome of the significant hours devoted to the project by programs. He has volunteered countless hours to these
Sandra and the fellow members of the production team, has events and will continue to do so.
resulted in product that is a wonderful education tool for
young and old alike and has become a significant and reliable If that were not enough, he has become our ‘rock’ in so many
income stream for BSQ.
ways. At a time when so many people say no, Neil always
says yes! Yes to ‘we need someone to sit on the Bower
For all these reasons, and many others not mentioned, Management Subcommittee’; yes to ‘we need someone to
Sandra is a worthy recipient of the 2016 BirdLife Southern check the post office box every week’; yes to ‘can you help
Queensland’s Distinguished Service Award.
sort out the store room/pick up this bit of gear and deliver it
to this person/arrange a quote for this/sort out that. The list
is huge!
Sandra is a consummate birder, and has been since
childhood. Unlike many of us, she has demonstrated an
unflinching devotion to recording sightings by herself and for
the groups she leads. These records do not end up ‘filed’ in a
draw. All her records have been contributed to the Eremaea /
eBird database.
In short, Neil is just truly an out and out gem - one of the
kindest, most self-effacing, and hardest working person that
any of us who have worked with him are ever likely to meet!
We are in his debt and he fully deserves the recognition
associated with this award.
September 2016
3
BirdLife Australia’s National Campout
10 – 14 July 2016
The joint facilities were very good and made an ideal
gathering place for the nightly bird call, and the camp site
was well laid out and spacious. Should I mention that MCE
happens to be on the main Toowoomba-Brisbane train line
and that coal trucks traversed close by in an unseen gully at
all hours of the day and night? Maybe not, but had we
known a bigger supply of ear plugs would have come in
handy!
The Queensland Ornithological Conference was over, the AGM
was done and dusted, and Conference walks on the Sunday
had been and gone. All were a great success and a credit to
the organisers of each event. But Sheena Gillman and I had
other duties to attend to as we had agreed to coordinate and
lead BirdLife Australia’s National Campout in the Lockyer On the Monday the entire group went to Cooby Dam, Crows
Valley.
Nest and Ravensbourne National Park, being ably assisted by
co-leaders Mick Atzini and Gavin O’Meara. Cooby Dam
We had chosen Murphy’s Creek Escape for the campout. In produced a pair of Musk Duck – always the target species for
the two weeks prior we had done our reccies, with the help of this
site.
Nesting
Grey-crowned
Babblers,
Striped
locals Mick Atzini from the Toowoomba Bird Observers, Rod Honeyeaters, Brown Quail, and a variety of other waterbirds.
Hobson from Queensland National Parks Service, and Jocelyn On the way out to the main road searches for recently
and Robert Wilson from ‘Friends of Lake Apex’, with some sighted Ground Cuckoo-shrikes and a Diamond Firetail
sound advice from Grahame Rogers for good measure.
proved unsuccessful.
I will admit that we were both on tenterhooks. I had never
organised a campout before and Sheena’s experience was
limited to a grand total of one! Plus, summer rains in the
valley had been scant, and the drenching that came with
both ‘East Coast Lows’ to other parts of SEQ in June
produced just the odd splot in the Lockyer Valley! All our
beautiful ephemeral lakes – Seven Mile Lagoon, Janke’s
Lagoon, Pechey’s Lagoon – were weed covered wildernesses.
Fears that the dry spell would end just in time for the camp
also pervaded our dreams.
Crows Nest National Park was jumping with birds. Phew! Our
reccie had produced very few, but now flowering spotted
gums were dripping with birds: Yellow-faced, White-naped,
White-throated and (a single) Tufted Honeyeater were
present near the car park. Striated Pardalotes were nesting in
the creek bank. The circuit track was just as productive with
large numbers of Silvereye and, in an ideal rocky section, we
all got great views of the SEQ race of the very yellow Buffrumped Thornbill. However, the ‘spot’ of the day went to
Joel when he found a very confiding Brush-tailed Rock
Wallaby on the cliffs opposite the track. This mammal is now
Fast forward to the actual event … we had a wonderful time considered uncommon in the park and was a mammal ‘tick’
and the birding was excellent! This was a small affair when for just about everyone on the outing!
compared with the hugely popular Byfield campout organised
by our Capricornia cousins, but it made for a most enjoyable
event, and all of us came away knowing that friendship
bonds had been forged. A total of 31 people participated in
the event with 21 staunch birders prepared to brave the cold
nights in tents at MCE. Well, maybe we should make that 19.
Sheena and I shared one of the lovely on site ‘glamps’ with a
heater, hot showers, feather doonas and electric blankets.
No, make that 17 because two others had the same idea!
The group gets excited about ….. a Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (Eric Wheeler)
Some of our group braving a cold Lockyer night
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We then high-tailed it up to Beutel’s Lookout at
Ravensbourne National Park. This is a small but often very
productive patch of remnant rainforest. One Green Catbird
showed for some. Gavin then found a male Paradise Riflebird
foraging low in the trees. Again, everyone was able to get
good views of this often elusive bird, voted by many as the
number one sighting of the campout. Everyone, of course,
immediately forgot about the Rock Wallaby – what Rock
Wallaby??
We had lunch and spent some time willing a Red Goshawk to
sail past the lookout! But we had to be happy with great
views of very cute Brown Gerygones – a bird that some had
not seen before and many had not had close up views.
Day one ended with a gentle journey back to the
campground via 17 Mile Road, spotting Striated Thornbills
and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes along the way. The tally Male Rose Robin, Adare Road (Jeni Mackenzie)
called out that evening came to a respectable total of 101
species.
A low Little Lorikeet inspecting a nest hollow also gave some
of us the thrill of a fantastic view of this species that normally
Day two and day three saw the group split up into two. On remains well hidden. A flock of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos
day 2 Margaret Cameron joined my group and off we went to were feeding by the road not far from the paddock where
northern and central parts of the valley, including Adare Banded Lapwings were back in residence after an absence of
Road, Lockyer National Park, Lake Clarendon and the usual a couple of months. A pair of White-backed Swallows, a real
spot for Banded Lapwings. Sheena, joined by Neil Humphris rarity in the valley these days, showed well for a couple of
and Jocelyn and Robert Wilson headed off to Glenrock the group at Lake Clarendon. Birds of prey were few on the
National Park, which lies in the southern-most part of the ground but good views were had of both species of harriers,
valley at the foot of the Main Range National Park. The next White-bellied Sea-Eagles soared overhead and the usual
day, everyone swapped around. Mick Atzini joined us again Black and Whistling Kites were seen at a variety of locations.
for the northern and central section, and Nerida Wardrope Lockyer National Park gave our nostrils a run for our money
assisted Sheena for the Glenrock excursion.
with the wind wafting strong scents of the chicken farm over
us. We toughed it out and saw Crested Shrike-tit, Speckled
In the northern and central part of the valley, both days Warblers and Fuscous Honeyeaters for our troubles.
produced some cracking birds. Ground Cuckoo-shrikes were
found on consecutive days on Haslingden and Boyce’s Road –
almost certainly the same pair. Great views for everyone!
Feeding Red-tailed Black Cockatoos (Jeni Mackenzie)
Late in the afternoon on both days we found a small group of
Yellow Thornbills – again uncommon in the Lockyer.
Ground Cuckoo-shrike – such smart birds! (Eric Wheeler)
Thousands of Plumed Whistling Ducks with four Wandering
Honeyeaters were in plentiful supply. We saw a total of 17 Whistling-Duck hiding in the middle of the flock were given a
species over the two days – not a bad effort! Black-chinned, fright by a fast flying Black Falcon and were a sight to
White-naped, White-throated, Scarlet, Brown and Yellow- behold!
faced honeyeaters were seen at Adare. On a track off
Redbank Creek Road we were surprised to find a small flock
of Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters. Another bird seen included
the most confiding Rose Robin that any of us had ever seen!
September 2016
5
Plumed Whistling-Ducks (Jeni Mackenzie)
Brown Honeyeater ( Jeni Mackenzie)
But the Pink-eared Ducks stole the ‘duck’ show!
The road south of Gatton to Glen Rock National Park, crosses
Tenthill Creek many times. The route follows the most
beautiful valley supporting highly productive vegetable farms
and certainly the group amused one farmer loading lettuce
for the market, when they stopped to view a flock of
Welcome Swallows skimming the water surface on his farm
dam. Tenthill Creek was running and provided pools along
the way.
Pink-eared Ducks (Eric Wheeler)
Where there was a flush of birds the group stopped and were
rewarded with beautiful Azure Kingfisher, Rose Robin, Tawny
Grassbird and, most reliably, Double-barred Finches in
abundance. A lone Restless Flycatcher was heard, and finally
tracked down, by Sheena. Red-rumped Parrots were another
highlight. As were great views of Spotted and Swamp
Harriers. But everyone’s favourite seemed to be the
Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. Missing from the tick list was
Brown Falcon which became the priority species for
Wednesday and to Sheena’s relief, three obligingly soared
over the rock art site, providing joy to all. Apparently they
live there!
Another fabulous treat was watching thousands of corellas
coming in to roost. We stuck a scope on them which soon
revealed the odd Long-billed Corella amongst the flock. A
‘lifer’ for many.
Indigenous rock art/petroglyphs (Eric Wheeler)
An iridescent male Red-backed Fairy-wren (Jeni Mackenzie)
Meanwhile the Glenrock teams also had great highlights.
Plenty of honeyeaters and all three local species of Fairywrens were seen – Superb, Red-backed and Variegated.
6
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Two non-birding events on these trips were highlights for all
involved. The first was a visit to view some wonderful
indigenous rock art and petroglyphs near Mt Sylvia.
BirdLife Magazine. A HUGE thank you to my ‘partner in
crime’, Sheena Gillman – I do not know how I would manage
without her across so many domains!
But the biggest thanks goes to the people who joined us:
Pam Kenway
Julie Kennelly Eric and Margaret Wheeler
Jeff Petifer
Sue Burgess Ros and John Beeston
Jeni Mackenzie
Michael Day Chris and Andrew Galbraith
Kathryn Kelly
Nerida Wardrope Faye Smith
Faye Smith
Sarah Phillips Grahame and Donalda Rogers
Joel Connell
Cynthia Jones Steven and Dayana Barker
To each and every one of you: THANK YOU for sharing the
experience!
Judith Hoyle and Sheena Gillman, July 2016
Diatomite hill (Sheena Gillman)
The second occurred after a chance encounter with a local
landholder, Guy, who mines an unusual and uncommon
mineral Diatomite; a fine white chalky substance proving
beneficial as a soil additive. Guy was amused to discover the
group were bird-watchers, as he himself loves watching birds
and kindly invited us to walk up his hill. Good views of the
mine were enjoyed by all as well as a very learned
introduction to the story of the mine, diatomite and the
geology of the Lockyer Valley. That truly added to the fun of
the day, and even Grahame and Donalda made the hill top!!
ODDMENTS
A section for those interesting bird or other animal
behaviours that you observe whilst participating in our
primary pursuit of birdwatching. Your contributions are
welcome, please email Peter Crane.
FURTHER NEST DESTRUCTION
In the June 2016 Warbler Lionel Hartley wrote about the
destruction of their nest by Spangled Drongos. Here in
Calamvale I have seen something similar.
Black-faced Cuckoo Shrikes had built a nest on a forked
branch of a tall gum tree. They successfully raised some
chicks and at last the chicks were sitting close to the nest on
the nest branch.
One morning I noticed that the whole family had moved on.
A few days later one of the parent birds returned and started
to dislodge some nesting material. That fell underneath the
tree. At last the bird had dislodged the nest and flew away
with it. Whilst it was flying bits and pieces fell off. The bird
was about 10 metres high and about 50 metres from the nest
site, when it dropped the nest in the middle of the road,
where it shattered in pieces.
A few months later the tree got hit by lighting and was dead
in about three days.
Hill climb (Sheena Gillman)
Beitske Smallegange
The total species tally for the three days of birding was 156.
For winter, this was an excellent number. To put it into
perspective the Toowoomba Bird Observers Club does an
annual bird census in the Lockyer during the peak season of
September. Their tally over a four or five-day period is
approximately 160 species. What it would have been if we
had had good rainfall with full ephemeral bodies and running
creeks – who knows! But our winter tally holds up very
nicely. Just about everyone got new species and one, Michael
Day got over 30 lifers!
