(photo: stephen davies) - birdswa.iinet.net.aubirdswa.iinet.net.au/wabn/wabn #030 1984 jun.pdf ·...

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Western Australian Bird .Notes NUMBER 30 JUNE 1984 Quarterly Newsletter of the W.A. Group L Royal AustralasIan Ornlthologists Union RAOU Office Suite 30, Rowley's Centre, 15 Ogilvie Road (South), Canning Bridge W.A., 6156. Telephone: (09) 364 6202 &!?$!'I!!!& CHAIRMAN: Dr. S.J.J.F. Davies, "Waters Upton'', Mt. Helena, 6555. SECRETARY: Mrs. J. Seabrook, 15 Rabone Way, Boya, 6056. Ph. 2996816. - * + EDITOR: Roger Jaensch, Field Officer, RAOU Office in W.A. THE ATLAS AT LAST - YOU are cordially. invited to attend the official W.A. Launching of the Atlas of Australian Birds by - His Excellency Professor Gordon Reid, Governor of Western Australia on WEDNESDAY 18th JULY at 6.00 P.M. in THE UNDERCROFT OF WINTHROP HALL University of Western Australia Dress: Semi-Formal After seven years of preparation the Atlas is complete. To celebrate this auspicious achievement, the W.A. Group of the RAOU is holding a launching party to which everyone with an interest in or con- nection with the Atlas is invited. There is no entry fee but we would ask you to bring either a plate of supper or something to drink. The party really is for everyone so please come and Atlassers climbed every mountair in search of records. help to make the Atlas launch a great success. (PHOTO: STEPHEN DAVIES) I

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Western Australian Bird .Notes NUMBER 30

JUNE 1984

Quarterly Newsletter of the W.A. GroupL Royal AustralasIan Ornlthologists Union

RAOU Office Suite 30, Rowley's Centre, 15 Ogilvie Road (South), Canning Bridge W.A., 6156. Telephone: (09) 364 6202

&!?$!'I!!!& CHAIRMAN: Dr. S.J.J.F. Davies, "Waters Upton'', Mt. Helena, 6555. SECRETARY: Mrs. J. Seabrook, 15 Rabone Way, Boya, 6056. Ph. 2996816.

-*+ EDITOR: Roger Jaensch, Field Officer, RAOU Office in W.A.

THE ATLAS AT LAST-

YOU are cordially. invited to

attend the official W.A. Launching of the

Atlas of Australian Birds by -

His Excellency Professor Gordon Reid,

Governor of Western Australia

on WEDNESDAY 18th JULY

at 6.00 P.M.

in THE UNDERCROFT OF

WINTHROP HALL University of Western Australia

Dress: Semi-Formal

After seven years of preparation the Atlas is complete. To celebrate this auspicious achievement, the W.A. Group of the RAOU is holding a launching party to which everyone with an interest in or con- nection with the Atlas is invited.

There is no entry fee but we would ask you to bring either a plate of supper or something to drink.

The party really is for everyone so please come and Atlassers climbed every mountair in search of records. help to make the Atlas launch a great success. (PHOTO: STEPHEN DAVIES)

I

Jun. 25 - Meeting, U.W.A., M ~ k e Brooker

Jul. 6-9 - CAMPOUT, Rottnest Island. Jul. 18 - Atlas Launch, U.W.A. Undercroft. Jul. 28 - Local Excursion, Bickley Brook.

Aug. 6 - Meeting, U. W.A., Ground Parrots. Aug. 11 - Local Excursion, Herdsman. Aug. 18 - Day Trip, Yanchep.

Sep. 8-9 - CAMPOUT, South Coast/South-West. Sep. 15 - Day Trip, Avon Valley. Sep. 24 - Meeting, International Waterbird

Research.

Sep. 29-Oct. 1 - CAMPOUT, Dryandra (Combined). Oct. 14 - Local Excursion, Alfred Cove. Oct. 20-21 - Moora or West Gingin Campout.

Nov. 3-4 - Woodanilling Weekend. Nov. 17 - Day Trip, wheatbelt wetlands.

Dec. 1 or 8 - Bird Tally and Social Night. Dec. 16 - Local Excursion, Swan River.

Note: Dates and places from Oct. 14 onwards are tentative - check next newsletter.

Meetings are at present held in the Mathematics Lecture Room 1, near Fairway Entrance No. 3 (actually opposite the Weather- burn Lecture Theatre), at the University of W.A. campus. The March '84 and December '83 issues of the newsletter cagtain maps of the approaches to this room.

There is some debate at present as to the suitability of this venue for our needs. Comments from members would be appreciated and these should be directed to Committee members.

Meetings commence at 8.00 p.m. and include tea and biscuits afterwards. Visitors are especially welcome.

Monday, June 25: Mike Brooker Mike has joined the CSIRO Rangelands and Wildlife research

staff at Helena Valley this year. He has worked in the past with Wedge-tailed Eagles on the Nullarbor and more recently with waterbirds at the Macquarie Marshes in N.S.W. and Kakadu National Park in Arnhem Land. At this meeting Mike will speak about aspects of his work in one of these fields.

Monday, August 6: ~roukd Parrots/Future activities The Field Officer for the Ground Parrot Survey, (Doug

Watkins) will review progress with the study and outline his ap- proach to the coming months of fieldwork. The Field Officer for the Waterbird Project (Roger Jaensch) will present a similar report on waterbirds: this project is moving into its final year.

If time permits, discussion about future activities in Western Australia might be arranged.

-

Monday, September 24: Bird study in the Northern Hemisphere, especially Asia

Australia has moved into an era of greater international cooperation in bird study and conservation programmes. The RAOU will probably become actively involved in a broad survey of waterbirds in southern Asia in 1985.

Roger Jaensch will present an illustrated report on ornithology in Japan and Hong Kong, as well as wetland reserves and water- bird management in the U.K. and Netherlands. A number of WA Group members generously supported his recent tour.

Mike Bamford and/or Doug Watkins will then report on In-terwader 83. This wader study expedition to Singapore and Malaysia was supported by the RAOU and set the stage for fur- ther work in south and east Asia.

We are attempting to alternate between Saturday and Sunday excursions from September onwards, provided that this arrange- ment brings good response. After August, we also hope to plan excursions for as near as possible to the middle (i.e. 15th) of each month, on a trial basis.

The Excursions Sub-committee of the RAOU-WA Group has decided to place some control on the number of major/"Official" RAOU campouts that it organises each year. In 1984 we propose to run no more than four such events: one has passed (Torbay - Jan.) and three are outlined below.

Individuals or groups of members are certainly free to organise additional campouts and to publicise these in WA Bird Notes. If they wish to use the RAOU's name in conjunction with a cam- pout, the Excursion Sub-committee (contact at RAOU Office- WA) should first be consulted.

CAMPOUT - Friday July 6 to Monday July 9: Rottnest Following the very successful '83 campout it is planned to run

a long-weekend o n the Island. AN members and guests are welcome. Full accommodation and board will cost approx. $9 per night. You are welcome to attend for a day visit at no cost.

Proposed itinerary: (a) Seabirds - outing to west end. (b) Tern colonies. (c) Waders. (d) Over-wintering passerines. (e) Informative talks, e.g. Tom Perrigo will talk on the plans

for Rottnest Island (Tom is consultant to the R.I.B.). (f) Video - bird films.

A special concession is available for those who book early to go by air. The return fare would be $12.80 (normally $24.40) however we need at least 10 persons.

Contact Steve Keeling - 291 7592 or RAOU Office.

Saturday, July 28: Bickley Brook This will be the first of three excursions led by Dr Stephen

Davies in conjunction with his bird study courses at the univer- sity of Western Australia. Meet at 0900at the barbecue area beside Bickley Brook Reservoir. We hope to find cuckoos calling in the wandoo woodland and honeyeaters busy feeding in the early- flowering heath. All members and visitors welcome.

Saturday, August 11: Herdsman Lake Meet at 0900 in Floreat Waters Estate, Churchlands, at the

city end of Lakeside Drive (small carkpark). The second of Dr Davies' excursions. Participants will be able to see the rapidly emerging Wildlife Study Centre as well as deepwater birds such as (perhaps) the Great-Crested Grebe, Hardhead and Blue-billed Duck.

Saturday, August 18: Yanchep Meet at 0830 at the Ocean View Tavern on Wanneroo Road

in Wanneroo. Drs. Shannon and Davies will lead the Group to the Yanchep area where late-flowering banksias might provide nectar feeding birds for us to enjoy. Some banding of bushbirds may also be in progress during some part of the day.

CAMPOUT - On the Weekend of September 8-9 and in the ~receedin~rweek. the RAOU will be searchinn for Ground Parrots in the ~ o G h - ~ & t . This will require a camp i f willing participants possibly near either Busselton/Capel or Northcliffe. When the Ground Parrot Field Officer commences his work in June he will confirm the campout location and will notify members of details via a circular. Please keep these days free!

Saturday, September 15: Avon Valley Last year we went to Walyunga National Park and learnt that

little bird data had been gathered for that Park. This year we propose to visit the scenic Avon Valley National Park and com- pile a bird list for the areas visited. A broad variety of bushbirds should be present, many of them breeding. If time is available

we may also look for Shrike-tits in the powder-bark wandoo at Majestic Heights, Toodyay. All interested persons should meet at 0800 at the intersection of the Toodyay (Red Hill) Road and Bunning Road at Gidgegannup (roughly 25 km from Midland), or at the nearest parking opportunity on the Toodyay side of this junction. This will be a full day outing: newcomers welcome as always.

CAMPOUT -Saturday, September 29 to Monday, October 1: Dryandra Forest and district

The RAOU has been invited to ioin the ioint long-weekend campout of the W.A. Naturalists 6lub andthe ~ird-bbservers Club of Victoria, at Dryandra. We will probably organise the programme for Monday: this may include visits to the Narrogin Lakes, where nesting ought to be in full swing. Accommodation and other details in September issue.

We had hoped that outings for the rest of 1984 could have been finalised by now but this has not been possible. The fdlowing dates are fairly certain, though locations are still tentative. Final details will appear in the September newsletter.

The organisers of RAOU events welcome suggestions of places to visit and improvements that could be made to the whole ex- cursion programme.

Sunday, October 14: suggestion -Alfred Cove Starting time will d e ~ e n d on tides. This lace is famous for

its ~ u f f - b k d e d Rails, f a e k Sandpipers, nesating stilts and varied waders and bushbirds.

