Another Carnaby's Chick

It was a thrill today to see another Gnolyenok / Carnaby's Cockatoo chick peering up at me from inside one of the cockatoo boxes in a local reserve in Mundaring, the third of its kind to be successfully raised in the past three years. These endangered birds were first recorded breeding in 2015, when the Shire of Mundaring supported the installation of a suite of nest-boxes for a post-bushfire recovery program.

Earlier this week I was fortunate to visit the reserve with the WA Musuem, local Friends Group coordinator Ron Coloquhoun, Mundaring Shire Environmental Officer Jolene Wallington, and other community volunteers, to see this precious creature fitted with an ABBBS leg-band. This harmless tag will help researchers identify it in the future, maybe even when it is feeding its own offspring in a local nest-box! Fingers crossed we have many more moments like this to look forward to in the future!

Jolene holds the Carnaby's Cockatoo nestling during banding, while her daughter Emma watches on.

PorongurUpdate

It's hard to believe that 10 years have passed since I installed my first very large, 'top entry' nesting box on my friend Jeff's block in the Porongurup Range! Today Jeff and I celebrated this anniversary by paying a quick visit to the block and checking this box, as well as the five others that have been installed at the property since 2010, all of which have been part of increasingly successful breeding. by Ngolyenok / Carnaby's Cockatoo. We were thrilled to find Carnaby's Cockatoos in every box! The two most recently installed boxes, which went up in May this year as part of a Birdlife WA and South Coast NRM educational workshop, both had heavily chewed entrances, tell-tale signs of prospecting (and usually occupancy) by Black Cockatoos.

A large vertical box installed in May with a newly hatched Carnaby's Cockatoo chick.

These findings give me such a thrill because they prove the design of my large vertical nest-boxes is effective, and also that newly installed boxes can become occupied so readily when placed at known breeding sites.

Three cockatoo chicks were banded as part of an ongoing WA Museum study on their movements and survival, an exciting addition to the study that Jeff and I have been carrying out on the breeding of Ngolyenoks in the Porongurup range. It was amazing to see these birds so close, and heartwarming to think of the beautiful moment when they will make their first flight into the Karri canopy and beyond!

This Threatened cockatoo chick hatched inside a nest-box made from rubbish!

Djoorabiddi & The Project

Last month I had the privilege of taking a small group of people to visit a beautiful eagle eyrie in a remote part of the Perth Hills. This included Jo Manning from Murdoch University's public relations department, and Thom and Darrell from Channel 10's 'The Project', who (very excitingly!) were tagging along (pardon the pun!) to film some of my fieldwork to fit a GPS/Satellite transmitter to a juvenile Wailitj / Wedge-tailed Eagle. The bird I managed to catch on his nest was a very calm, placid young boy, who was given the name 'Djoorabiddi' by Noongar lady Alison Murphy. This word is derived from 'djoorab' = good natured/happy, & means 'go foward happily'. Alison's father Noel last year named my beautiful Parkerville eagle 'Yirrabiddi' (path/journey in the sky), so it was truly magic to have a journey theme connecting these two Nannup-derived names!!

The story of how we fitted Djoorabiddi with a satellite transmitter was played last night on the Sunday Project, who kindly gave me the below copy to post here. This clip features some stunning aerial footage shot by my friend Andrew Moore, who expertly showcases the Aerial Environment in which these majestic eagles dwell. Keep your eyes on the Wedge-tailed Eagle Tracking website for updates on Djoorabiddi's progress, and the movements of other juvenile Wedge-tails from the Perth Hills and further a field. Enjoy!

Sign of the Seasons

 
Today there was an official celebration of the completion of Sawyers Valley Primary School's Nature Play area, a project which has been coordinated and delivered by the school's Natural Resource Management team, thanks to a State NRM grant. I've been privileged to be part of this project and participated in recording local fauna, taking guided walks for students and parents, and contributing photographs for interpretive signs that emphasise the area's cultural and environmental values. It was great to see the above Noongar Seasons sign installed today (just in the nick of time before the project finished!), which featured a variety of photographs of Perth Hills wildlife from my photo gallery. Thanks to the NRM team for the invitation to be part of such a great environmental initiative.

