OUR WOODLAND BIRDS ARE DISAPPEARING!
BUT WE CAN HELP!
Damon Oliver – Senior Threatened Species Officer,
Biodiversity Conservation Section,
Department of Environment and Conservation

The Grey-crowned Babbler is one of the many threatened bird species that rely on healthy woodlands to survive. Photo Damon Oliver DEC

Our temperate woodlands are home to an amazing diversity of birds. Stretching from wet coastal forests and mountain ranges and the semi-arid plains they provide a wide range of habitats.

Clearing, fragmentation and degradation of these habitats are the main reason why woodland birds are now in decline.

At least one in four of these species are currently threatened or near-threatened. In New South Wales 20 birds are already on the threatened species list. A further 20 are likely to be added in the near future.
Landholders, Catchment Management Authorities and other conservation agencies such as Department of Environment and Conservation work together to protect, manage and regenerate woodlands. Their effort will hopefully slow the decline so that we won’t witness the predicted loss of as many as half of all woodland birds by the end of this century.

Awareness raising programs are spreading the message about saving our woodland birds across many parts of NSW.

Bird poster having a field day - conserving of our woodlands begins with raising awareness. Photo: Damon Oliver DEC

This poster “Our Woodland Birds Are Disappearing” is already a big winner with landholders and school children in regional areas. It is important to get kids enthusiastic about conservation, as they are the next generation of land stewards for biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.

The colourful poster shows a variety of iconic threatened woodland birds. Each one of them, the Grey-crowned Babbler, Bush Stone-curlew, Swift Parrot, Barking Owl and the striking Red-capped Robin, has different habitat requirements.

The poster provides information about the birds’ key habitat needs and gives landholders with practical ideas for protecting and enhancing their woodlands.

Catchment Management Authorities offer incentive funding for landholders to assist them in managing of woodlands for wildlife.

Some actions that landholders are undertaking on their properties include:

1. Retaining woodland with a mixture of large trees, smaller regrowth trees and saplings.
2. Removing stock from these remnants at strategic times of the year (usually mid spring and summer) to allow grasses, shrubs and trees to seed and regenerate.
3. Using ‘strategic grazing’ to reduce exotic grasses and allow native grasses to grow back.
4. Leaving fallen timber on the ground as habitat for birds, reptiles and small mammals.
5. Controlling weeds to allow native plants to regenerate in woodland patches.
6. Preventing ‘burning off’ or ‘tidying up’ grasses, shrubs and fallen timber every year.
7. Fox baiting 4-6 times per year to assist ground-dwelling species such as the Bush Stone-curlew, reptiles, frogs and small mammals.
8. Retaining dead trees with hollows that will provide nesting and roosting habitat for woodland owls, parrots, treecreepers, bats, possums, gliders and frogs.
9. Protecting live hollow-bearing trees from threats such as stock ringbarking, fires and compaction of soil. Fencing off areas around these trees allows natural regeneration and provides a long term insurance policy for future generations of hollow-nesters.
10. Fencing and replanting to expand woodland areas through natural regeneration.
11. Joining patches of woodland to allow animals to move between them.

On behalf of our woodland birds, DEC would like to thank the Foundation for providing the much-needed funds for re-printing the poster. We are in process of posting out or handing out posters at field days and other community events.

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