When did you last see a Flame Robin?

Flame Robin at Birds Australia

The NSW North Coast is in the enviable position of being at the meeting between the upper range of southern birds and the lower range of northern birds found in eastern Australia.
This sometimes disguises the fact that biodiversity in the Northern Rivers is also affected by loss of habitat, particularly the clearing of forest cover in our region and the loss of wetlands both here and across the state.

Birds Australia has released its report The State of Australia's Birds 2008 (SOAB).

Birds to watch

Birds to watch, identified by the declining population trends in this report, include: migratory waders such as the Eastern Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper and Latham’s Snipe; resident waders such as Black-winged Stilt, Red-necked Avocet, and Banded and Masked Lapwings; resident coastal species such as the Fairy Tern and Hooded Plover; woodland insectivores such as the Hooded Robin and Jacky Winter; specialised forest and heathland species such as the Western Ground Parrot,whipbirds, bristlebirds and scrub-birds; mallee species such as the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo and Malleefowl (also the Black-eared Miner); and forest birds such as the Swift Parrot. Pelagic species of concern include the Wandering Albatross and Flesh-footed Shearwater. In addition, upland species (reported on in SOAB 2007 as disappearing from lower parts of their ranges) may be at most immediate risk from climate change; they include the Red-browed Treecreeper, Golden Bowerbird, Mountain Thornbill, Grey-headed Robin and Chowchilla. Data are lacking on other species of concern including the Australasian Bittern and several northern ground-feeders. While the numbers of some of these species are still good nationally, they are falling. For threatened endemic species, such as the heathland birds and Swift Parrot, the declining trends are cause for alarm.

Full report.

Birds Australia wildlife rescue webpage showing how you can help wildlife affected by bushfire.