K2C surveys – Bredbo area

COG will continue with the K2C surveys that have been running since April 2010. The surveyed properties have healthy populations of many of the rarer woodland birds such as Diamond Firetail, Hooded Robin and Speckled Warbler. We will be visiting the same sites to continue the monitoring and see if we can witness the autumn migrations. The surveys will be undertaken in ‘blitz’ fashion; that is, observers in small groups will visit a number of sites on one or more properties before regrouping for lunch and a sharing of the survey’s findings. Less experienced observers are welcome to join in the survey as each team will have at least one experienced observer. Anyone interested in participating is asked to contact Nicki Taws before Wednesday 9 April. Email: ntaws@bigpond.com or 0408 210 736.

It was a somewhat foggy start to the K2C surveys, clearing mid-morning to a warm, sunny day, continuing the long dry spell of autumn 2025. A total of 89 species was recorded which was a good number considering most of the summer migrants appeared to have left (no cuckoos, gerygone, flycatchers or songlarks).

The woodlands were very dry and small birds such as thornbills and pardalotes were generally in low abundance. We still had good records of threatened and declining species including: Gang-gang Cockatoo, recorded at 3 properties with a highlight of 35 feeding contentedly on Hawthorn berries, Brown Treecreeper (3 properties), Speckled Warbler (3), Southern Whiteface (3), Dusky Woodswallow (5), Scarlet Robin (8), Flame Robin (2), Hooded Robin (3), and Diamond Firetail (7 properties, including a sighting of 9 birds together). Scottsdale is becoming an increasingly reliable place to find Hooded Robin and other threatened species such as Diamond Firetail and Southern Whiteface. Other highlights were Restless Flycatcher at 2 properties, Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters at Strike-a-Light TSR, and Pied Butcherbird, becoming a regular sighting near Williamsdale. There were few raptor sightings in the dry, still conditions but an undoubted highlight was a White-bellied Sea-eagle seen at fairly close-range feeding on a kangaroo carcass.

Sunday 13^th was not the ideal weather for honeyeater migration which was almost non-existent across all sites. Quite a contrast to the clear and still morning of Saturday 12^th, and at two of the K2C sites which had to be surveyed this morning, the migration of Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters was in full swing with over 1,000 birds recorded in 20 minutes at each of two sites, using planted shelterbelts as corridors to move across the cleared valley.

Thank you to all who joined the survey, to the landholders, and to Bush Heritage for use of the Scottsdale shed.

Nicki Taws