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25.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 13 September 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 It was a mild morning at Fitzgerald Creek and the birds were very active finding the nets within 15 minutes.... We had 26 individual birds of nine species, 15 of which were retraps. Coincidentally, we also had 26 individuals of nine species on our most recent banding at this site in July. Golden Whistlers (Pachycephala pectoralis) were the most frequently caught species with five individuals and two retraps. Other species banded were: White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis): One individual and three retraps Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis): One individual and two retraps Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Caligavis chrysops): One individual and two retraps Lewin’s Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii): One individual and one retrap Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla): Three retraps Large-billed Scrubwren (Sericornis magnirostra): Two retraps Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa): One individual Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus): One individual As per the photograph, the Superb Fairywren provided a good example of a male moulting into breeding plumage. Breeding activity was evident at this site with one female Golden Whistler having an egg in the oviduct. Also pictured, an Eastern Yellow Robin fledgling fresh out of the nest found our nets, along with this bird’s assumed mother (with the mother being a retrap originally banded in May 2019). Both were happily reunited after banding and processing.

24.01.2022 What a great result! This is the site where ABSA President John Farrell and former ABSA President Jeff Hardy have been running the Grey Grasswren banding project for many years. Wonderful to see it get the protection it deserves! More info at https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au//largest-ever-purchase-

22.01.2022 Another lovely piece on the Wedge-tailed Eagle study by PhD student James Pay at the University of Tasmania.

22.01.2022 Wishing you all a fabulous festive season and a very happy holidays! This picture is from wrapping paper by the amazing JesseIrwinArt.com

21.01.2022 Draft Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan Our Conservation Officer, Ian Bailey, has brought to my attention the NSW government’s Draft Conservation Plan for the Cumberland Plain which is currently on public exhibition until Friday 25 September 2020. The Plan will hopefully create the Western Parkland City by supporting the delivery of housing, jobs and infrastructure while protecting important biodiversity in Western Sydney. The government has also developed the Cumberland Pla...in Conservation Plan Viewer to help community, landholders and other stakeholders understand the Plan. Many ABSA members have, over the last 50 years or so, been collecting data on selected avian communities across this region and have discovered that each site sampled contains a unique composition of species. All these sites are situated within large areas of native vegetation. In some instances, efforts have been made to preserve small remnant woodland patches within some of new housing developments (e.g. Jordon Springs, which is situated on an old Australian Defence Industry Site), but these need to be larger as many are too small to harbour a full complement of woodland bird species. These smaller areas are often overwhelmed by aggressive bird species, such as Bell Miners, Noisy Miners and Common Mynas, and are more likely to be impacted by predators (e.g. domestic/feral cats). As few relatively large areas of suitable bird habitat remain across the Cumberland Plain, it is essential to preserve what remains (e.g. the unused Airservices Australia site at Shanes Park adjacent to Wianamatta Regional Park), so that future generations of inhabitants and visitors can still appreciate the rich diversity of birds that these woodlands contain. Results from our members’ research can be found on our website https://absa.asn.au/pub/aactt-full-bandings-reports/. These reports are available to download by members as well as the general public and can be used to highlight the necessity to preserve as many remaining large areas of native vegetation across the Cumberland Plain as possible. If you wish further information you can also register to attend a community webinar to learn more about the Plan on Thursday 10 September 2020 at 12pm 1pm. (Please go to their website to view the documents, register and make a submission) John Farrell President

21.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 16 August 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 We had a mild, sunny morning for banding at Cripple Creek on Sunday. The dawn chorus was very quiet as we put up the nets. A total of 23 species were banded, seen or heard.... We banded, processed and released 15 birds of seven species, seven of which were retraps. Eastern Spinebills (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris): Five individuals and one retrap New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae): Two retraps White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis): Two retraps Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa): One individual and one retrap Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis): One individual White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea): One retrap Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae): One individual The female Laughing Kookaburra was the highlight of the day. With no bag on hand big enough to accommodate her, I carried her back the short distance to the banding station. I was shadowed the entire way by her mate. The mate waited patiently in a nearby tree as I banded her with assistance. The pair were quickly re-united and we enjoyed their chorus of laughter before they returned to the bush.

