Road Impacts on Wild life..Birds

Whilst traveling in North Queensland in particular, I noticed the heavy incidence of birds dead on the road, victims of careless and fast drivers.
The birds that were always on the roadside were eagles. They tend to stay with the roadkill and get killed. I also sadly saw a few blue heron and ibis, and moor hens.
The bird population between Normanton and Karumba is very high. This is another reason for the many bird deaths. Maybe its time for a study on the bird deaths on our roads. This research paper says there is only a small amount of research on bird deaths.

http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/WR09171.htm
Roads can disrupt the population processes of vertebrate wildlife species through habitat fragmentation and vehicle collision. The aims of this review were to synthesise the recent literature on road impacts on wildlife, to identify gaps in our understanding of this topic and to guide future research and management in Australia. We reviewed 244 published studies from the last decade on road and vehicle impacts on wildlife conducted worldwide. A geographic bias was evident among the studies, with 51% conducted in North America, 25% in Europe, 17% in Australia and 7% across several other countries. A taxonomic bias was evident towards mammals (53%), with far fewer studies on birds (10%), amphibians (9%) and reptiles (8%), and some (20%) included multiple taxonomic groups. Although this bias is partly explained by large insurance and medical costs associated with collisions involving large mammals, it is also evident in Australia and signals that large components of biodiversity are being neglected. Despite a prevalence of studies on wildlife road mortality (34%), population impacts are poorly described, although negative impacts are implicated for many species. Barrier effects of roads were examined in 44 studies, with behavioral aversion leading to adverse genetic consequences identified for some species. The installation of road-crossing structures for wildlife has become commonplace worldwide, but has largely outpaced an understanding of any population benefits. Road underpasses appear to be an important generic mitigation tool because a wide range of taxa use them. This knowledge can guide management until further information becomes available. Global concern about the decline of amphibians should lead to a greater focus on road impacts on this group. Priorities for research in Australia include (1) genetic studies on a range of taxa to provide an understanding of life-history traits that predispose species to barrier effects from roads, (2) studies that examine whether crossing structures alleviate population impacts from roads and (3) studies that describe the behavioral response of frogs to crossing structures and that identify factors that may promote the use of suitable structures. A national strategy to mitigate the impacts of roads on wildlife populations is long overdue and must ensure that research on this topic is adequately funded.

Roads and wildlife: impacts, mitigation and implications for wildlife management in Australia
Wildlife Research 37(4)
Brendan D. Taylor and Ross L. Goldingay
Published 28 June 2010 

Tree Hollows

CSIRO PUBLISHING - Wildlife Research

I watched the Kookaburra enter this hollow in the eucalyptus trees at Undarra Caves. It may have been the kookaburra nest.

Many hundreds of species of wildlife worldwide are dependent on tree hollows (cavities) for their survival. I reviewed the published literature for hollow-using Australian birds and microbats to document their tree-hollow requirements and to guide future research and management. Such information is vital to the conservation of these species. The hollow requirements of only 35 of 114 hollow-using bird species and 15 of 42 hollow-using microbat species were documented in some detail. This overall paucity of information limits the ability to manage for the future requirements of species. However, some generalisations can guide management until further studies are conducted. Most species used a variety of available tree species, and the extensive use of dead trees probably reflects the high likelihood of these trees containing hollows. Birds (other than large parrots) and bats chose hollow entrances of a size close to body width. Large parrots require large hollows, with a preference for large vertical spouts and trunk hollows. Few birds or bats demonstrated an absolute requirement for high (>10 m) tree hollows, with most (70%) using some hollows with entrances ≤5 m above ground. Temperature has been postulated to influence roost selection among microbats because it enables passive rewarming from torpor and there is some evidence from Australian bats to support this. Many studies suggest a future shortage of hollow-bearing trees. Currently, artificial hollows appear to be the most likely interim solution to address this. Knowledge of the natural hollow requirements of species can be used to refine artificial-hollow designs. An increase in research effort is needed to address the many gaps in knowledge that currently exist. Priorities for research include (1) many additional studies to document the characteristics of the hollow-bearing trees used by species of microbat, (2) the need to conduct long-term bioregional studies of hollow-bearing tree attrition to help identify where management responses are most needed and (3) investigating whether fire plays a significant role in the creation of tree hollows of a range of size classes and therefore may have a management use. Such information has broad relevance because it will provide ecological insight that can be applied to the management of hollow-using birds and bats elsewhere in the world.
Characteristics of tree hollows used by Australian birds and bats
Wildlife Research 36(5)
Ross L. Goldingay
Published 21 July 2009
 

Born to Travel...Migratory Cranes from Europe

This video is in Arabic, but the message is still there.