October 20 to 21: suggestion -Campout North of Perth Two suggestions have been put forward for campouts, organis-

ed by members, at this time of year. viz. Moora district: timbered lakes, salt lakes, sandplain,

salmon gums. or West Gingin ("Sarnphire"): as per 1983 camp - freshwater

lakes and swamps, coastal heath, sandplain.

Visits to one or both of these locations will probably be organised.

November 3 to 4: sumestion -Woodanilling Manv members have asked if we could reDeat the hiahlv suc-

cessfuli983 stay at Woodanilling. We hope io obtain hilpfrom local ornithologists in order to run this event.

Saturday, November 17: suggestion -Wheatbelt wetlands Near Brookton or near Goomalling. The final choice between

these two areas will depend upon waterlevels in early August (full day trip).

Bird Tally and Annual Social Night: December 1 or 8 (Saturday Evening)

We hope to repeat the immensely successful 1983 tally and social night, virtually in identical fashion. We need strong in- dication from members as to which date they prefer. It will be useful to compare 1984 bird tally findings with those for 1983. The W.A.I.T. grounds venue seems most suitable.

Sunday, December 16: suggestion-remnant habitats of the Swan River Valiey and/or Whiteman Park.

Any person requiring transpport to RAOU excursions or cam- pouts should contact the RAOU Office (WA) on (09) 364 6202.

February 27: RSPB Videos This was our first meeting at the University of WA Maths

Lecture Room and a crowd of more than 70 members and visitors was in attendance. Ros Denny capably chaired the meeting in the absence of the Chairman.

Two RSPB Videos were screened, both being of superb quali-

ty as promised! "The Secret Reeds" gave an insight into the seasonal dynamics of reed-swamps and their bird populations. Of course, the highlights were sections displaying the Eurasian Bittern and Water Rail: these birds become relatively tame when forced to range widely for food during icy winters.

Although cliff-nesting seabirds are relatively unimportant in Australia, the "Seabirds" video included spectacular footage of diving gannets, puffins and terns. This set us thinking about the feeding methods of seabirds in our own waters.

The evening concluded with a tape of Eyre Bird Observatory and dune stabilization and a brief audio visual (starring several members and using many of Bert Wells' slides) of the Waterbird Project. Despite some difficulty with security arrangements, tea and coffee were enjoyed in the nearby Maths Lounge.

March 26, Peter Curry -Muttonbirds With the business of the meeting completed, Ros Denny in-

troduced Peter Curry to speak on Muttonbirds. Peter Curry cap- tured his audience's attention and imagination as he unfolded the life history of the Tasmanian Muttonbird (the Short-tailed Shearwater). The detailed knowledge presented by Peter was the result of work done by Dom Serventy and his co-workers on Fishers Island in the Furneaux Group off north-east Tasmania. This involved an extensive banding program of immature and adult birds on Fishers Island. Fishers Island is one of many islands in which the Short-tailed Shearwaters have their nesting burrows.

The great volume of data collected from this work is being analysed by Dr Stuart Bradley, Dr Ron Wooller and Peter Curry. Peter was able to reveal the history of an individual female shear- water with records of its various mates and nesting successes and failures. Although this bird occurs in very high numbers it is on- ly known to breed in Australia. On some islands in Tasmania this bird is exploited commercially. Nestlings are taken at par- ticular times of the year for food and the down-feathers. It is thus of benefit to understand these birds as well as possible. The meeting was well attended.

Torbay Campout, Albany: January 27-30 Forty-eight members attended this campout for which we us-

ed once again the excellent facilities of the Woodbury-Boston School at Torbay. From here we were led to a variety of localities by Doug Watkins, Roger Jaensch: Torbay Hill, Grasmere Lake, Torbay Inlet, Mutton Bird Island and Lake Seppings, then fur- ther afield of Two People's Bay, Lake Angove, Wilson's Inlet and Ocean Beach (Denmark).

In the camp's vicinity we were interested to see Black-shouldered Kites and two Little Eagles, Red-Winged Fairy-wrens, and Redeared Firetails. At Torbay Inlet we were especially pleas- ed to find two Ospreys roosting close to their nest in a dead Karri tree, just where we had seen them in March 1982 on our previous campout. Here the whole group had close and leisurely sightings of two Crested Shrike-tits.

While following the Rotary Bird Walk around Lake Seppings in Albany, Ros Denny among a group of us, first sighted a bird standing on the banks of Lake Seppings which provoked cries of "a snipe" from Doug as it flew off. With further sightings of this bird it was identified as a Gallinago snipe (species undeter- mined!) See WA Bird Notes March No. 29 page 1.

On three evenings some of us listened at dusk on the track to Lake William, for calls of the Ground Parrot, where Bert Main had reported several sightings. However, we had no success on these occasions although it appears to be likely habitat.

At Two People Bay, the Ranger Graeme Folley spoke to the group about the translocation project of Noisy Scrub-birds from Two Peoples' Bay Nature Reserve to Mt. Manypeaks Nature Reserve (see story in SWANS No. 2, 1983). Graeme's account of the problems involved was particulary interesting.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this campout a great start to the year.

D. Beckingham

-- -

February 4: Thomsons Lake This summer's Thomsons Lake excursion proved just as

popular as in previous years. The assemblage was split into three parties, ably led by more experienced members and after a careful search for bushbirds everyone met on the lake-circuit track. Reports indicated a fair variety of species including White-backed Swallows, a Hobby, a Sacred Kingfisher and Royal Spoonbills overhead. Numbers were fairly low except in the case of Weebills.

During observations from the east side and while walking through the shallow central parts of Thomsons Lake, we were exposed to the devastation that botulism had inflicted on the waterbirds. More than 170 recognizable carcasses (mostly Pacific Black Ducks) were counted. More information on the phenomenon appears later in this issue.

Shovelers were still numerous (more than 1,000). as were Marsh Harriers (at least 6) and Black-winged Stilts (2000-but none dead). Five Long-toed Stints were flushed by the last of the group as it left the lake edge at midday.

February 18: McLmty L. -Mealup L. Although a few unsus~ectina souls had not come suitably

prepared,-most of the 30 dr so in this glorious event were garbed in waders and other types of mud-gear. From the southern shores the group enjoyed a passing Peregrine and counted three hundred herons grabbing food in the receding marshes.

A Gallinago snipe had been located here by the Field Officer

After trudging half-way around the lake, seeing 20 Wood Sand- pipers and little else, the mob drove to the Goodale Sanctuary.

a lunch, a along paths to the lakes added nesting darters and several honeyeaters and warblers to the bird list of 63 species.

Some enthusiasts searched the-dense- wet-shrubbewand ..- rushes for nests (several Musk DuCFnests were found) wmeXtTiers retuned to Perth. Later, the remaining troops looked at the very

drying Mealup Lake' An apparent 'Ibis-Royal hybrid provided as anAustralasian Bittern and closeby Spotless Crakes. At times the air was thick with rising egrets, ibises, herons and ducks.

Once again, this part of the Swan Coastal Plain proved its im- portance to waterbirds and outstanding value for ornithologists.

10 March: Bibra Lake It was a fine, warm morning when about 35 people

at Bibra Lake. The lake still had a large amount of water in it but was low enough to leave exposed mud on the edges of the north and south-~est ends. With telescopes and binoculars at the ready we made our way around the north end of Bibra Lake. A large number waders feeding on the mud at the end attracted people's attention. At this site we were treated to about 2' Black-fronted Plovers and some good sightings of a Spotless Crake. enthused we walked our way around Bibra Lake to finish where we started. In total 62 species were seen. These included waterbirds and bushbirds. A total of 6 species of raptor were seen including Marsh Harrier, Black-shouldered Kite*Whistling Kite* Hobby and Nankeen Kestrel.

S. McNee

Campout: Wellington Mills, 30th March - 1st April .Twenty-one members led by Brice Wells and Ron Van Delft

enjoyed the pleasant bush setting of the D.Y.S.R. Chalets at Well- ington Mills, south-east of Collie. It was a good place for arm- chair bird-watching with Red-eared Firetails, Western Rosellas, Currawongs, Splended Fairy-Wrens, Yellow-rumped Thornbills and various honeyeaters in full view on the lawns near the Chalets. Thirty-three species were noted in the vicinity and twenty-seven ' species were seen around the Wellington Dam and Collie River.

A ten kilometre walk through jarrah and blackbutt trees and along the scenic Collie River occupied most of Saturday, while on Sunday we were interested to see the 'Night Heron Colony' adjacent to the Titanium Plant in Australind. At the mouth of

the Preston River near the Bunbury Power Station we saw a varie- ty of waders including Bar-tailed Godwits, Great Knots, Grey Plovers and Greenshanks.

D. Beckingham

8th April: Mandurah-Coodanup-Serpentine River Twenty-four bird-watchers arrived at 8 a.m. sharp for a look

around the Peel and Mandurah area. First we went down to Coodanup, looking at various areas

along the estuary towards the Serpentine River. Here there were good wader sightings with cooperative birds allowing beginners to look through telescopes and learn how to identify the different species.

At the mouth of the Serpentine a group of Godwits was observ- ed, and one member of our group expldned how two of the birds in the group of 25 were a couple of mm taller and a slightly dif- ferent colour. "Most likely Black-tailed Godwits", he said. With everyone at the ready Bob Goodale, the group leader, put the birds to flight revealing a very rare sight: 25 Black-tailed God- wits flew off.

We all lunched on the banks of the river before going to the Mandurah sea-wall where we were treated to Roseate Terns, Com- mon Terns, (most uncommon in these parts) and Australian Gan- nets, which rounded off a very good day's bird watching. The day finished with us all being entertained by an Australian Sea Lion.

Life at the observatory has been busy, with 388 visitor nights recorded for the first quarter of the year. (Visitor nights are calculated from the 1st December to the following 30 November). By the end of May there will be over 700. A very fitting place for Di and I to hand over on the 1st June. It is great to know that the observatory will be in good hands. Nick Dymond will be Warden and Jill Smith and Peter Higgins his Assistants. Nick has had a lot of experience and will be a competent warden and a staff of three will give greater versatility to the work of the obser- vatory and the interests of visitors. Eyre is beautiful in winter, which is mild and pleasant, and with a good fire in the evening, very relaxing. Come and spend time in July and August. The Southern Right Whales arrive in July to wean their calves.

