Don’t miss your chance to be involved with Friends of Tarra-Bulga National Park Annual Lyrebird Survey. This year it will be held on Saturday, June the 3rd. The meeting point for all volunteers is the park visitors centre at 6.15 am. The Survey takes only 30 minutes from the time the sun rises and the birds start calling, Straight after the count a free breakfast for all volunteers will be provided at the Lyrebird Cafe. To secure your place please email friendsoftarrabulga@gmail.com or call David on 0488035314 by Wednesday 31/5/2017
In the pre-dawn darkness on Saturday the 18th of June, twenty-five volunteers and one Park Ranger were greeted with perfectly calm conditions for Tarra-Bulga National Park’s Annual Lyrebird Survey. Overnight showers had passed by leaving moist dripping foliage in their wake.
The survey is designed to monitor the density of Lyrebirds living in 60ha comprising of wet sclerophyll and cool temperate rainforest immediately to the east of the Tarra-Bulga National Park Visitors Centre. There are sixteen monitoring points strategically placed throughout the site and volunteers move to each site before adult male Lyrebirds start their morning calls at dawn. Volunteers then use a compass to record the direction and proximity of the Lyrebird calls. This year we had enough volunteers to cover all but one of the monitoring points.
2016 Lyrebird Survey crew ready for action.
Following the survey, lines representing the direction of the calls are plotted onto a map, and triangulation is used to establish the spots where birds were calling from. This year the results indicate we had at least nine (male) Lyrebirds calling in our 60ha zone. This corresponds to a density of one adult male Lyrebird per 6.7 ha. You can also assume that there will be female lyrebirds and immature males or non-calling males within our target area. To account for this to get our overall population of Lyrebirds we multiply the number of calling males by a factor of 2.5. It is believed that male Lyrebirds do not begin to breed until they are around 6 or 7 years old.
Summary of Tarra-Bulga National Park Lyrebird Surveys
Map showing bearings taken from monitoring points and the estimated location of calling male Lyrebirds from the 2016 survey.
The Annual Lyrebird Survey at Tarra-Bulga National Park has been carried out for the last 20 years as a means of detecting any changes of the population of the birds, within an area of the park covering from around the visitors centre area to the rainforest gully at the headwaters of Macks Ck. Although Lyrebirds are not considered endangered, they are at risk from natural disasters such as bushfires, habitat decline and attack from foxes, feral animals and domestic cats and dogs. The annual survey contributes to long term data on the density of the local population and helps park management plan their future management actions.
Superb Lyrebird calling from a tree branch.
The Lyrebirds are counted not by attempting to spot them visually, but by listening out for their song. (Sometimes you may be lucky enough to see a bird but often they are out of sight perched in a tree canopy or in ferny understorey). The survey is undertaken during the Lyrebirds’ breeding season. At this time mature male Lyrebirds are all actively searching for females to mate with and it is during this time when they are reliably singing for much of the day. The survey is consistently undertaken at dawn (when the wind is often calmer and the Lyrebirds begin their morning calls, usually while perched up in a tree).
The count is carried out by distributing groups of volunteers across the survey area at
Volunteers gathering before the count.
established monitoring points. Each of these points is marked with a numbered sign so that they can be found in the pre-dawn light. As the sun rises and the Lyrebirds start singing their varied repertoire, the volunteers use a compass to establish the direction the calls are coming from and estimate the distance (close, medium or far) that the call is coming from. The survey lasts for approximately 30 minutes, after which the volunteers generally go off and enjoy breakfast at the aptly named Lyrebird Cafe.
Once the survey is completed survey sheets are collected and the direction the calls were coming from are plotted as lines onto a map, where lines coming from several surrounding monitoring points meet, we can be confident that it is a location where a male Lyrebird was calling from.
Volunteers gathering before the count.Instructions on how to use a compass to find the direction the Lyrebird is calling from.