A STORY OF AVIAN GREED AND THEFT
This campout would not have happened without the support
of many. Thanks to Gavin O’Meara, Mick Atzini, Margaret
Cameron, Jocelyn and Robert Wilson, and Neil Humphris for
assisting with ‘leader duties’. Thanks to Rod Hodson for
helping with the reccie of the Crows Nest and Ravensbourne
areas; Judi Gray for helping at Cooby Dam and Crows Nest;
the staff at BirdLife Australia; and the editorial team of the
It was 6.30 am when my mate and I were the first arrivals in
the empty car park. I stepped out of the car, muffin in hand,
and saw, flying at speed towards me, a male Regent
Bowerbird. He banked sharply, did a two claw landing on my
chest and as I raised my hand protectively took a large piece
of muffin and flew straight back to the rainforest.
Early in the morning of the ninth of November, 2000 I was
mugged in the car park of O’Reilly’s in Green Mountains.
Before I became a birdwatcher, together with a small group
of like-minded geriatrics, I did some serious bushwalking. It
was my practice to take freshly baked blueberry muffins for
all our group to eat before starting out.
September 2016
7
My mate produced a
camera but too late
for a picture. While
we laughed at the
audacity of the attack
I started to eat the
remainder
of
my
muffin. Before I could
get a taste three male
Regents appeared out
of the forest, perched
on my hands and
proceeded
to
demolish the muffin.
Several other birds
followed but with no
room on my hands
they settled close by
on the ground and picked up the crumbs.
Greed in humans is not a pretty sight but in birds on that
morning we were left with tears of laughter.
PS Recipe available on request.
Lionel Hartley
BIRDS OF THE BURRUM – A RUSTY TALE
On the afternoon of 9 October 2002 at about 3pm I saw a
small brown bird moving through the mangroves in front of
my home on the Burrum River. It was obviously a Gerygone,
but it was not a Mangrove Gerygone or a Fairy Gerygone, the
common species in this locality. Through the binoculars at a
distance of six-eight metres this Gerygone had a brown back
which increased in rufous across the rump and the tail was
distinctly and completely rufous (rusty) on the upper surface;
there was a white mark in front of the red eye and the
underparts were pale greyish brown. I got out the field
guides (Morcombe, Simpson & Day, Pizzey & Knight), but
The four in the picture were a male Satin Bowerbird, a fourth
none of them illustrated or described this bird. After checking
male Regent and either a female or an immature male of
my observations I found my battered copies of Slater (broken
both species.
spines, pages stuck together and separated from being wet,
covers stuck on with sticky tape) and to my amazement on
p262 was a Rusty-tailed Warbler, the bird before my eyes.
Slater says ‘some doubts about locality .... presumably the
place to look is in the mangroves between Tully and Fraser I,
Qld.’
After the muffin was eaten the faithless creatures deserted
me, vanishing back into the rainforest. Finally left in peace I
retrieved another muffin from the car. I had only taken a bite
when a Crimson Rosella landed on my shoulder politely but
pointedly waiting for a share. It was impossible to refuse
such courtesy.
That afternoon I phoned Peter Slater who told me that the
Rusty-tailed Warbler disappeared from the literature in 1994
with the publication of ‘The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of
Australia and its Territories’ by Christidis and Boles. Such is
the might of a taxonomist’s pen, that the past, present and
future of a bird can all be obliterated with a single well
considered stroke. However, Peter intends to leave Gerygone
ruficanda, the Rusty-tailed Gerygone, in the coming revised
edition of his family’s field guide. This is great news , not only
for the Rusty-tailed Gerygone, but for Australian ornithology;
because, if it takes him as long to revise this edition, as it
took him to revise his previous two-volumed field guide, he
will live well into his 90’s.
When the others arrived my story was greeted with some
scepticism as the proof was still in the undeveloped film in
the camera. One colleague, however, the following week By chance, on November 2nd 2002, I met Eric Zillmann,
baked some muffins and returned at a similar hour to the another noted senior ornithologist, from Bundaberg. He told
me he had seen a Rusty-tailed Warbler at Buxton, some five
same spot armed with a camera. NO BIRDS APPEARED.
km downstream on the Burrum from my home, in 1985.
My comments on the obvious quality of his muffins were not
Time and taxonomy will decide the fate of Gerygone
received kindly.
ruficanda in the literature and field guides of Australian birds.
In the meantime, there is a Gerygone with a rusty tail in the
mangroves of the Burrum River.
Dr Tim Thornton
December 2002
Footnote: The revised edition of Slater ‘The Slater Field Guide
to Australian Birds, Second Edition’ (2009) by Peter, Pat and
Raoul Slater with Sally Elmer does not include the Rusty–
tailed Gerygone.
Addendum: Several bird watchers have visited our surrounds
in an effort to see this bird. The most notable was Tony Hill
from Bundaberg, who spent four days kayaking around the
mangroves without success. However, I saw it again in early
November 2015, almost 13 years after my first sighting.
Tim - May 2016
8
Warbler
THE BATS AND THE BEES
PIGEON PIE
After a couple of hours of birding at Fitzgibbon Bushland
recently and nil raptor species sightings (very unusual for
this site), Julie and Ross finally heard a Collared
Sparrowhawk calling from a heavily wooded area nearby.
This was the bird I had hoped to see here and it would be a
tick for me if I was to find it. So we did a bit of bush bashing
and soon came across an old, dead tree with a large
accumulation of feathers and the fresh skeletal remains of a
feral pigeon on the ground under it. No Sparrowhawk though.
I thought you might like these shots I took of a bee colony
that has taken over a bat box at Deagon Wetlands. Photo #1
was taken in January this year and #2 was taken on June 9.
There were a heap of Bee-eaters around there this summer
and autumn and I did observe them feasting out on the bees.
I don’t know if the decline of the hive is totally from the beeeaters or there has been something else that has also
drastically reduced the numbers.
Especially after we spoke to a couple of bee keepers out at
Postman’s Track a couple of weeks ago who were really
cursing the #@$!@%%##@ Bee-eaters that had decimated
a couple of hives they have there. The blighters were coming
down and taking bees while we were standing there talking
right at the hives.
Alas! Our bird must have seen us coming and departed the
scene. A quick inspection of the area produced two leg
bands from previously dispatched, perhaps “not so feral
pigeons”. Hope they weren’t prize birds or champion pigeon
racers belonging to some enthusiast, but seems that Rock
Dove could be a major source of protein for the Fitzgibbon
raptor population.
Well I still haven’t seen a Collared Sparrow Hawk but I am
getting closer. Next visit perhaps?
Catherine Hirsch
Note: Details on the rings have been reported to the local
racing pigeon federation point.
SHARE YOUR INTERESTING SIGHTS?
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Articles to Peter Crane, editor
Ross Smith
September 2016
9
ON TOUR
A section for articles about your birdwatching travels. Your
contributions are welcome, please email Peter Crane.
PARRY’S LAGOON
In the last few years, my husband and I have been fortunate
to visit some extraordinary places in Australia. Parry Lagoons
Nature Reserve in Western Australia is one such place. It is a
wetland of international importance under the Ramsar
Convention and is listed on the Register of the National
Estate. I had not heard of it but when travelling in a new
area I use Finding Australian Birds by Dolby & Clarke to
pinpoint some spots or visit a Tourist Info Centre for local
knowledge.
We drove from Kununurra towards Wyndham before turning
off into the reserve. The road was gravel but quite
manageable and the view is wonderful from Telegraph Hill. It
was the end of September so the land was dry but
fortunately there was still some water in Marglu Billabong.
After spending time at the hide, we drove 20 kms into
Wyndham for lunch and the Five Rivers Lookout (worth a
visit) after which I returned with a fellow birder. Travelling as
two couples, we fit birding in around our travels.
Azure Kingfisher (Sue Chatfield)
One interesting incident involved a Crow (Torresian or Little
but I cannot tell them apart) and a cane toad. A shame to
see that toads have reached this area but encouraging to see
the Crow capture one. The Crow held the toad carefully by
the leg, upside down keeping clear of the toad’s poison
glands before flipping it over and feeding from its belly. One
hopes that this was a safe manoeuvre as it avoided the
secretions.
Marglu Billabong (Sue Chatfield)
Crow with toad (Sue Chatfield)
On the drive through the grassland, I saw a pair of Horsfield’s
Bushlarks (which was a first for me) and Star and Zebra
finches were in the grass around the hide. During the wet
season, the area can flood but in the dry, waterbirds had
congregated at the billabong.
A variety of birds were present in some numbers: Brolga,
Glossy Ibis, Egrets, White-necked, White-faced and Pied
Heron, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-fronted Dotterel and Magpie
Larks. Rainbow Bee-eaters often swept past and an Azure
Kingfisher perched just to the side of the hide giving us great
views as it fished. Finally a chance to get a decent photo of
one. An inquisitive Paperbark Flycatcher flew into the hide
seeking insects, checked us out and then hung about the
railings for some time. We observed visits to the water‘s
edge by Australian Pipit, Golden-headed Cisticola and Fairywrens. Across from the hide, numerous finches and doves
came down in waves for a drink --- Bar-shouldered, Peaceful,
Diamond Doves amongst Star, Masked and Zebra finches. A
Black-necked Stork was present and a White-bellied SeaEagle came in to roost. The variety of birdlife was a delight
and I have probably left a number out.
10
Warbler
The only spoiler was the guy who drove down on the other
side directly opposite the hide and proceeded to cast nets
and drag out small fish and a lot of weed. The weed was left
to dry out on the bank rather than being returned to the
water. Obviously this curtailed our birding.
We spent a couple of hours here and hope to return some
day. I want more time to check out other areas of the
reserve and to arrange an early morning visit.
Sue Chatfield
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Articles to Peter Crane, editor
AN ADVENTURE
AUSTRALIA
SOUTH
TO
WEST
OF
I could use there as a base for sojourns to Werribee Ponds
and around about. Along the way some camps proved good
birding but only with usual species; not that they aren’t
worth the effort. I missed visiting the higher country usually
In mid-April I departed for a few months adventure expecting due to rain.
to bird a lot; what else? Plan A was to travel the New
England Highway to Tamworth then head south-west skirting The day for Werribee came with my feeling much excitement
Sydney.
but rain all day spoilt my first encounter with this iconic
destination. I did get the overwhelming feeling of why this is
The countryside around Tamworth and to the south was so a birders favourite hot spot. Having lunch with intrepid local
dry. My camper trailer allowed me the luxury of free camping birders in a hide looking out on so many birds was a nice
with the idea of picking potential birding spots. Alas most interlude, even if most looked very grey to me.
were quiet with only usual suspects present and at some not
even those.
High on my re-visit list would be the Lower Glenelg National
Park. My brief stay was rewarded with some lovely birds. The
South West Forest National Park in NSW had good prospects best of which was the Rufous Bristlebird which visited my
but the inclement weather was not helping. Then the track to camp, feeding so close for so long. This was a brief stay due
the south for an exit towards Eden proved to be the most to more lousy weather. Arising early to depart an Owlet
harrowing I have travelled. Spring would be a much better Nightjar called so close I thought at least that was some
choice for there. The potential is huge and the scenery and consolation on a foggy miserable morning.
camping delightful. So many Wombat burrows were seen!
Rufous Bristlebird (Neil Humphris)
Travelling further west I lucked upon Lake Ratzcastle. I say
lucked as it was the Great Cocky Count day for the subGrey Currawong (Neil Humphris)
species of the Red-tailed Blacks. Camped next to me was the
instigator of this important annual survey. Alas the next day
Mallacoota however was worth the many days I stayed there.
although driving around some very beautiful habitat with Jim
Even though the weather was often not very nice some good
all we saw of them was orts under feeding trees.
birds were seen with the Ground Parrot the pick. The sunrises
and sunsets were stunning, when not raining. The potential
Many camps in so called hot spots for the next week
all around Mallacoota for excellent birding is hard to
produced very little birds seen, so I ended up in Adelaide to
understate. A sensible place for anyone’s to-do list.
await the arrival of my youngest for her holidays with dad,
birding the Centre and WA.
I may as well stop this tome as from departure in Adelaide to
just west of the Olgas where the camper trailer broke down
we saw very few interesting avian species during many light
rain events.
