Be still, my beating wings: hunters kill migrating birds on their 10,000km journey to Australia

MAY 25, 2020

by Eduardo Gallo-Cajiao, The Conversation

It is low tide at the end of the wet season in Broome, Western Australia. Shorebirds feeding voraciously on worms and clams suddenly get restless.

Chattering loudly they take flight, circling up over Roebuck Bay then heading off for their northern breeding grounds more than 10,000 km away. I marvel at the epic journey ahead, and wonder how these birds will fare.

In my former role as an assistant warden at the Broome Bird Observatory, I had the privilege of watching shorebirds, such as the bar-tailed godwit, set off on their annual migration.

I'm now a conservation researcher at the University of Queensland, focusing on birds. Populations of migratory shorebirds are in sharp decline, and some are threatened with extinction.

We know the destruction of coastal habitats for infrastructure development has taken a big toll on these amazing birds. But a study I conducted with a large international team, which has just been published, suggests hunting is also a likely key threat.

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Lotterywest funds for bird conservation in Western Australia

Lotterywest funding granted for Birdlife Australia Ltd

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has announced a $576,529 Lotterywest grant to BirdLife Australia Ltd to conserve and enhance bird life in the Perth metropolitan region.

Over a three-year period, the grant will support BirdLife WA’s Connecting Urban Communities with Nature project.

The proposal will work with and engage the community, government agencies and the not-for-profit sector to inform the planning of urban landscapes, provide practical guidance and education for the public, and form an evidence base for ongoing monitoring and impact measurement.

The grant will go towards time limited salaries, professional fees and administration costs, travel, resources and information technology to conserve declining and threatened bird species in Perth.

Since 1992, the State Government through Lotterywest has approved 34 grants to BirdLife Australia Ltd totalling $1,452,011.

Source

Conservation efforts intensify for WA’s rarest bird

Western ground parrots are critically endangered with under 150 existing in the wild

Captive program aims to determine feasibility of breeding an insurance population

Efforts are continuing to protect the western ground parrot, following a bushfire that burnt through some of the critically endangered birds’ habitat this month.

Lightning strikes on January 13 caused a bushfire in Cape Arid National Park on the south coast, which burnt 6,300 hectares. Western ground parrots only exist in the wild in Cape Arid National Park and the adjacent Nuytsland Nature Reserve.

In spring 2018, five parrots were caught in Cape Arid National Park – fitted with GPS collars – and returned to the wild so their movements could be studied as part of a recovery program led by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).

A ground search by DBCA last week located one of these five birds alive, and signals from two other birds were detected from the air. A ground search this week will establish if they also survived the fire. One location where birds were found in the spring season was burnt in the fire.

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Thousands of birds found dead in WA's 'most important' inland wetland

By Hannah Barry

22 January 2019 — 3:42pm

Thousands of birds have been found dead at one of Western Australia's most important inland wetlands.

A Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development veterinarian arrived at Lake Gregory in the East Kimberley earlier this month to take sample, and found a number of wild birds in "poor conditions with low body weights".

On a department inspection, it was found several thousand birds had died at the wetland, but the cause of death remains a mystery.

Lake Gregory is a permanent freshwater lake located between the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert and was previously described by the department as the most important inland wetland in Australia.

Its ecosystem helps support about 650,000 waterbirds and is a major breeding ground for up to 80 species and a major migration stopover area for shorebirds.

It supports more than 1 per cent of the world population of pink-eared ducks; the same species believed to have been found dead. A number of black swans also died.

A department investigation excluded bird flu and Newcastle disease as a cause of death, but later identified the presence of blue-green algae close to the lake.

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Banding together to protect the tiny noisy scrub bird — the 'Elvis' of birds

ABC Great Southern 

By Gianfranco Di Giovanni and Katie McAllister

A boy band, an island paradise and a private helicopter landing pad sound like things you may associate with rock stars, not a tiny semi-flightless bird.

