LOOKING FOR GANG-GANG COCKATOOS IN LANE COVE VALLEY, SYDNEY – SINCE DECEMBER 2016

Hi Tom,

There’s been a fair bit of residential subdivision and apartment building in the Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai Shires, over the last few years. While significant tracts of bushland still remain, human dwellings (houses and large apartment blocks) are built right up against them. It’s usually existing residential lots being carved up into smaller allotments or transformed into large apartment blocks, which has resulted in the narrowing of the interface between the bushland and urban development. When this happens, more of the bushland areas are managed for bushfire threats. I suspect that light pollution from these buildings at night would disturb roosting Gang-gangs, noise pollution during the day during building construction may be enough to displace foraging Gang-gangs, and perhaps the removal of some of the bushland understorey for bushfire management has also impacted on the Gang-gangs. Although the Hornsby/Ku-ring-gai population of Gang-gangs is listed as an endangered population under the NSW Threatened Species Act 1995, it’s likely that individuals moved in and out of that population, given that they can fly large distances. If that is the case, it’s not hard to imagine individuals moving elsewhere to avoid urban disturbances.

There’s quite a strong community resistance to further residential subdivision and apartment building in the Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai Shires. Reasons often given for that opposition are the need to retain the bushland in parts of these shires, and protection of habitat for the Powerful Owl and Gang-gang Cockatoo.

For the record, I last saw a Gang-gang Cockatoo in the area in Pennant Hills in November 2014, but I don’t go looking for them on a regular basis.

Kind regards,
Stephen Ambrose

Ryde, NSW

—–Original Message—–
From: Birding-Aus [franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On 6 August 2017 at 15:24, Tom Wilson < wilsonsinoz@optusnet.com.au> wrote:

Hi All
Through a referral from Kurtis Lindsay as an eBird and Birdline moderator, I was recently approached by a conservation officer from Ku-Ring-Gai Council with disturbing news that the last reported sighting of a Gang-gang Cockatoo in the Lane Cove Valley (northern Sydney) was in December 2016. It has been surmised that they are (sadly) locally extinct in the valley.
Unfortunately, I had no more recent records that would prove this to be incorrect (my last record was mid-2016 near Blackbutt Avenue in Pennant Hills).
If you have more recent evidence (ie after December 2016) that would help show that this is not the case, please can you forward as much detail as possible to me. I will collate and forward all information to the council officer. Ideally, please can you provide as much of the following information as you can:
– Date and Time;
– Exact location in the Lane Cove Valley;
– Number and Mix of Birds (ie Male/Female/Young);
– Sighted or Heard Only;
– Activity Observed (including species of tree being used if feeding); and
– Any Other Relevant Comments.
You can forward your information to me at the above email. Let’s hope we can prove that they are still about.
Cheers
Tom Wilson



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