The spring movement of waders through Eyre along Kanidal Beach, from 7th August to 5th February 1984 was remarkable for the small numbers of Red-necked Stint recorded, only 166. Most other species were also scarce, but numbers of Ruddy Turnstone and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers increased. The tally of Sharp-tails would have been much higher, but no count was taken during the Shore Birds course when over ninety were present on the weed beds of Nine Mile. A Pectoral Sandpiper was also present and some good photographs were taken of it by Mark Bonnin. In spite of persistent efforts it eluded the cannon net; once standing just out of range as our fickle tide retreated. The first Double-banded Plover was recorded on 20 February and Red-necked Stint, mostly in a partial breeding plumage, started to return. By 24 April 294 had been recorded with twelve sanderl- ing and a curlew sandpiper. Double-banded are now conspicuous and are tolerated by the Red-capped Plovers in whose territories they find themselves.

In the grasslands bordering the highway Crimson Chat were present at the end of February and in March, and Di saw a Bustard in January. The Banded Lapwing has returned and is busy with its courtship rituals. In February the Malleefowl which had been working the mound west of the microwave tower stopped. The mound was opened but contained no eggs, so the late laying in November must have been successful. Parties of Rainbow Bee-eaters were encountered at the top of the escarp- ment on the 15 and 16 February flying west on their long journey north. More than thirty were counted. On the 8th March a record of 107 Pink Cockatoos came in to drink at the water points north of the observatory. In early April Ground Cuckoo-shrike were seen by the Wildlife Survey team in the fringes of the mallee on the Tableland. On the 15th April the air around the house was suddenly full of Tree Martins, but I did not see their passage.

They were gone by the evening. At Eyre, honeyeaters have been the most conspicuous group

of birds, after the morning and evening conversation of Pink Cockatoos. Singing Honeyeaters have been abundant. This species with the other short billed honeyeaters, the Purple-gaped and White-eared remain here all the time subsisting on berries of Raghodio and insects during the period in January, when there is no blossom. Usually most birds of the other honeyeater species disappear during December, returning when the Mistletoe starts to blossom in early February. New Holland have increased in numbers, but their close relation the White-fronted Honeyeater, after its invasion in 1982 has been scarce. In August and September 1983 they were in good numbers at Nine Mile and Twilight Cove, but only a few reached Eyre. In April Yellow- plumed Honeyeaters and White-fronted have been recorded on the escarpment, but not in any numbers, and Purple-crowned Lorikeet have been heard near the escarpment. Their presence might foreshadow a good flowering of Eucalyptus gracilis, which is common in that area.

It remains for Di and I to say Au revoir and thank you, to all those wonderful people who have supported the observatory during our years here, our visitors and the Friends of Eyre and to ask you to continue your support, for Eyre will need you. We hand over to Nick Dymond and his staff on the 1st June and will be leaving about 16th June.

FAREWELL TO EYRE We leave you sadly,

Paradise and serpents too, Memories of Eyre.

Di.

COURSES 26 August- Botany. Dr. Neville Marchant will lead this 1 September course, which will be a continuation of the

course of July 1983 set in a different season. The enthusiastic support given by amateur botanists on that course did much to obtain the good collections of plants made. Their continued support is sought for this work.

2-8 September Reptiles. The course which is the second on this subject will be led by Dr. Mike Barnford. The methods of catching reptiles in the field, their measurement in the hand and how to identify them and record them will be demonstrated. Our lizards are a fascinating section of the life in the mallee. Last Januarv. during Mary Dver's course 125 in- dividuds were caughi &longing to eighteen species), measured and released.

16- 9 September Field ornithology. This will be the fifth course on this subject. It will again be led by Dr. Stephen Davies assisted by the Warden. The course will include mist netting as a means of studying birds in the hand, cen- sus techniques and counting birds, nests and territories and the interpretation of data gathered. However, the subject matter may be changed to match the changing weather pattern at the time of the course.

28 October - Shore Blrds. Petery Curry and the Warden. 3 November The influx of migratory waders to the beach

near Eyre reaches a peak during the last week of October and the first week of November.

In April 1981, the first of my many visits to Eyre, I stepped off the bus as it ground to a halt at Cocklebiddy and wondered why a bird observatory would be sited in such a desolate area. I was further astounded when I realized that, despite making prior arrangements through the mail, there was no one to greet and transport me the rest of the way to Eyre. Had I arrived at the right place? Maybe I mixed up the arrival dates?Doubts subsided one hour later when a white Suzuki ("Suki") bearing the RAOU embiem pulled up beside the roadhouse and out stepped an elder- ly, moustachiocd gentleman dressed in khaki and wearing a green beret -my first encounter with Peter Congreve. I was rather taken aback when he welcomed me and apologized for being late (he had been pursuing mallee fowl on the way) in a posh, regirnen- tal accent which appeared to be so out of place in the harsh Australian outback. But Peter was in his element as he skilfully manoeuvered the vehicle across the barren plain, down the steep and rocky escarpment and along the sandy dune tracks through the dense coastal mallee as we headed for Eyre. Di Congreve warmly greeted us upon our arrivaI at & r e and had thoughtful- ly prepared an appetizing, and much appreciated lunch; one could not help feeling like royalty. As others will no doubt testify, such a heartfelt welcome by both Peter and Di was extended to every visitor to Eyre.

The dedication and enthusiasm of Peter and Di as guardians of Eyre are beyond reproach and often outside the realms of their duties, like the time they catered for, entertained, and transported to and fro over 25 visitors on two successive days, or when a visitor (guess who?!) was motored at midnight to Cocklebiddy in torrential rains to catch a 3 a.m. bus back to Perth, subse- quently waiting for 5 hours in the vehicle at temperatures close to ft'eezing point for the delayed bus to arrive, or the many guided tours of Eyre and the provision of meals for the numerous visitors who arrived unannounced. Yet, despite all this and much more, often physically and mentally taxing work, Peter and Di never outwardly complained to anyone.

Previous to moving to Eyre in 1981 the Congreves had already helped in renovating the house, but upon taking up residence they have gradually transformed it into a comfortable "home away from home". Who could ask for more than to sit in comfort at night around a burning fire with classical music playing in the background, and listening to Di tell of their exploits in India and Kenya (did you ever hear the elephant stories?) and even tales of their school day pranks, whilst poor Peter would entertain us with his snoring! They are truly the Raj of Eyre.

Peter and Di have contributed much to the knowledge, not only of Australian birdlife, but of wildlife in general during their reign at Eyre. Peter's tireless banding efforts have resulted in over 1OOO birds a year being banded and has consequently gathered much information on local movements of bird populations, ageing and sexing of birds and patterns of feather moult. His patience and powers of observation have enabled him to discover many nests. Transect analyses undertaken with religious fervour each week culminated in the sighting (and a photograph) of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper - the first record of this species in Western Australia. And one cannot help mention the mighty efforts of Di as saviour of the nesting Welcome Swallows in chasing away the predatory Grey Butcherbird from the verandah with her broomstick!

As well as being perfect host and hostess, warden and assis- tant and researchers, Peter and Di played a great role in educating both birdos and non-birdos alike, from children to the elderly, on subjects ranging from bird-watching to local history, par- ticularly during the organized courses. It soon became obvious to me and many others that their years of experience in the bush have truly made them a wise and respected couple.

Peter and Di are retiring from Eyre to their home in Beverley, and I'm sure that Eyre's loss will be Beverley's gain. I have tried to express the appreciation df the RAOU and the multitude of visitors to Eyre for the contributions the Congreves have made

to Eyre and ornithology at large, but that is not possible in just a few paragraphs. I personally would like to thank them for the endless moral and manual support they gave me during my studies at Eyre, and I am sure we all wish them the very best for the future. Individual members can further show their gratitude by sending a donation to the W.A. branch office of the RAOU for a suitable retirement gJft.

Finally, as the Eyre Bird Observatory moves into a new technological era the RAOU wishes Nick Dymond future success and happiness as the next warden of Eyre.

Stephen Ambrose

When the Atlas of Australian Birds is published, in July this year, Australia will have readily available, accurate maps of the distribution of all Australian birds. These maps will show whether or not each species lives or breeds in each one degree block. The 812 one degree blocks in Australia divide the continent into parts that look small on the map but are really very large, 10,000 sq km, especially when it comes to saying just where each bird can be seen. The Atlas will have with it a map that shows the distribu- tion of the eight main kinds of vegetation in Australia. Using the overlays that will be optional extras to the Atlas, the distribu- tion of a species can be correlated with the distribution of vegeta- tion on a continental basis. But the resolution, that is the exactness of the correlation, is coarse. It doesn't often help to find exactly how much a species depends on a particular kind of vegetation in a particular locality. . We knew these limitations when we set out to plan the Atlas

that is why we collected as much data as we could on a ten of 100 sq km. Even

that is large, bu 1 ry much more useful for planning where to put conservation rese the information collected on a one degree basis.

Four atlasses of bird distribution using &kU&cks of about 100sq km in area have been published. The first was one &@- Adelaide area, then there was one of the Melbourne region. The'

fauna authorities in the ces that were included in them and the Victorian Atlas is an ext n of such pilot projects.

Two years ago the Fisheries an ' dlife Division of the Victorian Ministry for Conservation \ss began with the RAOU the possibility of combining RAOU and VIctsFian Government data to produce a publication that showed the distribution of Victorian birds on a ten minute grid and correlated those distributions with the environmental data that was available in Victoria. The Ministry saw considerable benefit in this for its own planning and processes, particularly where these needed to assess the conservation value of unreserved land, both mown and privately owned.

For the project to go ahead efficiently the RAOU had to get its own data into a form that was easily accessible at Gladstone Street, integrate it with the data from the Ministry, produce combined maps on a ten minute grid and prepare a text to go with the maps that discussed the patterns of distribution. About eighteen months ago the RAOU was able to arrange grants from the Schutt Trust, a Victorian philanthropic foundation, to purchase the equipment it needed to store and print out the Atlas data in its own computer centre at RAOU headquarters. Simon Bennett was employed as the programmer to bring all the infor- mation together and make the system work. The fact that he has been able to do this is a tribute both to his competence and to the great development of micro computing technology in the last few years. When you consider that the Atlas data was collected and stored using a system that would only run on a machine that needed a large laboratory to house it, you will realise the advances that have had to be made to enable the data to be stored and used on a system that is housed in what was the bedroom of a suburban house.