The saving grace was one free camp where a walk along the
dry creek bed produced a pair of Hobbys feeding young very
high up in a Eucalypt. The trip from Yulara where we had
bivouacked post breakage was quite different to what we had
planned and another story.
Neil Humphris
Ground Parrot (Neil Humphris)
To travel further west a decision was needed. Travel through HAVE YOU BEEN ON A BIRDING TOUR?
Melbourne or the Sorrento Ferry seemed a good idea. The Share your bird tour story and photos in Warbler.
ferry shortcut west to Barwon Heads won.
Articles to Peter Crane, editor
September 2016 11
THE GREEN CORNER
Welcome to the Spring edition of Conservation Corner. It has
been a very interesting Autumn and Winter period with
unseasonably warm conditions delivering views of species in
the region that would ordinarily have been spending our
winter at northern latitudes. I myself have been struck by the
number of Rainbow Bee-eaters calling vigorously through
Winter. I know that there are often a few that over-winter
down here in Southern Queensland, but I have been seeing
flocks numbering in the 20s or more. Similarly, on 1 August,
I had a Rufous Fantail flitting around me in Tallebudgera
valley. I couldn’t help but query this little bird “What are you
doing here?”, but unsurprisingly I did not get an explanation,
just a lovely view of that chestnut rump. It would be folly to
jump straight to the “Well that’s climate change” argument,
as we have indeed had some pretty cold stints and climate
should not be confused with weather! But there is no denying
that Autumn and Winter have been unlike any other that I
have experienced in my short 30 years in Southern
Queensland. It is fortunate that the bee-eaters have been
able to find enough food, with the warm weather also
keeping the numbers of insects at a sustainable level for
them to get through the colder months. Perhaps a more
pressing and urgent issue I want to discuss is the everincreasing rate of habitat loss that ‘our’ birds are facing.
I apologise for the depressing nature of this quarter’s
Conservation Corner. The good news stories are out there,
for sure. But there is no getting around the fact our wins are
being dwarfed by our losses. Please take the time to share
this information with your friends and family. Especially those
largely disconnected from the situation. Encourage them to
get in touch with their local representatives from all levels of
government. We need a ground swell beyond the usual
enclave. Turning the tide will take a lot of people power! Are
you with us?
Rochelle Steven
In the last issue of Warbler my focus was definitely on State
politics, this time I will be over all levels of government –
sorry readers!!
Whoever or whatever we hoped for as we went in to the
recent federal election, surely we didn’t get it, at least if you
are truly concerned that Australia’s landscape runs the risk of
becoming the worlds ‘sacrificial lamb’. Communities are
concerned about fracking for shale-gas across the Northern
Territory, West Australia’s wheat belt, potentially even
Bandgingarra National Park and the prospect of a further
6000 odd CSG wells for Santos, it’s all so confronting. The
land clearing is continual and cumulative for pipe lines,
In July, the University of Queensland played host to the access and maintenance easements and power lines.
Society for Conservation Biology Oceania Chapter meeting.
This biennial meeting brings together researchers and Now we have a new federal minister for the environment with
more coal credentials than the cellar itself. Talk about the fox
practitioners in conservation from all over the Oceania
in charge of the chickens!! Still, we will wait and see then
region. It was at this event that a record number of scientists
judge the man accordingly.
came together to put a voice to the thousands of concerned
conservationists regarding the rate of habitat degradation
Closer to us all are our local regional councils and it is with
and loss in Australia in recent years. Associate Professor
Martine Maron described the tragedy unfolding in them that most people living and working in their
community, place the greatest reliance on good decision
Queensland;
making. While development of south-east Queensland is
“The scale of the problem has tripled in just three years, with inevitable, somewhere in the mix must be genuine concern
woodland and forest loss at nearly 300,000 hectares per for the protection of our local habitats providing for nature
year, according to the government’s latest figures – putting and for people’s spirits; they provide comfort in these
challenging times. We also like to witness our rates money
Australia amongst the world’s worst deforestation hotspots”
being well spent. Here are just a few examples brought to
our attention where locals feel, nature is certainly second
Hardly a title to be proud of, as we are proud of the State of
best.
Origin win! New South Wales is set to relax land clearing laws
as well, which could see them jostling for the title.
Margaret Cameron and John Hadley have for many years
It is just bizarre that this environmental vandalism is walked areas of the Lockyer Valley including Adare Road, just
happening against a back drop of koala’s deemed to be on north of Gatton town. When a motocross development was
the brink of extinction in Southern Queensland and the Logan proposed for this area of exceptionally high bio-diversity,
City Council preparing to clear part of a reserve holding one locals raised the issue with Margaret. The woodland along
of the last known populations of the endangered Angle- Adare Road is particularly brilliant for small bush birds and in
stemmed Myrtle (Gossia gonoclada) a relative of the good seasons, provides pools of welcome water along the
creek course. Together we wrote to the Lockyer Regional
eucalypts. These species serve as icons or flagships of a
Council presenting a good case to reject this development.
much broader problem around loss of functioning
This was very much in support of the ‘Lockyer Community
ecosystems. However, if our governments will not step in and
Action Inc’, a group representing hundreds of local people
protect these species from intact habitat loss, what hope do
who thoroughly oppose such a development. Thankfully, the
the hundreds of woodland and forest birds living alongside
Lockyer Valley Regional Council wisely and resoundingly
them have? Offsets have been shown to be largely ineffective
for replacing intact habitats. It will be necessary to conserve rejected the application, but not satisfied with that the
existing habitat if we are to stem the decline of many species developers now have the matter in court. Here are a few
(not just those that are threatened) in the future. The facts kindly supplied by a concerned resident; As a broad
alternative is that we will see species that are currently indication of what has been achieved, WildNet, the
relatively common undergo rapid declines and ultimately Queensland Government database which is regarded as the
local extinctions in our lifetimes. Imagine no Golden Whistlers “gold standard” data in Queensland for decision-making,
planning and research use, now has 261 koala records within
in your local patch!
2km of the proposed track location, 462 within 5km, and 613
within 10km.
12
Warbler
As millions of dollars are being spent acquiring habitat to
protect koala – let’s be frank here; it makes no jolly sense to
destroy brilliant habitat supporting such a healthy community
of disease free animals. Dumped somewhere else, they die –
save the koalas and their food trees, then we have our
wonderful bush birds safe in the bushland they depend on
along Adare Road. The court case is scheduled for October –
read more here. If you have the ability to protest this one –
please do so. The Lockyer Valley Regional Council members
deserve admiration for taking a brave decision in favour of
the environment, greatly valued by the local residents.
Eprapah Creek (Sheena Gillman)
You could then imagine how amazed the people of Sandgate
were to discover a water spout fountain is to be constructed
at Dowse Lagoon, a well-known birding hot spot on Deagon
Street – Brighton Road, Sandgate. eBird data for Dowse
lagoon is available here. Currently 698 check lists have been
reported for this location, recording 191 species.
Logan and Albert River Catchments have a strong
conservation network, thankfully, because here comes
another not so good idea!! Barry Fitzpatrick tells us Logan
City Council are planning to construct children’s play
equipment in an area of very high botanical values. The
Murray’s Reserve at Tanah Merah is an area of 9.1 hectares
which includes a 3 hectare Nature refuge to conserve part of
the only remaining natural community of Gossia gonoclada,
listed under the federal EPBC Act as Endangered, but
currently under review to move it up to ‘Critically
Endangered’. Because the Murray’s Reserve/Murray’s Farm
Gossi gonoclada trees are the only known natural community
of this species left in the world, the people of Logan have the
privilege and responsibility of protecting this near extinct
species on behalf of the rest of the nation and for future
generations. Rather than opened up to human use and
activity, the site should instead be revegetated to create a
buffer between the infrastructure and housing at the northern
end of the Reserve. The laudable concern is that any further
loss moves this botanical species to ‘extinct in the wild’.
There are four alternative locations where the kiddies can
play on welcome ‘nature play’ equipment without destroying
‘Nature’. We have written to Logan City Council in support of
the comprehensive report supplied by Logan & Albert
Catchment Association – may sense prevail on this one!!
Again over at Victoria Point, sub-tropical lowland forest is
being felled for the construction of hundreds of new homes.
In fill development makes sense – the infrastructure and
utilities are available to avoid urban sprawl. So much could
be preserved for communities if just a little more emphasis
was to be applied to caring for the values which contribute to
how citizens enjoy their neighbourhoods. So it was with
interest, I took a look at Eprapah Creek and the bushland
reserve north of Intrepid Drive and Ondine Streets at Victoria
Point. In order to satisfy the developer’s financial contribution
to providing public facilities, Redlands City Council intends to
construct a bikeway from the north of the creek to connect
residents to a shopping area in the south – this demands a
bridge over the creek.
To construct the bridge, a section of the creek will be
drained, a barge will install the bridgeworks and a significant
number of trees will be removed including tallow-woods and
corymbias. It is just a tragedy, especially when over 400
residents have petitioned to save this bushland reserve from
totally unnecessary destruction. There are other wonderful
areas of lowland forest along Eprapah Creek north-east along
Bunker Road. To protect the ongoing integrity of this riparian
habitat, it is essential the public enjoy it for what it is; a quiet
place to connect with nature and to enjoy the thoughtful
bush care initiatives undertaken by local people for the
betterment of people and wildlife. We have asked Redlands
City Council that this unfortunate decision be rescinded for
the future health of the creek. Again if you live in the
Redlands, please tell your councillors that you care. Kathy
Clark a local member of BSQ, conducts walks in this area and
also advocates for the safe keeping of Eprapah for our bird
life.
The water spout would most likely severely alter normal
water turbidly in the lagoon and may well negatively impact
on plant life providing food and shelter to the many bird
species Dowse Lagoon supports. Installing a fountain is
therefore a significant concern. We have written to Brisbane By the time I write again, it would be truly wonderful to
City Council and although we are yet to have confirmation, report bad decisions reversed to ‘better decisions’. Here’s
we indeed hope this silly water fountain will be placed in hoping….
another more appropriate location.
Sheena Gillman
September 2016 13
ADOPT-A-FARM GRANITE BELT – AUTUMN
In late May our small team of dedicated birders again arrived
at the Turners Creek West shearing shed site and settled in
to prepare for the five days birding. As always Jim and Dell
Mitchell made us most welcome on their property and
allowed us the use of all the facilities. Neil Humphris had
arranged to travel off to distant parts and so was not
available however it was arranged to conduct these surveys,
in his absence, to maintain the bird sightings records. The
temperatures generally in this Granite Belt region were
somewhat cooler than the prolonged warmer summer
conditions experienced in other northern regions.
We commenced by birding the two sites ‘Glen Hills’ a cattle
property and ‘Turners Creek Dams’ a sheep property and
contain forest, woodland and riparian and grassed areas and
a number of large dams. Bird sightings include Galah,
Eastern Rosella, Red-rumped and Red-winged Parrot, Greycrowned Babbler, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, White-eared,
White-naped, White-plumed and Yellow-faced Honeyeater,
Rufous and Golden Whistler, Eurasian Coot, Black-fronted
Dotterel, Striated and Spotted Pardalote and Straw-necked
Ibis. We were surprised by the sight of a Black-necked Stork
in a distant dam so we approached cautiously for better
viewing. Unfortunately a large flock of Common Myna
congregate at the sheep feed area and seem to reside at this
location. A large flock of Crested Pigeon and a larger flock of
Straw-necked Ibis was a more appealing sight.
numerous steep gullies and rocky creek crossings. The
homestead area with nearby dams was quite productive and
we lucked upon a large group of Maned Duck, a noisy party
of Apostlebird, and quite a large number of Diamond Firetail
including one displaying nest building activity. The noisy
chattering of large flocks of Red-rumped Parrot as they
alighted on the nearby dead trees mixed with the whistling of
pairs of Eastern Rosella was a pleasant reminder of this
outback country. As we negotiated our way through this
extensive and at times difficult terrain the bird sightings
included Common Bronzewing, Brown Falcon, Variegated
Fairy-wren, White-eared and Brown-headed Honeyeater,
Yellow and Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Weebill, Restless
Flycatcher, and a surprise sighting of a small group of Varied
Sitella and a pair of Scarlet Robin with the brightly coloured
male leading the photographers on a merry chase. As we
rounded a bend we surprised a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagle
which were close by and marvelled at the size and beauty of
these magnificent raptors as they flapped their wings and
gained elevation.
