Rosella Feathers 22 June 2008

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Birds Australia Conservation Forum. This will be hosted by BASQ in Brisbane in May 2009. We are looking for a convention centre with nearby accommodation for visitors.

Challenge. BA has decided to run Congress and Campout every second year, in the alternate years to the Australasian Ornithological Conference (Armidale 2009). In the AOC years a campout only will be held. The campout could be in conjunction with the AGM, or at another time and place. BASQ has been asked to organise a campout at the time of the AGM. Do we have good enough birding sites close to Brisbane to attract BA members from all over Australia, and do we have the manpower to organise a campout?

Birdline Central & Southern Queensland. BASQ is sponsor for this bird list. A good place to put your special sightings.

Nest Record Scheme. This is Birds Australia’s longest-running bird monitoring project, with some information dating back to the 1960s. The database contains breeding data for hundreds of species of birds, including details of every aspect of breeding, such as dates, clutch sizes and descriptions of nests and eggs, the dimensions of nests, the height of the nest and the height of the nest-tree it is in. The NRS provides an invaluable record of bird breeding which allows researchers to not only study certain species intensively, but also to compare different facets of breeding over time to see if they have changed, an important component of detecting the effects of climate change, for example.

Have you completed any Nest Records lately? Get ready for the rush of breeding in Spring by downloading the forms and instructions from the BA website.

Wildlife Expo. 12-13th September, Beaudesert. BASQ has been invited to put on a display. It will be valuable publicity for the cause of birds and their conservation, but we need help to organise it. If you can help, contact Gil Porter Ph 3359 4388 or email

Local Birding. There are a number of informal local birding groups across Australia with no legal status or insurance cover. Members should be aware of the risks involved. Anyone in the group may suffer injury or may be legally liable for negligence.

If the outing is listed in the calendar kept by the BASQ Committee, members and any volunteers who are registered for the outing are covered by Birds Australia's Public Liability and Accident Insurance.

We strongly recommend that any members who take part in informal birding outings let the Committee know in advance, so that they can take advantge of the insurance cover provided by thier membership dues.

Important Bird Areas. IBAs are sites of global bird conservation importance. Each IBA meets one of four global criteria used by BirdLife International. IBAs are priority areas for bird conservation - we aim to monitor birds at our IBAs, advocate their importance to government, and work with land-holders and other local people to conserve them.

In partnership with Rio Tinto, Birds Australia has identified and documented almost all of the Australian IBAs. Most IBAs in South Qld have been nominated. We are seeking a photograph for each IBA and help with publicity and monitoring. Contact the Secretary.

IBAs in Southern Qld
Bulloo Floodplain
Bunya Mts & Yarraman
Conondale Range
Fraser Island & Cooloola
Great Sandy Straits
Lake Bindegolly
Lake Nuga Nuga
Lake Yamma Yamma
Moreton Bay &
Pumicestone Passage
Paroo & Currawinya
Scenic Rim
Simpson Desert
Mt Tamborine

the Stock Routes Coalition. There are now 22 organisations as members:

Applied Environmental Decision Analysis (UQ), Birds Australia (BANQ, BAC, BASQ, BANN, BASNA), Bird Observation & Conservation Australia (BrisBOCA), Birds Queensland, Chinchilla Field Naturalists Club, Citizens Wildlife Corridors Armidale, North Burnett Landcare, National Parks Association NSW, National Parks Association of Qld, Nature Conservation Council NSW, Ravensbourne and District Landcare, South West NRM Ltd, Tamworth Birdwatchers, Toowoomba Field Naturalists Club, Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld, and the World Wildlife Fund. A number of othert organistions have indicated support of the aims of the group: AgForce, Australian Conservation Foundation, Drovers and Stock Routes Assn, Far South West Aborigianl NRM Group, Qld Conservation Council, and the Wilderness Society. More members are needed.

What we want:
Protected Corridors for Travelling Stock and Biodiversity Conservation:

The entire network of stock routes and reserves for travelling stock which are retained permanently in public ownership, and which are:
(a) managed for the benefit of travelling stock
(b) managed as habitat and landscape linkages for the long term maintenance of biodiversity (including fauna, flora, ecosystem services and ecological communities generally);
(c) maintained to conserve the Australian Heritage values and rural landscapes embedded within the network:
(d) with policy, management and practices to ensure that natural environmental and ecological values are maintained to meet all these purposes.

2008 Event
Jul 19-20 BCC Land for Wildlife Surveys Dez Wells ( 07 3886 8055).
Aug 2 - 3 Regent Honeyeater/Swift Parrot Surveys. See BA website for survey sheet.
Sep 1 - 19 SEQWater surveys Eric Anderson 5445 7965
Sep 12-13 Wildlife Expo Beaudesert
Sep 21 - 24 Qld Landcare Conference, Monto
Sep 28 Armchair Twitch™
Oct 11-16 BA Congress Waikerie SA and campout at Gluepot
Oct 25 - 26 BCC Land for Wildlife Surveys Dez Wells ( 07 3886 8055).
Nov 28 Regional Groups meeting Melbourne
Wader counts: 5th Apr, 17th May, 5th Jul (National Winter Count), 23rd Aug, 20th Sep, 4th Oct, 1st Nov, 6th Dec. Dez Wells ( 07 3886 8055).
Bundamba Wetlands Surveys suspended until the lagoon refills. Margaret Cameron (07 3282 9151)
Committee 9th Aug, 6th Sep. 2nd Nov, 13th Dec
2009  
May 23 Birds Australia Conservation Forum and AGM Brisbane
Nov 29 - Dec 4 Australasian Ornithological Conference Armidale

Grahame Rogers Secretary BASQ, PO Box 224, CROWS NEST, QLD 4355