Creating, enhancing, and protecting new woodland bird habitat!
BirdLife Australia’s Birds on Farms SNSW team partnered with Holbrook Landcare Network, West Hume Landcare, and Corowa District Landcare to coordinate three opportunities for members and participants to collect native trees and shrubs to provide habitat for woodland birds and many other animals.
HLN's Native Plant Giveaway Summary
Plants contributed through BirdLife Australia = 1200. One pick up opportunity – 23 July including a bird walk and morning tea on a stunning Birds on Farms monitoring property supported by Holbrook Landcare Network – enjoyed by 30 people and 27 bird species. Over 35 properties/families participating in the giveaway which has supported top-up planting at previous Birds on Farms and Holbrook Landcare project sites, along with new plantings.
An enthusiastic group of BirdLife Australia ‘s Southern NSW Birds on Farms project participants and Holbrook Landcare Network members had a great time at the native plant giveaway and bird walk on Sunday morning.
The morning was a little chilly but the sun was shining and the bird walk quickly warmed everyone up. Twenty seven bird species were recorded on the walk:
- Australian Wood Duck
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Galah
- Little Corella
- Red-rumped Parrot
- Crimson Rosella
- Eastern Rosella
- Superb Fairy-wren
- Blue-faced Honeyeater
- White-naped Honeyeater
- Red Wattlebird
- White-plumed Honeyeater
- Yellow-faced Honeyeater
- Striated Pardalote
- White-browed Babbler
- Black-faced Cuckooshrike
- Grey Shrike-thrush
- Olive-backed Oriole
- Pied Currawong
- Australian Magpie
- Willie Wagtail
- Little Raven
- Australian Raven
- White-winged Chough
- Red-browed Finch
- Welcome Swallow
- Common Starling
Most importantly though, the 30+ participants took home around 1,200 native plants between them, which they will plant around their own properties to create future habitat for our regional bird species and help with their conservation.
After the main event, property owners Doug and Jen Kemp kindly showed HLN’s Kylie Durant & Peter Rowland, and BirdLife’s Ben Humphries & Darcy Creece around an area of their property that had undergone revegetation and fencing works as part of the Birds on Farms Project. The area looked great, and many plants were thriving. During this short tour a further five bird species were recorded:
- Flame Robin
- Brown Falcon
- Brown Treecreeper
- Australasian Grebe
- Golden Whistler
Of the 32 bird species recorded on the day, the Blue-faced Honeyeater, Brown Treecreeper, Flame Robin and White-browed Babbler are identified as threatened or declining by BirdLife Australia.