Black-necked Stork (Vince Bejuga)
The next day our location was ‘Glentanna’ a large well
managed cattle property which is comprised of various forest,
riparian, wooded and grassed areas. A large flock of Doublebarred Finch and a family of Superb Fairy-wren which are
resident in the homestead area were a welcoming sight. The
prolonged call of an Australian Raven in a nearby tree left us
in no doubt as to the species. The birds sighted include
Wedge-tailed Eagle, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Crimson and Eastern
Rosella, Brown and Yellow Thornbill, Weebill, Red-browed
Finch, a lovely sighting of Speckled Warbler, and an excited
sighting of a pair of Scarlet Robin amongst others. A separate
portion of this property is uncleared forest timbered land and
contains large hilly boulder granite where we surprised a
number of Brown Quail as they scurried away in the long
grass.
Diamond Firetail, Rose Robin (Vince Bejuga)
The next day we surveyed ‘Alanvale’ which is a mixed cattle
and sheep property and has large areas of semi cleared
woodland and riparian habitat and an extensive billabong
area stretching a considerable distance. The various habitats
we surveyed revealed numerous species of birds including
Maned and Pacific Black Duck, Grey Teal, White-faced Heron,
Crested Pigeon, Peaceful Dove, Laughing Kookaburra, Grey
and Pied Butcherbird, Apostlebird, Jacky Winter, Grey ShrikeThrush, Golden Whistler, Torresian Crow, Raven, Scarlet
‘Crystal Mountain’ was our next birding location and this is
Robin, and an entertaining flight display by two Azure
the largest of the cattle properties comprised of mixed forest
Kingfisher as they rapidly darted backward and forward along
and woodland habitat, large areas of cleared grassed areas,
the billabong.
and the land is quite elevated in some locations with
14
Warbler
A late start on the last day because of overnight storms and
lingering morning rain and we headed off to the remaining
site at Pozieres School Road and the two dam sites on
Amiens Road. In rather difficult cold blustery weather we still
managed sightings of White-eared, Striped and Yellow-faced
Honeyeater, Brown Thornbill, Crimson Rosella, Grey-crowned
Babbler, Rose Robin, and a large group of noisy Whitewinged Chough. The two dam sites surveyed revealed large
numbers of Eurasian Coot and Australasian Grebe, Pelican,
Egret, Cormorant, Grey Teal, Great-crested Grebe, Whistling
Kite, Australasian Shoveler and Blue Billed Duck. A chance
sighting of an obscure dark bird which darted in and out of
nearby thick bushes revealed a number of Common Blackbird
which rewarded our persistent searching. Having endured
this cooler Granite Belt weather it was agreed we go to
Suttons for a late lunch of warm pies, hot soup and apple pie
dessert.
GOLD COAST BROADWATER FEATURES
It is very pleasing to see that the naming of Gold Coast
Broadwater features has been completed. These names
reflect the cultural, historical and ecological significance of
the Gold Coast Broadwater.
Gold Coast Broadwater (Bob Westerman)
Kurringle Flats and Moondarewa Spit are names which
recognise our aboriginal heritage. Moondarewa was one of
the original settlements of the Broadwater and in colonial
times it supplied produce for Southport. It was eventually
claimed by the mobile mouth of the Nerang River.
Moondarewa Spit is roughly where the old township used to
exist. The Grand Hotel has been a landmark for generations
and ever since the Seaway was completed in 1987 the
channel leading up to the Grand has been popularly called
the 'Grand'. Humphreys Basin was named after Humphreys
Slip which operated here for many years.
Curlew Island and Curlew Banks remind us we have a living
Broadwater.
These Banks are rich in marine life and are an important
foraging area for bird life. The names of Curlew Island and
Curlew Banks let the public know that there is something
interesting to be found here. Throughout the year, during
different months and different tides, every part of these
banks is worked by the birds.
I have personally recorded 50 different species of birds on
Curlew Island. There are some real champs here - The
Eastern Curlew is the world's largest migratory wader. The
Caspian Tern is the world's largest Tern and the Little Tern is
Black-shouldered Kite, Scarlet Robin (Vince Bejuga)
the world's smallest Tern. The Bar-tailed Godwit is the world
champion of long distance flying. Trackers have recorded
The country generally at all the sites we visited was very dry
non-stop journeys of 10,000 kilometres.
indeed and the creeks and billabongs were at their lowest
levels in years and in places completely dry. This reflected on
The Double-banded plovers that arrive in winter from New
the numbers and species of bird sightings which were lower
Zealand are the only birds in the world to do an east-west
and less numerous than on other previous surveys. Friday
migration. The rare Beach Stone-Curlew also nests here. The
night dinner and drinks at the Dalveen Sports Club, with the
south-east Queensland population of this bird barely makes
locals, was an entertaining evening and on the Saturday
double figures.
morning we packed our belongings, said our goodbyes, and
headed for home.
Our summer migratory birds are of special interest. There is
a permanent colony of Eastern Curlews, Bar-tailed Godwits
and Whimbrels and about eight other species transit through
Vince Bugeja
here. These birds leave the Gold Coast in March and April on
epic journeys to their breeding grounds in Arctic regions. the
Eastern Curlews head for northern Mongolia, The Whimbrels
September 2016 15
migrate to the conifer belt of Asia and the Bar-tailed Godwits Early in 2012 I joined Volunteer Marine Rescue as a radio
to the Arctic Tundra and Alaska.
operator. Though I have a keen eye for birds I have a terrible
set of ears and gave up VMR some time later. The VMR
control tower overlooks the Broadwater and on my first
watch I could not believe the number of migratory birds I
saw on what was is now Curlew Island. I found out two
things - hardly anyone (apart from a select few) knew these
birds were there and most features of the Broadwater were
unnamed so I could not describe this location. There were
rumblings about the development of the Broadwater in 2012
to make it into a fun park and there was a clear prospect of a
natural treasure being lost through sheer public ignorance.
I lodged an application under the 'Place Names Act' and
suggested names for these features. Subsequent research
found that there were many Broadwater features unnamed or
not listed on the 'Place Name' register. This included the Gold
Coast Seaway. The Department of Natural Resources, which
has the responsibility for places names, has a highly
professional and orderly system for public consultation,
auditing, research, advertising and recommending names for
Beach Stone-Curlew (Bob Westerman)
approval. They have guided this process through three
Toward the end of the short Arctic Summer these birds head changes of government. Some names were ratified in 2014
home. From August to October these birds return to the Gold but the process was put on hold until the ASF China proposal
Coast having clocked up 20,000 to 30,000 kms for their for Wavebreak Island was determined. Once this matter was
decided it was possible to progress this final set of names.
return journey.
Not many Australians are familiar with migratory birds as
they are shy, keep their distance from people and blend into
their environment. About 1,000 migratory birds use the
southern Broadwater but the Eastern Curlew is the absolute
king of these birds. It is an impressive animal. It is the
world's largest wader and has a bill as long as its body. On
the ground it looks everything but a magnificent flying
machine, but it is. While these birds are found in numerous
Australia coastal bays about one quarter of the world's
population come to Moreton Bay during summer. Though
locally common here, they are uncommon to rare elsewhere.
The Eastern Curlews were once common along southern
coastlines of Australia but have almost disappeared from this
range. All migratory birds are in sharp decline due to habitat
loss here and reclamation of their staging areas in the Yellow
Sea and Korea. My February 23, 2013 count was 65 Eastern
Curlews. That was the highest count for that year. The count
on February 20 this year (2016) was 47. This was also the
highest count for this summer.
Disturbance – Eastern Curlew and Common Tern (Bob Westerman)
The richness of the Broadwater is now well documented by
several scientific studies. It is also declining through public
abuse as the southern Broadwater has no form of official
protection. Names merely identify a place on a map but I
hope these names stimulate interest in our Broadwater and
point the way to giving it the care it deserves.
Between Weedons Crossing and the Seaway, a distance of 25
kms, this is the last natural part of the Nerang River. The
entire length of the river banks has been changed.
Bob Westerman
ARE YOU INVOLVED IN CONSERVATION?
Eastern Curlews (Bob Westerman)
Share your conservation project article in Warbler.
Articles to Peter Crane, editor
16
Warbler
Funds from the joint BSQ-BQ 2015 Twitchathon went to experiences. I am one of the unfortunates who spent two
support research and conservation efforts of the Carpentarian days searching for Carpentarian Grasswren at the well-known
Grasswren. This report will therefore appear in the McNamara’s Road site back in 2003, only to draw a blank.
newsletters of both BSQ and BQ.
Although I have seen White-throated, Black and Grey
Grasswrens, my Carpentarian dip still gnaws at me!
CARPENTARIAN GRASSWREN RESEARCH
Unfortunately for the grasswrens, their secretive habits which
make them such a challenging target for birders, also makes
The joint Birds Queensland / BirdLife Southern Queensland
them a difficult subject for researchers. Trying to find out
2015 Twitchathon raised funds to support research and
exactly what effect the current fire regime is having on the
conservation efforts for one of Queensland’s most poorly
grasswrens is very difficult when the birds themselves are so
known species, the Carpentarian Grasswren. More than
difficult to detect and survey.
$6000 was raised for the project that is being coordinated by
Dr Steve Murphy (he’s a busy man saving the Night Parrot
and the Carpentarian Grasswren – I’d love to be his field This is where BQ and BSQ have been able to provide support.
assistant for a month or two!). We have recently received an Using the Twitchathon funds, Steve has set about trying to
create a robust, repeatable survey method that can be used
update on what Steve has been able to achieve in the field.
to reliably conduct surveys for this cagey little bird. One
method particularly suited to species that are found in
remote and difficult to access areas is acoustic monitoring.
This technique involves placing an automatic recorder in an
area where the target species may occur, in the hope of
recording their calls and therefore detecting them. With the
wonders of modern technology it is also possible to use
automated computer recognition to scan hours of recorded
data for the few seconds when the target species may
actually be calling, providing valuable data on the presence
or absence of a species.
Carpentarian Grasswren (Steve Murphy)
The Carpentarian Grasswren, as the name suggests, is found
in the spinifex dominated habitats in the Gulf of Carpentaria
region, from Borroloola in the NT, across to around Mt Isa in
north-western Queensland. The populations in the Borroloola
area have not been recorded for some time, and it now
appears that population may be extinct. There are still
populations in the far northwest of Queensland around Lawn
Hill, and also around Mt Isa, effectively making the bird a
Queensland endemic. Recent research into these populations
by both Steve and Dr Graham Harrington, has discovered
that the species may be threatened by the current fire
regimes in Australia’s north, with frequent fires damaging the
spinifex habitat the grasswrens rely on.
Steve Murphy installing an autonomous recording unit
Carpentarian Grasswren habitat (Steve Murphy)
Such work requires both automated recorders, and a
reference library of calls from the target species, and using
BQ and BSQ’s Twitchathon funds, along with a grant from the
Norman Wettenhall Foundation, Steve spent a week in the Mt
Isa area in January, surveying known sites for Carpentarian
Grasswren. He found 14 separate pairs at his survey site and
was able to record 53 reference calls for comparison against
the recordings he obtains from the five automatic recorders
that were also placed in the survey area. The first batch of
recordings was retrieved in May and work is now underway to
see if grasswrens can be detected among all those sounds.
Steve will be returning to the site later in the year to deploy
more recorders and also to obtain more reference calls.
Ultimately, using these data Steve and others will be able to
begin work on detecting other grasswren populations, and
how they respond to fire, hopefully providing both the state
and federal government information that can be used to
effectively plan for the future of this special little bird. A great
example of Birds Queensland and BirdLife Southern
Queensland combining forces to achieve tangible outcomes
for one of Queensland’s very special birds.
As anyone who has searched for grasswrens of any flavour Nick Leseberg
knows, it can be one of birding’s most frustrating
Co-ordinator, 2015 Queensland Twitchathon
September 2016 17
LIVING WITH CASSOWARIES
It’s not easy to lead a cassowary out of a house. If the
cassowary slips on polished tiles or it is in anyway alarmed,
the cassowary will evacuate its bowel in an explosive
movement that is capable of spreading many metres - not
something that you want to clean from floors, walls and
sofas.