Two officers of the Victorian Ministry of Conservation, Ian Norman and Bill Emison, are working with Simon and prepar-

ing the text of the Victorian Atlas. They are also supervising the coding (data entry and punching) of the Ministry data so that it can be combined with the RAOU data in a single set of maps. The project has been financially supported by the Ministry with a grant from the Commonwealth Community Employment Program. When it is published in 1985 Victoria will have a very detailed description of its birds that we hope will inspire other state Governments to support similar schemes. It is a good example of a project in which the RAOU, private funders and a government agency are working together to improve the conservation status of our birds.

Stephen Davies

The National Newsletter of March 1983 published the RAOU's first Conservation Statement which was on the Ground Parrot. The statement was written by Charles Meredith who has exten- sive experience with this bird species in the Eastern States. It concluded that the Ground Parrot had "suffered a significant reduction in range caused by clearing of its habitat." The statement went on to say that "all Western Australian popula- tions urgently needed to be located, censused and studies . . .".

In Western Australia the Ground Parrot was once known to occur along the coast from north of Perth to Cape Arid. Now it is only known from small isolated populations along the south coast.

Following the publication of the Ground Parrot Conservation Statement, the Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife approached the RAOU with the view to conduct a survey of the distribution of this species in the south-west of WA. The study will commence in June and run until December. Doug WatLins has been appointed as Field Officer for the project and wil l be involved in extensive field work between July and October.

Members are urged to participate in this project. The greater the number of people that participate in the field work the more information that will be collected. Some valuable work has

rth of the Fitzgerald River National Park and in Cape

Ground Parrots in the south-west.'.

Report on the 1983/1984 banding scrson and other activities

It is with some embarrasment that I look at the data collected this year and sit down to write this report, as it hasn't been the most successful of seasons on the wader-banded front. The total number of waders caught is less than half that achieved last season, which is at least partly due to the fact that we went netting only 15 times. The reduced level of netting (compared to 25 times last season) was mainly the result of key people having other things to do, mundane activities such as earning a living, for example. However, the low number of birds caught can't be blamed entirely on lack of effort on our part, as when we did go out, the birds often weren't even there or they weren't getting caught like they used to! Numbers of the most common migratory waders -Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpiper -were lower than last season, and unusually windy conditions at Pelican Point made mist-netting difficult.

We attempted cannon-netting only once, on October 6 at the Como Foreshore, and this yielded 217 birds; nearly half our season's catch! Two hundred and sixteen of these were Red- necked Stints, the odd bird being a rather surprised Red-capped Plover, and such a large sample of Stints early in the season was useful in that it confirmed the impression we had gained from last season that adult Stints arrived before first years (juveniles). One hundred and ninety-three of the Stints were adults, 14 were

6

second year birds and only 9 were first years. The recapture rate for Red-necked Stints (14%) is pleasingly

high and reflects the effort we have put in over the past few years, as all but one of them had been banded at Pelican Point or nearby. Banding details are not yet known for the one odd bird, but among those that have been traced are two that were banded in 1976 (one on the 23/11, the other on the 15/12), both at Pelican Point. It is nice to see "our own" birds coming back although, as we do more banding, we are getting data to show that not all do so. Two Pelican Point Stints have been picked up on the east coast of Australia more than a year after being banded, but as yet we have not caught (so far as we know) any eastern-states- banded birds over here.

In addition to the recaptures of Stints made while netting, a further 17 banded birds were, unfortunately, among the 200 or so which died at Lake Forrestdale in February (reported in March Bird Notes). All but one of these were banded locally over the past three seasons. The one unknown has not yet been traced.

Curlew Sandpipers were conspicuous by their absence from the Swan Estuary for much of the season, and this is reflected by our catch of only 73; compared to 293 last season! However, despite the poor catch, the four between-season recaptures, all made at Pelican Point, were particularly valuable. Three of them were second-year birds banded as first years last season, one at Rottnest and the other two at Pelican Point, while the fourth was banded at Pelican Point by Jim Lane on the 12/12/74!

Although the main banding season is now over, we hope to do some work on Rottnest over winter, weather permitting, as this is a favourite haunt of migratory waders that don't migrate. Furthermore, the other side of the wader study coin, counting, will continue until July, which will see the end of a year of national monthly counts. It will be very interesting to see the result of this programme, both on an Australia-wide and local basis, and I hope that all the counters will feel that their much-appreciated efforts were worthwhile when the reports come out.

On the subject of reports, I have just finished examining age and moult data in Red-necked Stints and Curlew Sandpipers caught in the 198243 searon, and concealed within the data were some quite interesting trends. The article on this will appear in The Stilt (Australian Wader Study Group Journal) soon, but I will mention two of the observations here. With the Red-necked Stint, our within-season recaptures strongly suggest that f i s t and second year birds are more sedentary than adults, remaining on the Estuary and nearby lakes for much of the season. Older birds, although present all the time, seem to be drawn from a shifting population and are rarely recaptured. Of course, this could simply indicate that the older birds are too wise to get caught twice!

Among both Red-necked Stints and Curlew Sandpipers, second year birds were doing their primary (flight feather) moult very early in the season (starting in early October), adults were carrying out their moults slightly later while f i s t years weren't moulting until January. The first years were also interesting in that most of those that moulted only replaced the outer four or five primaries, although one Curlew Sandpiper replaced all its primaries and one Stint replaced all the primaries on one wing! In addition, not all the first years carried out primary moult, the rate being about 50% of first year Curlew Sandpipers and only 10To of first year Stints.

Although it seems like a long way off, September and the new banding season are only just around the corner and I am hopeful of a successful season with some new equipment and new faces? On examining available records recently, it seems that Pelican Point is one of the most consistently used wader-netting sites in Australia with a history that goes back to well before I had my first pair of binoculars and almost before I was born! The site hasn't been worked continuously since then but, with the exception of one season, netting has been carried out there every year since 1973. With every completed season, no matter how unsuccessful, continuing the locabanding effort becomes more important as the increasing number of banded birds will allow us to better understand what they are doing here and, therefore, will allow us to be better able to see that they can keep on doing it.

My contact numbers (home: 367 3032, work: 332 2468) remain unchanged and Doug's is still 330 1038. However, we can both be a little hard to get hold of, so if you want some information and can't catch one of us, try the RAOU office (364 6202). Someone there is as likely to know what is going on as we are!

Mike Bnmford

SUMMARY OF CATCHES MADE IN THE 1983/1984 SEASON

RECAPTLIRES TotalNo. newbirds hnded &tween Within individuaLc

muon season handled

Red-necked Stint 292 42 6 334 Curlew Sandpiper 69 4 I 73 Great Knot 24 - 1 24 Red Knot 8 - - 8 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 5 - - 5 Red-capped Plover 3 - - 3 Grey Plover 2 - - 2 Black-winged Stilt 1 1 1 2 Red-necked Avocet 1 - - 1

405 47 9 452

Thank you for your support that enabled the 1982 Report to be produced. I am now working on the 1983 report and it is good to see that there are more records, so the 1983 Report will be better. If you have any ways in which you feel it could be improved please let me know.

Now there are more records it makes more work for me. I know it takes time to send your records in but they are more use col- lected together than sitting in the privacy of your records. You can make my life easier by using the forms -you do not need to use Atlas numbers nor do you have to make comments. Your records are much more valuable if you attempt to quantitate what you see even if it is in the form of occasional or common. It would greatly speed processing if the lists of species were put in the species order used in the WA Bird Report 1982.

Reports at different times during the year from the same place are very valuable. Many of you will have this information sitting in your own field diaries.

As from the 1st July my new address will be:- GEOFF SHANNON 29 WALDEMAR STREET GWELUP 6021 PHONE: 445 2417

Report by Scientific Assistant Shapelle McNee and Field Officer Roger Jaensch

1. Distribution of the Yellow-billed Spoonbill During the mid 70's the Yellow-billed Spoonbill was describ-

ed by Serventy and Whittell, in Birds of -western Australia to be "distributed through the State generally, excepting (until re- cent years) the South-West, Moora being considered to be the southerly limit." Occasional observations had been made of this bird in the South-West including Canning River, Bunbury district, Midland and Busselton, during 1954, 1958, 1965 and 1973 respectively.

The number of records of Yellow-billed Spoonbill has con- tinued to increase. On occasions, large numbers of these birds have been sighted. Figure 1 presents the monthly bird totals of Yellow-billed Spoonbills recorded from all the wetland nature reserves being covered by the SWWP. Any wetland with a max- imum monthly total of 15 or more is shown on the graph and is represented by its P.W. No. In this way it can be seen when large numbers of birds are present on wetlands and when the birds are more dispersed, being present in lower numbers at a larger number of wetlands. During the 3 survey years a total of 36 wetlands have had recordings of Yellow-billed Spoonbill. Wetlands may not have had Yellow-billed Spoonbills recorded from them in each survey year. In survey year 1, 8 wetlands recorded Yellow-billed Spoonbills, in survey year 2.20 wetlands, and in survey year 3, 30 wetlands.

- -

Large numbers of Yellow-billed Spoonbills have occurred in the following wetlands:

Peel Inlet (P.W. No. 13): 45 in July 1982; 55 in July 1983. Chandala Lake (P.W. No. 243): 29 in November 1982;

39 in November 1983. Chittering Lake (P.W. No. 7): 26 in June 1982;

34 in March 1983; 32 in June 1983.

Towerrinning Lake (P.W. No. 127): 30 in May 1983. The Yellow-billed Spoonbill has been recorded breeding at Chan- dala and Toolibin Lakes.

The feeding requirements of a species are one of the impor- tant factors which determine the wetlands used at different times of the year. Yellow-billed Spoonbills feed in the shallow margins of fresh water wetlands and also the margins of saline lagoons and estuaries. Spoonbills forage by moving their bill from side to side in the water, filtering out food such as aquatic insects and crustaceans.

Peel Inlet (a salty estuary) has had large numbers of Yellow- billed Spoonbills present in July 1982 and 1983, with lower numbers in August and September. From October to March in 1982-3 and 1983-4 no Yellow-billed Spoonbills were recorded there, although surveys were done in these months in each year. The high numbers in July on Peel Inlet could be due to prefer- red food being available there at this time or due to high water levels on other wetlands at this time of the year.