Once thought to be extinct, noisy scrub birds are native to the south-west and Great Southern regions of Western Australia, and they have more in common with a rockstar than you may think.

The species form song groups of male birds that all sing the same tune.

In the same way bands function, there is a front man, an Elvis-like character, said Abby Berryman, who has studied the birds.

"I called it the sexy song hypothesis," Ms Berryman said.

"There is Elvis and all his impersonators — so you've got the real deal with these really attractive songs and all the impersonators out there trying to copy him, so they can cash in on some of his success."

Ms Berryman spent months recording the songs of noisy scrub birds and found that the male birds formed song groups, with repertoires for defending territory and attracting mates.

"There can be up to 10 males all sharing the same song types, so they average around five song types in their repertoire so all those birds in the group are singing those same shared songs," she said.

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Rare black Kookaburra bird photographed for first time in Western Australia

By

 Kathmandu Tribune

 -

June 8, 2018

SYDNEY — One of Australia’s rarest birds, the “black kookaburra,” has been photographed for the first time in Western Australia, local media reported on Friday.

The iconic Australian laughing bird naturally has white, brown and blue feathers. Experts believed the black kookaburra captured by an anonymous amateur photographer is likely the result of a highly unusual genetic mutation.

“What we know is that some mutations in birds can upset the production of pigments and result in excessive production of melanin, which is the very dark pigment,” West Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions ornithologist Allan Burbidge said.

While there has been a handful of sightings on the east coast of the country, the photograph, taken 300 km south of Perth on a property near the township of Manjimup, is believed to be the first recorded West Australia sighting in almost seven decades.

Read on  

Toddler injured in 'unusual' magpie attack

Alexandra Ristway, Seven News, PerthNow

September 19, 2017 11:31am

A TWO-year-old girl is Perth’s latest magpie attack victim, but experts say the offending bird is exhibiting “really unusual behaviour”.

Little Asha O’Leary was at the Jackadder Lake in Woodlands when the magpie attacked her – flying at her from the ground.

“I can’t work it out,” Asha’s mum Helen said.

“She was just on her scooter and it was coming up from the ground.”

The Innaloo mother took a video of her daughter’s injuries to show as a warning to other parents.

“My biggest fear is that (the magpie) might attack more kids,” she said.

“I know of about four other attacks through Facebook, within only two days by the same bird.”

Ms O’Leary said the offending bird was easily identifiable because it was missing part of its beak.

“Usually when a magpie’s being aggressive, it’s a swooping behaviour,” UWA ecologist Dr Amanda Ridley said.

“Jumping up from the ground is a really unusual behaviour.”

Readmore 

Rare ‘night parrot’ sighted in Western Australia

Calla Wahlquist
March 24, 2017 00:00 IST
Updated: March 24, 2017 04:21 IST

The discovery was made by a group of friends determined to spot the bird thought to be extinct

A night parrot has been photographed in Western Australia, adding another twist to the mysterious history of the species that was presumed extinct until it was rediscovered in Queensland four years ago .

It is the first verified sighting of the bird in WA for almost 100 years and follows a history of unverified sightings, disbelieved reports and futile ecological surveys that rivals the hunt for the (presumably still) extinct Thylacine in Tasmania.

The discovery was made by a group of four friends from Broome who have dedicated the better part of seven years to locating the bird, examining detailed maps, trekking into likely habitats, and spending evenings in the state’s arid interior listening for unusual bird calls.

“The calls to us were unfamiliar,” one of the group, Bruce Greatwich, said. “We are quite experienced in these habitats so to hear something new was quite exciting.”

The calls were different to those recorded in the Queensland night parrot population, described by researchers in 2005 as “a ‘ding-ding’ call similar to that of a bell miner” followed by “a short frog-like ‘grieet’,” but were enough to indicate the bird might be present.