‘Keep the doors closed.’, Mary Murray told us when we
purchased our home in the rainforest at Coquette Point in
late 1969, ‘If you don’t the cassowaries will walk inside.’ We
fitted screens to the windows and doors and it wasn’t long
before the curious cassowaries put their heads to the wire to
On this occasion I summoned my ‘duck homing skills’ and
see what we were trying to hide. They still do it today when
uttering low soothing words, extended my arm and pointed
they hear the radio or voices inside.
my finger to the open door. I slowly led the cassowary out of
the house and onto the tiles along the patio and then onto
the lawn. Safely outside without an incident, I uttered a loud
sigh of relief. Immediately the cassowary jumped a metre
into the air, evacuated her bowels on the lawn and ran off
into the rainforest.
Cassowaries can easily be startled by strange noises and the
‘startled response’ makes them unpredictable. This can often
be misinterpreted and bring them into conflict with humans.
I have seen cassowaries react aggressively to people wearing
bright red or blue clothes. It is obvious that these colors are
recognized by cassowaries to identify other cassowaries.
Cassowaries are territorial and both male and female
cassowaries will defend their home range. The larger female
cassowary has a range of several square kilometers. Within
her range three or four males maintain their individual
territories. Both male and female cassowaries make loud, low
drumming calls. These calls are used to stake a claim on a
Queenie inside our home (Yvonne Cunningham)
territory and to warn away other cassowaries that might
enter another bird’s territory. Often territorial fights occur
We also fitted some new glass windows and a glass between competing males during the winter mating season.
backdoor. When the cassowaries walked past they saw their
reflection and attacked thinking that it was another
cassowary in their territory. After replacing several broken
panels we have now placed lattice in front of the glass to
block the reflection.
Hagar running at Hero (Yvonne Cunningham)
Lattice covered windows (Yvonne Cunningham)
One spring-cleaning day I was washing the mold from the
walls and the ceiling inside the house, I opened the doors to
improve the circulation. ‘Oh’ thought cassowary July ‘At last I
can come inside and investigate.’
18
Warbler
Conflict with humans inevitably occurs when cassowaries are
hand fed. I remember one day hearing screaming calls
coming from the end of the road. I ran down and there were
six Japanese tourists trying to jump onto the roof of their
van. They had intended to lunch on the beach and had locked
the vehicle in the car park and taken their red food hamper
down to the beach. A cassowary came along and thought it
would share in the meal, but this uninvited guest sent the
tourists into a panic, they picked up the hamper and ran for
the van, followed by the curious cassowary. The visitors were
certain their lives would soon end - kicked and eaten by a
wild red and blue dinosaur with black feathers.
When the cassowary saw me running down the road it ran
off. The tourists were sure I had saved their life. The
message is; never hand feed a cassowary. If a cassowary
associates people with food, it will soon approach anyone
carrying food or a container of food. The problem is nearly
always with people, not the bird.
Cassowaries often walk along beaches and hunt in
mangroves. Cassowaries eat the fruits of the beach almond,
sea lettuce and other fruiting plants found growing along the
dunes and in mangrove communities. Cassowaries also eat
the seeds that are washed from the rainforest during spring
tides and deposited at the high tide mark. Cassowaries will
also eat mangrove snails and small crabs.
with their talons, thereby causing severe injury to their
opponent. Never approach a cassowary and always respect
its right of way.
The Wet Tropics Region is experiencing a boom in growth.
Many areas of cassowary habitat are now fragmented. Fences
block traditional cassowary corridors and cassowaries are
entering urban areas as their habitat slowly shrinks and is
Many a fisherman has been startled when they have turned crisscrossed by roads.
around to see a cassowary walking on the beach towards
them. It is one good reason not to take dogs onto the beach
in the Wet Tropics.
Heron and chick (Yvonne Cunningham)
Cassowaries are being killed and injured crossing roads.
Roads through new subdivisions and upgraded sealed roads
are fragmenting and dividing cassowary habitat all over the
When careless fishers leave baited hooks on the beach it can Wet Tropics.
be a fatal meal for a cassowary.
Last year I put a proposal to Government called Roads for
The cassowary is by nature a solitary bird, however, during Wildlife, please support this scheme and write to the Minister,
courtship the female will follow the male through the
rainforest for up to 60 days, while he demonstrates to her The Hon Dr Steven Miles,
that he is a good provider. Following copulation the female Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection, the
will lay between three and five eggs in a scrape on the Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef,
rainforest floor. The male sits on the eggs until they hatch in Box 2454,
about 50 days. The male then cares for the chicks until they Brisbane Qld 4001.
are old enough to fend for themselves at around one year.
Pigs, pig cages, and pig hunters with dogs, are all major
causes of cassowary deaths. Cassowaries are often caught in
pig cages that are fitted with trip mechanism devices. Once
in the cage the cassowary panics, often dislodging its casque
on the frame of the cage. This injury is inevitably fatal to the
cassowary.
Coming up from the beach (Yvonne Cunningham)
Snout and Ky in the rain (Yvonne Cunningham)
Always be mindful that cassowaries can inflict a nasty, even
fatal, injury - their three-toed feet have sharp dagger-like
talons. Cassowaries, from an early age instinctively play at
kicking. Juvenile cassowaries will play-fight with tufts of
grass and small saplings. By the time they are fully-grown
they have the ability to kick with their strong legs and rip
On the beach (Yvonne Cunningham)
September 2016 19
There is a solution - pig cages designed with push open, appreciated.
vertical doors will not capture cassowaries, the cassowary, by
nature, does not push; however, the pig does. The vertical
push-open doors keep cassowaries safe and may catch the
whole mob of pigs in one go. Whereas, the trip action door
catches one pig and makes the remainder of the mob, ‘cage
shy’. It is bloody mindedness that land owners and NRM
bodies still insist on using trip-mechanism doors on pig
cages.
It is known that hunting dogs kill many cassowaries every
year. On Friday afternoon, all over the Wet Tropics, pig
hunters load up their ‘utes’ with their dogs and drive into the
rainforest, often into National Parks and Wet Tropics Estate
lands, but always into cassowary habitat. If an adult male
cassowary manages to escape the dogs it is often separated Preferable samples are a bunch of 4-5 feathers with base of
from its chicks. The chicks, if not eaten by the dogs, do not feather intact, as well as any tissue attached to the base
survive long by themselves.
(avoid touching base).
Please post feathers in a paper envelope with locality (e.g.
Latitude/longitude), date and collector name.
Samples should be posted to:
Ms Julia Ryeland (M14.G.1)
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment
UWS Hawkesbury Campus
Locked Bag 1797
Penrith NSW 2751 Australia
For further information please contact Julia Ryeland
SCHOOLS PROGRAM
Cassowary and chick (Yvonne Cunningham)
We can move a long way to getting feral pigs under control in
the Wet Tropics if all landholders, including all levels of
Government, maintained and set cassowary safe pig traps
and required fruit growers to refrain from disposing of second
grade fruits in open dumps that attract and fatten pigs.
The joint BSQ & BQ Education Committee has a Schools
Program with an objective to broaden the knowledge of bird
watching and habitat = good conservation.
The pilot studies have born fruit so far at this early stage
with year ones conducting their own "birds in the Science
stream" this year. A year 5 pilot program is underway with
the intention of transferring this program to a year 7 and
other schools in the near future.
The southern cassowary has been included in the Threatened
Species Strategy, ‘20 Birds by 2020’. If there is any hope of
saving the cassowary in its natural habitat of the Wet
Tropics, the main threats to this bird must be tackled - loss
of habitat, road deaths, dogs, pig cage design and fences
which entrap and block the movements of cassowaries.
This important program is in need of a good number of
helpers to show and educate teachers/parents in bird ID.
It isn't too hard and more importantly teachers and their
classes are very open to this type of science which makes it
easy for teachers to get the good results required. There is
an excursion to a local park component on one day of the
courses when helpers are a huge bonus. However blue cards
are a necessity particularly in Catholic Schools. They are free
Yvonne Cunningham
for volunteers and not it is not hard to submit your
application.
Please consider joining this great initiative by:
KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR EMU FEATHERS!
Downloading the Blue Card application form.
Completing and then forwarding the form to Judith Hoyle or
The National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW and the Neil Humphris to sign for BSQ.
Hawkesbury Institute of Environment (Western Sydney We will then forward the form to the address supplied.
University) are collecting Emu feathers from across eastern
Australia to examine patterns of dispersal, diet and gene flow It seems to take a while for the actual card but a
of the Emu. This information will help understand how to confirmation letter is received fairly soon. The outing with
better manage geographically isolated populations, such as children and sharing our knowledge with them and teachers
the NSW endangered coastal population.
too is so rewarding that it's indeed well worth the effort.
If you come across any Emu feathers or road kill across NSW, After all it’s what we enjoy doing anyway.
Victoria or Queensland (while out doing fieldwork or on
holiday trips) – a feather sample would be greatly Neil Humphris
20
Warbler
BIRDS IN BACKYARDS
Spring is right around the corner, so that means many birds
are busy getting ready for another breeding season. Most
birds will be searching for twigs, branches, leaves and other
materials to build a nest. Leave some debris on the ground
for them to pick at, resist tidying up spider webs and even
brush the dog out on the lawn and leave the fur for birds to
fossick for.
There is also a suite of birds (and other animals) that rely on
tree hollows to use as nest sites. Hollows are in short supply
in urban habitats due to the removal of decayed trees and
limbs (for public safety) and the suppression of factors that
promote hollow development, such as fire. Therefore, there is
the potential for nest boxes to be useful, at least where
natural hollows have become rare.
Nest boxes are the alterative we can provide for wildlife that
are reliant on hollows – but boxes come in all sorts of shapes
and sizes, so its important to consider the birds you want to
attract to know what box to install. The design of the nest
box depends largely upon the bird targeted. Some, like
Laughing Kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae), need the floor
of the nest chamber to be the same height as the entrance
and attached horizontally, while most parrots require deep
boxes attached vertically.
Unfortunately introduced species like the Common Myna
(Acridotheres tristis), the Common Starling (Sturnus
vulgaris) and feral bees also use them readily. It is important
for householders can monitor the usage of the nest box and
remove nesting material of undesirable species. Introduced
species are persistent, however, and constant vigilance is
required. Such monitoring may be more difficult in remnants
or parks where the boxes may be harder to access, widely
dispersed and greater in number. While there is some
suggestion that the creation of a baffle at the entrance may
stop introduced birds from using nest boxes, there is little
scientific evidence to support it. In most cases birds like an
empty nest box to add materials to, the exception are the
rosellas, who will like some mulch or wood shavings placed in
the bottom of their box.
Some private companies, councils and men’s sheds sell ready
assembled boxes but if you are handy you can have a go at
building them yourself using our free nest-box plans. You
won’t find nest boxes for some of the more common birds
like Rainbow Lorikeets and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos here
though – these birds are breeding successfully and so we
have focused on some of the less common species.
A selection of nest boxes (K Parsons), Nest box plan
Regardless of the type constructed, nest boxes should be
placed away from prevailing winds and sheltered from HAVE YOU BEEN IN YOUR GARDEN?
midday heat. They also should have drainage holes and be Share your bird garden stories in Warbler.
attached securely. These days there are also great wireless Articles to Peter Crane, editor
cameras available. Think about popping one in your nest box
and hopefully you can watch the daily activities of your
backyard birds from a whole new angle!
For more tips and tricks check out our nest-box info page.
Holly Parsons
Birds in Backyards Program Manager
September 2016 21
UPDATE - YANDINA,
BROADWATER
TOONDAH
AND
What a week it has been! An announcement about Yandina
Creek Wetlands is imminent but it will not come in time for
this newsletter. Probably by the time you read this the cat
will be out of the bag (and believe me I have been like a cat
on a hot tin roof all this week) but for now all I can say is
that we have high hopes that the water will flow into the
wetlands once more! This has been a long campaign, with a
significant amount of active lobbying from BirdLife Australia
and BirdLife Southern Queensland for over 12 months.
Campaigns like this involve many people. A special thank you
to those of you who signed our petition. And I am sure you
will join me in congratulating Greg Roberts for devoting over
12 months of his life in making sure the plight of the wetland
was up front and central at the highest levels. Without his
dogged determination to bring this matter to everyone’s
attention, it would have been reverted to sugar cane. So be
alert for more information on that front.
The Broadwater campaign has been ticking over.
