Conservation of birds

What is the threat to bird biodiversity?

"Of those bird species known to have been present or to have visited regularly in Australia when Europeans settled in 1788, 1.9% are Extinct and a further 11.5 % are considered Threatened. Some 6.0 % are Near Threatened."

These facts and some of the following extracted summaries have been edited with some added Queensland emphasis from "The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000", Stephen T. Garnett - Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and Gabriel M. Crowley - Birds Australia Environment Australia, 2000. You can read the full content of this plan on the web site of the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts .

"The majority of the Threatened or Extinct bird species are on islands where predators, often facilitated by habitat destruction, have caused or are causing massive declines. On the mainland, land clearance is causing declines that will continue for decades as a result of habitat fragmentation. Over 82% of all bird species from mainland Australia and Tasmania have been affected by land clearance at some stage, and for half it is a continuing threat. Over 40% of species affected by habitat loss, fragmentation and/or degradation occur in temperate or subtropical woodlands. Grazing by sheep and cattle, which affects 53% of mainland birds, and changes in fire management (45%) are also major threatening processes. At sea, all 20 albatross species and several petrels are threatened by high rates of mortality associated with fishing. " (End of direct extracts)

In Queensland, most Threatened and Near Threatened bird species occur in the forests and woodlands of the wet sub-tropical coast land. Significant overall threats to bird biodiversity occur throughout Queensland due to clearing for agriculture, urban development and aggressive interactions from certain native predators and established exotic bird species such as the Common Mynah. Other important threats are the inadequate management of accidental or planned bush fires and the failure to protect and enhance the access to native plants found to be critical in certain bird species' food requirements.

For migratory shorebirds (waders), there is also inadequate protection of roost and feeding sites and threats from pollution. (See QWSG page)

Birds Queensland keeps extensive records of bird sightings, both common and rare, threatened or otherwise notable species. The Birds Queensland Rarities Appraisal Committee ensures appropriate coordination of communication and recording of rare species sighted by members in Queensland.

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Bird conservation

Bourke's Parrot © G. Chapman

Most bird conservation plans (BCP) depend upon:

• a reliable monitoring program to determine the distributions of specific endangered bird species including their population size and trends, together with availability of their key habitat requirements;
• the ready availability of information about the needs of bird species for decision makers, land managers and the public;
• the close working of bird conservation organisations with National, State and Local Government bodies to ensure the most effective outcomes;
• the efficient coordination within and between bird conservation organisations to ensure proper use of the necessary human and material resources; and
• the use of authoritative national working groups with a sound science support team to ensure that actions are based upon sound science and will address information gaps.

Birds Queensland works directly as an organisation and through the individual contributions of its members towards bird conservation within Queensland together with government bodies and other bird-orientated organisations. Over the coming year, this section of the web site will be developed to better communicate the main thrusts of our efforts. For the meantime, the following short summaries with relevant links to other web sites should be taken as a general view of our present priorities.

Our involvement with conservation projects

Details of the major projects, Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Stock Routes Coalition and Migratory Shorebirds are summarised below. Additional project information to be provided will be about the Grey-crowned Babblers, the Eastern Bristlebird, Oxley Creek Common, Brisbane City Council area surveys, and Previous Conservation activities, (e.g. duck and quail hunting).

Glossy Black Cockatoo

Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus lathami, are one of the more threatened species of cockatoo in Australia and are listed as vulnerable under QLD and NSW legislation. Sub-species C.lathami lathami is located in the South-Eastern corner of Queensland, Eastern and Northern New South Wales, extending slightly into Victoria with populations known in South Australia and Kangaroo Island.

Glossy Black-Cockatoo © Ian & Jill Brown

To combat the impending decline in the population of the Glossy Black-Cockatoo, the Glossy Black Conservancy was officially formed in 2005. This was an initiative led by Biodiversity Assessment and Management Pty Ltd (BAAM) with support from Brisbane City Council, Redland Shire Council and Consolidated Rutile Ltd. Since its formation, the Glossy Black Conservancy has attracted additional partners in local government departments, private conservation agencies and academia throughout South-East Queensland. Support continues to grow. Birds Queensland is a working Partner within the Conservancy.

Our members attended training sessions run by the Conservancy to sharpen their skills in the identification of the Glossy Black-Cockatoo and their resources (i.e. feeding trees, nesting sites, drinking sites etc.). Members also increased their knowledge of species information, habitat protection and management as well as record keeping and reporting procedures. They regularly assist with surveys to monitor population size and trends in relation to locations of necessary food sources. We supported a special Census Day recently held on the Gold Coast by the Conservancy on 9 May 2009.

Download fact sheets about this vulnerable bird species from the Glossy Black Conservancy (PDF, 1.4 MB) and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (PDF, 325 KB) for more information.

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Stock Routes Coalition

Scientists and conservationists say vital wildlife corridors will be lost for ever if state governments sell off a network of stock routes in Queensland and New South Wales. In 2008, 450 ecologists and wildlife scientists called on the Premiers of the two states to protect the network, established in the mid-19th Century to help transport livestock between properties and to market.

Birds Queensland became part of the Stock Routes Coalition that pursued the two state governments to ensure the protection of the Travelling Stock Routes in Queensland and New South Wales. Formation of, and activities of, this coalition are summarised on the BASQ and Stock Routes Coalition web sites.

An update on a Log of Claims submitted by the Stock Routes Coalition is given in our March 2009 Newsletter and is accessible by our members on the home page. In Queensland, the Minister for Natural Resources and Water, Hon Craig Wallace (at this time), announced that none of the network of stock routes will be sold or leased and that the Government is working on stand-alone legislation and improved management of the stock route network.

Sharp-tailed Sandpipers © G. Chapman

Migratory shorebirds

Shorebirds (waders) make up about 10% of Australia's species of birds. Most breed in the Northern Hemisphere and millions of birds (adults and newly fledged chicks) leave before the onset of the winter to travel thousands of kilometres along specific paths (called flyways) to the warm south in Australia and New Zealand every year. The reverse path is taken back to the melting Arctic snows in the Northern spring that signals masses of insects, providing a vital food source for self-feeding chicks. And so the yearly cycle goes on.

Professor Kingsford, Silke Nebel and John Porter (UNSW School of Biological , Earth and Environmental Sciences) carried out a large scale aerial survey study of the distributions of shorebirds migrating to, or resident in, the eastern third of the continent of Australia. Published in the scientific journal, Biological Conservation, the results were reported on the internet in 2008 as a news item.

This summary indicates that migratory shorebirds populations along eastern parts of Australia plunged by 73 percent between 1983 and 2006, while Australia's 15 species of resident shorebirds - such as avocets and stilts - have declined by 81 percent.

It is known that the wetlands and resting places that migratory shorebirds rely on for food and recuperation are shrinking virtually all along the way along their migration path from Australia through Asia into China and Russia. Concern has been expressed that the conditions of international agreements relating to shorebird conservation have not been carried out or followed up by all participating nations to ensure proper accountability.

Our special interest group, Queensland Wader Study Group, works closely with other Australian Wader organisations to monitor bird populations regularly at our Queensland breeding and resting grounds. Moreton Bay and Harvey Bay are important habitats in the East Asian - Australasian Flyway, one of the eight major flyways in the world. Our inland wetlands have also been found to provide vital stopovers for migratory shorebirds in recent surveys.

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