21.01.2022 A great into to mist netting and bird banding by Dr David Paton

19.01.2022 Trip Report - Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve 3 - 5 October 2020 With good weather forecast a large team, consisting of a mix of experienced and trainee bander’s, a...s well as some enthusiastic helpers, descended upon Munghorn Gap N.R. near Mudgee for the Oct long weekend. The country was looking greener and in better condition than it had been for quite a while and it promised to be a productive weekend. All in all the birds didn’t disappoint, with 147 birds processed at an average re-trap rate of 27% over 3 sites. Diversity was high with 33 species in total, including some great re-traps. Of interest were a Peaceful Dove and Rufous Songlark, species that hadn’t been banded at Munghorn Gap for about 35 years. A male Satin Bowerbird was caught, along with its blue bottle top and a Rock Warbler was also of great interest to many present. Most banded species was the Brown-headed Honeyeater with a total of 20, 18 of which were found in one net, on the final round, on the final day! Spinebills(19) and White-plumed Honeyeaters(12) were also numerous with many Rufous Whistlers(12) also banded. Re-traps included a Speckled Warbler(10+), Yellow-tufted Honeyeater(9yrs), a Spinebill(9+) a couple of Brown-headed Honeyeaters(7+) and a White-browed Babbler and Rufous Whistler, both aged at 6+ years! Thanks to Graham Fry for organising another great weekend and to the many others who I’m sure enjoyed their time camping and banding at Munghorn! Photos courtesy of Genevieve!

18.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 28 June 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 We had a great morning banding at Cripple Creek in the Blue Mountains on Sunday.... The dawn chorus was very quiet as we set up the nets but we were soon catching birds. Throughout the morning we had 21 individual birds of eight different species - 10 of which were retraps. Eastern Spinebills (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) were the most frequently caught species with seven individuals and three retraps. Of significance, one of these retraps was initially banded aged 1+ in 2019 at another site, Fitzgeralds Creek. It has now been retrapped three times at Cripple Creek and appears to have taken up residence there now. This caused much excitement among the crew as this bird is one of only two Eastern Spinebills to have made the 900 metre mini-migration from Fitzgeralds Creek to Cripple Creek. The other retrap species were Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla), Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis), New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) and White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis). The highlight of the day was banding a new species for this site - the species being a beautiful Red-browed Treecreeper (Climacteris erythrops). On a personal note, it is great to be back banding again - especially as I got to band my 700th bird!

17.01.2022 A NOTE FROM THE ABSA PRESIDENT A New National Park for the Grey Grasswrens (Photo Gen Kyi) Narriearra Station, over 150,000 ha in area and containing 90% of remaining Grey Grasswren habitat in NSW, has been acquired by the state government as a new national park. This is the largest single property acquisition in the history of NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, The announcement can be accessed at https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au//largest-ever-purchase-... After more than 15 years researching Grey Grasswrens in south-western Queensland and a further 20 years on Narriearra Station in north-western NSW Jeff’s personal dream has been realised. In 2010 he published a paper on his banding project at Narriearra in Corella which, among other things, highlighted the plight of the declining population of Grey Grasswrens primarily because of the deleterious impact of cattle grazing on the bird’s habitat and suggested acquisition of the property. In 2014 he was contacted by the then Office of Environment and Heritage to expand the study on the Grey Grasswrens on Narriearra under the Saving our Species Program. As the then President of Australian Bird Study Association Inc, he arranged for the association to be engaged as the contractor for the study, with research on the birds on Narriearra ultimately expanded to include radio-tracking. Three reports have been produced for the Saving Our Species Program and all are available for download from the ABSA’s website www.absa.asn.au in addition to a paper on the pilot radio-tracking project which was published in Corella. Although there are numerous issues involved in the value of the property for both conservation and historical significance, he would like to think that a large driver for the acquisition of the property has been the tireless effort of bird banders Rudy and Rebecca Jacobs, Ken Gover, Darryl McKay, Heather Parsons and myself with short term assistance from numerous others. The radio-tracking project was planned to be completed this year, but Covid-19 has forced a postponement of that until 2021. I extend my congratulations to Jeff and all of those involved in this Grey Grasswren research project on Narriearra over the past 20 years. Your efforts have resulted in a fantastic outcome for the ongoing conservation of the Grey Grassswren. John Farrell President Australian Bird Study Association Inc.

17.01.2022 NEW Corella paper published online: Little, G., Little, J., Kyte, R. and Stuart, A. 2020. Silvereye subspecies on Broughton Island, New South Wales. Corella 44:38-43 This work is part of a study on Broughton Island, NSW that started in 2012 and is still running in collaboration with NPWS Hunter Coast office. Here the authors document the three subspecies of silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) that are recorded on the island. www.absa.asn.au//silvereye-subspecies-on-broughton-island/ Photos courtesy of Alan Stuart: The three subspecies - Z.cornwalli, Z.westernensis and Z.lateralis and the Broughton Island team

15.01.2022 Inspirational work from a great group of people saving the Kangaroo Island Southern emu-wren! Well done to Birdlife Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, Monarto Safari Park and Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife!

