News | Diary
Ozcranes News has the latest from our four sections (Info, Research, Australia-New Guinea Cranes and Conservation). The Diary lists crane-related events plus Natural Resource Management meetings in the Northern and Southern Gulf Regions, which include the main known Australian breeding area for Sarus Cranes.
Please contact us with your news items and events for the Diary. For projects or databases accepting sightings, please see Ozcranes Research».
Highlights
A recent webinar from the International Crane Foundation highlights exciting results from a new program to reintroduce Eastern Sarus Cranes to Thailand, extinct in the country since the 1930s. Ozcranes has new pages on crane art and research, and an exciting new study on Brolga genetics is calling for people to collect moulted feathers.
Sarus Cranes in Thailand
← Sarus Crane pair at Buriram, Thailand by Lonely Shrimp (licence in Sidebar)
The last photographs of wild Eastern Sarus Cranes in Thailand were taken in the 1930s, until ten were released from a new captive breeding program in Buriram Province, northeast Thailand, in 2011. Now Sarus Cranes are breeding in the wild, in rice fields and at reservoirs near the release area. A milestone year was 2016, which saw the hatching of the first two wild Sarus chicks in Thailand since the 1930s, a great achievement. The Thai reintroduction program is now the subject of an inspiring webinar from the International Crane Foundation, presented by Boripat Siriaroonrat, Triet Tran and George Archibald. The webinar series can be accessed on the ICF YouTube channel. The Thai program has partnered with multiple organisations and has achieved outstanding support from industry, agriculture and communities.
- The Thai Sarus program at the International Crane Foundation
- Facebook page, Sarus Rice project
- Adopt a nest project
- Images of 2015 release
Crane Art page 5
A new gallery of Ozcranes crane art in the Resources section, paintings and craft objects from the collection of Ozcranes editor, Elinor Scambler.
- New Ozcranes page: Crane Art 5»
TOPElinor Scambler research
Elinor is the last of the four Australian members of the IUCN Crane Specialist Group to have a dedicated page on Ozcranes. Her page includes links to papers on Crane Counts, crane history on the Tablelands, Sarus Crane ‘triplets’ and Brolgas eating grebe eggs. Future work includes a study of major Brolga flocking sites in Australia.
- New Ozcranes page: Elinor Scambler research»
Brolga DNA study – call for feathers
Kaytlyn (Skye) Davis has begun a PhD study with Macquarie University in collaboration with the University of New South Wales, ‘Informing the conservation of Australia's waterbirds from genetic connectivity analyses and eDNA’. For Brolgas, the study will examine genetic connectivity between northern and southern populations and explore the influence of current and future landscape features on gene flow. Genetic data will be obtained by employing a next-generation sequencing approach on DNA extracted from naturally-discarded feathers, a non-invasive technique. Study results will be used to inform conservation plans, particularly for threatened southern Brolga populations. If you can help Skye by collecting shed Brolga feathers please contact her at k.skye.davisATgmailDOTcom, or Kate Brandis kate.brandisATunswDOTeduDOTau. Skye's project brochure is here in Ozcranes Downloads».
News snippets
- David Merrall has retired as Coordinator of the annual Atherton Tablelands Crane Count after five successful years, a successor is still to be appointed. For more about the counts and results see Crane Counts paper, 2020» and Crane Count background and teams»
- The BirdLife Northern Queensland committee is working to arrange a presentation on 21 years of Crane Count results, recently published in Australian Field Ornithology. Working with Covid 19 restrictions can be complex, more news when available.
Diary
Please Email us to post your project or event in the Diary. For projects or databases accepting sightings, please see Ozcranes Research»
Queensland
BirdLife Australia surveys:
- The Atherton Tablelands Crane Count is held on the first Saturday of September each year, the 2021 survey will be on 4 September. Visit BirdLife Northern Queensland. The new Coordinator's details will be posted when available.
- BirdLife Townsville monitors Brolgas and other birds at two Conservation Parks, the Town Common and Wongaloo (Cromarty). Contact: BirdLife Townsville
- BirdLife Capricornia monitors Brolgas and other waterbirds at Kinka Wetlands and has a quarterly newsletter ‘Brolga’, see BirdLife Capricornia
Five north Queensland Natural Resource Management regions are home to almost all Australia's Sarus Cranes, and significant populations of Brolgas. News, events and many resources are avalable from their websites.
- Northern Gulf Resource Management Group Website, for events, news and contacts
- Southern Gulf Catchments NRM Website, for events, news and contacts
- Cape York NRM Website, for events, news and contacts
- Terrain NRM (Wet Tropics & Upper Herbert) Website, for events, news and contacts
- NQ-Dry Tropics NRM Website, for events, news and contacts
Victoria & South Australia
- The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning conducts annual Brolga surveys in western Victoria, reports and results can be viewed on the SWIFFT website.
- BirdLife Ballarat has events and activities for Brolgas, Email BirdLife Ballarat
- The Nature Glenelg Trust is involved in wetland restoration and other projects, events on the website
- The Brolga Recovery Group seems to have gone into recess again, links will be reposted when activities recommence.
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