Sus Ag Team Went Cuckoo in Coorow!

Home 🞂 Newsroom 🞂 Sus Ag Team Went Cuckoo in Coorow!

Did you know the types of birds detected on a farm can be an indicator of the property’s environmental health and the sustainability of agricultural practices?!

On the 18th of April, Anna and Annabelle from the Sus Ag team collaborated with Birdlife Australia to deliver a fun and informative Birds on Farms Afternoon event in Coorow. Attendees, including farmers, local government, and passionate bird enthusiasts, joined us to learn all about our beautiful local birds! Ines and Tegan from Birdlife Australia brought a wealth of knowledge of all things birds, including how to complete a bird survey, the benefits birds have on farms, how to improve bird biodiversity, and their reinstated Birds on Farms project. Here are some things we learnt:

The benefits of bird biodiversity on agriculture properties include:

  • Birds tell us about the environment – seasonal changes and resource availabilities.
  • They have roles on farms:
  • Predators (eg. of mice): Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brown Falcon, Grey Butcherbird.
  • Clean-up crew: Australia Raven, Australia Magpie, Whistling Kite.
  • Insect control (reducing the need for pesticides): Grey Fantail, Red-capped Robin, Purple-backed Fairy-Wren.
  • Seed dispersal: Emu, Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo, Galah.
  • Pollinating plants: Red Wattlebird, Honeyeaters. Seed dispersal and pollination are essential in helping remnant patches and revegetation expand and stay healthy.

Tegan and Ines also explained how we could increase bird numbers and biodiversity on agricultural properties with some bird-friendly management practices:

  • Increasing bird habitats and food sources through native revegetation or improving native remnant patches.
  • Fencing around vegetation to protect nesting birds from livestock trampling.
  • Minimising grain spillages to reduce numbers of pesky bird species. Pesky species compete with beneficial birds.
  • Avoid or reduce rodenticides.
  • Fencing off dams and improving vegetation around dams (including adding logs) for water availability and shelter.
  • Pest management of introduced predator species (feral cats, foxes etc.).

Farms and rural properties cover large parts of the Australian landscape. Managing this land in a way that benefits birds and their habitats can also see benefits to farm productivity through helping combat issues that flow on from climate change, historic habitat loss and fragmentation, feral animals and drought.

The group finished the afternoon with a field trip to a beautiful local property in Waddy Forest. Fiona and her family have been regenerating this property since the 1990s through revegetation and fencing off remnant patches. This has made an amazing difference in reducing erosion and salinity effects, while also noticing an improvement in wildlife habitat! Fiona was originally involved in the Birds on Farms project in the 90s. It will be amazing to see how the hard work improving her property has influenced the change in the numbers and species of birds after three decades!

Ines and Tegan demonstrated to the group how to complete a habitat assessment and bird survey, which are elements of the Birds on Farms project. As the Birds on Farms Project Coordinator at Birdlife Australia, Ines showed attendees how to select sites for bird surveys, the benefits of surveying birds on their properties and how they can get involved in the citizen science project. The Birds on Farms project assists rural landholders to identify, appreciate and manage birds and their habitats on their properties.

The group spotted Weebils, Spiney-cheeked Honeyeaters and White-fronted Honeyeaters in Fiona’s remnant vegetation. It was exciting to see some beneficial pollinators!

To find out more about Birdlife Australia’s Birds on Farms project visit: https://birdlife.org.au/projects/birds-on-farms/

 And for anyone wanting to register in WA, please see here: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/25dfbec9162943c381a526a36ad62d64?fbclid=IwAR1yIUbMuUHsE9iPXu3Oyr3o60je3CBH1r9KYBG9SugWpwwZ0mLAbcKBzGE

A big thank you to Tegan and Ines for sharing your awesome knowledge and getting us egg-sighted for future bird watching and improving our management practices! And thank you to Coorow CRC and Fiona for making us feel very welcome in Coorow.

Resources for bird ID and surveys:

This event was supported by NACC NRM and the Growing Great Ground project, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Anna Cornell – Sustainable Agriculture Project Officer

Share

We'd Love to Hear From You!

Your feedback is important to us. If you have suggestions, questions, or would like to get involved in Natural Resource Management, please use the form below or contact our Geraldton office. We’re here to listen and help

Contact Us

Geraldton Office

4 Walton Close, Geraldton
Post: PO Box 7168, Geraldton, 6531
Phone: (08) 9938 0100
Office hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm

Forms

Expression of Interest Form 🞂

Suggest a Project Form 🞂

Membership Form 🞂

Donations Form 🞂

Contacts

NACC Board Members 🞂

NACC Staff 🞂

NRM Bodies & Groups 🞂

CEO’s Report

In 2020-21 I talked about ‘raising the bar’. In 2021-22 we worked on setting the bar on fire. Over the last 12 months, the team at NACC NRM has not stopped.

