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| Always walking away |
 |
| Tending the nest |
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| Should this be fenced ? |
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| Sewerage farm as a last resort |
Following a query expressing surprise that Brolga are in
Victoria I have added the following information.
References used include :
Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority
Birdlife Australia
Dept. of Sustainability and
Environment
Pizzey & Knight Field Guide
Birds of Australia
The Brolga sometimes
known as the Native Companion (features in some Indigenous art) is a tall
silver/grey native crane up to 1.3 m tall .
Annually post
breeding the birds congregate in large flocks where it is famed for intricate
dancing displays prior to moving to isolated nesting sites.
They prefer to live
in well vegetated wetlands, flood plains or isolated swamps where it feeds on a
wide variety of wetland plants, insects and amphibians.
The brolga was once
widely spread through Tropical and Eastern Australia but is now regarded as
vulnerable in NSW, Vic, and SA.
Numbers are secure in
NT, nth Qld and north WA. Where large flocks are not unusual.
Populations have
been steadily reduced since European settlement.
In the Western
District of Victoria numbers have dwindled to about 500 birds. It was only in the 1980’s that it was
realised that the Brolga were in trouble and moves were made by bird groups and
dedicated landholders to improve habitat.
At that rate of
loss it is possible that the birds would have died out in our children’s
lifetime. They are still vulnerable because 53% of wetlands have disappeared
through –
-
drainage
of swamps & wetlands
-
poor management, overstocking, plantation
expansion
-
introduced animals such as foxes and cats
-
Lets hope they survive
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