Matt Herring, Ecologist
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Welcome to Murray Wildlife

Murray Wildlife is a biodiversity research, education and conservation consultancy, led by Wildlife Ecologist Matt Herring. We specialise in wildlife conservation on farms, community engagement, wetland management and ecology, and waterbird conservation.

In our modern world ...

"The best thing we can do for nature is simply spend more time in it. From there, reverence grows and action flows.”

M. Herring, 2013.

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Brolgas

Brolgas (Grus rubicunda) are still common across much of northern Australia, but they’re a threatened species in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. These majestic birds appear to be recovering quite well after the damaging decade-long drought. The number of young birds seen at non-breeding flocking sites in 2012 and 2013 were the highest recorded for many years.  In the southern states, Brolgas are closely associated with farms on the plains because this is where their preferred shallow wetlands tend to be. The plight of southern Brolgas lies largely in the hands of landholders.

Brolga Breeding Habitat: managing wetlands on your farm

This guide is for landholders in south-eastern Australia who are keen to learn more about Brolgas and what they can do to help them.

Below is a report from the 2003-2005 Arthur Rylah Institute study

Threatened Species and Farming: Brolga – Management of breeding wetlands in northern Victoria

The Ozcranes website is an excellent hub for information on Brolgas …

http://www.ozcranes.net/

 

Brolga adult with immature Yarrawonga 2000 MHerring Typical Canegrass Wetland Brolga Breeding site on Boree Creek floodplain near Urana 2000

Pictured here is an adult with a 2-month-old chick from a farm dam breeding site near Yarrawonga, and an active nest in a remnant Canegrass wetland near Urana.

 

BROLGAS BREEDING IN RICE CROPS (2013)

It’s a rare event. I’d heard about it but until this year I hadn’t seen it for myself. There they were – a pair of Brolgas that had bred in a rice crop. The landholders were delighted, as was I. In the New South Wales Riverina, the 2012-2013 season amounted to more than 100,000 hectares of rice. And that amount isn’t unusual outside of drought.

Brolga pair in rice crop with chick Jan 2013 Deniliquin NSW

So why don’t Brolgas breed in rice crops more often? By the time there’s sufficient material to build a nest (late November – early December), it might be too late in their season. Is there a lack of tubers from native waterplants like Eleocharis spike-rushes that they love to eat? Maybe they breed in rice crops more than we realise. Can we encourage Brolgas to make better use of these agricultural wetlands? So many questions, so much work to do!

The Bitterns in Rice project, a collaboration between Birdlife Australia, the Rice Growers’ Association of Australia and other organisations, is developing rice-growing guidelines that will benefit the globally endangered Australasian Bittern. Along the way, we hope to incorporate the conservation of Brolgas and other threatened waterbirds like the Australian Painted Snipe.

This short article first appeared on the OzCranes website.

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