15.01.2022 Research update on the Swift Parrot project from the Australian National University

15.01.2022 looking for volunteers

13.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - SCHEYVILLE NP 19 July 2020 We put up 12 nets on a cold and foggy morning. After the first two hours produced just two Yellow Thornbills we were starting to worry that our efforts might have been in vain, but eventually the sun penetrated the fog, the day warmed up and the birds started their daily routine. By midday we had made 33 captures, including 10 re-traps. Of the eleven species we caught Red-browed Finches (9) and Silvereyes (5) were commonest. It was int...eresting to see that some of the finches were still moulting, presumably having bred in the Autumn, and that several birds were already starting to develop brood patches, as Spring approaches. Three Golden Whistlers provided nice examples of the retained juvenile plumage of first and second year birds to compare with a 3+ adult. A female Fan-tailed Cuckoo provided some excitement, as we hear them much more often than we catch them, but this was eclipsed late in the day by a female White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, the first time any of us had seen one of these lovely birds in the hand, and only the second one that has been caught in over 50 years of banding at Scheyville NP (the first was caught in 1994). All in all a very successful day, enjoyed by all. See more

13.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 8 November 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 We had an exciting start to the morning at Blue Gum Swamp when, while setting up, we disturbed a Diamond Python (Morelia spilota spilota) laying across one of our net lanes. We picked it up and took it away from the banding area so it would not endanger any of the birds we caught in our mistnets. It was an action packed morning with a steady stream of birds finding the nets fr...om beginning to end. We banded a nice variety of species throughout the morning with 82 individual birds of 18 species, 19 of which were retraps. New Holland Honeyeaters were the most frequently caught species with 22 individual birds and 6 retraps. Other species included: Brown-headed Honeyeater; Brown Thornbill; Eastern Spinebill; Eastern Yellow Robin; Golden Whistler; Grey Fantail; Lewin's Honeyeater; Red-browed Finch; Red-browed Treecreeper; Rufous Fantail; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Thornbill; Variegated Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; White-cheeked Honeyeater; White-throated Treecreeper and Yellow-faced Honeyeater. #BandingTripReport See more

12.01.2022 It's national threatened species day! A day to bring awareness to our most vulnerable wildlife like this juvenile 40-spotted pardalote. It's also a day to reflect on our dismal extinction history and think about how we can do better. One big thing you can do right now is to contact senators and urge them not to rush through changes to the EPBC act that will serve to damage, rather than protect our threatened species. https://www.wwf.org.au//environment-bill-is-a-recipe-for...-e #ExtinctionMatters #ThreatenedSpecies #Conservation See more

12.01.2022 Thanks for the update Amanda! Great to see the FAR grants in action! For anyone who is interested grant applications are due December 31st https://absa.asn.au/grants-2/application-form/

11.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 6 December 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 Sunday’s banding was scheduled to be at Frasers Creek but there was a large tree blocking the track preventing access to the banding site. The next site on the list was Blue Gum Swamp which we then found to be closed due to track repairs. So, Cripple Creek it was!... We had a very successful morning, banding 71 birds of 13 species, 7 of which were retraps. The most frequently caught species was the Eastern Spinebill with 12 birds and 1 retrap. Other birds banded were: Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-cheeked Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, Eastern Yellow Robin, Red-browed Finch, Superb Fairy-wren, Golden Whistler, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Thornbill, Grey Fantail, White-browed Scrubwren and White-throated Treecreeper.

11.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 2 August 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 Banding was at Blue Gum Swamp Creek yesterday. It was another fresh start, with the temperature only 2C as we arrived. The low temperature didn’t deter the Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami) (listed as Vulnerable in NSW) as we heard their calls in the distance. As we set up nets, Gang-gang Cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum) (also listed as Vulnerable in NSW) wer...e heard calling nearby. It was another quiet morning with the birds remaining in the warmer sunlit canopy before descending around 10am. A total of 14 birds of three species found our nets, three of which were retraps. New Holland Honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) were the most frequently caught species with six individual birds and one retrap. The other species were Eastern Spinebills (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) with three individuals and one retrap and Golden Whistlers (Pachycephala pectoralis) with two individuals and one retrap.