We
understand that the management of the recently named
islands and sandbanks would be ‘managed’ as part of the
Gold Coast Master Plan. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
An holistic Master Plan that incorporates permanent
conservation outcomes for these areas to give the shorebirds
of the Broadwater the protection they require would be a
very positive outcome. In response to a request by Bob
Westerman, we wrote to every state government minister to
alert them to the values of these areas for critically
endangered shorebirds, urging each of them to view the
master planning process as an opportunity to incorporate and
protect the significant shorebird habitat within the
Broadwater.
We received ministerial responses from 7
portfolios, and have been assured that we have been
identified as a stakeholder for the consultative processes
associated with the formulation of the Master Plan.
On 4 May, the federal government suspended its decision on
whether the Toondah Harbour development met the criteria
to be classified as a ‘controlled action’ under the EPBC Act,
1999. The next day, updates to the threatened species list of
the Australian Government Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act saw the addition of six more of
Australia's migratory shorebird species. Included in that list
were the Great Knot (Critically Endangered), and the Bartailed Godwit (Endangered). Both these species will be
affected by the Toondah development.
BirdLife Australia was an instrumental facilitator in the launch
of the Wildlife Conservation Plan for Migratory Shorebirds
earlier this year, an event that the previous Minister for the
Environment, Greg Hunt, launched and lauded.
Every bit of shorebird habitat is critical for the survival of the
listed species. BirdLife Australia’s CEO, Paul Sullivan, has
written to the new Federal Environment and Energy Minister,
outlining BirdLife Australia’s objections to the development.
The Queensland government has also been given this list. In
summary
these
objections
are
associated
with:
o Reclaiming parts of the Moreton Bay Marine Park / Ramsar
site. The area is a known feeding ground for the Eastern
Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit.
o The impact of sedimentary resuspension during the
construction of the 400 berth marina, and maintenance
dredging on a much larger area of the Ramsar site, which
will extend the area of threat to an extensive area of
feeding grounds also used by the Critically Endangered
Great Knot.
o The high risk of acid sulphate contamination and the impact
this would have on the entire ecosystem which far
outweighs the perceived short term benefits of the
development
We are not against the development of Toondah Harbour.
The ferry terminal must be enlarged and enhanced to meet
the needs of North Stradbroke Island. However, there are
alternative designs that will see all the feeding grounds and
roosts left intact. A local architect has kindly provided an
alternative concept design for the development and these
have also been distributed to both the federal and state
governments.
The Australian Government’s decision on whether the
development is a controlled action is due on 6 September.
Unless the Walker Group has included the newly uplisted
shorebirds in their referral we believe there are grounds
under the Act to declare the original referral as void. So once
again, we play a waiting game. We fervently hope that the
federal government will act in a decisive manner and force
the Walker Group back to the drawing board.
Judith Hoyle
Convenor
Bar-tailed Godwit, Great Knot (Peter Crane)
22
Warbler
THE PLACES THAT MATTER THE MOST
Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are sites of global bird
conservation importance. Each IBA meets one of four global
criteria used by BirdLife International.
IBAs are priority areas for bird conservation - we aim to
monitor birds at our IBAs, advocate their importance to
government, and work with land-holders and other local
people to conserve them.
Background to the IBA program
The IBA program is an international non-governmental
conservation scheme lead by BirdLife International Partners
such as BirdLife Australia.
IBAs are sites of international importance for bird
conservation. IBAs are small enough to be practical targets
for conservation management but large enough to meet the
global IBA criteria.
The Australian IBA program will help protect a network of
sites critical for the conservation of Australia's birds by:



To qualify as an Important Bird Area, the site must meet one
of the following criteria:
A1. Globally threatened species
The site must regularly support threshold numbers of a
Critical, Endangered or Vulnerable species, as categorised by
the IUCN Red List.
A2. Restricted-range species
The site forms one of a set protecting 'restricted-range
species' (birds with a global range of <50,000 km2).
A3. Biome-restricted species
Species restricted to a single biome have been used to
identify IBAs in some countries but not Australia. Biomerestricted species are however documented for IBAs
identified by the other criteria.
A4. Congregations
The site supports > 1% of the world population of a
waterbird (similar to Ramsar Convention criteria) or seabird.
For categories A1 and A4, IBA boundaries include all suitable
habitat for the key species, regardless of land tenure. For
categories A2 and A3, enough IBAs are identified to
'adequately' conserve each target species; protected areas
are preferentially taken as IBAs, as these are already
allocated for conservation.
promoting IBAs as a tool for biodiversity conservation
planning
encouraging government to prioritise conservation at IBAs
(e.g. in grant-giving schemes)
IBA designation has no legal basis but a strong scientific
encouraging and facilitating local community-based
basis to justify conservation action. Monitoring and practical
groups and land-owners to manage land sustainably and
conservation action will only be undertaken with the support
conserve key bird species
of land-owners.
The IBA process
Identification - any site which meets the global IBA criteria
will be identified as an IBA. Published data will be analysed
and local experts, land-owners and other local stakeholders
will be consulted.
Monitoring - basic data on the key birds and habitats will be
collected annually where practicable.
Conservation - the project will help any local group or landowner with advice, contacts and possibly fund-raising and
lobbying, to conserve their IBA.
The IBA process has proved very successful across the world
with 7,678 global IBAs identified in 198 countries and
territories by mid-2008. For more background on the use of
IBAs in assessing conservation status, threats and actions,
see BirdLife International's State of the World's Birds.
Southern Queensland IBAs
1 Bunya Mountains & Yarraman
2 Conondale Range
3 Moreton Bay & Pumicestone Passage
4 Tamborine Mountain
5 Scenic Rim
6 Cooloola & Fraser Coast
7 Great Sandy Strait
8 Traprock
9 Palmgrove
10 Paroo Floodplain & Currawinya
11 Lake Bindegolly
12 Bulloo Floodplain
13 Lake Yamma Yamma
14 Cooper Floodplain below Windorah
15 Diamantina Floodplain
16 Lake Machattie Area
17 Lake Muncoonie, Mumbleberry & Torquinie
18 Simpson Desert
Identifying IBAs
To ensure accurate and up to date information, IBAs have
been nominated by local experts working alongside the
program manager.
The project has used the published literature, Atlas data,
expert knowledge and volunteers to identify IBAs. The
project has worked with BirdLife Australia regional groups,
other bird groups, government departments and other
interested parties to identify and document IBAs.
Edited Peter Crane
IBAs meet the criteria for bird conservation importance, as
summarised below.
September 2016 23
PALMGROVE IBA
Photos of Isla Gorge National Park and Lake Murphy
Conservation Park kindly provided by Robert Ashdown
This edition of Warbler I will bring you a summary of the (QPWS) – www.robertashdown.com
Palmgrove IBA. Located about 400km west of Bundaberg (as
the crow flies), this IBA is identical in extent to the
Palmgrove National Park (Scientific). The IBA is comprised of
highly significant vegetation communities, including: Acacia
forest, Eucalypt woodlands and rocky cliffs. The habitat is
characteristic of that preferred by the Black-breasted
Buttonquail (Turnix melanogaster) (Criteria A1, A2, A3)
which is the sole trigger species for this IBA with an
estimated population of approximately 20-30 individuals.
Additionally, the IBA is home to Glossy Black Cockatoos
(Calyptorhynchus lathami), Golden-tailed Gecko (Strophurus
taenicauda) and Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus). A
species line-up such as this underlines the significance of the
area.
Palmgrove is a Queensland Government National Park
(Scientific Reserve); meaning it is not open to the public.
Palmgrove is a special remaining patch of the rare vine scrub
vegetation community. It’s designation as a scientific reserve
precludes recreationists visiting the park. This may sound
extreme, but for such an important area of high ecological
value it is the best way to ensure the safety of the trigger
species and its much reduced habitat. Surely we can accept
that some areas are just too special to risk careless actions
displayed by so many in the past. The current activities in the
area are limited to scientific research projects conducted by
the Government and their collaborators, with assistance from
volunteers from time to time.
However, if you are keen to head to the region, Palmgrove is
part of a much larger network of mixed use areas many of
which are somewhat more accessible to the keen birder. Isla
Gorge National Park is a tad under 100km to the south east
of Palmgrove. It displays similarly beautiful scenery and there
is a basic campground in the park.
The road network
between Palmgrove and Isla Gorge makes driving between
the two a bit of a trek, but given Palmgrove isn’t open to the
public anyhow this is not really a problem. Also in the
broader region are Expedition National Park and Lake Murphy Isla Gorge NP, Lake Murphy CP (Robert Ashdown)
Conservation Park. Perhaps these areas could benefit from
some more birding attention, as they may support
Rochelle Steven
populations of trigger species warranting inclusion in the IBA
network. The small but historic town of Taroom is also
located nearby (relatively speaking – it is Australia don’t
WHICH OF OUR IBAs HAVE YOU VISITED?
forget!). Taroom has a population of less than 1000 people,
Share your IBA visits in Warbler. Articles to Peter Crane
but is a centre for the beef industry and has several points of
interest to keep visitors occupied.
So, despite the fact that the Palmgrove IBA is probably not
an ideal spot to add to your birding to-do list, the broader
region has some really interesting attributes that are worthy
of some inspection. We hear a lot about rural communities
doing it tough. Thanks to many industries drying up across
our inland regions many towns are struggling to survive.
Taking a birding trip to the Western Downs Region and Shire
of Banana is one way we can help these communities see the
opportunities for them to derive economic benefit in novel
and probably more sustainable ways. Why not plan a birding
trip out west? We don’t have to go to the far-flung outback to
get a taste of the Aussie rural way; we can get it in just a few
hours’ drive. As always, don’t forget to spread the word of
what you are visiting the area for. Birds of course!
Common Bronzewing (Peter Crane)
24
Warbler
OVER THE BORDER – FROM THE NATION’S
CAPITAL
G'day all,
Well my adventures have given me a destination you should
all know, Bowra Sanctuary, SE Queensland. First off I would
like to say what a great place it is with abounding birdlife,
friendly people and a great camping experience.
I started my trip heading off from Canberra early Friday
doing a last minute check list before I head off. Okay I have
got everything and I head through town with excitement but
just as I am about to head out of the boarder it suddenly hits
me "where's my camera", so with a u-turn and 1 hour wasted
I head off again. Even with the delay it is a quick trip with
few stops before I get to Bourke for my first stop.
Early Saturday I start my last leg to Bowra and about 70 km
short of Cunnamulla I get my first tick with three Bustards on
the roadside, a great start.
I arrive, check in and get the information about the area
before selecting my camp site. I find a nice shady area and
park the car and hop out with camera in hand to look up and
see a Black-breasted Buzzard flying over the camping ground
(tick #2).
Well I have to say that is a great start to the trip but as the
days go on my ticks are only few and far between but mostly
as the one's that I need can be a little hard to find. I have
got eight new birds so far with little time remaining but with
hope and determination I am confident on some more.
Highlights so far are lousy pics but great views of Bourke's
Parrot and good sighting of Hall's Babbler and ok pics.
Anyway I must get back out of the tent and go and look for
some more.
Happy birding
Shorty
Photographed life list 340
WHAT HAS BEEN IN YOUR BACKYARD?
Share your story in Warbler - articles to Peter Crane, editor
Bustard, Black-breasted Buzzard, Banded Lapwing, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo
(Shorty)
September 2016 25
OVER THE WATER – A THAI DISH
THE UNEXPECTED AS USUAL
When you have lived somewhere for some time, you soon get
to know what you can expect to see at the places you
regularly visit. With birdwatching, this doesn’t just mean
seeing the birds that you expect to see, but also seeing the
usual birds doing the things they usually do, and sometimes
seeing birds you do not expect to see.
These unusual
sightings are not entirely unexpected, and they help to make
birding in familiar places interesting.
in May, but this birds stayed around for a couple of weeks
before going elsewhere.
Another afternoon, I went to see the Pheasant-tailed Jacanas
on the aquaculture pond that has lots of floating water plants
for them to walk around on. I was not expecting to see three
pairs of them mating. It’s not an unusual behaviour, but I
wasn’t expecting to see it three times on the same day in the
same area.
Knowing what you can expect to see in your favourite
birdwatching spots is often embellished by these unexpected
observations. They can include sightings of birds that rarely
occur in a given area, as well as familiar birds doing
unexpected things that you don’t usually see them doing.