Wallering Swamp, a a n d a l a Lake and Toolibin Lake (d l relatively fresh-water), have Yellow-billed Spoonbills present dur- ing most months of the year. There are sporadic occurrences of Yellow-billed Spoonbills at wetlands such as Grasmere Lake (Albany), with two records of Yellow-billed Spoonbills: 9 in March 1982 and 7 in March 1983; and Yaalup Lagoon (Newdegate region - Yate Swamp), with 6 present in March 1984.

The total number of Yellow-billed Spoonbills recorded each month, shown in Figure 1, fluctuates dramatically. The SWWP does not cover all the wetlands in the South-West and so the counts represent only a sample of the South-West population, indeed there may be movements of Spoonbills between the South- West and the north of W.A.

2. Shovelers Figure 2 shows the maximum monthly totals of the Australa-

sian Shoveler in the SWWP. Large concentrations of these ducks appear on wetlands at certain times of the year. This has occur- red in January-March 1982, January 1983 and January 1984. The dramatic fall in numbers of Shovelers on wetland nature reserves would result from dispersal of these birds over a large number of wetlands. A total of 85 wetland nature reserves have had Australasian Shovelers recorded on them.

Concentrations of over 1,000 Shovelers have occurred at Thom- sons Lake and Lake Forrestdale in the summer months. This has occurred in the following way: 1982 - January: 300 Thomsons, 530 Forrestdale

February: 1200 Thomsons, 240 Forrestdale March: 2000 Thomsons, 420 Forrestdale

1983 - January: 1500 Thomsons, 610 Forrestdale 1984 - January: 600 Thomsons, 2000 Forrestdale In recent years both of these lakes have usually been dry by the end of February. The differences in numbers of Shovelers in 1983 and 1984 canbe explained by the fact that Forrestdale Lake dried out prior to Thomsons in 1983 and Thomsons Lake dried out prior to Forrestdale in 1984. The high numbers of Shovelers on Thomsons Lake during February and March 1982 was a result of floods (100mm of rain) in January.

Smaller concentrations of Australasian Shovelers have occur- red in July. During July 1982there were groups of 395 Shovelers on Wannamal Lake, 66 at Wallering Swamp, 410 at Thomsons Lake and 90 at Forrestdale Lake. In July 1983 there were 88 Shovelers at Coyrecup Lake, 124 at Lake Forrestdale, 300 at Thomsons Lake and 561 at Peel Inlet. Smaller numbers were also recorded at other wetlands.

Although the breeding season of the Australasian Shoveler is not well defined, it would not be unreasonable to say that the

large concentrations of this duck in January and July would be outside its breeding season. One would expect it to be widely dispersed during its breeding season, inhabiting wetlands with a fair amount of vegetation cover in or adjacent to the wetland.

3. Most numerous species Using monthly totals for each year of the Project, we can show

population sizes for each species in the study area. These figures are effectively minimum population estimates for the greater .

South-West Region. The twenty most numerous species, according to data processed

to late April 1984, are listed below. Of course these results part- ly reflect the conspicuous nature of some species and secretiveness of others. It is conceivable that the Spotless Crake numbers many hundreds or even several thousands in this part of Australia: they really have a lot of dense habitat left!

The Twenty Most Numerous Species (SWWP - to A ~ r i l '84)

species population

Grey Teal Banded Stilt Australian Shelduck Red-necked Stint Eurasian Coot

Black-winged Stilt Black Swan Pacific Black Duck Pink-eared Duck Straw-necked Ibis

Red-capped Plover Silver Gull Curlew Sandpiper Little Black Cormorant Hardhead

Hoary-headed Grebe 2,849 Australasian Shoveler 2,802 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 2,500 Red-necked Avocet 2,124 Blue-billed Duck 1,265

Not surprisingly, the duck group contributes eight of these 20 species and the waders make up seven species: together 75% of the most numerous species. It is interesting to see one species of rail (Coot) and one heron-type (Straw-necked Ibis) in the top ten.

Although Hardheads and Shovelers are often met in the metropolitan and coastal plain wetlands, they are not usually abundant elsewhere. Hence we should not be surprised to see such low rankings for these birds in comparison with the widespread Pink-eared Duck.

It would be interesting to list those species which breed regularly in the South-West, but have not been recorded in large numbers in the SWWP. The species with the lowest totals are as follows:

The Ten Least Numerous Breeding Species

species population

Baillon's Crake Buff-banded Rail Little Bittern Australasian Bittern Marsh Harrier

Australian Crake Spotless Crake Darter Pacific Heron Red-kneed Dotterel

The ranking of crakes, rails and bitterns in this table is not surprising. However, the inclusion of the Marsh Harrier suggests that it is not as numerous as many other raptors occurring in the region.

YEAR 3AUSTRALASIAN SHOVELER I =+ sz2++--A

Maximum monthly totals

YELLOW-BILLED SPOONBILL Maximum monthly totals and reserve P.W.Nos. which contribute

15 or more birds to each monthly total

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3. / I

I >

KEY TO P.W.Nos. (regions are shown in brackets)

a = total number of wetlands Yellow-billed Spoonbills P.W.No. 2 Joondalup Lake (Jurien-Gingin)

were recorded from in that month. 7 Chittering Lake (Wongan-Tammin) 13 Peel Inlet (Harvey) 17 or rest dale Lake - (~arvey)

b = the number of wetlands covered in that month which 37 Toolibin Lake ( ~ a r r o ~ i n ) have had Yellow-billed Spoonbills recorded from, 127 Towerrinning Lake, part 2 NW Swamp (Narrogin)

243 Chandala Lake (Jurien-Gingin) within that survey year. 244 Wallering Swamp, part 5 Mungala Lake,

part 7 Bambun Lake (Jurien-Gingin)

Many Darters would be missed in our survey as we do not in- ed Plovers recorded in the clude many rivers, the favoured haunt of this bid. Pacific Herons SWWP. would be overlooked where they occur in inundated paddocks Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - 4, 5/5, Walyormouring and at small ponds. (Goomalliig): rather a late date

for this migratory species. 4. Information

(b) Uncommon or rare speciesa. Preferred survey periods Cattle Egret - 1. 912. Herdsman* (Metro). July 14-22 / September 8-16 / November 3-11 ~reckled-~uck - 8,14/i. ~ g a n u (coorow): NL.

b. The Field Officer would like to sincerely thank Shapelle McNee Double-banded Plover - 1, 21/4, Stokes Inlet' for capably handling the rather disorganised Waterbird Project (Esperance). Office in his absence of ten weeks. Much progress was made, Little Ringed Plover - 1, 13/5, Forrestdale (Metro): while day-to-day needs were met and scattered papers organis- still present (first seen in ed. Many have commented on Shapelle's cheery assistance and January); some pools of water prompt attention. on lake bed. c. The last survey year, June 84 -May 85 Black-tailed Godwit - 1, 11/3, Ewan's (Esperance):

NL.Observers ought to refer again to note (dl in the March Pectoral Sandpiper - 1, 30/3, Alfred Cove (Metro). newsletter (P.-8). I hope to maintain a closer personal con- Gull-billed Tern - 3, 20/5, Peel Inlet (Murray). tact with participants this year, as we endeavour to cope with White-winged Tern - 1, 20/5, Peel Inlet: in breeding a promising season of waterbirds and fill gaps in the coverage colours; also seen in May 1983. of wetlands reserves.

(c) Interesting high totals The figure in brackets next to the species' name is the known populikion (min.) for the study area, based on data processed to 15 April 1984. New data = t. Great Egret-(260) - 197, 21/4, Brown (Corrigin).

- 161t, U)/5, Peel Inlet (Murray): the previous highest counts here

No. 11AlltPma 1984 were 78 and 100 in May and June 1982.

Note:' indicates wetland is not within a WAWA Wetland Nature Yellow-billed Spoonbill-(82) - 16t , 1 1 3 JoondalupReserve being studied in the Waterbird Project. Unless (Wanneroo).otherwise indicated, the place names refer to lakes or - 38t, 20/5, Peel Inlet. swamps. To assist the reader, shire names are given in Black Swan-(7327) - 307, 14/12/83, Bengerbrackets following the wetland names. (Harvey).

- 81 1, 18/3, Joondalup(a) Interesting localities (new or unusual) (Wanneroo).NL = new locality for SWWP. Dates are for 1984 unless other- Freckled Duck-(290) - 30,14/1, Pinjarrega (Corrow). wise indicated. Buff-banded Rail-(9) - 8, 30/3, Alfred Cove (Metro): Great Crested Grebe - 1,23/9/83, on brackish pool 4 presumbaly adults plus im-

km S of Lake Grace town* matures (see part (d) below). (Kent). Spotless Crake-(33) - 16t, 3/5, Grasmere (Albany):

- 1, 3/3, Dumbleyung the second-highest count in the (Dumbleyung): NL. SWWP, for one wetland

- 6,21/4, Brown (Corrigin): NL. (Highest = 22. Thomsons Great Cormorant - 7, 14/1, Eganu (Corrow): NL. Lake).

- 1, 3/3, Dumbleyung Black-fronted Plover-(133) - 60t, April Yangebup* (Metro). (Dumbleyung): NL. - 39t, 3/5, Grasmere (Albany):

Pacific Heron - 2, 23/9/83, Bryde (Kent). This species is not well known - 8, 17/3, Murchison R at as a gregarious bird.

Galena: river was in flood. Red-necked Avocet-(21 24) - 1200, 20/3, Grasmere. Straw-necked Ibis - 19, including 10 immatures, Banded Stilt-(20,527) - 2500t, 914, Beverley/Yenyen-

15/3, Ibis (Narrogin). ing (Brookton). - 1; 134 , Moates (Albany): NL. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper-(2500)- 180, 1 5 Broadwater

Sacred Ibis - 1, 8/1, Deadman's Swamp (Busselton). (West Arthur): NL. This species continues to ex- (d) Breeding observations pand its range. Australasian Grebe - 11/3, 6 birds, young present;

Chestnut Teal - l ,8 / 1, Deadman's Swamp (W. Utcha Swamp (Northampton). Arthur]: NL. Pacific Heron - 16/9/83, nest with 3 eggs in

- 8, 12/2, Taarblin (Narrogin): small paperbark swamp on S NL. side of Lake Grace town*.