The Sustainable Agriculture team has extended the program’s reach through collaborations with grower groups in the regions. Specifically, the Beyond Reasonable Drought project and Grower Group Alliance – South West WA Drought Innovation Hub – Geraldton Node project. The Beyond Reasonable Drought partnership with grower groups supported farmers across the region to improve the environmental sustainability of their agricultural production and drought resilience. The outcomes of this project have been consolidated through our successful Expression of Interest to the South West WA Drought Innovation Hub, with support from grower groups across the region, to host the Geraldton Node of the Hub. The program continues to focus on working with agricultural networks to share technical expertise and provide opportunities that will improve land management practices in agriculture across the region.

The conservation outcomes of ranger teams have expanded through work on several land tenures. Maintaining Heritage sites such as Willi Gulli, Racecourse Paddock and Buller River has long been a priority. During 2021-22, the teams have increasingly focused on threatened species and ecosystems.

To this end, Western Mulga rangers have improved management across 19,000 ha for the conservation of Malleefowl through firebreak and access management. They completed the maintenance of water holes and supported the monitoring of over 90 Malleefowl mounds.

Similarly, the Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporate ranger team have contributed positively to Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo populations by installing artificial hollows and habitat restoration.

All ranger teams have collected native seed, propagated native plants for restoration, and planted native vegetation in key locations across the NAR. Seed collection provides valuable industry experience and has facilitated the planting of over 100,000 seedlings during the year.   

In September 2021, the NACC NRM team delivered the WA Threatened Species Forum, held in tandem with the National Malleefowl Forum. Given the impact of COVID and the timing of this event, having more than 100 delegates from all over Australia was a significant achievement. The two Forums brought together 12 events over five days and featured 14 local artists, 25 businesses and 36 youth participants.

Following the successful relaunch of our updated NARvis, NACC NRM was invited to help lead a significant piece of strategic planning work for the region with Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. With funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the consortia delivered a Regional Drought Resilience Plan covering the shires of Northampton and Chapman Valley and the City of Greater Geraldton, along with significant technical analysis of drought vulnerability for the South West land division. The development of this plan also included extensive community consultation to ensure that local knowledge and technical advice guided the development of priorities for action.

This planning work links to existing NACC NRM on-ground projects, including Beyond Reasonable Drought and the Chapman Catchment Collaborative regeneration project.

It was a busy year for events with face-to-face events becoming commonplace again. During 2021-22 we hosted events in Gingin, Moora, Dalwallinu, Cervantes, Jurien Bay, Walkaway, Nabawa, Perenjori, Kalannie and Morawa. We supported events in Karakin, Thundellara, Perenjori, Paynes Find, Wubin, Cataby, Warradarge, Northampton, Yuna, Dalwallinu and Dandaragan.

We also supported on-ground works throughout the region, including at the following locations Yuna, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Merkanooka, Goodlands, Kalannie, Bunjil, Yardarino, Canna, Kondut, Latham, Kadathinni, Nabawa, Red Gully, Sandy Gully, Waddy Forrest, Devils Creek, Perenjori, Bowgada, Ellendale, Wandana, Namban, Hill River, Warradarge, Gillingarra, Regans Ford and Moonyanooka.

Our region is vast – slightly larger than Tasmania, which for comparison, is serviced by three separate NRM organisations. Covering the NAR region and its many environmental threats is challenging. We continue to focus on partnerships and collaboration to address this challenge. We know that by working with our community through passionate delivery of collaborative on-ground projects and education, the community will value and actively protect our region’s natural capital.

This year we have launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP Working Group consulted widely and developed an Innovate RAP which Reconciliation Australia approved in March 2022. The activities to fulfil these commitments are now in full swing.

Sadly, at the end of 2021, we farewelled former NACC NRM CEO Shelley Spriggs, who lost a long battle with cancer. Shelley was an inaugural inductee to the NRM Leadership Honour Roll. I will always be grateful for her guidance and no-nonsense approach, not to mention her passion for life.

While we have said farewell to some, we have welcomed many new faces across all programs, including our Administration team. We have also hosted a school-based trainee from Nagle Catholic College who has been working towards a Certificate II in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. This trial position has been very successful, and we look forward to making this opportunity available again in 2023.

During 2022 we have taken on new projects that align with our organisational and program objectives, and we have successfully completed some great initiatives that support continued conservation and sustainability outcomes. I want to thank the whole team who continue to go above and beyond for the organisation and each other proving their ongoing commitment to our purpose and our values.