Leonora Eagles

I've just returned from WA's Goldfields region where I completed the arid zone component of my Wedge-tailed Eagle Tracking research for 2017, satellite-tagging two more Matuwa-born Wedge-tailed Eagles. After this fieldwork had been completed, I was very excited to drive south and spend a day on country with a group of Leonora District High School students, an environmental educational activity arranged by the CSIRO's Science Pathways program. We found five eagle nests along some stunning breakaway country that I was privileged to be shown by teacher Fifi Harris. My friend Dave from CSIRO made a wonderful short film about the day which you can watch here. Also, local ABC radio presenter Rachel Day phoned while I was in town to chat about eagles - you can listen to the audio of the interview by clicking 'play' below.

What a busy week out bush it was! Now back to the desk to catch up on all the admin...

Baakininy the Tronox Eagle

Born on one of the highest Perth Hills Wedge-tailed Eagle eyries that I've ever had the privilege (or punishment!) of climbing, the female eaglet I am holding above was one of 18 that were captured and marked for my research this year. When I fitted her rings/bands and took measurements earlier in the season, I left a climbing rope in place in order to be able to access the nest again, and yesterday the time had come to do just that, to fit her with a GPS/Satellite transmitter. This particular transmitter was sponsored by Tronox, a titanium company operating on a mineral sand mine just north of Perth. I have fond memories of visiting the 'Cooljarloo' mine for fauna survey work with Bamford Consulting Ecologists, not long after I finished uni over ten years ago. Connections were again forged with Tronox through Bob Huston from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, who has provided amazing support for my eagle research in recent years. Together with property owner John Ffarrington (who kindly gave me access to search for eagles on his Gidgegannup land), Ieva Tomsons from the Toodyay Herald newspaper, and my dear Dad (who was yet to experience an eagle banding activity), our little 'tagging team' set off on a fabulous Noongar Country afternoon to deploy the transmitter.

Beanstalk: scaling the 30m to a particularly high eagle nest.

After scaling the very tall Wandoo nest-tree and lowering the eaglet down in a handling bag, it was time to fit the transmitter using the 'backpack' mount method I learned from friends and raptor researcher mentors Ewan and Jenny in Scotland. I was very fortunate to have my friend and fellow environmental scientist Andrew Moore along to help by holding the eagle, who turned out to be quite a handful!

Andrew Moore, also an experienced drone pilot, carefully grips the juvenile eagle's talons.

Although she had been fitted with a falconry hood, which normally blinds (and subsequently calms) the bird, this eagle must have been able to see through a crack in the eye slots, as she persistently bit my hands and fingers while I carried out the attachment procedure. The main concern when handling eagles is their powerful talons, which in juveniles are pin-sharp, and together with extremely powerful 'ratcheted' toe/foot muscles, can inflict severe injuries. The bill is more of a 'tearing tool' and has far less power than a foot, but it does have a very sharp tip, useful for tearing apart kangaroo flesh, so it can still hurt!

Ouch! Not as bad as a talon though!

Fortunately Chris Bean from Tronox, who had been taking many wonderful photos of the occasion, stepped in to calmly support the eaglet's head which eased the beak-attacks on my hands! I could then carry on with the fitting the harness in relative peace.

That's a red fingernail you can see - not eagle (or Simon) blood!

After about half an hour of fine-tuning the transmitter harness fit, stitching it with a 'weak link' that will eventually fall off with natural decay, and taking a few updated measurements of the eagle's wings and feet, it was time to return her to the nest. I ascended into the canopy, gently removed her from the handling bag, and she hopped out in a slightly frustrated manner, but seemed relieved to be free to move about again.

Looking back at an eyrie and seeing a young Wedge-tailed Eagle safely back 'home' after it has been marked for research, and knowing we will be able to follow its journey, evokes a very unique feeling in me. It is mainly one of excitement and intrigue but also satisfaction (especially after such an adrenalin-induced tree-climb!) and a very strong element of concern for the bird, knowing it will soon leave the safety of its nest and venture further out into this dangerous world.

Baakininy, back on her nest wearing a new high-tech 'backpack'.

Although I'd been bitten by eagles quite a few times before, I certainly hadn't experienced a bird who bit so persistently, and this behaviour prompted me to suggest the name 'Baakininy', which in Noongar language means 'biting'. I was very pleased that Chris and the Tronox team also thought this to be appropriate. While I haven't traditionally been into naming wild animals, I believe it is important as a scientist to create an identify for the individual animals we are researching, particularly those whose progress we are able to follow in the close detail satellite-tracking allows. As an ambassador for Australia wildlife, the ecosystems of which it is a part, and the ancient cultural connection that Aboriginal People have shared with this amazing landscape, I have chosen to use indigenous language (Noongar in South-west Western Australia, and Martu in the Wiluna area) for Wedge-tailed Eagle names, because I feel it serves to remind us that these animals have been observed by people for thousands of years. These people are in some places in danger of losing their cultures, which are intricately linked with the lives of native animals and very much on the same page as 'western' values of biodiversity conservation (modernly referred to as 'Caring for Country'). Of course, such languages may provide us 'whitefellas' with new pronunciation challenges, but learning anything new always seems more difficult at first, and what better way to continue the use of an ancient language than by speaking out loud names given to charismatic, majestic birds of prey!?