At the end of July, I would expect that migratory shorebirds
would still be engaged in their annual breeding activities in
the northern arctic and subarctic area. Therefore, I was not
expecting to see a Green Sandpiper in an empty aquaculture
pond here in Thailand. I was not expecting to see a flock of
about 25 smaller shorebirds flying around either.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to identify these smaller
shorebirds.
Pheasant-tailed
Jacana,
Asian Openbill (Barry
Heinrich)
Another day, I noticed an Asian Openbill perched on a
bamboo stem with its wings drooped down on each side
facing the morning sun. I believe it was sunning itself, but it
may have been trying to dry its feathers after foraging in
deep water. Openbills are very common around here, and I
hadn’t seen this species doing so before. Sunning is a bird
behaviour I don’t often see.
Green Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail (Barry Heinrich)
Generally speaking, when you have been in a given area for
any length of time, you soon get to know what you can
expect to see there. You will see the expected birds going
about their usual activities, foraging, feeding, resting,
preening and competing for space and food. The good thing
about birding in a familiar place is that it is not unusually to
see something that you don’t expect to see, or something
familiar doing something unexpected. At least that’s what I
usually expect.
Thinking back to May, I was surprised to find a Yellow
Wagtail in another empty aquaculture pond. I would have Barry Heinrich
expected that this species would have already migrated north
26
Warbler
THE GENIUS OF BIRDS – JENNIFER ACKERMAN
interactions are intriguing in the complexity of how these
have been and are worked out. How they work, play, give
gifts, establish affiliations, experience grief and yes, cope
BOOK REVIEW – Gil Porter
with quarrel/conflict has evolved and shows how there are
The Genius of Birds – 352 pages – 234 x 153 mm - soft cover some differences in these aspects between male and female
birds. They learn from each other, recognize and remember
– Scribe publications 2016 ISBN (Australian edition) ISBN:
not only each other but also human faces as well as time and
9781925106879 – e-book: 9781925307146 - $35.
places.
Tim Low, author of Where Song Began, wrote the foreword to
Chapter five – Four Hundred Tongues – vocal virtuosity –
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman and commented,
traces birds that have extraordinary skills in mimicry and the
“Her engaging survey of recent findings about bird acumen
complexity of their call repertoire. They surpass this ability in
delivers so many surprises it ends up a revelation”.
mammals due to their physical vocal organs. In addition to a
Ackerman has written about science, health and nature for larynx, the syrinx with its marvelous membranes, set deep in
almost three decades and is a contributor to The New York their chest is able to produce the stunning sounds so many
Times, Scientific American and National Geographic and manage with remarkable accuracy and range. In addition to
many other publications. In the introduction, Jennifer our Lyrebirds, magpies and parrots, there are many others
mentions the changing perspectives about the intelligence of like mockingbirds and even starlings and bullfinches that
birds. The progress from her early days and the vibrant lives have this ability.
of the birds she observed caused her to wonder about the
Chapter six - The Bird Artist – aesthetic aptitude – naturally
“misguided use of ‘bird brain’”! This motivated her to write
features the structures of Australia’s bowerbirds. But included
this book that she states “is a quest to understand the
also are the many different nests that birds build. The varied
different sorts of genius that have made birds so successful.”
and complicated construction of many nests is also included
The
chapters
are in this assessment. Decorations, construction (internal and
organised to explore external) and camouflage seem to play a part in this, some of
areas that are coming to which appears to depend on the learning experience of the
light
in
research bird concerned.
worldwide. Chapter one
– From Dodo to Crow – Chapter seven – A Mapping Mind – spatial (and temporal)
taking the measure of a ingenuity. The ability of birds to travel long distances in
bird
mind
starts deliberate migrational movement is considered here. But it
explorations with the also applies to local foraging for and caching food in season
New Caledonian crow for use later before spoilage (use by?) dates. Finding the way
(Corvus moneduloides) home is common to many birds and how that happens is an
and its reputation as intriguing area of research.
arguably the world’s
smartest bird. The text Chapter eight – Sparrowville – adaptive genius – starts off
is not a dry treatise but with a quote from the late Leon Megginson – professor of
moves along smoothly marketing at Louisiana State University – “It is not the
and captures interest as strongest of the species that survives, nor the most
it unfolds. References intelligent…It is the one that is the most adaptable to
are made to other change”. This chapter explores the spread of the house
places and birds in the sparrow (Passer domesticus) in particular as well as a
world.
There
are number of others that have been successful invaders. The
difficulties in defining impact of climate change with rising temperatures and other
intelligence in birds as consequences are considered in this chapter that I found
we are faced with the fact that there is no standard IQ test challenging. The possible impact on many birds (and other
for birds. A lot of current definitions apply only to other life forms) and extinction are addressed.
species and in particular of man and mammals. However,
progress is being made “with ambitious science going on Finally there are five pages of acknowledgements, fifty-five
pages for notes on the chapters, and twelve pages for the
everywhere in bird intelligence research.”
index. The Notes and the index round out where much of the
Chapter two – The Bird Way – the avian brain revisited - information in the book came from and provide help to find
might sound like a stuffy subject. But the way Jennifer particular areas again.
explores skulls and brain sizes and weight is quite amazingly
interesting. The subject goes through “weights and Through the above paragraphs I have tried to show some of
measures” but also what happens and how it is all organised the leading points I found interesting. But of course the
material in the many pages of each chapter covers so much
and active in the life and survival of birds.
more that is beyond the scope of these few words.
Chapter three – Boffins –Technical wizardry - gets down to Ackerman’s book carries on many thoughts I recalled from
tintacks in problem solving, tools and an ability to innovate! Professor Gisela Kaplan’s book “Bird Minds” that looked at
Comparisons with various species and primates who “were some similar areas in Australian native birds. As such I found
considered the primo tool users” are overturning that view. the book most interesting and enlightening. I recommend it
The New Caledonian crow stands out here too but is not for the challenges being explored by so many about the birds
that for us are signal indicators of the health of our
alone.
environment.
Chapter four – Twitter – social savvy – puts the spotlight on
birds that assemble in various sized groups and families. The Gil Porter
September 2016 27
PLANTS OF CENTRAL QUEENSLAND – ERIC
ANDERSON
BOOK REVIEW – Gil Porter
Plants of Central Queensland – Identification and uses of
native and introduced species - 576 pages Hardback ISBN
9781486302253 - $160 CSIRO Publishing – April 2016
that is likely to have the one you seek. There are also
symbols used to define characteristics of the plants –
declared plants, poisonous plants, bush tucker, weeds,
medicinal plants and useful for bees.
The major part of the book is devoted to the plant groups,
starting off with Ferns. Each species has its common name,
scientific name and family and if applicable, other common
name(s). Then follows its Description (Habit, Fronds/leaves,
Flowers, and Fruits - as appropriate). Habitat defines the
type of area in which it is found. Distribution gives where it is
found in Queensland and elsewhere and is supported by
photographs of the plant features including the whole plant in
its place, plus a map of Queensland distribution. Notes cover
some general information about the species.
The list of plants in this book is organised into the following
groups – Ferns, Palms and Cycads, Aerial plants, Trees and
shrubs, Vines and creepers, Cacti, Herbaceous plants, Water
plants, Sedges and Matrush and Grasses. Each of these
sections is colour coded and this is repeated on the outside
edge of the 544 pages of this section to assist finding the
section concerned. Three pages follow this with suggestions
for further reading. The final 18 pages comprise
comprehensive indexes of common names and of scientific
names.
This is a new edition of the book with the same title that was
published in 1993 but has an extra 285 plant species. Eric
points out that there are many more than the 525 species in
this book but these were selected as important indicator
species in an easy-to-read, non-botanical format of reference
for land managers. He also stated “The book was produced
with the firm belief that through recognition and knowledge
of plants, land managers would be better equipped to
manage the vegetation resource on their lands.” Although
these plants are in Central Queensland, many grow more
widely and distribution maps in the book show that for
Queensland. The book is quite weighty at nearly two kg, no
longer able to fit into the glove box of a ute, but more
suitable on top of a coffee table.
This book is a valuable tool in the hands of those interested
in becoming familiar with the plant life in our landforms. As
such, it can provide support to proposals for protecting areas
significant to endangered birds and other wildlife. Eric’s
extensive knowledge is made available in the easy to follow
text and layout. The book has significant value in the hands
of those who want to understand the places we occupy
and/or use in our wide land.
Eric worked for 40 years in Queensland’s Department of
Primary Industries which included a three years overseas
postgraduate scholarship in South Africa at the University of
Orange Free State. Here he studied grazing land
management and realized that called for whole ecosystem
management. It was also in South Africa that he was
introduced to the wonder of birds through Dr Richard
Liversidge a prominent ornithologist there. In his working life
of 40 years he collected and photographed around 7000
plants, working closely with Dr Bob (R.W.) Johnson, then the
Director of the Queensland Herbarium. Eric is a longtime
member of BirdLife Australia and has served many years on
the BirdLife Southern Queensland committee including a
period as Convenor of the group. Like many who have an
interest in our birds, Eric knows the importance of habitat
that supports and in many cases defines the population of
birds and other wildlife in an ecosystem. He has used his
extensive knowledge in this valuable reference book.
The book is organised into sections to help find the plants
you want to identify. The Contents page is a starting point if
you know generally the sort of plant you are looking for. But
if you need a bit more help, the Introduction covers how to Gil Porter
use the book and has a chart that points to the plant group
28
Warbler
MATESHIP WITH BIRDS – AH CHISHOLM
BOOK REVIEW – Gil Porter
Mateship with Birds – A.H. Chisholm – Hardback 200 pages
210 mm x 135 mm x 23.5 mm - $24.99 – Publisher - Scribe
(scribepublications.com.au) 2013 - ISBN 9781922070326
Alexander Hugh Chisholm (Chis) was not scientifically
trained, and from humble beginnings became a well known
and esteemed figure in promoting our birds to youngsters
and the people of Australia through his prolific writings –
books, newspaper articles and speaking to groups of school
children. This book is one of his memorable legacies to us. It
is a collection of memories from his life experiences with
birds. There are references to birds in various seasons of the
year, pithy comments from children in early Nature Study
classes he fostered as a speaker and comments on what
were then plentiful birds such as the Regent Honeyeater.
Two sections in the book use glossy paper and are devoted to
monochrome photos of birding activities. Most are of birds
and nests with eggs or with brooding birds. Some show
groups of children and others involved in activities written
about in the chapters. In the front of the book is a photo
that shows an extremely precarious structure Chis used to
photograph a Shrike-tits nest.
As Chis refers to many of the birds by commonly used names
of his times, the indexes at the end of the book will help you
identify some of those. The first index of seven pages tells
where the referenced bird is found in the book. The second
index of three pages (List of Scientific Names) is a twocolumn format showing the bird name with some
supplementary information, then the scientific name.
However these names follow the 1922 Check List of the Royal
Australasian Ornithologists Union.
Chis was concerned about the future of birds and commented
in the opening paragraph of the final chapter – The Paradise
Parrot Tragedy - “It is time we gave over the self-centred
idea that the spread of settlement necessarily means the
extermination or serious decimation of the shyer native birds.
It is time, too, that a national endeavor was made to save
the residuum of certain fine Australian birds that are
trembling on the verge of nothingness.”
In this chapter he covers the virtually uncontrolled trade in
trapping and exporting our birds – in particular the parrots.
Even in those times he recognized the effects of introduced
species such as foxes and “the ravages of domestic cats gone
wild.” In addition he commented on the effects of the 1902
drought in Queensland and the fires that adversely affected
food availability of so many species.
And finally at the end he wrote - “The question arises, then,
what are bird-lovers of Australia going to do about this
Alec Chisholm published this book in 1922 and it was
matter of vanishing Parrots? Surely it is a subject worthy of
republished in 2013 with a Foreword by Sean Dooley, author
the closest attention of all good Australians!”
and editor of Australian Birdlife magazine. The original
Introduction by C.J. Dennis and the Preface by A.H. Chisholm
How fitting that we revisit this hugely popular and influential
are included in the republication. Sean Dooley comments on
writer of long ago who reflected even then on similar
the background to Chisholm’s life and writings. He said “It is
concerns we currently struggle with to give a voice to our
with gratitude that I greet the re-publishing of this book,-precious birds. It is a book that is within the reach of most
and I hope that in discovering it, the contemporary reader is
and is well worth exploring as a “snapshot” of those early
infected with Alec Chisholm’s enthusiasm for birds in the way
times.
our grandparents were.”
