2020-03-01_Australian_Geographic

GEOBUZZ

BIRD NERD with Peter Rowland

FIRE: FRIEND AND FOE

A

USTRALIA HAS experienced

bushfi res for more than

60 million years.

Fire is an integral part of Australia’s

biodiversity and certain plants, such

as banksias, are even dependent on it

for the release and germination of their

seeds. Many eucalypts and wattles

have considerable resistance to fi res,

and birds are dependent on the

resilience of such plants for food,

shelter and nesting sites.

However, while low-intensity fi res

and some fi re regimes are benefi cial,

the increased frequency and intensity

of bushfi res in recent decades has been

devastating. This season, of course, the

impact of such fi res has been the most

extreme and widespread seen so far.

But indiscriminate, unplanned or

poorly managed fi res, or the exclusion

of fi re from an area altogether, can also

be very damaging. Indeed, inappropriate

fi re management is the second biggest

threat to birds aft er habitat clearance

and fragmentation.

Australia is one of 17 megadiverse

countries, which together contain

about 70 per cent of the Earth’s biodi-

versity. The majority of Australia’s

15 national biodiversity hotspots

are located in the south-east and

south-west, and it is these areas

that are being most severely

impacted by frequent and

intense bushfi res. And the

bird species in these areas

are at particular risk.

The largely ground-

dwelling eastern bristle-

bird, one of three

bristlebird species unique

to Australia, is one of

these. This endangered

species inhabits

dense, predom-

inantly coastal,

vegetation, where

it feeds on insects.

You’re most likely to see it running

through clearings or across walking

trails. Its plumage is dull brown above,

with reddish wings, and pale grey on its

underside, becoming more whitish on

the throat.

Populations of eastern bristlebird

are found in three disjunct areas of

eastern Australia. The northern

population has suff ered huge decline

in recent years, with fewer than

40 individuals now left in the wild.

There are concerns that the recent

fi res in south-eastern Queensland and

north-eastern New South Wales have

destroyed this population even further.

Studies show that numbers decline

when intense fi re destroys cover,

but birds can quickly recolonise aft er

patchy fi res. Conversely, without fi re

the vegetation becomes too dense for

them to inhabit.

Australia’s critically endangered

orange-bellied parrot also benefi ts

from low-intensity fi res in its Tasmanian

breeding areas, with the optimum fi re

frequency being one to eight years.

The season in which the fi res occur, the

frequency and intensity of fi res, and the

amount and timing of follow-up rain-

fall can all aff ect outcomes.

Other species, such as

the black kite and brown

falcon, benefi t from fi re in a

diff erent way. Flocks gather

around bushfi res to feed on

insects and small animals

that fl ee the fl ames, and

these birds are known

to spread fi re by picking

up burning sticks and

dropping them in new

areas in an eff ort to fl ush

out more prey.

FOLLOW Peter on Twitter:

@_peterrowland

and Instagram: _peterrowland

March. April 21

SHOWCASING STUNNING photos

from AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC’s

acclaimed 30-year anniversary

book A Portrait of Australia,

this travelling exhibition will be at

Queensland’s Bribie Island early

this year. Celebrating the bush,

outback and coast and the people

who live there, the exhibition takes

you to some of the most rugged

and remote parts of the country

to tell remarkable stories of

ordinary Australians. It was

developed by the National

Museum of Australia with AG.

For venues: nma.gov.au/

exhibitions/portrait-of-australia

PORTRAIT OF

AUSTRALIA

Bribie Island Seaside

Museum, Queensland

28 February–24 May

THIS CAREFULLY curated short

fi lm selection of the Ocean Film

Festival World Tour documents

the ocean’s power and beauty and

celebrates all – from surfers to

oceanographers – who revel in its

mysteries. Making a splash in

29 locations nationwide, it invites

Aussie audiences to immerse

themselves in the wonders of the

ocean without getting wet.

For tickets: oceanfi lmfestival.

com.au

OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL

Various locations

and dates across Australia

March–April

The brown falcon
can use fi re to
its advantage.
PHOTO CREDITS, FROM TOP: COLIN BEARD; PETER ROWLANDSCIENTIFIC NAME:

Falco berigora