Overall total number of species sightings – all cameras
2012
2013
2014
2015
Antechinus
79
106
86
59
Bassian Thrush
198
198
934
719
Brown Gerygone
0
0
1
2
Brown Thornbill
0
3
0
5
Brush Bronzewing
3
21
590
1356
Common Blackbird
27
16
183
145
Common Bronzewing
0
1
5
0
Common Brushtail Possum
75
13
0
5
Crimson Rosella
7
8
284
5
Cuckoo Fantailed
0
0
0
2
Dog
0
1
1
0
Eastern Whipbird
31
20
143
137
Eastern Yellow Robin
3
4
11
12
Echidna
24
24
63
107
Fantail, Grey
0
3
0
0
Fantail, Rufous
3
3
7
0
Feral Cat
24
49
95
99
Fox
191
323
336
140
Grey Currawong
7
16
23
7
Grey Shrike-Thrush
3
3
8
0
Human
0
0
1
0
Koala
3
14
118
75
Kookaburra
0
9
4
17
Large Billed Scrubwren
0
0
0
2
Long Nosed Bandicoot
287
119
270
652
Lyrebird
486
902
1809
973
Magpie
3
0
0
0
Mountain Brushtail Possum
181
235
243
289
Olive Whistler
7
15
7
10
Pied Currawong
3
6
10
8
Pilotbird
21
50
136
217
Rabbit
191
58
34
90
Rattus Species
120
213
222
189
Raven Species
0
1
4
0
Ring-tailed Possum
7
85
29
67
Satin Bowerbird
21
8
3
5
Sugar Glider
0
4
1
0
Superb Fairy-wren
3
5
66
7
Swamp Wallaby
749
1382
1112
677
Tawny Frogmouth
0
0
3
0
Wedge-tailed Eagle
3
0
0
0
White-browed Scrubwren
89
71
264
130
White Throated Tree-creeper
0
0
4
3
Wombat
202
234
176
130
Without any advanced statistical scrutiny strong trends include:Our remote camera monitoring has now reached four solid years of records. Although not a flawless scientifically planned project there are still be some interesting developments. The table above shows the total sightings of each species combined across all of the camera sites. There are many variables in these results, the main one being that cameras have been moved around different habitats at different times, so have not constantly been in the one place.
A massive rise in the number of Brush Bronzewings every year.
A rise in the number of other ground dwelling bird species including Bassian Thrushes, Pilotbirds, Eastern Whipbirds and Common Blackbirds.
An increase in the number of Long-nosed Bandicoots (although this may be explained by moving cameras to areas where habitat is more suitable).
Crimson Rosellas had a huge spike in numbers in 2014 (maybe because there was a lot of wattle seed on the ground?)
An upward trend in Echidna and Feral Cat numbers.
A drop in Fox numbers in 2015.
2014 had double the amount of Lyrebird sightings than other years.
Several cameras have been left in the same spot for several years and it is possible to compare the results of these sites with the overall figures.
Site: Tarra Bulga – North East
Habitat: Mountain Ash forest with an open understorey consisting of scattered shrubs, ferns and grasses:
Species
2013
2014
2015
Antechinus
0
23
3
Bassian Thrush
36
298
209
Brown Gerygone
0
1
0
Brush Bronzewing
1
121
102
Common Blackbird
5
103
41
Common Bronzewing
1
0
0
Eastern Whipbird
4
79
98
Eastern Yellow Robin
0
1
2
Echidna
5
8
11
Fantail, Rufous
1
0
0
Feral Cat
3
6
16
Fox
40
68
17
Grey Currawong
1
0
0
Grey Shrike-Thrush
1
1
0
Koala
11
0
2
Long Nosed Bandicoot
38
13
8
Lyrebird
106
145
159
Mountain Brushtail Possum
8
10
16
Pied Currawong
2
0
0
Pilotbird
1
23
11
Rabbit
35
11
14
Rattus Species
10
44
65
Ring-tailed Possum
4
0
2
Satin Bowerbird
2
1
0
Swamp Wallaby
55
30
17
White Throated Tree-creeper
0
0
2
White-browed Scrubwren
3
39
24
Wombat
27
53
29
Site: West of Balook
Habitat – Forest with an open understorey, canopy consists of mature Silver Wattle.
Species
2013
2014
2015
Bassian Thrush
0
7
26
Brown Thornbill
0
0
1
Brush Bronzewing
10
45
272
Common Blackbird
6
5
1
Common Bronzewing
0
4
0
Crimson Rosella
0
122
3
Eastern Whipbird
1
0
6
Eastern Yellow Robin
0
1
2
Echidna
3
10
2
Fantail, Rufous
0
1
0
Feral Cat
27
22
17
Fox
64
111
53
Grey Currawong
3
5
1
Koala
0
79
30
Kookaburra
10
3
9
Long Nosed Bandicoot
17
0
3
Lyrebird
237
510
116
Mountain Brushtail Possum
46
11
7
Olive Whistler
0
0
1
Pied Currawong
1
4
3
Pilotbird
0
5
7
Rabbit
6
0
2
Raven Species
1
1
0
Rattus Species
0
0
1
Satin Bowerbird
0
0
2
Sugar Glider
0
1
0
Superb Fairy-wren
0
1
0
Swamp Wallaby
955
374
179
Tawny Frogmouth
0
2
0
White Throated Tree-creeper
0
1
0
White-browed Scrubwren
3
18
3
Wombat
54
16
20
Comments: The open nature of this site means it is less suited to small mammals. Popular site for Swamp Wallabies to congregate. Openness also suits many ground feeding birds scratching around or eating fallen seeds. Foxes and cats often pass through. Has been a Koala habitually passing the camera every few days between its favourite trees.
