Grey-crowned babbler workshop
Grey-crowned babbler workshop
A workshop on the Grey-crowned Babbler, a threatened woodland species, was hosted by Corowa District Landcare Inc and supported by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust and Landcare NSW Partnership.
Community Participation -
LP019-007
The issue
Grey-crowned Babblers are highly social birds, living and breeding in communal groups of up to a dozen or so. Once prolific throughout south-eastern Australia, sadly, they have declined throughout their range, and are now listed as a vulnerable species. This is because their preferred open box woodland habitat has been substantially cleared, and their populations are now restricted to areas of remnant vegetation within our farming landscape. Federation Council area is known to have one of the highest densities of recorded populations of Grey-crowned Babblers in NSW.
The solution
A workshop with local wildlife Ecologist, Ian Davidson, began with a field walk at the Coreen Round Swamp Travelling Stock Reserve. We heard several calls of the Grey-crowned Babblers and observed a family group. The have a very distinctive call, the female says ‘ya’ and the male answers with ‘hoo’. This ‘duet’ is used to maintain the bond between the pair and as a territorial call. The ‘ya-hoo’ duet sequence is repeated rapidly. Grey-crowned Babbler feed on invertebrates, either by foraging on the trunks and branches of eucalypts and other woodland trees or on the ground, digging and probing amongst litter and tussock grasses.
The impact
At the completion of the workshop, attendees had a much better understanding of the threatened Grey-crowned Babbler, their behaviour, habitat needs, and ways to help protect and enhance the environment for this charismatic little bird.
They ways that we can help are:
- Monitor group size to track changes over time;
- Minimize clearing, especially large old trees; and
- Add corner patches or widen roadside vegetation wherever possible.
This activity aimed to train Landcare staff/volunteers and Landholders on how to monitor threatened Grey-crowned Babblers in the old Corowa Shire Region. It was lovely to see local farmers and community members so interested in protecting this threatened woodland species.
Key facts
- Corowa District Landcare Group works to monitor and protect the threatened Grey-crowned Babbler
- Key expert engagement: Ian Davidson
- Communities that interact with their environment will care for their environment