Blue-billed Duck - 8, 14/1, Pinjarrega (Corrow). Buff-banded Rail - 7/2, 5 including runners, Alfred - 1, 30/3, Moates (Albany): NL. Cove: possibly a second brood?

Buff-banded Rail - 2,3/5, Grasmere (Albany): NL. Black-fronted Plover - 23/9, nest with 3 eggs on gravel Baillon's Crake - 2, 14/3, Shark (Esperance). shoulder of busy road, S of

- 1, 20/3, Grasmere (Albany): Lake Grace town. NL.

Australian Crake - 1, 3/5, Grasmere: NL. Spotless Crake - 2, 13/3, Irwin Inlet, Boat

Harbour* (Denmark): NL. Hooded Plover - 2, 25/4, Kondinin (Kondinin):

NL. These birds were 230 km from the coast -probably the furtherest inland of any Hood-

Benger Swamp is situated 1.6 km west of Benger Railway Station. It is a wetland 700 hectares in area and consists of large areas of Bullrush Typha orientalis, a few patches of Jointed Twig Rush Baumea articulata, thickets of tea tree Melaleuca spp. and open areas which become grasslands when the Swamp is dry. The water level is artificially controlled, being filled in June and drained in mid-December of each year. On some of the open areas crops such as Sudax and vegetables such as potato and corn are grown.

Eric Sedgwick of Harvey has been recording the bird species present during different times of the year at Benger Swamp since 1967. He has published two papers on the birds of Benger Swamp.

Sedgwick, E. 1973, Birds of the Benger Swamp. W.A. Naturalist, Vol. 12, Part 7: 147-155.

Sedgwick, E. 1978, Further Notes on Birds of Benger Swamp. W.A. Naturalist, Vol. 14, Part 1: 22-24.

These two papers provide important background information on the birds of Benger Swamp. Eric has provided a further analysis of the records he has collected from 1967 to 1977 with the additional records collected from 1978 to 1981 in what follows. During these 15 years (1967 to 1981) Eric has made 250 visits to Benger Swamp.

Eric has divided the changes in water level into four stages. June-July : In an average year the swamp is filling. Aug.-Sept. : Water levels are high. 0ct.-Nov. : Water levels commence to fall. Dec.-Jan. : Water levels fall rapidly and the Swamp is

drained. In this way, seasonal variations in the presence of particular

bird species can be related to the seasonal changes in Benger Swamp's water level.

The data shown in Table 1covers the eight months in which the Swamp is flooded. The data expresses as a percentage, the number of times a bird species was recorded present, out of the total number of surveys done, during each two month interval, over the 15 years. Thus a bird species with a frequency of 10% during Dec.-Jan. was recorded present in 7 visits out of a total of 67 visits over 15 years.

The species have been grouped according to their highest frequency in any interval, or their absence in any interval. Four groups have been formed.

Croup A includes species which during at least one interval have not been recorded present during the 15 years surveyed. (i.e. have a frequency of 0%).

Croup B includes those species that are present throughout all the two month intervals and have a frequency of 90-100% during at least one of these intervals. For example the Black Swan has a frequency of 100070in all intervals except one where it is 98%, and can be assumed to be present at Benger Swamp during the full eight months of every year of the 15 years.

Croup C includes bird species which have at least one interval in which they have a frequency that is less than 90% but greater than 80010.

Croup D includes species which have all frequencies lower than 80%.

Bird species with a frequency of 90% or more in an interval, must be present in that interval almost every day over the 15 years surveyed. Frequencies lower than this indicate variations in the presence of the bird species from day to day in an interval and/or from year to year. This data must be looked at as how often a species utilises Benger Swamp over the 8 months the Swamp is flooded, keeping in mind that the data includes 15 years. This is in contrast to data usually collected in the form of how many individuals of a species are present at a particular time of year. It is not to be assumed that a high frequency indicates a high number of individuals present. Eric explains with an example.

"A disadvantage of the method employed is that no account is taken of the number of individuals present. In situations where

numbers remain relatively constant this is not as important as might be supposed, but in situations where numbers fluctuate dramatically it can become significant. e.g. The White-faced Heron, though usually present when the water levels are high, is represented in large numbers only when the water levels are low." The White-faced Heron has a frequency greater than 70% in all of the intervals.

TABLE 1 Relative frequency of Waterbird Species at Benger Swamp

during 1967 to 1981, a period of fiyteen years

GROUP A Australian Pdican Darter Great Cormorant Rufous Night Heron

1 Yellow-billed Spoonbill Maned Duck Red-necked Avocet

E ; s E d p i p c r

Whiskered Tern

GROUP B Black Swan White-faced Heron Little Pied Cormorant Little Black Cormorant Great Egret Australian Shelduck Pacific Black Duck Grey Teal Hardhead Musk Duck Purple Swarnphen ~ o r o u sReed Warblm

GROUP C Little Grassbird Black-winged Stilt Marsh Harrier

GROUP D Pacific Haon Australasian Shoveln Blue-billed Duck Dusky Moorhen Eurasian Coot Black-fronted Plover

Table 2 shows which species are present at Benger Swamp with a frequency of 90% or more in each two month interval. It appears that Benger Swamp can support a greater number of species as it progresses through its wet season to a rapid fall in water level during Dec.-Jan. There are only three species, Black Swan, Pacific Black Duck and Purple Swamphen which are in a high frequency in all of the two month intervals over the 15 years. Some species are only at high frequencies during one particular interval when their particular requirements such as food are being met consistently in all of the 15 years.

TABLE 2 Species present at Benger Swamp with a frequency 90-100%

in each two-month interval during 1967 to 1981.

Table 3 shows the ibis species found at Benger Swamp with the 15 years divided into 1%7-197 1 and 1972-1981. Eric ex-plains, "the two species of ibis have been given special treatment to demonstrate a remarkable change in status. Until 1972,the Sacred Ibis was rarely observed, but from 1972on, the numbers that were present and the period for which the birds were pre-sent increased steadily. This is clearly reflected in the figures. Less evident is a possible decline in the numbers of Straw-necked Ibis over the same period."

It appears that the Straw-necked Ibis has not altered when and how often it uses Benger Swamp from the period 1%7-71 to 1972-81 although its numbers may have decreased markedly, as Eric indicates, in the period 1972-81.

"During the 1981-82 season only four Straw-necked Ibis were seen, one in June, one in August and two in January. This situa-tion only applies to the Swamp. From observations here and in other parts of Australia, I form the impression that the Sacred Ibis favours the wetter habitat areas. Pizzey, "Field Guide to the Birds of Australia" has expressed this view. It would seem that in Benger Swamp the Straw-necked Ibis is being displaced."

TABLE 3 Relativefrequency of the Sacred and Straw-necked Ibis at Benger

Swamp from 1967 to 1981

I No. of U r n a Mrd spedcs Is present .s a %

June-July: 1.Black Swan 2.Pacific Black Duck 3. Purple Swamphen

August-September: 1.Little Pied Cormorant 2.Black Swan 3.Pacific Black Duck *4.Musk Duck 5.Purple Swamphen

October-November: *I.Little Black Cormorant 2.Little Pied Cormorant *3.White-faced Heron *4.Great Egret 5.Black Swan 6.Pacific Black Duck *7.Hardhead 8.Purple Swamphen *9.Clamorous Reed Warbler

J u n a h sept aNov ar)u II - I - I Ii"mmed

December-January: 1.Australian Pelican 2. Little Black Cormorant 3.Little Pied Cormorant 4.White-faced Heron 5.Great Egret 6.Black Swan 7.Australian Shelduck 8.Pacific Black Duck

+ 9.Grey Teal 10.Purple Swamphen

+11.Greenshank 12.Clamorous Reed

Warbler 13.Straw-necked Ibis

= species not present at a frequency of 90-100% in the previous two-month interval.

Sacred Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

Grebe appears to use Benger Swamp more often than the Australasian Grebe.

TABLE 4 Relativefrequency of the Hoary-headed and Australasian Grebe

at Benger Swamp from 1967 to 1981

No. of Umes a blrd specles is p m n t M a qo

ug-Sept Oct-Nov k J a n InnJan 5 vidts 67 vidts 67 vislts 250 vldts

Hoary-headed, Australasian and 70 unidentifd Grebes

Those species which were seldom recorded at Benger Swamp are presented in Table 5. The year and month of each recording is given. Note that these rarely observed species were not record-ed present in June, July or August. Some of these species are rare or uncommon in the south-west while others such as crakes and waders may only have the need to use this wetland in some years and not in others.

TABLE 5 Occurrencesof more rarely recorded Waterbirdsat Benger Swamp

1965 - 1982

The two small grebe species, Hoary-headed and Australasian, are difficult to distinguish when they are in non-breeding plumage and when observing conditions are inadequate. For this reason these two species have been presented separately in Table 4. Relative frequenciesare given for the Hoary-headed and Australa-sian Gebes when they were identified, and a collective relative frequency which includes the occasions when these grebes were recorded as 'unidentified grebe'. The collective frequency gives an accurate frequency of how the two small grebes utilise Benger Swamp. The frequency of the two species separated may not be as accurate, but it is still reasonable to say that the Hoary-headed

Pink-eared Duck

Buff-banded Rnil Baillon's Crake Australian Crake S p o t l a Crake Black-tailed Native

Hen Lesser Golden Plover Redcapped Plova Common Sandpiper Manh Sandpiper Black-tailed Godwit Pectoral Sandpiper

Red-necked Stint

Long-toed Stint Curlew Sandpiper Oriental Pratinwle Silver Gull

'74

'76

'69

'69

'74,'76

'81

'81

'67,'81

'82

'82

'72

'76 '81

'71.'72

'69,'75 '70,'73 '75x2

'69,'70x2 '72.'75

'69,'75 '76x2

'72x3

'70,'72

'76 '74x2.'78

'69,'7W '81

'73.'75

A SNIPE OR TWO!!! Two snipe have been discovered in a north metropolitan

swamp. They were Dresent from 11-25th March. Followina a lot of fieid work especdly by Steve Keeling it was decided that they THE GENUS GALLINAGO were probably Pin-tailed. To confirm this, six of us (Perry and

