Mount Lofty Ranges Bird Recovery
There is a suite of declining woodland birds across the Mount Lofty Ranges. They are elusive, shy, and at risk of extinction. They are also an important indicator of the health of our landscapes and their populations have been in decline for over two decades.
Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu has been successful in attaining $820,000, through the state government’s Landscape Priorities Fund, to support an alliance of environmental organisations, university and government partners to tackle the challenge with on-ground action and community engagement.
The Landscape Priorities Fund provides annual grants for the state’s landscape boards, working with partners to deliver large-scale, integrated ecological projects.
The Alliance will deliver four key sub-projects over the next two years including:
- the revegetation of low-rainfall grassy woodland in priority areas of the eastern Mount Lofty Ranges,
- the development of a regional action plan,
- a series of landholder surveys and interviews to understand barriers to restoration, and
- communications and partnership activities to motivate and provide pathways for community action.
Some of the threatened birds that the habitat restoration will support are the diamond firetail, hooded robin, restless flycatcher, jacky winter, southern whiteface, chestnut-rumped thornbill and brown treecreeper. Restoration work will be focussed in the areas where these species are still persisting, with the existing habitat being expanded to support the populations to increase.
A groundswell of community interest and involvement in the revegetation work is a key focus, most of which will be undertaken on private properties with the support of enthusiastic landholders.
Alliance partners include Nature Conservation Society of SA, Trees for Life, Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association, Greening Australia, Conservations Volunteers Australia, Bio-R, BirdsSA, Birdlife Australia, University of Adelaide, Department for Environment and Water, Green Adelaide, and Northern and Yorke, Murraylands and Riverland, and Hills and Fleurieu landscape boards.