I’ve enjoyed re-connecting with this book after so long.
Seventy years ago my elder brother gave me a copy for my
15th birthday. It is not a novel nor is it a field guide. It is a
response by one of the earlier enthusiastic amateurs (now
called citizen scientists).
Gil Porter
What have you been reading?
Write a review of your last birding book for Warbler - articles
to Peter Crane, editor
September 2016 29
‘JIZZ’: AN UPDATE ON IT’S ORIGIN
SWAROVSKI BINOCULARS – A REVIEW
Background
Two decades ago I published an article in Canberra Bird
Notes titled ‘The etymology of “jizz”‘. In it I sought to answer
the linked questions ‘… what, exactly, is meant by the term
“Jizz” and where does it come from?’.
I have new babies in my house – arriving absolutely
expectantly a few weeks ago. Found after a ‘treasure hunt’
instigated by my husband. They weren’t exactly in the
cabbage patch, but somewhere close by!
In that article, in discussing the meaning of the term, I
pointed out that the Oxford English Dictionary defines jizz as
‘The characteristic impression given by an animal or plant’. It
states that the word’s etymology is unknown, and points out
that the word ‘guise’ is ‘coincident in sense but the phonetic
relationship remains unexplained and the two words may
therefore be unrelated’. The definition is sourced to a book
published in London in 1922, authored by a prominent British
writer on birds, T. A. Coward, titled Bird Haunts and Nature
Memories. Coward wrote:
A West Coast Irishman was familiar with the wild creatures
which dwelt on or visited his rocks and shores; at a glance he
could name them, usually correctly, but if asked how he
knew them would reply ‘By their “jizz.”‘
What is jizz?...If we are walking on the road and see, far
ahead, someone whom we recognise that we can neither
distinguish features nor particular clothes, we may be certain
that we are not mistaken; there is something in the carriage,
the walk, the general appearance which is familiar; it is, in
fact, that individual’s jizz.
My hands quivered as I unfolded their wrappings – hardly
unable to contain myself until they were revealed: A brand
spanking new pair of Swarovski’s EL 10 x 32 WB Swarovision
binoculars! As I already own a pair of the older EL 10 x 42s,
that I adore, you can imagine that I was totally taken off
guard. What? Why? How come? Questions tumbling out of
my mouth as fast as I could get the binoculars out of their
case and up to my eyes!
So let me step back a bit and try to answer those questions.
Anyone who knows me understands that I am a died in the
wool Swarovski gal! My original EL 10 x 42s are wonderful. If
they have to go on holiday to Austria for a bit of TLC they
come back in perfect condition, and I also get a loan pair to
cope with their absence.
It was the after sales service that converted my husband
from his Leica’s which were troublesome to get repaired in
Australia to say the least. Of course the loan pair of the 10 x
50 WB Swarovisions that I received the last time a trip OS
was required for my binoculars also swung the conversion! I
was soon convinced that, as wonderful as they were, they
Many birders, however, insist that the origin of the term is were way too big for me. Gavin, on the other hand was
World War Two aircraft identification: General Impression of totally smitten, which made his next Christmas present an
Size and Shape—GIS/GISS. Despite extensive literature easy one!
searches in WW2 data bases, I have not been able to locate
any wartime usages of that term.
Unfortunately, their arrival in our household caused a
problem. For the first time I developed a serious affliction –
Other possibilities include the nineteenth century Scottish binocular envy! As good as my oldies were it was clear that
word ‘gizz’ (a face), the eighteenth century word ‘phiz’ or Gavin’s newies were just so much better! The sharpness of
‘phizz’ (face, expression of face), the English word ‘gist’ the image was ridiculously good: crisp and clear to a fault.
meaning the essence of something, guise (mentioned above) But after 2 years, and many dropped hints later, I accepted
and gestalt.
the status quo and continued to love mine as I had always
done.
Coward was mistaken
Over the intervening years I have maintained a watching When I saw that the contents of the box contained the
brief on this word, and have recently located three literature ridiculously small 10 x 32s and not the coveted 10 x 42s I
citations that ante-date what has always been taken as the wondered what I would think of them. One look through
first time that the word appeared in print, namely in settled any disquiet. So it has occurred to me that many of
Coward’s 1922 book. The earliest ante-date citation that I our readers may be thinking the same: If I am going to
have located is a play written by Lennox Robinson and splash out on a top of the range pair of binoculars which
published in Dublin by The Eigeas Press in 1918: The lost should I choose? Now that the three are in the house I think
leader: a play in three acts. In that play, someone says I can help with questions like that. Of course I cannot review
‘…though there’s not much jizz about the old chap’. In this the new EL 10x42 WB Swarovisions, but given the quality of
context, and many others that I have documented from 1918 the 32s and 50s, I think size comparisons will suffice as it is a
onwards in Ireland and the USA, ‘jizz’ means a person’s or given that the optics will be the same quality. So here is a
thing’s energy or exuberance or enthusiasm.
picture of the three lined up side by side:
So here we have it. Coward was mistaken as to the word’s
meaning in the early 1900s. Though clearly, over the
intervening generations since 1922, the word’s meaning has
shifted. Today ‘jizz’ has the meaning Coward gave it: the
characteristic impression given by an animal or plant, rather
than its initial meaning energy or exuberance or enthusiasm.
Details and bibliographical sources are available in McDonald,
D 2016, ‘The etymology of “jizz”, revisited’, Canberra Bird
Notes, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 113-7, open access
David McDonald
1004 Norton Road, Wamboin, NSW, 2620
30
Warbler
And here is a table with some key stats for the three models:
Model
Magnification
Objective lens
diameter
Exit pupil
diameter
Field of view
(m/1000m)
Field of view
(degrees)
Field of view
(spectacles)
Shortest
focusing distance
Light
transmission
Submersion
tightness
Approx. length
Approx. width
Approx. height
Approx. weight
RRP (nondiscounted)
EL 10 x 32
WB
10x
32mm
EL 10 x 42
WB
10x
42mm
EL 10 x 50
3.2mm
4.2mm
5mm
120m
112m
115m
6.9
6.4
6.6
6.9
6.4
6.6
1.9m
1.5m
2.8m
90%
90%
90%
4m
4m
4m
138mm
126mm
57mm
595
$2554
160mm
131mm
61mm
800g
$2880
174mm
131mm
6.7mm
999g
$3110
10x
50mm
find that you are making adjustments as you change from
close to distant (or vice versa) as you track to find the bird,
so for me this is not a deal breaker.
The other ‘issue’ is that, in line with all major competitors,
Swarovski no longer offers a life time guarantee. My 10 x 42s
have been repaired well outside this warranty period and, for
me, it was the thing that made the brand choice a ‘no
brainer’. After sales service has always been exceptional – a
strong point for maintaining my brand loyalty. So time will
tell how the impact of the reduced warranty period will pan
out.
All three models now come with new:
Strap attachment and adjustment features:
And integrated protective
covers shown here:
Like it’s bigger brothers the optics on the 10 x 32s are
superb. Crisp to the edge and the detail is breathtaking. But
for me the standout difference is the size and weight of the
10 x 32s. Don’t be fooled by comments that the 10 x 32s are
for ‘oldies with bad necks’! For such a small and
ergonomically pleasing pair of binoculars the 10 x 32s pack a
punch way above their weight. Yes, the 10 x 50s do let in
more light, but this is only really discernible in dark
conditions. The close focusing and the field of view in the 10
x 32s is excellent. The weight of them is a positive joy, and
even in the lowest of light I can still see and identify birds
that are just ‘blobs’ to my naked eye!
Do I still hanker after a new pair of 10 x 42s? Not one bit!
Have I been cured of ‘binocular envy’ disease? You bet! Is
that disease still present in our house? Yes! It has been
transmitted to Gavin – his beautiful pair of 10 x 50 WBs are
still just that – beautiful! But good things do, indeed, come in
small packages and, whether he admits it or not, he would
love it if a pair ended up in his hands!
Judith Hoyle
Both are significant improvements.
If there is a downside to the 10 x 32s I think it lies with the
focus wheel. As with my older model it takes more than a few What equipment do you use?
turns to go from close up to infinity. This issue is the same
with the 10 x 32s. I am not sure why this should be the case Write a review of your camera, spotting scope, tripod or
as it is way much better in the 10 x 50s. Mind you, it similar for Warbler - articles to Peter Crane, editor
becomes instinctive to compensate for this so that you will
September 2016 31
THE BACK PAGE
Outings
Go to the Events page for events, information and contact
details. Some select events provided below:
Wednesday 14 September 2016
8:00am-
Point Cartwright
Meet at Point Cartwright at 8am for a walk around this
headland. The exact meeting place to be advised. The
headland boasts a small remnant forest with an interesting
range of species; most notably Fairy Gerygone. This species
is difficult to see however as it stays high in the canopy. It
will respond to pishing to some degree. The rocks
surrounding the headland occasionally host such species as
Sooty Oystercatcher, Eastern Reef Egret and the migrant
Wandering Tattler. Look skyward for Osprey, Kites and the
occasional White-breasted Sea-Eagle. Look seawards for Pied
Cormorant and perhaps some late Gannets.
Leader – John Kooistra
Sunday 23 October 2016
7:00am-10:am
Beginner’s Bird Walk - Gold Creek Reservoir
Meeting Place: Gate at end of Gold Creek Rd. A fantastic area of
gallery forest, the highlight here is always the possibility of
White-eared Monarch, while other rainforest and drier forest
species are possible.
Surveys
Get involved and make a difference for Australia’s birds. You
are welcome to come with us no matter what your level of
experience, background or age.
Adopt a farm – Granite Belt, Birdlife Southern Qld
Seasonal surveys @ 800 to 900 metres.
Each season a group of properties from Braeside, Dalveen
and Pozieres on the Granite Belt Queensland, are surveyed.
Some years ago some property owners requested BirdLife
Brisbane South members to give them a list of their birds.
It started small and now has grown to nine holdings with
most having multiple areas of diverse topography needing
coverage, e.g. one is 6,500 acres another 4,500 acres. This
wonderful dilemma means we need more helpers.
Anyone who loves to observe birds and enjoys the great
outdoors is welcome to join. The opportunities to access
private properties, in such beautiful country, are not to be
missed. We now have data collected since 2011 on eremaea
eBird for some areas and each seasonal visit results in yet
more new species being discovered. The data is recorded in
both the Atlas of Australian Birds / Birddata and in eremaea
eBird. This ensures a useful data base is achieved.
Shearing shed accommodation and plenty of campsites are
available and vehicle pooling to where 4x4 access is required
is organized. Overflows can be located at the ‘Happy Apple’
caravan park Thulimbah, just up the road from the shearing
shed.
Contact: Nick Leseberg or on 0488 636 010
Teams are organized to accommodate beginners or those a
bit out of practice.
Sunday 5 November 2016 7:30am-
Beginners are always welcome!
Peachester Store to the Cove Road, Stanmore area
For dates and accommodation arrangements go to the
Events page or email Neil Humphris or phone 0409 341 214.
Meet at the Peachester Store for tag-a-long to the Cove Road,
Stanmore area. This outing travels through a great mix of
habitats and, as such, a good mix of species should be
encountered. The outing should take several hours and there will
be an opportunity to extend the morning’s birding towards the
township of Kilcoy.
Leader/Contact: Ken Cross
BirdLife Southern Qld shop page
Visit our Shop page and order your birding items. All profit
goes toward supporting avian projects.
Hats, Bird Pins, ‘Young Birders’ Booklet, ‘Birds of Southern
Queensland’ book, BSQ Name Badge and BSQ Embroidered Logo
are all available in our Shop
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Warbler
Download the complete version of this newsletter at
http://www.birdlife.org.au/locations/birdlifesouthern-queensland/publications-sq.
Warbler Newsletter contributions—if you have an article or
news item (electronic format preferred) send it to Peter Crane,
editor. Please note that photographs with people need to have
consents from them for publication in this newsletter. The
opinions expressed by authors in this publication are not
necessarily those of BirdLife Southern Queensland or of BirdLife
Australia. COPYRIGHT© 2016