Brolgas by David Ong Just as British train spotters keep lists and carry paraphenalia, so too do birders. As well as a good field guide, a birder may carry some or all of the following: 10 by 40 (or 10x42) binoculars, a tripod and telescope, a camera, a GPS for recording latitude and longitude of sightings, topographic maps, a notebook and pen, a device for tweeking up wrens and other small birds, plus a backpack with water, nibbles and so forth. To understand the makeup of a twitcher ~ a dedicated birder who is prepared to travel all over Australia and offshore in search of new birds ~ have a read of Sea Dooley's wonderful book, The Big Twitch.                                                                                                   Links Avian crosswords Click on one of the crosswords listed here to download it in pdf form Bird list for Echuca-Moama and district Click here to download the document in pdf format Birding in Kamarooka with Peter Allan Peter describes a birding route in the Kamarooka Forest, part of Greater Bendigo National Park. Click here to enter. Birding spots of Echuca Moama and district Click here to enter. Birds observed on outings Click here to enter. Conservation news Local conservation news and issues are outlined. Click here to enter (not a BOCA site). Indigenous plants suitable for cultivation Click here to enter. Parks and reserves of northern Victoria and the southern Riverina Click here to enter. Photo gallery of some birds of Echuca and District. Click here to enter. Reviews of birding and conservation books Cliick here to enter. Links to other conservation sites Click here to enter.

a Birding in Echuca & District Web site of the Echuca and District Branch of the Bird Observers Club of Australia Featured Birds A selection of notes on specific birds from the Echuca and District Branch newsletter Plains Wanderer Featured bird : Bush Stone Curlew text by Keith Stockwell Tnere are two species of Stone Curlews in Australia, the Bush Stone Curlew and Beach Stone Curlew. Beach Stone Curlew near Broome (K Stockwell) The featured bird in the February-March 2007 was the Bush Stone Curlew, (Burhinus grallarius). Larger than a Lapwing but smaller than an Ibis, the Bush Stone Curlew is a shy, ground-dwelling bird which is becoming increasingly uncommon in the southern Riverina and northern Victoria. Bush Stone Curlews used to be found across much of Australia in lowland, open woodland. They like areas with lots of fallen branches for camouflage and leaf litter for foraging. hiding amongst fallen debris, they keep still during the day and forage on insects, small reptiles, amphibians, small fruits and seeds by night. During the day, they like to have clear ground around the woody debris they are hiding in so that they can see for a large distance in all directions. Bush Stone Curlew (by K Stockwell) They are long-lived birds and many of the remaining ones in our area may be about 30 years old. They nest on the ground. The two main reasons for its decline are habitat loss and predation by foxes, cats and dogs. Very, very few young curlews survive into adulthood. Fearing fire, many landholders remove suitable woody debris. Sometimes well-meaning landholders destroy their habitat by erecting fox-proof fencing around known breeding areas and excluding kangaroos, cattle and sheep. But grazing animals are important insofar as they keep the weeds and grass down, allowing the curlews can see approaching prey. In areas where Curlews roost, logs, sticks, leaves and fallen branches should be left on the ground. Erecting a fox-proof fence should help baby curlews to survive but the area within the fence needs to be grazed to keep grass short and sparse. There used to be several curlews in the Echuca area but some of the sites have been lost to housing estates and some landholders have removed nearly all woody debris. only a few pairs now survive. A project is underway to help save the Bush Stone Curlew in southern NSW. Funding is available to landholders; contact NSW Dept of Conservation 1300 361 967 for details.   Featured bird : White-fronted Honeyeater text by Keith Stockwell One of the honeyeaters sometimes seen in our region is the White-fronted Honeyeater. It is the featured bird in our October 2005 newsletter. The White-fronted Honeyeater has a white mask from its forehead to eye and a blackish head. It is a bird of inland Australia. It is not found in Tasmania, south or east of the Great Divide, in the south-west of WA or in the north. There are cream feathers on the outer wing. The male has a red spot Œbehind² its eye and is darker than the female. Locally, it is sometimes observed in the forests around Bendigo, along local rivers or at Terricks. The bird to the left, well camouflaged in twigs, was snapped by David Ong. Its voice is a metallic, scratchy ³pert-pertoo-peat², ³peter, peet, peet² or canary-like ³tweet². Most birds move north in winter and south in winter. They also follow blossoms. When drought becomes a red marauder inland, many may move into our area. Let the editor know where you have sighted this bird in our area. Suggestion: check this bird out in a field guide and listen to its calls on a CD so you can identify it in the wild. CD¹s featuring bird calls are on sale at BOCA headquarters.   Featured bird : Plains-wanderer text by Keith Stockwell One of our endangered birds is the Plains-wanderer. Its habitat is native grassland of a certain density. Unfortunately, almost all indigenous grassland has been lost. One area where pockets of native grassland remain is Terrick Terrick - Pine Grove, about 80km west of Echuca-Moama. On the grasslands of Terrick Terrick National Park, sheep are used as a management tool to keep weeds at bay and to ensure that the grassland is appropriate for the demanding requirements of the Plains-wanderer. Without good management of the remaining native grasslands, the species may become locally extinct. Parks Victoria has purchased several other grassland paddocks in our area. Many of these grassland reserves are listed in the parks section. Trust for Nature has also purchased suitable grassland paddocks. The Trust also uses sheep in an attempt to maintain optimal conditions. These photographs of a female (left) and male (right) Plains Wanderer was snapped by one of our members, David Ong. Plains-wanderer (David Ong)   Featured bird : White-winged chough text by Keith Stockwell One of the more-common birds in the box and wattle bushland near Echuca is the White-winged Chough. Choughs resemble "crows" but have white under their wings and make eerie calls which add atmosphere to the bush. They live in groups of about a dozen birds, groups usually being composed of a mating pair plus their offspring. The younger birds are their parents' "helpers" and help obtain food for the young. They also help guard the nest, which is built of mud (e.g. in a box tree), from predators. Choughs are communal birds and protect one another. Whilst kneeling down to look at a fledgling that was on the ground, I was attacked from behind by a "convey" of Choughs. They dealt heavy blows! Around Echuca High, they scavenge together, digging in the sandhills reserve before descending upon the High School's rubbish bins once students have returned to the classroom after lunch. In Victoria Park (bushland reserve), little depressions can be seen where the Choughs have dug after insects. Choughs seem to take a long time to develop efficient feeding patterns. Young Choughs may dig fruitlessly in one spot but the older birds are more discerning. There is an interesting article on Choughs in the Autumn 1997 edition of Australia Nature, the magazine of the Australian Museum. The article describes how young birds of one clan may be "poached" by a nearby flock. • A different bird is featured in most editions of the club's newsletter. As the newsletter is limited to 6 (or 8) pages, space sometimes precludes this feature.   Click next button for a list of National parks and bushland reserves in our region   Click menu button for index of this site's birding pages Northern Victoria & Southern Riverina Conservation and Environment Site   Section 1: Conservation News  Section 5: Photo Gallery   Section 2: Bushwalking  Section 6: Bushland Reserves   Section 3: Birding  Section 7: Short Stories   Section 4: Local Plants Section 8: Conservation Links