The next morning a night parrot darted out in front of one of the group, George Swann, while he was walking through spinifex looking for entirely different birds.

It was green and yellow with black barred feathers. The common description is of a big, dumpy budgerigar, about the same size as a rainbow lorikeet.

Cameras at the ready

“We were able to go down and re-find it and we had our cameras at the ready to get a photo,” Mr. Greatwich said.

Ordinarily, he added, they would never disturb a nocturnal bird in the daytime, “but in this instance we knew we had to get a photo”.



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Mystery surrounds annual WA bird deaths

February 12, 2016 6:12am

AAP

Mystery surrounds annual WA bird deaths

Wildlife officers are working to solve a mysterious spate of bird deaths occurring annually in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Scores of corellas have died each February and March for the past five years, according to Department of Parks and Wildlife officer Chris Roy, who says the event coincides with heavy rainfall followed by warm weather.

"The corellas are either consuming or coming in contact with something, we're still not sure what that is," Mr Roy told AAP on Friday.

He said no other bird species had been affected by the mystery illness - with symptoms that include lethargy, poor motor function and green diarrhoea - while toxicology results were yet to yield conclusive results.

"Some of the birds, with a bit of care and rest, come good but others die and others are humanely euthanased by the vet," he said.

Mr Roy said close to 100 corellas died last year, while 30 deaths had been recorded so far this year, with more test samples recently sent to Perth.

DPAW officers had been able to link the deaths to a specific area in the town of Tom Price, known as Area W, which included the local primary school's oval.

"Its a little bit of a mystery. We had a lot of tests done last year and they all came back negative for a cause, so we've got on to it early this year," Mr Roy said.

Source

Birdwatchers crowdsourced to help save endangered black cockatoos in WA

Western Austrlaian researchers to recruit up to 1,000 volunteers to conduct population surveys of the Baudin’s and forest red-tailed cockatoos

Calla Wahlquist

Tuesday 20 January 2015 01.07 GMT

Researchers in Western Australia are crowdsourcing population surveys about black cockatoos in an effort to save two rare species.

BirdLife WA received $255,000 from the West Australian government’s Lotterywest fund on Monday to conduct population surveys of the Baudin’s and forest red-tailed cockatoos.

Dr Jessica Lee, threatened black cockatoo project officer at BirdLife, said both species were endemic to the forests of south-western Australia, stretching from Bunbury to Albany, and their large range made it difficult to get an accurate count.

She aims to recruit up to 1,000 volunteers to survey the black cockatoo populations in their local area to build up an estimate of the surviving population.

“The idea is to develop a volunteer base who are able to go out and survey the birds on their own property in their own time to give us a snapshot of the birds that are there,” she said.

Read more ...

Pelicans used as target practice in WA

WILDLIFE officers believe pelicans are being used as target practice, after two birds were found shot with arrows in separate incidents in Western Australia.

WA's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) is appealing for information from the public following the shocking attacks on the pelicans over the past week near Mandurah.

Last Monday, an adult pelican was found at Soldiers Cove, near the Mandurah estuary bridge, with a target arrow through its chest.

A volunteer retrieved the bird, which had to be put down because of severe internal injuries.

Less than a week later, an adult pelican was shot through both wings with a hunting arrow at nearby Samphire Cove. Another volunteer retrieved this bird, which is being rehabilitated.

DEC wildlife officer Cameron Craigie said the attacks were being investigated by DEC, WA Police and RSPCA.

"Using animals like pelicans for target practice or hunting is something that is not only illegal, it is inhumane and cruel," Mr Craigie said.

"The pelican shot on Sunday is extremely lucky to have survived as the arrow has not caused significant damage to any bones or vital organs."

A maximum penalty of $4,000 applies for injuring or killing pelicans in WA.

Anyone with information about the attacks can contact DEC's Wildcare Helpline on 9474 9055 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/pelicans-used-as-target-practice-in-wa/story-fni0xqi4-1226652153771