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Water troughs attract birdlife
Diversity in a Piped System project update - March 2006
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Summer has gone but the dry continues. The experimental biodiversity water troughs are attracting lots of birds, including Hooded Robins, a species which is quite rare in the region and often absent from all but the largest blocks of woodland. I have seen over 20 parrots, rosellas and honeyeaters at once, all squabbling round a trough, drinking and bathing in the water. The cooler autumn mornings have slowed the reptiles down. Instead of disappearing in a flash when I turn over a log or the tin and tile sample stations, skinks just stay put for a bit before heading for cover.
We have now moved into a new phase of data collection – sampling bat species at each of our 36 study sites. For this we have acquired a bat detector! This gadget records the ultrasonic calls of bats and converts them to sounds audible to humans. The recordings are downloaded and displayed as sonograms (sound maps) which are distinctive for different species.
The photo shows one of the biodiversity troughs planted out with aquatic vegetation to provide habitat and maintain water quality.
Jonathan Starks
Project Officer