In her 14 April message, Sandra referred to the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia property at Ripley (south of Ipswich, Qld) where Bundamba Lagoon (also known as Daly’s lagoon) is “monitored by local bird clubs”.
Birds Australia South Queensland has been monitoring birds using this wetland since 2005, at the request of the SSAA. They are very keen to manage the property and this lagoon for the benefit of the waterbirds and other wildlife. We survey the lagoon and its environs every month. Some 130 species have been recorded, of which about 30 have bred. (For almost 2 years of this period, the lagoon was very low or dry because of the drought.) We also do an annual survey of a bushland area. All survey records go into the Atlas.
No ducks were shot on the property during this period (even when it was legal). There has been some shooting – the SSAA has put a lot of effort into getting rid of foxes, feral cats and pigs. (Well, reducing the numbers – given the geography, they will never completely get rid of them!) They have planted a lot of trees and overall their management has been very good. I am sure that their protection of the lagoon and its environs from disturbance has contributed to so much successful breeding. They were as excited as we were when the local pair of White-bellied Sea-eagles fledged two young. Their Conservation group has an active education program and we have had two bird identification mornings with them.
The SSAA shooting range provides for a number of different gun sports (sports for which Australians get Olympic Gold Medals) and archery. There is a huge buffer zone round this area, so they need a big property.
When I lived in Victoria, and especially when I was President of the RAOU, the SSAA and I were not exactly friends. However my opinion has changed and I now respect their work on both their own properties, and in other places including National Parks where their skills have been utilized to deal with feral pigs etc.
Local birdwatchers would be welcome to join us on a survey, early in the morning on the first Saturday of every month. However I would warn the hopeful that at present there are almost no birds to count – presumably they are far away in the inland or scattered among the many wetlands here in southeast Queensland; while in past years we have had as many as 990 Australasian Grebes and 630 Grey Teal, these days we have to be satisfied with perhaps 9 Grebes and – well maybe 30 or so Grey Teal! So you might want to wait until things return to “normal” whatever that is.
Cheers to all Margaret
Margaret Cameron 2 Cintra Street Eastern Heights, Qld Australia 4305 07 3282 9151 ===============================
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