Superb Lyrebird – Friends of Tarra-Bulga National Park

Remote Camera Monitoring – Update Summer 2013

by Tarra Bulga11/03/201326/03/20144 Comments

This post is a summary of the Remote Camera Monitoring results over December and January 2012/13

Camera 1 – Still out of action after it was attacked by an aggressive lyrebird.

Lyrebird who got overly interested in one of our Remote Cameras

Camera 2 – Located in mature Wet Forest in the Tarra Valley was quite a prolific site, with the camera picking up lots of small birds e.g. White-browed Scrub Wrens and Bassian and Grey-Shrike Thrushes, as well as mammals such as Antechinus and Long-nosed Bandicoots, unfortunately there were plenty of Foxes and a Feral Cat present. Also plenty of Wombats, Wallabies and some Brushtails.

Antechinus — Bassian Thrush – Well Camoflagued

Bassian Thrush - Well Camoflagued — Bassian Thrush – Well Camoflagued

Swamp Wallaby - Grooming its tail. — Swamp Wallaby – Grooming its tail.

Superb Lyrebird – Compost Machine

by Tarra Bulga11/03/201326/03/2013Leave a comment

This video made up from a series of still photos from one of our remote cameras along with some sound recorded by our songmeter shows a Male Superb Lyrebird systematically scratching around for food underneath the leaf litter. This scratching results in the leaf litter being turned over and is thought to improve the rate of nutrient cycling in the forest, helping to create compost that will feed the vegetation.

Lyrebird Survey Map

by Tarra Bulga07/06/201224/03/2013Leave a comment

To all of those people who did the Lyrebird Survey this map can give an indication of what was going on this year.Geographic Information System (GIS) software was used to plot the location of all of the monitoring sites. Then the lines coming out from each site were drawn using the information that all the volunteers recorded during the survey. Once all the lines have been drawn we can then find points where several lines from different monitoring points intersect. At these points we can be confident that there was a Male Lyrebird calling during the survey period.

2012 Lyrebird Count

by Tarra Bulga04/06/201224/03/20131 Comment

We were happy to have perfect weather for Lyrebird Counting, still calm conditions meant that Lyrebird calls would be easy to detect. We had an excellent turnout with 32 helpers including a contingent of Scouts. Ranger Craig briefed the early morning crowd about their roles and passed on his knowledge in terms of taking a compass bearing. We then raced out to our monitoring points, in order to be in position before the first birds began calling at the break of dawn. After only a quarter of an hour or so all groups recorded several different birds calling and there were a number of live sightings. It was then (as is the custom) time to migrate to the guesthouse for a hearty breakfast. After all the recordings were logged and mapped we can confirm at least 6 birds were present in the target area, which thankfully shows that the Parks Lyrebird populations are still going strong.

Pre Count Briefing — Everyone paying attention to the instructions before going out to their positions.

Two young helpers ready to start the Lyrebird Survey

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