The Friends of Drouin’s Trees conducts bird surveys of seven core sites in and nearby Drouin. The sites are surveyed twice a year – spring and autumn. Each site is surveyed twice per season to help ensure the best capture. Survey teams consist of a minimum of two surveyors, often more, with considerable experience. Each survey takes about 2 hours. The results are uploaded to BirdLife Australia’s BirdData website. A ‘hard’ copy of each survey is filed and uploaded to our own bawbawbiodiversity site.
The following few blog posts will be a summary of this year’s autumn surveys.
McNeilly Park wetland and environs
McNeilly Park, Jackson Dr, is a public park with a lake wetland system that captures town and spring run off. The area contains some remnant eucalypt species – Strzelecki Gums – and abundant wetland and riparian planting. The park and wetland is now surrounded by urban development.
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| McNeilly Park recently - birds were tricky to see at times |
McNeilly park was surveyed on 20th March (33 native species of birds) and 24th of April (30 native species). The usual suspect introduced species – Common Blackbird, Starling, Myna, Spotted Dove and House Sparrow were present also.
Interestingly, the first survey in March yielded no Superb Fairy-wrens but they were abundantly present in the April survey – the reason why two surveys a season are conducted at each site.
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| Black-shouldered Kite - a raptor that 'specialises' in rodents |
A Black-shouldered Kite seems ever present at McNeilly Park and have been recorded nesting in the Strzelecki Gum canopy. During the survey on 24th April, a flock of White-throated Needletails were observed drinking on the wing.
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| Native Swamp Rat seen during a recent bird survey at McNeilly Park |
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