Site: Balook Area
Habitat: Open forest with regenerating Mountain Ash, Ferny understorey with some thick scrubby patches near by.
Species
2013
2014
2015
Antechinus
0
5
9
Bassian Thrush
9
276
222
Brush Bronzewing
0
101
303
Common Blackbird
0
38
65
Cuckoo Fantailed
0
0
1
Crimson Rosella
0
71
0
Dog
0
1
0
Eastern Whipbird
0
19
13
Eastern Yellow Robin
0
4
3
Echidna
4
1
2
Feral Cat
4
29
17
Fox
136
38
5
Grey Currawong
0
3
0
Grey Shrike-Thrush
0
1
0
Koala
0
3
2
Long Nosed Bandicoot
6
149
168
Lyrebird
123
145
45
Mountain Brushtail Possum
95
73
79
Olive Whistler
0
4
4
Pied Currawong
0
0
2
Pilotbird
2
51
117
Rabbit
17
14
45
Rattus Species
11
79
23
Ring-tailed Possum
19
0
1
Satin Bowerbird
6
0
1
Superb Fairy-wren
0
1
4
Swamp Wallaby
136
184
151
White-browed Scrubwren
0
19
21
Wombat
108
25
14
Comment: Good site for a diversity of species, some scrubby ground-cover in the area makes it a good spot for Bandicoots, with a high proportion of our Bandicoots sightings recorded here. Also good for introduced Common Blackbirds and Rabbits that like to hide in cover. Like other sites had a big spike in Crimson Rosella numbers in 2014. Interestingly large drop in Fox numbers.
This year our Annual Lyrebird Survey will be held on Saturday June the 18th. The more volunteers we have the better able we are to get an accurate indication of the number of birds in our survey area so attendance by anyone (no experience necessary) is much appreciated. The meeting point for all volunteers is at the park visitors centre at 6.15 am. The count takes only 30 minutes from the time the sun rises and the birds start calling, which means after you have enjoyed your free breakfast it will be about 8.30am and you will be free to enjoy the rest of your Saturday. To secure your place please email friendsoftarrabulga@gmail.com or call David on 0488 035 314by this Wednesday.
A few night time visits to the park to get a better idea of the night flying insects that live in Tarra-Bulga have been reaping rewards. Here are just a few highlights of what is flying or crawling about our tall forests. All sightings are being uploaded to our project on www.bowerbird.org.au where they can hopefully be identified and then placed on the the Atlas of Living Australia and become a permanent record in their searchable online database.
On the 8/2/2016 following one of our group meetings at Balook , outside the visitors centre just after sunset I hung out a white sheet with a UV light in the hope of finding a few interesting insects to photograph and potentially upload on to our “Friends of Tarra-Bulga National Park” project on http://www.Bowerbird.org.au. The conditions were windier than ideal but an interesting array of creatures did land on the sheet including a medium sized brownish moth with distinctive white spots on its forewings, it landed without fanfare and hung around just long enough for me to take a quick photo.
Chrysolarentia pantoea – Variable Carpet Moth
Back home the next day, I consulted Peter Marriott’s book Moths of Victoria and after much head scratching and flicking back and forward between pages I managed at last to find what I thought could be match, a species called Chrysolarentia pantoea or the “Variable Carpet Moth”.
In Moths of Victoria, photos of this moth are of preserved museum specimens captured in the Otways and Lamington National Park (on the Queensland/NSW border). Peter writes in his book that no specimens of this moth could be found in collections taken between these two sites. He did predict that other populations of this moth could be established in cool temperate rainforest or other similar natural habitats.
As I was not 100% confident with my identification and thought this sighing could be of interest, I contacted Peter who to my satisfaction agreed that I was correct and it was in fact Chrysolarentia pantoea, that I had managed to photograph. Remarkably he said that it was the first time to his knowledge that this species has been recorded in Victoria since the last museum specimen had been captured near Lorne way back on the 8/2/1907. That is exactly 109 years to the day between sightings!
by this Wednesday.
Friends of Tarra-Bulga National Park 