DECLINE OF COMMON BIRDS INCREASING
Sadly the decline of many bird species continues...
A deep dive into bird survey data has found that some of Australia's favourite backyard visitors considered 'common' are actually on the decline...
Species disappearing weren’t just the rare and threatened ones – some were those considered common or iconic. In several areas, the galah and kookaburra were experiencing relative declines.
Griffith University Ecologist Cathy Campbell
Every year we lose birds to cats and other predators along with cars and other vehicles and now windfarms have been added to the list.
Other causes of these declines include the loss of habitat, use of second-generation rodenticides, changing agricultural practices, climate change and more frequent droughts and bushfires.
We need to provide our bird populations with safe habitats.
It’s not too late to preserve and re-establish NSW woodlands which will go a long way to slowing and potentially stopping the decline of the iconic kookaburra and other birds. You can help.
ABC NEWS: DECLINE IN ‘SUCCESSFUL’ BIRD SPECIES LIKE MAGPIES & KOOKABURRAS RINGS ALARM BELLS
Sean Dooley describes magpies as being one of the few native bird success stories of European settlement.
So when dwindling observations were recorded across 15 years of Birdlife Australia surveys, alarm bells started ringing.
BirdLife Australia data shows that Australian magpies declined by 31 percent in the East Coast region — including Sydney and Brisbane — between 1998 and 2013.
“They declined by roughly 20 percent in the South East Mainland Region, which includes Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide [for the same period],” Mr. Dooley said.
The data also reflected a dramatic decline in kookaburras and birds of prey, suggesting carnivores were potentially more vulnerable to these unknown environmental changes.
One possible theory was that the use of second-generation rodenticides was having a bigger toll on birds through secondary poisoning.
“Birds like boobook owls, other birds of prey, and magpies are actually eating rats that have been affected by the poison and it can actually kill them, whereas the earlier rodenticides didn’t seem to affect the birds as much.” Mr. Dooley explained.
Other factors the group was considering included changing agriculture practices, climate change and more frequent droughts.
Although this did not mean magpies or kookaburras were endangered yet, it did indicate food and habitat conditions were under serious pressure.
“It’s a huge wake-up call. If these really successful birds are starting to suffer, something’s going on in the environment,” Mr Dooley said.
Our Canadian webmaster writes: Many Canadians grew up singing the song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” so kookaburras are beloved in other parts of the world, not just Australia.
Save Our Woodlands is an environmentally conscious group of volunteers dedicated to preserving threatened birds, animals and ecosystems in the woodlands of New South Wales, Australia.
Only 15% of our woodlands remain, the rest has been cleared for agriculture.
Save Our Woodlands Inc. secures and protects woodlands in NSW and pays landholders, in perpetuity, to conserve, enhance and re-establish native woodlands on THEIR land, and to manage these woodlands, so they are maintained.
BUT we need YOUR help. Together we can bring about change. Please consider donating.
People tend to think that woodlands are “just bush,” consequently, over 85% of the native woodlands in New South Wales, Australia have been replaced by agriculture.
Donate $10 per month & help protect critical habitats. By doing so YOU will prevent further species from extinction.
Our work is only possible with your support.
