Birds SA volunteers visited Witchelina Nature Reserve in September 2024 to undertake the 19th bird survey on the reserve since they began in 2010. These surveys are generally undertaken once or twice per year and provide valuable long-term monitoring data, helping us understand the impacts of our conservation actions.
As we highlighted in the 2024 Impact Report, the task of comprehending the effects of landscape management actions on large arid ecosystems is a complex one. With rain-driven boom-and-bust cycles and the influence of uncontrollable factors like weather and climate, it often takes many years of regular data collection before deeper patterns can emerge.
With over 10 years of bird survey data from Witchelina, we can glean insights to measure biodiversity impact, such as how strategic management of factors within our control (such as grazing pressure) has enabled us to promote greater numbers of granivores than likely would have occurred in the absence of this management. In contrast, factors driving waterbird abundance are climate-related and so are more difficult to influence through management actions.
For this most recent survey period, rainfall had been around average, with a substantial fall in early August, so perennial vegetation was in fair to good condition overall. The two months prior to the survey were mostly dry, however, so annuals were dying back, but there was still an abundance of flowers, including daisies and parakeelya.
The five-day survey spanned the 421,000-hectare reserve, with 31 fully surveyed sites and two additional opportunistic sites recorded during driven segments between sites.
75 bird species, comprising 4,447 individuals, were observed at the survey sites, and 44 species (1,839 individuals) during the driven segments, totalling 76 species (6,286 individuals). To date, 168 bird species have been recorded on Witchelina Nature Reserve during these surveys.
Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) were again the most numerous of migratory or nomadic species, with 1,283 recorded. Other species were recorded in smaller numbers, including 59 Diamond Doves (Geopelia cuneata), 42 Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus), 82 Crimson Chats (Epthianura tricolor), 10 Orange Chats (Epthianura aurifrons) and 3 Brown Songlarks (Megalurus cruralis). Six Painted Finches (Emblema pictum) were observed at Termination Dam, continuing their presence at this site intermittently or continuously since May 2022.
Summer visitors included 1 Black-eared Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx osculans) (the only cuckoo recorded during the survey), 38 Red-backed Kingfishers (Todiramphus pyrrhopygius) (the highest total for any survey), 4 Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus), 93 Rufous Songlarks (Megalurus mathewsi) (also the highest total for any survey), 6 White-breasted Woodswallows (Artamus leucorynchus), 14 Masked Woodswallows (Artamus personatus) and 2 White-browed Woodswallows (Artamus superciliosus), and 26 White-winged Trillers (Lalage tricolor).
Threatened native bird species observed during the survey included the Southern Whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis leucopsis) and the Thick-billed Grasswren (Amytornis modestus), both of which are nationally listed as Vulnerable.
As is expected in spring, much breeding behaviour was observed during the survey, including entering or exiting nest hollows or nests in vegetation, carrying nesting material, sitting on nests, carrying food items, and feeding or tending juveniles.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our volunteer survey participants, Jenny Hiscock, Peter Christy, Coral Johnston, Margaret Evans, Philippa Horton, and the late Phil Cole. Phil's significant contribution to this and other Nature Foundation activities will always be remembered. We are immensely grateful for the support and dedication of all our survey volunteers over the years and look forward to the 20th Witchelina bird survey in 2025.