Woodland birds

Grassy Woodlands once covered most of the inland slopes of SE Australia, across the now extensively cleared wheat and sheep belt. There are less than 5% of these woodlands left and many are small and not connected to other woodland patches.

Broadscale clearing of native vegetation, increasing fragmentation of native vegetation, degradation and loss of remnants and lack of replacement of plants (few young plants to replace ageing vegetation) are major threats to our native birds.

Some species of woodland birds have declined significantly due to loss of this habitat and other factors, several are on the edge of extinction in some areas, and some no longer occur in places where they used to be found. As well as habitat loss, there are other pressures, especially on small isolated populations of birds, from introduced stock and feral predators, roaming domestic pets, salinity, fire, drought and climate change.

A number of our woodland birds are now listed as threatened birds under legislation in the ACT and NSW.

Birds of Concern

Brown Treecreeper

A threatened species in the ACT. Brown Treecreepers need large, undisturbed woodland areas with fallen timber, stumps and dead trees for foraging and nesting. Brown Treecreepers are now found in only a few locations in the larger woodland corridors or reserves near the urban fringes. They also occur in the Naas Valley and lower elevation woodlands in Namadgi NP.

Hooded Robin

A threatened bird in the ACT. Yellow Box/Red Gum woodland with long grass, low shrubs, & fallen logs to provide insect food is important habitat. Hooded Robins can still be found in small numbers in the large reserves such as Mulligan’s Flat and Goorooyarroo.

Varied Sittella

A threatened bird in the ACT. This is usually seen in small flocks foraging around the outer branches of large trees, including dead trees. Places they can be found include the Black Mountain and Bruce Ridge woodlands and forests. Varied Sittellas can also be found in woodland reserves.

Diamond Firetail

A threatened bird in NSW and declining in ACT – on the ACT “watching brief”. This beautiful finch feeds on mostly grass seeds and needs a variety of seeding grasses over the year. There are still populations of Diamond Firetails in the Naas Valley and occasional sightings in the larger woodland reserves.

Scarlet Robin

Still found in the larger reserves and woodland remnants around Canberra. They prefer denser woodland areas, especially with patches of eucalypt re-growth, and feed on insects taken in the air from a perch or from the ground. Mulligan’s Flat NR is a good place to find them.

Jacky Winter

A flycatcher-like bird which swishes its tail from side to side when it perches. Jacky Winters prefer more open woodland and edge habitats, and fly from perches to take insects in the air or on the ground. Usually found in pairs, Jacky Winters are often seen at Campbell Park woodlands and the Mulligan’s Flat/Goorooyarroo reserves.

Southern Whiteface

A small ground feeding bird, usually seen in groups hopping along the ground or perched on fences. Southern Whiteface like more open woodland and paddocks, often with very short grass. The Naas Valley is an important habitat.

Double-barred Finch

A small finch which feeds on the ground, mainly on seeds. These birds are usually in small groups, although some flocks of 20 or more do occur in favourable habitat. Jerrabomberra Wetlands and Callum Brae reserve are good places to find them.

Little Eagle

The Little Eagle, about the size of a raven and one of the world’s smallest eagles, is found throughout Australia in most types of woodlands. It is a handsome and powerful raptor with a plumage of soft, subtly blending shades of brown and fully feathered legs, a feature of the eagle family. They have two distinct colour phases, a more common light phase and a less common dark sooty coloured form. Little Eagles used to be common around Canberra’s woodland nature parks and reserves, soaring and spiralling in the air as they hunted small mammals, rabbits, reptiles and large insects. Unfortunately, they have declined in numbers, due to loss of their woodland habitats, and other factors such as competition with the larger Wedge-tailed Eagle. Urban development in the Molonglo Valley threatens what are believed to be the last remaining pairs of Little Eagles in the ACT.

What are grassy woodlands?

Grassy woodland is a threatened ecological community in the ACT. These are woodlands on the fertile lowlands below 1000 metres, with eucalypt species and an understorey of shrubs, herbs and grasses. Yellow Box and Blakelys Red Gum woodlands predominate in the Canberra area, with Red Box and other species like Apple Box. Lowland woodlands grade into native grasslands in valleys below 650 metres, for example, the Majura and Jerrabomberra Valleys. A healthy patch of woodland will include large old trees, saplings of various heights, an understorey with native plants or grasses and fallen timber and leaves.

There are three main corridors of substantial woodland habitat left in the ACT. The most important of these for birds is the corridor from Hall, through Mulligan’s Flat and Goorooyarroo Nature Reserves, Mt Majura/Mt Ainslie reserves, Majura Field Range to the woodlands at the Newline Quarry near the Molonglo River. Another woodland complex is in central Canberra through the Red Hill, Callum Brae and Mugga Mugga reserves, the Jerrabomberra Valley to Tuggeranong Hill reserve. A third corridor is to the west of Canberra from south and west of Belconnen, along the Murrumbidgee River corridor, to the Naas Valley.

The ACT Government’s Lowland Woodland Conservation Strategy, provides a framework for the protection and management of remaining lowland grassy woodlands in the ACT, and includes Action Plans for several woodland birds listed as threatened .

Environment ACT

Grassy Woodland at Mulligan’s Flat Nature Reserve, with Kangaroo Grass (Themeda) understorey

Photo courtesy Jenny Bounds

COG Woodland Bird Monitoring Project

Canberra Ornithologists Group monitors woodland birds at 15 locations (142 monitoring sites) in the key woodland corridors around Canberra, including reserve and leasehold areas. Surveys of birds are done seasonally, four times a year, and some sites in the Project have been monitored for 20 years.

This data is used for a variety of conservation related purposes, including by Government, students, researchers, and community groups. For example, this data informed the development of the ACT Lowland Woodland Conservation Strategy, the blueprint for managing grassy woodlands and their fauna in the ACT. Data collected from the project is analysed for trends and reported in COG’s journal, Canberra Bird Notes.

 

 

© Long-term Trends in ACT Woodland Birds 1998 – 2019
by Bounds J, Davey C, Taws N, Evans MJ, Rayner L, October 2021 (PDF, 9.6 MB)

Note: Please contact COG for further information about matters in this report, or use of content.

 

 

© An Analysis of Bird Occupancy and Habitat Changes at six woodland locations – 2003 and 2010
by N. Taws, J. Bounds,A. Rowell and R. Cunningham, November 2011 (PDF,1.47 MB)

 

 

© A Statistical Analysis of Trends in Occupancy Rates of Woodland Birds in the ACT 1998- 2008 The Ten-Year Data Analysis April 2010
by J. Bounds, N. Taws and R. Cunningham, April 2010 (PDF,1.15 MB)

 

 

© A Statistical Analysis of Trends in Occupancy Rates of Woodland Birds in the ACT, 1998 to December 2005
by J. Bounds, N. Taws and R. Cunningham, February 2007 (PDF, 253 KB)

Graphs for above report (PDF, 5.47 MB)

 

 

© A Statistical Analysis of Trends in Detection Rates of Woodland Birds in the ACT, 1998 to 2004
by R. Cunningham and A. Rowell, 2006 (PDF, 234 KB)

Graphs for above report (PDF, 4.14 MB)

 

 

Click here to see a map of the woodland sites (or a new window for printing).