Birds on Farms - southern NSW
NRM NEWS - AUGUST 2020 - GENERAL INFORMATION & PARTNER UPDATES
By Ben Humphries
Southern NSW Woodland Bird Project Officer, BirdLife Australia
ben.humphries@birdlife.org.au
Birds are widely recognised as good indicators of environmental health. A farm with a rich diversity of birds will also have a relatively high diversity of trees, shrubs, mammals, reptiles, frogs and invertebrates – and is also a guide to the overall property condition and sustainability of its agricultural practices. Farm management approaches vary significantly within a farm and between farms – all of which affect the birdlife occurring there.
BirdLife Australia launched its southern NSW Birds on Farms project in late 2019. This project is engaging farmers and the local community to monitor woodland birds within agricultural areas across southern NSW. The ultimate objective for this project is to help landholders gain a better appreciation and understanding of local bird populations and to support them to continue to increase the health and extent of bird habitats on their properties.
The data collected also makes significant contributions to the scientific understanding of the conservation issues facing birds and their habitats in this region.
Birds are monitored quarterly by landholders and volunteer birdwatchers within survey ‘plots’ across a range of typical farm habitats such as lightly treed paddocks, waterways and dams, woodland remnants, revegetation areas, and house and gardens.
A huge thanks to all the participants and partners for their support in the project to complete the Winter 2020 surveys following COVID-19 safety and hygiene restrictions, with particular thanks to the Ovens and Murray BirdLife Branch. We are anticipating lots of local flowering events in time for our Spring surveys, commencing mid-September. Recent highlights include recorded sightings of Black-chinned Honeyeaters and Little Lorikeets in our region and on participating properties, and a fantastic response from the community to the local Landcare plant giveaway events. Many thanks to Holbrook Local Landcare Network and to the West Hume, Splitters Creek, Culcairn and Corowa District Landcare groups for their tireless efforts to inspire our local community to provide habitat enhancements for targeted, threatened species and other declining woodland birds.
If you are a landholder interested in learning more about the birds sharing your property, and/or a local birdwatcher who may be interested in undertaking quarterly monitoring on one or more of these rural properties, please contact project officer Ben Humphries for more information.
The project website also has more information about all aspects of Birds on Farms.
This project is made by possible through the Saving our Species Co-Investment Grants Program. The NSW Government’s Saving our Species program aims to secure the future of threatened plants and animals in NSW.