11.01.2022 Big rainfall events in this part of Western NSW (near Broken Hill) have resulted in a huge boom in Zebra finches!! Great to see this classic boom and bust species taking full advantage of the conditions.

10.01.2022 The Sydney sea-eagles have hatched! You can 'meet' them via the live feed https://www.sea-eaglecam.org/video.html

09.01.2022 JOB OPPORTUNITY Hello everyone! I'm a postdoctoral researcher seeking A-Class or R-class banders to assist with noisy miner captures for banding and bleeding near Armidale, NSW this Spring/Summer. Dates and duration are flexible and assistance could be on an ad hoc or more intensive basis depending on applicant availability. If you’re keen to get involved or find out more, contact Dr Julie Kern from the University of New England via [email protected]

09.01.2022 The wonderful people at Remember The Wild are live streaming from nest cams in Victoria for Aussie Bird Week. Today is Crested Pigeon cam with freshly hatched chicks!

07.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 5 July 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 We had another great morning banding at Fitzgerald Creek in the Blue Mountains on Sunday.... The dawn chorus was filled with the calls of Grey Shrike-thrushes (Colluricincla harmonica), Yellow-faced Honeyeaters (Caligavis chrysops) and Spotted Pardalotes (Pardalotus punctatus) as we set up the nets and before long we were catching birds. Throughout the morning we had 26 individual birds of nine different species - seven of which were retraps. Eastern Yellow Robins (Eopsaltria australis) were the most frequently caught species with seven individuals and three retraps. The other retrap species were Large-billed Scrubwrens (Sericornis magnirostra) and White-browed Scrubwrens (Sericornis frontalis). It was particularly interesting to have two Golden Whistlers (Pachycephala pectoralis) of two different subspecies in the hand at the same time. As the photos show, Pachycephala pectoralis pectoralis (pictured left) can be separated in the hand from Pachycephala pectoralis youngi (pictured right) by looking at the colour of the undertail coverts. Having both in the hand gave us the opportunity to compare overall plumage variation between the two - pectoralis had overall grey-brown plumage, whereas youngi was noticeably different, having overall olive-green plumage. The highlight of the day was banding a stunning male Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis). We frequently hear this species but they often avoid the nets.

04.01.2022 Some great webinars coming up! 1. TOMORROW July 1st Great western wildlife corridor nest boxes https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/great-western-wildlife-corr 2. SATURDAY July 4th Powerful Owls https://yarraranges-vic.zoom.us//register/WN_BoHXs3zyQDG8K... There are also number of new Australian bird podcasts out including The Bird Emergency and The Birders Guide + Birdlife Australia webinars available on their Facebook page. Any other birdy online activities we have missed? See more

03.01.2022 TRIP REPORT - LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS PROJECT 20 July 2020 by McKinley Moens, C-Class bander, age 15 It was a crisp 3C upon our arrival at Frasers Creek. As the sun rose, the temperature ever-so-slowly crept up to a balmy 14C by midday. The birds clearly preferred the warmth of the sunlit canopy to the shaded valley. Throughout the morning we caught just 15 individual birds of four species.... New Holland Honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) were the most frequently caught species with five individuals and three retraps (the only retraps of the day). An Eastern Whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus) was the highlight of the day, with this being the first banded at the site although this species has been heard on every visit. The other species banded were White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) and Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris). Whilst our banding numbers were low, there were a lot of birds around with a total of 25 species heard and seen and it was still fascinating to observe them and their behaviour. It was particularly interesting to listen to the song of two male Grey Shrike-thrushes (Colluricincla harmonica) displaying and singing for a female. The start of the song resembled the rapid chock-chock-chock-chock" dawn calls of a White-eared Honeyeater (Nesoptilotis leucotis) before moving on to mimicry and song.

02.01.2022 COLOUR BANDING IN NSW A new study in the Hunter Valley, NSW, hopes to shed light on the annual migration of honeyeaters and other passerines through the Hunter area. Colour bands will be used to help with the tracking. If you see, and preferably can photograph, any birds with coloured bands, please record the date, location, bird species, band colour and which leg the band is on. You report this info directly to Greg Little ([email protected]) or to the ABBBS (https://www.environment.gov.au//bird-and-ba/reporting-form). Pictured - Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Cat Young)

02.01.2022 Some amazingly beautiful, fun and creative baking here for world Albatross day earlier this month - have a look and make sure to 'like' your favourites!

02.01.2022 For all the Queenslanders! Wish we could join you! (posting from Tassie)

01.01.2022 Great article on weird and wonderful wader bills for world migratory bird day