Landholder revegetation attracts new birds

Posted on 12 November, 2020 by Frances

We received a lovely message from some local landholders, Mark and Jan Dunn. They’ve made a huge effort to restore habitat on their property near Faraday, in Central Victoria. It’s always heartening to hear about how the hard work of revegetation is really making a difference for our local wildlife.

Here is their story:

Hi Connecting Country

During a recent short stay at our Faraday property (on a bushfire mitigation permit from the Shire), we were delighted to see a bird we haven’t sighted before.

We have owned this 22 acre block for 15 years and in the early years we invested heavily in a major revegetation project. It is now so very satisfying to walk the paddocks and observe many different birds visiting and nesting in the trees and shrubs we planted. They love the habitat we have helped to create – all natives of local provenance.

What bird did we see you ask? This Owlet Nightjar was happy to observe us for quite a while after being disturbed from its quiet dark roost in the shed.

Description:

Australian Owlet-nightjar at Faraday (photo: Mark and Jan Dunn)

‘The Australian Owlet-nightjar is the smallest of the nocturnal birds (night birds) found in Australia. Its large brown eyes are non-reflective when exposed to a torch or spotlight (other nocturnal birds give a red reflection). The Owlet-nightjar has two different plumage colourations: russet-brown (rufous), and the more common grey.

In both forms the birds are paler below, and are faintly barred with black. There are two wide black stripes that extend over the head from the top of the eyes, and meet on the back of the neck.

The rufous form is restricted to the female birds, which, even in the grey form, tend to be more rufous-tinged than the males. Young Owlet-nightjars resemble adults, but have less distinct black markings.’

What a delightful little Aussie feathered friend – and how lucky we felt to see it.

Kind regards

Mark & Jan