Searching for the elusive Hooded Plover
On Sunday 12th November 2017, the Albany Bird Group and Green Skills conducted an outing to survey birds at Lake Anderson, that forms part of the Balicup Wetland Suite, north of the Stirling Range National Park. 12 people participated in the day which was led by Anne Bondin of the Albany Bird Group and Basil Schur of Green Skills.
The group accessed the lake through the Pech family farm. Ken Pech, a retired Gnowangerup Shire President and prominent farmer in the area, gave an introduction and history of the Lake environs.
Shore based breeding of the endangered Hooded Plover has been reported from Lake Anderson by Ongerup ornithologist Steve Elson. However on the Sunday very few water or shore birds were seen, presumably because they had dispersed across other wetlands in the region. Terrestial birds in the reserve bush-land spotted included Crested pigeon, Shining bronze cuckoo, White-browed scrub-wren, Weebill, Inland thornbill, Spotted pardalotes, Yellow throated miner, Brown and Singing honeyeater, White- browed babbler, Golden and Rufous Whistlers, Great Shrike-thrush and other species.
Vicky Bilney, of the Yongergnow Malleefowl Conservation Centre in Onerup, also spoke to the group about the work of the Centre in Malleefowl conservation.
This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program, supported by Royalties for Regions. The event is part of Green Skills’ wetland conservation activities and has also been supported through the Albany Bird Group, Ken and Wayne Pech and Yongergnow Malleefowl Conservation Centre in Ongerup
Ken Pech, Gnowangerup farmer, talking to the group prior to the visit to the Lake
Bird survey of Lake Anderson
Anne Bondin, Albany Bird Group, collates bird survey records from the visit to the Lake Anderson reserve
View over Lake Anderson towards the mountains of the Stirling Range National Park
Hooded Plover information and photos
Map of Balicup Wetland Suite -w with Anderson Lake in the Eastern section
Map of Hooded Plover breeding sites in the Balicup Wetland suite. Map by Steve Elson.