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Seagull | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Seagull | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Nankeen Kestrel... Normanton Queensland

Nankeen Kestrel 

http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Falco-cenchroides

Scientific name: Falco cenchroides
Family: Falconidae
Order: Falconiformes


The Nankeen Kestrel is a slender falcon and is a relatively small raptor (bird of prey). The upper parts are mostly rufous, with some dark streaking. The wings are tipped with black. The underparts are pale buff, streaked with black, and the under tail is finely barred with black, with a broader black band towards the tip. Females tend to be more heavily marked and have more rufous on the crown and tail. Males have a greyish crown and tail, although the extent varies between individuals. Females are larger than males. Young Nankeen Kestrels closely resemble the adult female, with heavier markings.

Similar species

Comparable raptors (birds of prey) are the similar-sized but stouter Australian Hobby, Falco longipennis (30 cm - 35 cm) which has blue-grey upper parts, red-brown underparts and a long, square-shaped tail, and the larger Brown Falcon, F. berigora (41 cm - 51 cm) which lacks the rich rufous colouring.

Nankeen Kestrels are found in most areas of Australia and are also found on islands along Australia's coastline, as well as New Guinea and Indonesia.

Preferred habitats are lightly wooded areas and open agricultural regions and tend to be absent from dense forests. The Nankeen Kestrel's success as a bird of prey can be largely contributed to its tolerance for a wide variety of habitats and its ability to feed on a variety of foods and nest in a range of sites.
Some Nankeen Kestrels are partially migratory, others disperse in response to the availability of food and some are largely resident.

The Nankeen Kestrel's diet is varied. It mainly feeds on small mammals, reptiles, small birds and a variety of insects. Prey is located from a perch or by hovering a short distance above the ground on rapid wing-beats, using its fan-shaped tail as a rudder and keeping the head and body kept still. Once prey is spotted, the bird drops nearer to the ground until it is close enough to pounce. Some insects and birds may be caught in mid-air or snatched from tree branches.
The Nankeen Kestrel nests in a wide variety of sites, including tree hollows, caves, ledges on the outside of buildings, and occasionally on the ground. The nest consists of anything from a simple scrape in the dirt of a ledge or tree hollow, to a nest of sticks or mud that has been abandoned by another species of bird. Pairs of Nankeen Kestrels usually stay together over successive breeding seasons, and will often use the same nest site or territory year after year. Usually only one brood of young is raised in a year. The female does the bulk of the incubation, while the male supplies the food.

Channel Billed Cuckoo...Birdata Home

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http://www.birdata.com.au/homecontent.do

Channel-billed Cuckoo: Regular as Clockwork

© J.N. Davies

Of the dozen or so species of cuckoos that occur in Australia, the Channel-billed Cuckoo is the largest. Being a cuckoo, it likes to lay its eggs in the nest of another bird, and being a large cuckoo, it must lay its eggs in the nest of another large bird. The species usually chosen as foster parents are Pied Currawongs, Australian Magpies, crows and ravens, although occasionally eggs are laid in the mud-nests of White-winged Choughs or Magpie-larks, and very occasionally in the nests of birds of prey. The eggs are said to appear rather similar to those of the Currawong and Magpie, but not ravens.
The population of Channel-billed Cuckoos in eastern Australia appears to have increased in recent years. This is related to a change in the occurrence of Pied Currawongs in the lowlands. Currawongs formerly bred mainly in the hills in spring and summer, and were only a winter visitor to the lowlands; now they occur in the lowlands throughout the year, and breed there, coinciding with the timing of when Cuckoos are on the lookout for a nest to parasitise, and providing them with many more options.
Channel-billed Cuckoos breed mostly in eastern Queensland and New South Wales, as well as in northern Australia, but they do not live there throughout the year. In February and March, most migrate north in small flocks, flying across the Timor Sea, Arafura Sea or Torres Strait to spend winter in the Moluccas or New Guinea. Most migration is thought to take place at night. After spending the non-breeding season in our northern neighbours, Channel-billed Cuckoos return to Australia in August and September, ready to breed.
The accompanying map shows that Channel-billed Cuckoos are widespread in eastern and northern Australia during spring and summer, after returning from the islands to our north. A few may wander far inland, usually along major rivers, and there are even a few records in Central Australia, especially around Alice Springs.
If you want to discover more information about this species or any other birds that occur in Australia, just follow this link and you can explore Birds Australia's fascinating world of birds.