At least 50 species of ‘bush bird’ have been recorded at Sydney Olympic Park over the past several years. These species are mainly associated with the remnant forest of Newington Nature Reserve, and lantana stands in the Brickpit, but other Parkland precincts also support or have the potential to support bush bird species.
Bush birds at Sydney Olympic Park are defined as species that are dependant on woodland and forest remnants, excluding urban generalists such as Australian Raven. Bush birds require structurally complex habitat comprising a mix of groundcover, shrub and tree species to provide a high volume and variety of food, dense thickets for shelter, and nest sites.
Sydney Olympic Park supports a high diversity and abundance of bush birds, despite being relatively isolated from other remnant forest habitats in surrounding suburbs. Species such as the Superb Fairy-wren are common across the Park, however other species occur only in comparatively small numbers.
The Park’s habitat value is enhanced by the dense plantings of tree saplings that are currently functioning as a ‘shrub’ layer and providing large areas of bush bird habitat. The habitat value of these plantings for bush birds will decline as the trees mature, due to the absence of a shrub layer.
Download species list of Bush Birds at Sydney Olympic Park (26kb PDF)
Bush bird abundance is declining nationally. A 2005 assessment of the status of Australian birds found that there has been a severe decline in many bush bird species as a result of habitat loss. Over one third of the original woodland habitat of bush birds has been cleared, and the remaining vegetation is often fragmented, thinned or degraded (State of Australia’s Birds 2005, Birds Australia).
Of the 50 bush bird species identified at Sydney Olympic Park, 36 are considered as woodland-dependant. This list excludes urban opportunists such as Noisy Miner and Australian Magpie. Twenty bush bird species are declining within the Sydney region; of these, seven are considered to be at particular risk of decline within Sydney Olympic Park. A recent CSIRO report classes three species as declining in population status nationwide: Crested Shrike-tit, Rufous Whistler and Eastern Yellow Robin (Reid 2000, Threatened and Declining Birds in the New South Wales Sheep-Wheat Belt, CSIRO Biodiversity Monitoring Unit)
The State of Australia’s Birds 2005 identifies that a priority action to address these declines is the restoration of structural and spatial diversity in woodland vegetation, with a mixture of trees, shrubs, ground cover, leaf litter and other habitat elements. Conservation of remnant vegetation is important in conserving bush birds in urban areas.
Conservation of remnant forest, and retention of large stands of woody weeds such as lantana until replacement habitat becomes established, is important to bush bird conservation at Sydney Olympic Park.
Many of the new plantings created at Sydney Olympic Park since remediation are not likely to support large numbers of bush birds in the long term because of their structural simplicity, small patch size and lack of connectivity. Very few of these plantings are structurally diverse, and shrubs are generally absent. While planted tree saplings initially support bush bird species by functioning as shrub habitat, they become progressively unsuitable as they mature. Additionally, the small patch size of tree plantings, with a high edge to area ratio, favours aggressive ‘edge specialists’ such as Noisy Miners and Rainbow Lorikeets, that compete with and displace bush birds. Supplementary planting programs have commenced to provide future bush bird habitat.
Planting of shrubs within the Brickpit has commenced in anticipation of future lantana removal. Tree hollows within the forest of Newington Nature Reserve have been mapped and are monitored each year to identify breeding activity by the Red-rumped Parrot, and competition for nesting hollows. Nest boxes have been installed in and near the forest.
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