Mount Mee Bird Study

30 Sep - 1 Oct 2006

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Mt Mee Bird Study

Mt Mee is the northern most section of the D’Aguilar Range section of protected forest. D’Aguilar Range encircles the west of Brisbane and includes a series of linked protected areas of about 50,000ha in size.

Nine people attended this bird surveying weekend on the 30th September to the 1st of October, camping at Neurum Creek Bush Retreat, a privately owned and operated business. Neurum Creek Bush Retreat is situated on Neurum Creek and has several walking tracks leading up into Mt Archer.

The Environmental Protection Agency provided access to areas of protected forest in Mt Archer not normally available to the general public and vehicular access to sections of Mt Mee. This allowed BASQ birders to bird survey in diverse environments ranging through open eucalyptus woodlands, scribbly gum forests and lush sub-tropical rainforest.

Twenty (20) within 500m of a central point area surveys were completed over the two days. Bird surveyors experienced a range of difficulties in traversing terrain by vehicle and foot. One memorable highlight was removing Bob Sutherst vehicle from H Break road.

Ninety-five species were seen over the two days, this is similar to the number of species seen when 18 surveys were conducted in 1998, then seeing 100 species. The 2006 survey of birds sighted Torresian Crow, Pied Butcherbird, Grey Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Green Catbird, Satin Bowerbird, Paradise Riflebird, Fantail Cuckoo, Pheasant Coucal, Pallid Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Australian King Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Little Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Crimson Rosella, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Pacific Black Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Pacific Bazar, Peregrine Falcon, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Whistling Kite, Variegated Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, White-browed Scrubwren, Large-billed Scrubwren, Red-browed Finch, Silvereye, Striated Thornbill, Yellow Thornbill, Brown Thornbill, Red-browed Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper, Brown Gerygone, Eastern Spinebill, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Bell Miner, Lewin's Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, White-naped Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Little Friarbird, Noisy Friarbird, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Australasian Grebe, White-faced Heron, Azure Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Forest Kingfisher, Grey Shrike-thrush, Little Shrike-thrush, Spangled Drongo, Magpie-lark, Black-faced Monarch, Spectacled Monarch, Leaden Flycatcher, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Rufous Fantail, Australian Brush Turkey, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Varied Triller, White-winged Triller, Olive-backed Oriole, Figbird, Southern Boobook, Tawny Frogmouth, Darter, Little Pied Cormorant, Emerald Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Wonga Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Crested Pigeon, Common Bronzewing, Wompoo Fruit-dove, Noisy Pitta, Mistletoebird, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Eastern Yellow Robin, Masked Lapwing and Eastern Whipbird.

The most common species seen were Pied Currawong, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Thornbill, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Grey Fantail, Spotted Pardalote, Eastern Yellow Robin and Eastern Whipbird.

Comparing the 1998 bird survey with the 2006 bird survey indicated that a change in species composition within Mt Mee might have occurred. The 2006 bird survey had an increase in dry forest species being sighted, with a significant reduction in rainforest (wetter forest) species being sighted. Over the last 8 years many bushfires have burnt through Mt. Mee and Mt. Archer causing rainforest habitat to retreat and open woodlands to increase in size, this has resulted in a change in bird species utilizing the associated habitat.

BASQ will continue to add surveys to this site and to other D’Aguilar Range sites (Lake Manchester, Moggill Forest Reserve, Gold Creek Reservoir – 2006, Clear Mountain Forest Reserves – 2007 to name a few). The final goal to have a network of survey sites across the 50,000ha to provide a base for monitoring bird composition change over time.

Dez Wells