Number 29 (March 1984) of the W.A. Bird Notes starts off Alma de Rebeira, Steve, Caroline Comstock, Peter Southam and on the first page by stating that "The genus Gallinago . . .has Geoff Shannon) spent a morning manoeuvring the bird towards seven species all of which breed only in the northern hemisphere". a mist-net until at long last in disgust it flew into it. Low and Reference to my books indicates that there are several Gallinago behold the field identification was confirmed. The first South- species which breed in the southern hemisphere. In South West Pin-tailed Snipe! America, three races of the Common Snipe (G. g. delicata, G . G . Shannon Et Al g. paraguaiae and G. g. magellanica) breed south of the equator (delicataonly just managing to do so in Ecuador, it is true), while (The Pin-tailed Snipe has more narrow, pin-like outer tail feathers the Puna Snipe G. andina, the Noble Snipe G. nobilb, the Giant than the other two Gallinago snipe species known to occur in Snipe G. undulata, the Banded (or Imperial) Snipe G. imperialis Australia. Notes on other snipe reports thb season appear on page and the Cordilleran Snipe G. stricklandii are endemic species also I of the last newsletter-Ed.) breeding wholly or in part in the southern hemisphere. (TheBand-ed Snipe is sometimes classified as a Chubbia rather than a GaIIinago).(Mybest-text fo~heS!Suth American s 6 p i is volume WATERBIRD RESCUE -1 of the Manual of Neotropical Birds by Emmet R. Blake). As FINAL RESULTS far as Africa is concerned, An Atlas of Speciation in African Non- passerine Birds, edited by D.W. Snow, treats what I know as the During February 1984 a large outbreak of botulism occurred Ethiopian Snipe G. nigripennis as a race of the Common Snipe, at Thomsons Lake. Bill and Karen McRoberts organized the care contrary to most other textbooks, but nonetheless shows that a and treatment of these afflicted birds. Refer to WA Bird Notes snipe species breeds in much of eastern and southern Africa. The No. 29, "Waterbird Rescue". Records were kept of birds that endemic snipe of Madagascar, G. macrodactyla, is uncontestably were treated for botulism and how many of these recovered to a full species. be finally released and how many eventually died. Table 1presents

The fact that Gallinago snipe do breed in the southern this information. hemisphere is, I think, important, because it may turn out that Birds were treated for obtulism from 6 to 26 February. The man-made perennial wetlands in the north of Australia and in lake was dry by the 27 February. The success rate of birds treated the east and south of the continent harbour breeding snipe in small from Thomsons Lake was 80%. The main species treated for numbers. Indeed, the south-west could be found to do so, too. botulism were Pacific Black Duck, Black Swan, Grey Teal and

White-faced Heron. Of the species afflicted in lower numbers, Jeremy Talbot a total of three Long-toed Stints are known to have died, two (The Editor apologises for his ignorance and thanks Jeremy for were found dead and one did not recover when treated for his kind and informative correction!) botulism. One Straw-necked Ibis was found dead on 23 February.

In addition to rehabilitating birds, approximately 450 bird car- TO THE EDITOR casses were removed and buried on 18, 19 and 25 February.

Forrestdale Lake was only slightly affected by botulism. Nine The note about Pied Honeyeaters in the WA Bird Notes No. Swans were treated for botulism and .- --released. Four Swans were 28 is a little misleading. Pied Honeyeaters are resident breeders found dead and subsequently buried. One Pink-eared Duck was around Kalbarri but are not usually very abundant and conse- treated and released. These afflicted birds were found prior to quently missed by visiting ornithologists except when numbers

increase as they did in 1983. Black Honeyeaters are resident in the spraying of the Lake with abate for midges on 24 February,

the NE corner of the park which is hard to get into but as your refer to WA Bird Notes No. 29. During 25 and 26 February six

correspondent suggested both species have been more abundant Red-necked Stints were picked up and treated for botulism. Two of these were released but four died. One Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in 1983. Neither species is on the National Parks published list was also found and treated for botulism and did not recovery. but will hopefully be included in the next edition. Many waders died during this period on Lake Forrestdale.

Norman Robinson Bill and Karen wish to give their thanks to RAOU members (The Editors welcome in formation which improves our knowledge and non-members who helped with bird rescues during last sum- of bird status and distribution in W.A.) mer's botulism outbreak.

THOMSONS LAKE BIRD RESCUE Birds treated FEBRUARY 1984 TOTAL No. of BIRDS for botulism 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 treated released died

Black Swan 1 8 1 3 2 1 2 1 28 26 2 Pacific Black Duck 3 4 9 9 1 1 4 0 3 3 8 6 6 2 3 1 2 2 2 4 145 120 25 Eurasian Coot 1 5 Lake 6 6 -Grey Teal Australian Shelduck

1 1 3 1 4 1 1 3 1

7 Dry 19 4

15 1

4 3

White-faced Heron 2 1 1 4 4 2 3 1 3 21 12 9

Australian Shoveler 1 1 1 3 2 1 Purple Swamphen 1 1 - 1 Silver Gull 1 1 1 -Long-toed Stint Pink-eared Duck

1 1

1 1

-1

1 -

Black-winged Stilt 1 1 1 -

TOTALS 4 5 9 1 2 1 1 5 2 5 8 4 1 8 9 9 2 4 6 1 2 3 1 1 7 1 3 23 1 185 46

JUVENILE RED-CAPPED ROBIN

On the 4th December 1981 at Mount Augustus, my wife, Dot, and I saw a small bird which we were unable to identify. My diary notes describe it as 'generally grey-brown, pale underneath, stria- tions on the breast' with 'robin head, robin eye and robin mark- ing in the wings'. My diary further states, 'I think it was being fed by a female Red-capped Robin. Unable to identify this bird'.

On 2nd September 1983 on the Gascoyne River, where a road crosses the river at 25'14' S 118'56' E, my wife saw an adult male Red-capped Robin apparently feeding a small bird which had a striated chest, robin head and eyes and a freckled back. Later we both saw the bird and the following notes are taken from my field note book, written while watching the bird.

'Robin size, robin eyes -whitish eye-ring. Striated chest. White near vent and undertail. Dark tail with white outer

feathers. Freckled back. Brown in wing. Black at wing tip. Sits quietly about I5 cms from ground.'

Later, as I watched, a female Red-capped Robin flew to the bird. I assume she fed the bird. The two field guides I had with me didn't mention this colourform of the Red-capped Robin.

On returning home I consulted the Readers Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds. In reference to the Red-capped Robin it states, 'juveniles streaked or mottled brown'.

In December 1983 I discussed this with Perry de Rebeira of C.S.I.R.O. Wildlife Research who has been doing work with the Red-capped Robin. Perry read my diary description and stated it was a good description of the juvenile Red-capped Robin.

I hope these notes will be of interest and use to other en- thusiastic amateur ornithologists who may have trouble identi- fying this bird.

Books used: SLATER, Peter. A Field Guide to Australian Birds. PIZZEY, Graham. A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. SERVENTY and WHITTELL. Birds of Western Australia

(1976). READERS' DIGEST. Complete Book of Australian Birds.

A.D. Sleber

RED-EARED FIRETAILS AT GRACETOWN

Gracetown is situated on Cowaramup Bay in the Leeuwin- Naturaliste National Park. During 1983 I was able to watch with great interest some Red-eared Firetails as they came to feed on the canary seed I had put out beside my house.

Imagine my delight when on 16 November 1983, four immature birds arrived. The immature birds can be distinguished from the adults by their black bill, red rump and olive-brown upper parts. Birds in this immature plumage were seen until 7 March 1984. Within four days the black bills of the immature birds began to turn red. By the 18 March 1984, two months after the first sightings, the black and white markings on the abdomen were more distinct. I think that these markings were present on the immature birds first sighted but not as distinctive as in the adults. At this stage there was still no ear-patch. The first ear-patch was noticed on 2 February 1984. Some ear-patches appeared on birds with well-developed black and white markings on the abdomen and some on those with less developed markings.

The greatest number of Red-eared Firetails that I have been able to count at any one time on the ground feeding was 47 on 18 March 1984. The numbers of adults and immatures were not distinguished due to the difficulty in counting them separtely, as in a group of this size there is a lot of movement and there are birds coming in and going out. On one occasion I was able to count 44 immature birds feeding from the seed. Before the arrival of the immature birds the greatest number of adult birds I had seen at any one time was 13.

On 7 April I noticed that some of the birds were looking scruf- fy. These birds had a red bill but did not have the black and white markings on the abdomen, the red-ear, or the red-rump. Their body colour was olive-brown. I believe that these could be adult birds in moult.

I hope that in the next breeding season some of the adult and immature birds may be banded so that a closer watch and more detailed observations can be made on the changes of plumage of adult and immature birds. By banding some of these birds with colour bands individual birds can be recognized and their plumage changes followed.

Nancy Sherwood

TELESCOPES AND BINOCULARS

It is quite possible to do a great deal of birding without either 'scope' or 'bins' in some circumstances. We may be too reliant on such equipment but there is no doubt that good equipment will give a lifetime of pleasure and make your birding easier.

Binoculars These must be your first buy. If you have strong nerves go the

whole way - get the best, they will last for years and you get what you pay for. Generally the best choice is 8 x 30. The first figure (8) is magnification and the second (30) the objective lens which needs to be wide to let in as much light as ~ossible. 10 x 50's are excellent for waders and sea-birds cut are'heavy. Some birders prefer the smaller types of binoculars with a roof-prism, and can come as 9 x 25's which although they have a narrow field of view are very light. Small (9 x 25's) bins are often a good com- bination with a telescope. Faults to look foc (a) watch for colour distortion caused by tinting. (b)check for close focus - 3m or less is desirable. (c) watch out for double circle effect caused by faulty alignment.

Out of eight pairs I looked through the other day only one pair were correctly aligned.

(d) get the lightest pair possible. Hints: (a) throw away the case - no "real" birder has their bins in

a case. (b) use a short wide strap - this is more comfortable on the neck

and quick to get up to the eyes -a short strap prevents the bins flopping about.

(c) keep lenses very clean - do not 'huff' on them as this can destroy the coating (especially after a heavy night out!)

Telescopes Scopes I believe are essential for the birder who is 'into' waders

or seabirds. I find that many birders use them in forest areas. although this takes practice.

