Help the Orange Bellied Parrots

Orange-bellied Parrots need your help!

There are less than 200 OBPs remaining in the wild, and unlike other critically endangered Australian birds, they don’t have their own sticker series!

The National Recovery Team for OBPs will make the stickers, but we need your help developing some catchy phrases. To rustle up some inspiration, we’re running a competition, with the HANZAB Parrots Volume awarded to the best Open entry, and a field guide and binoculars awarded to the best Under 16’s entry. The OBP Communications Team will judge the entries.

Keep your ideas short and snappy (just like the Hooded Plover sticker example below), and send them to:

Rachel Sims DSE, 8-12 Julia St. Portland , VIC 3285 OR email to Rachel.Sims@dse.vic.gov.au with ‘Sticker’ in the subject line.

Entries close June 20^th 2008, prizes awarded by June 27^th 2008.

THREATENED BIRD NETWORK

tbn@birdsaustralia.com.au

More info on the Birds Australia website

The North Beach osprey is still around

The North Beach osprey which I wrote about and photographed in December 2007 is still around in exactly the same area. It's fairly common for the young male ospreys to roam around the coast in their younger years, so I'm not sure if this one has a mate.

This morning he was having a great time feeding on what looked to be an Australian Herring (aka Tommy Ruff). Now that the Autumn waters of the Indian Ocean are cooling down, the Herring are running and the local fishermen are trying their luck.

Pied Cormorants on the beach

Are rising sea levels changing this Perth beach?

This was a sandy beach six months ago. You can see that the rocks in the foreground have recently been exposed as the sand has been washed away. Water levels seem to be higher than they were last year. No one really knows why and the locals say this has never happened before.

Mettam's Pool was once a sandy beach and a sheltered rock pool, well protected from shark intrusion. The area has long been a favourite safe swimming spot for children and oldies. Now just getting into the water is becoming treacherous.

I will revisit in November, at the end of our winter, to see how the sand is faring.

Silvereye rescued

Today this little Silvereye flew into our window and fell to the ground. His eyes were closed but he was still breathing, so we picked him up and placed him in the garden. He sat, eyes closed, for about 20 minutes. All the time one of his mates was calling in the nearby tree. Finally he opened his eyes and took a few more minutes to recover while I took some photos. Then he flew off and joined his mate.

Birds records for Wilyabrup, Western Australia

For the last 3 years I have been doing some bird atlas surveys and sending my records through to the Australian Bird Atlas database. The Atlas is a great resource maintained by Birds Australia.

The area I am surveying is one where land clearing and the establishment of vineyards is having an effect on the birds. Tourist development around this area has been modest to date, but the nearby Cape Clairault winery has a plan (2008) to establish 60 cottages in this vicinity.

Here's my list of 54 species to date.

White Faced Heron
Australasian Grebe
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Wood Duck
Little Pied Cormorant
White Ibis
Black Fronted Dotterel
Common Bronzewing Pigeon
Australian Ringneck (28)
Red Capped Parrot
Elegant Parrot
Western Rosella
While Tailed Black Cockatoo Baudin's
Red tailed Black Cockatoo
Galah
Kookaburra
Sacred Kingfisher
Red Wattlebird
New Holland Honeyeater
White Naped Honeyeater
Singing Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
Western Spinebill
Australian Raven
Magpie
Grey Butcherbird
Magpie Lark
Black Faced Cuckoo-Shrike
Grey Shrike Thrush
Richard's Pipit
Willie Wagtail
Grey Fantail
Shining Bronze Cuckoo
Inland Thornbill
Yellow Rumped Thornbill
Western Thornbill
Weebill
Golden Whistler
Western Gerygone
Striated Pardalote
Silvereye
Splendid Fairywren
Red Winged Fairywrens
Scarlet Robin
White Breasted Robin
Western Yellow Robin
Dusky Woodswallow
Tree Martin
Australian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon
Wedgetail Eagle
Boobook Owl
Tawny Frogmouth

Photos of the Bali Bird Walk