The day was an extremely memorable one, and I am so grateful to all those who took part for their support, assistance and encouragement. We'll be excited to watch Baakininy's progress with eagle eyes!

Bob Huston, Ieva Tomsons and property owner John Ffarrington with Baakininy the eagle.

The team from Tronox enjoyed seeing a young eagle up close!

Sharing an 'eagling' experience with Dad was by far one of the highlights of my year.

Twin Brothers

These two amazing Wedge-tailed Eaglets hatched on a nest built by the parents of Wailitj - the Perth Hills' first juvenile eagle to be satellite-tracked - about a month ago. Given that Wailitj only survived for 2 months post-fledging, it was thrilling to discover his parents had doubled their 'output' this season.

At the end of September, with the help of some beautiful young boys (sons of some Perth Hills friends of mine) who have been keen to learn first hand about my eagle research, we fitted this brood of 'twins' with colour rings, weighed and measured the birds, then made ourselves scarce. With both having reached the age of 5 weeks, the odds were that they should continue growing healthily to fledging age of 3 months, but nothing is certain in the ever-changing natural world.

I was very excited to return to their eyrie this morning with my great friends Mick and Rianna and their two young sons Jarrahn and Bhodi, and find both eaglets (now juvenile eagles!) still alive and well! We fitted these birds with satellite transmitters - the second set of 'twin' WA wedgies to be sat-tagged - and I paused to photograph the partially consumed ibis on the eyrie as I placed them back 'home'. With this nest site definitely having the theme of 'two boys', I decided to give Jarrahn and Bhodi some homework: to come up with names for each eagle, with the only rule being that (as with all my Perth Hills eagles) they had to be in Noongar language.

The next day Mick rang me to let me know that the birds were to be called Naakal (= quiet) and Ngooni (= brother), two very appropriate Noongar words. It will be a privilege to follow the movements of these young brothers when they fledge and begin to wander around WA. I wonder if they will stay together on their journey?!

Naakal (left) and Ngooni sit next to a freshly killed Australian Ibis on their eyrie.

Ticking Off Eagle Nests

The time of year for Wailitj / Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax) ringing is upon us again, with most nests having quite large eaglets that are the perfect age for fitting with colour rings. Having just returned from my arid zone eagle research site at Matuwa last week, I was ready to carry on 'eagling' in the Perth Hills over the weekend and visited an amazing eyrie to ring/band the chick with my beautiful friend Dani on Sunday morning.

This eaglet 6-week old eaglet's eyrie was framed beautifully by the nest tree's limbs.

The eagle nest was located high in a live but very old and partially hollow Powderbark (Eucalyptus accedens) tree, which made the climb a nerve-racking but spectacular experience. I scaled the main trunk using ropes, then tied a safety line around the huge limb that I followed out towards the nest, inching my way along and trying not to pay too much attention to the multiple entrances to its hollow cavities, all covered in chew-marks from prospecting activities by local parrots.

This Powderbark tree has been growing in the landscape for several centuries.

I reached the young Wedge-tail and admired his view across the beautifully forested surrounds, before lifting him gently into a handling bag and lowering him safely to the ground below. Dani took him into the shade where we both worked quietly to weigh, measure and fit the two types of rings/bands. Having the bird so close allowed me to notice a small Kangaroo Tick (Amblyomma triguttatum) at the edge of its eye.

A kangaroo tick is visible just below the eaglets brow, smaller than the ever-present bush fly in the centre.

While ticks are perfectly good climbers and probably capable of ascending into the canopy on their own, I suspect this parasite may have been transported into the eagles' eyrie 'on board' a Yonga / Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) joey, common food for eagles nesting in the Perth Hills. Once the joey had been eaten, the tick probably went crawling for an alternative host, with the eagle chick being the nearest new victim. I chose not to remove this parasite as I know that these animals do drop off eventually, and risking damage to such an important part of such a young bird's body was not worth it.

Ringing and processing complete, it was great to place the eaglet back on its lofty nest and take in more off the amazing view. Now onto the next nest!