If you didn’t know it was a Hooded Robin, you could have asked almost anyone in the Corowa or Berrigan Shires of southern NSW.
“It’s great to see the Hooded Robin in the area,” says Ann Sloane whose family has owned land in the area for more than a century. “He’s a beautiful bird, and he’s also a very good sign of a healthy woodland.”
But Mrs. Sloane says that, in order to survive, the Hooded Robin needs a number of 20 - 30 hectare patches of native woodland.
“There aren’t too many of these around any more,” she says. “The good news is that if there are Hooded Robins, then lots of other birds who are less sensitive to changes in their surroundings are also likely to be here.”
For the last two years, the Savernake and Native Dog Landcare Groups have been working with Greening Australia and CSIRO to survey the flora and fauna on the farms and along the roadsides of this fertile farming region.
The result of the survey is a checklist of biodiversity that amazed landholders and scientists. Over 100 bird species were recorded, as well as 145 different types of ants, over 250 species of native plants and over 60 species of cryptogams – the often overlooked mosses, lichens and bryophytes that hold the soil surface together.
“There’s a lot more living and breathing out there than any of us expected!” says CSIRO’s Dr David Freudenberger.
“What we’ve achieved in the project is a living snapshot of this landscape, both in pictures and numbers.
“We’ve found that a healthy patch of woodland supports an amazing variety of plants and animals, which in turn, keep the woodland trees healthy. And a healthy woodland means better land productivity, in the form of protection against rising water tables and salinity and a guard against wind and water erosion,” says Dr Freudenberger.
“In this region, only 4% of the area is under native woodland vegetation, yet this remarkable diversity of wildlife is hanging on to that 4%,” he says.
“So the Hooded Robin, and even the smallest truffle give us insights for the sustainable management of agricultural landscapes.”
“The important message is that every patch of bush is important,” says Glen Martin, of the Native Dog Landcare Group. “There is so little left and each patch has so much diversity to offer.”
The Savernake and Native Dog Farmscapes Project was financially supported by the Natural Heritage Trust and administratively supported by Berrigan Shire. Scientific expertise was provided by a fungi expert from the USA, an ant specialist from Darwin, a moss and lichen researcher from Sydney, and bird and plant scientists from Canberra and Deniliquin. Local knowledge and enthusiasm were provided in vast quantities by the local farming community.
More information from:
Ann Sloane, SAND committee
+61 2 6035 9415
aasloane@bigpond.com
Glen Martin, President, Native Dog Landcare Group
+61 3 5876 2236
0428 577 124
Sue Reilly, Project Manager, Savernake Station
+ 61 2 6035 9461
austain@cnl.com.au