Macho type birders in the U.K. can be seen to support heavy long extendable telescopes on their feet whilst lying on their backs. I can assure you this will result in almost unbelievable agony! I recommend a really good tripod. It must be light and have a smooth locking system on the legs. The taller the better as stoop- ing enhances fatigue. Rig up a sling to carry the scope over your shoulder and leave the hands free to hold bins and hip flasks etc. Worth noting is the fact that fmed eye pieces are better than zoom and I find I use less and less power - 20-25 x is ample.

My best choices (the very best!) -.Bins: 1. LEITZ TRINOVID 8 x 32 or 8 x 20C. 2. ZEISS DIALYT 10 x 40B 3. ZEISS JENOPTEM 10 x 50 or 8 x 30 (Best value) 4. NIKON 9 x 25 (very light and good colour) Scope: 1. HABICHT 30 x 75 2. BAUSCH and LOMB DISCOVERER 3. BUSHNELL SPACEMASTER (with 25 x fixed eyepiece) 4. KOWA Tripod: 1. SLIKMASTER 2. CULLMAN Refreshment: 1. GLENFIDICH 2. DIMPLE MALT (12 yr.)

Steve Keeling

At Science World, 138 Railway Parade, Leederville West, binoculars and telescopes are available at a dirscount price to RAOU members in a variety of brands and models. (refer to WA Bird Notes No. 26, 1983, or ring the RAOU Office.

1. Dryandra - Fork-tailed Swifts On 3 March 198420or more Fork-tailed Swifts were seen feeding

at about 120111and moving in front of black storm clouds in Dryan- dra Reserve. Tree Martins were also present but flying lower and not mixing with the swifts.

J.M. Start

2. Fork-tailed Swifts in the North There were sightings of Fork-tiiiled Swifts in Geraldton on four

occasions and on 2 March 1984 some were sighted from Nor- thampton to Kalbarri. Whilst they appear to be associated with thunder storm activity, on 25 February 1984they were flying very low over the lighthouse on a cloudless day. Dates of sightings were 16 December 1983, 25 February 1984 and 2 March 1984.

G . Curedale

3. Herdsman Lake - Cattle Egret On 9 February (mid morning) I sighted a Cattle Egret Ardeola

ibis feeding at thi edge of the Typha across the open water, at the eastern boundary wire fence of Floreat Waters.

Its small size, and buff-coloured head, throat, neck and upper back parts easily distinguish it from other white egrets.

A.G. Wells

4. Greenough River - Peregrine Falcons breeding The falcons seen nesting in the cliffs at Ellendale Pool (December

1983 D. Beckingham) were confirmed to be Peregrine Falcons by Geoff Curedale who says they have been in that area for about ten years.

D. BecWngham

5. Applecross -Three "little" Little Wattlebirds During November and December 1983 a pair of Little Wat-

tlebirds reared three young in a suburban in Applecross. Texts such as "Australian Honeyeaters" by Hugh Officer, "Birds of Western Australia" by Serventy and Whittell and the Readers Digest "Complete Book of Australian Birds" tell us that a clutch of one or two eggs is common, while a clutch of three is unusual and had not yet been recorded in Western Australia when these texts were published. Presumably the ideal weather conditions during last winter and spring causing lush growth in local gardens provided the necessary honey and insects. It could also be at- tributed to the increased planting of "natives" by the gardening public, which is to be recommended.

Katharine Highman

6. Leeuwln Naturaliste National Park - Bmsh Bronzewing During the winter and svrina of 1983a Brush Bronzewina had

been coming to feed from the seed I put out at my home at Cowaramup Bay. I did not see this bird come in to feed after 26 November 1983 until 14February 1984when it appeared with two young. The young were cream coloured on the head and neck, one had strong bands of colour (green and purple) on the wings. Unfortunately I have not seen them since.

Nancy Sherwood

7. Eastern Reef Egret -Resident species or Storm Vagrant? For the second time following a thunderstorm an Eastern Reef

Egret has been sighted at ~ a n n k a l Lake wetland nature reserve. The first was on 29 December 1983(see Birds Notes No. 29 March 1984)and the second sighting was made during an inspection survey visit on 1 lth April 1984.It is interesting to note that these are the only two sightings since survey work commenced in July 1981.Comments from members would be appreciated.

Lynn and Bob Burking.

1. Our Chairman has Resigned Dr Stephen Davies, now Director of the RAOU has resign-

ed from Chairmanship of the WA Group of the RAOU. We wish to give our gratitude for the time, patience and foresight that !%$hen as Ehairman has given obi Group and its members. In the beginning there was the Atlas Setting goals seemingly unattainable. There was Eyre, An idea that become reality. Then there were the Waterbirds Crakes, rails, bitterns and Long-toes, There was mud, reeds and more mud. We have all worked hard for our birds But none harder than our Chairman, For now there is the Atlas completed, Eyre Bird Observatory our pride and joy, The Waterbird Project Supported with determination Sweat and frustration. And we owe all this and more to Stephen J.J.F.D.

2. New Membership and Enquiries Our Secretary, Joan Seabrook will be away for 8 weeks

(another globe trotter!). Joan advises that all enquiries and new membership fees be addressed to the WA Group Office at 30/15 Ogilvie Road, Canning Bridge, in order that they are not left unat- tended during June to August.

3. Questionnaire to Members Over the last two vears the WA G r o u ~ of the RAOU has been - - - ~ ~ ~ - - ~ - - -. - - ~-

growing, both in mdmberihip and activities. This questionnaire is aimed at determining whether we are progressing in the right direction and whether new directions need to be included. Are members interested in the current activities? What other activities would members support with their varied interests in birds?

An article on the results of this questionnaire and any possi- ble changes or additional activities will be summarized in the December issue of the WA Bird Notes 1984.

Please return this questionnaire as soon as possible to the WA Group Office.

4. An Obsenatory at Broome Considerations are being discussed about the establishment of

an RAOU Bird ~bservatorv at Broome. One of the maibr at- tractions at Broome in reg&d to birds, is the large nuI(1'ber of waders that feed and roost on the tidal shores of Roebuck Bay. Possible sites for an observatory at Broome are being looked at. If you can contribute any local knowledge please contact either Grant Pearson at WA Wildlife Research Centre, Ocean Reef Road, Woodvale, 6026,Phone 405 1555 or Doug Watkins at 466 Canning Highway. Attadale. 6153. Phone 330 1038. They will be very grateful for any assistance or information received.

5. Friends of the Swan River Wildlife Reserves A small informal gathering was convened by Steve Keeling on

26May to determine what concern there was about the pressures placed on the management and integrity of the reserves, Alfred Cove, Pelican Point and Como Foreshore. A considerable amount of information has been collected in regard to these reserves by different individuals and groups. The aim is to pool the knowledge and ideas together and thus co-ordinate a group effort towards clarification of any problems existing on these reserves and possible solutions. People with a genuine concern are invited to participate through their knowledge and ideas or simply their support. Please contact Steve Keeling at 31 Lawnbrook Road, Walliston, Phone 291 7592.

6. Banding Bushbirds in Rockingham-Mandurah area Interested persons are invited to assemble at the western en-

trance track to Lake Cooloongup, Rockingham at the eastern

end of Elanora Drive, adjacent to the Rockingham-Kwinana and Districts Hospital at 8 a.m. Saturday 26 May and Saturday 23 June to help band bushbuds in the thick scrub along the western and northern banks of the lake. Many birds winter in the South-West and subsequently breed here, and a regular ban- ding station in the Rockingham-Mandurah region is badly need- ed. If there is sufficient response from members and friends to these two excursions, then banding of bush birds in the Rockingham-Mandurah area may become a regular event. En- quiries to: Stephen Ambrose (095) 277 873.

7. Pesticide Action Group Are you interested in supporting the Pesticide Action Group?

"The Pesticide Action G ~ O U ~i s a non government voluntary organisation dedicated to alerting the public and politicians to the hazards associated with the present use of pesticides in Western Australia and Australia." (from a pamphlet produced by the PAG.) Any interested persons can become a member or request more information by contacting the PAG at 794 Hay Street, Perth 6000, Phone 321 4507 or 387 3302.

8. Books, Books, Books. Brian Barrett our noble "book manaeer" has the followine

notices to reDort in regard to books avail&le through the RAOU: Pizzeys. f h e pape&ack edition of a "Field ~ u i i e to the Birds

of Australia" by Graham Pizzey for $14.00 each are available from the WA Group Office. Yes they have finally arrived!

Dorringtons Bookshop: Horseshoe Bridge Undercroft, Wellington Street, Perth 6000. Phone 325 1141 and 17 The Crescent, Midland 6056, Phone 274 1977.

will give a 16%% discount on any bird or plant books, provided you can prove that you are a member of the RAOU. You can do this by presenting your membership card or a receipt of your membership fee. If you have any difficulties in being able to prove that you are a member then please contact the WA Group Of- fice, Phone 364 6202.

At each general meeting a book will be raffled. All proceeds will go into RAOU funds.

9. The Atlas The Atlases are due to arrive by bulk postage from Melbourne

in the second week of July at t h e k ~ ~ i o u ~ 6 f f i c e .Please con- tact the WA Group Office if you are able to pick up the copy(s) you have ordered, or if you would like to pick it up at the general meeting on 6 August. Otherwise all books ordered from the metropolitan area will be hand delivered and books ordered from the country will be posted. Any saving that is made from bulk posting the Atlases from Melbourne and hand delivering metropolitan orders, will go to the WA Group of the RAOU. 10. Readers of W.A. Bird Notes should note that the views expressed by authors of articles presented in the newsletter, are not necessarily the views of the ~ O U .Furthermore, many bird observations and data published have not been fully checkedhet- ,ted, as this is often not possible and is generally not necessary.

W.A. Bird Notes is meant to be an appropriate place for ex- pression of opinions and exposure of new information (even if tentative), as these opinions and data might not otherwise be published for all to see and discuss. Technical journals such as The Emu or W.A. Naturalist are the best publications for stringently-vetted articles.

11. Friends of the SwanRiver Wildlife Reserves. A meeting for all those with an interest in these areas will be held at Alfred Cove at 2.00 p.m. on 17 June. An attempt to clean up the area a little will be made. If time and weather permit, we will move on to Pelican Point.

12. Contributions to the September issue of W.A. Bird Notes should reach the RAOU Office in Cannine Bridge bv no later " -than Friday 20 July 1984. Please have artiies typed, with dou- ble spacing, if you possibly can and use A4 pages, even for short notes.

Notes on behaviour of birds or unusual observations in coun- try areas are especially welcome.