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STATUS OF BIRDS AT MELBOURNE WATER'S EASTERN TREATMENT PLANT (ETP), BANGHOLME, VICTORIA, (originally known as South Eastern Purification Plant)

From establishment in 1974 to September 2012

By Mike Carter 30, Canadian Bay Road, Mt. Eliza, VIC. 3930, prepared 30 September 2012

Species / Frequency / Peak No. / Breeding / Main Season

Stubble Quail

/ Was S, now R / 1 / B / Sum
Brown Quail / R / 1 / First record 3.09.2011
Magpie Goose / R / 1
Musk Duck / C / 1
Freckled Duck / S / 2
Cape Barren Goose / S / 1
Black Swan / C / 3 / B
Australian Shelduck / C / 2 / B
Australian Wood Duck / C / 2
Pink-eared Duck / C / 3
Australasian Shoveler / C / 3 / B
Grey Teal / C / 4 / B
Chestnut Teal / C / 4 / B
Pacific Black Duck / C / 4 / B
Hardhead / C / 4 / B
Blue-billed Duck / C / 3 / B
Australasian Grebe / C / 3 / B
Hoary-headed Grebe / C / 4 / B
Great Crested Grebe / Was R, now S / 1

Rock Dove

/ C / 2
Spotted Dove / C / 2 / B
Common Bronzewing / S / 1 / Win
Crested Pigeon / C / 2
Diamond Dove / R / 1
Peaceful Dove / R / 1
White-throated Needletail / R / 3 / Sum
Australasian Darter / Was S, now C / 1
Little Pied Cormorant / C / 3
Great Cormorant / C / 2
Little Black Cormorant / C / 3
Pied Cormorant / S / 1
Australian Pelican / C / 3
Australasian Bittern / Was S, now R / 1 / Win
White-necked Heron / R / 1
Eastern Great Egret / C / 1
Intermediate Egret / R / 1
Cattle Egret / S / 3
White-faced Heron / C / 2 / B
Little Egret / Was R, now S / 1
Nankeen Night-Heron / S / 2
Glossy Ibis / S / 2
Australian White Ibis / C / 3
Straw-necked Ibis / C / 3
Royal Spoonbill / Was S, now C / 1 / B?
Yellow-billed Spoonbill / Was S, now C / 2
Black-shouldered Kite / C / 2 / B
Letter-winged Kite / R / 2
White-bellied Sea-Eagle / R / 1
Whistling Kite / S / 2 / B
Black Kite / R / 1
Brown Goshawk / C / 1 / B
Collared Sparrowhawk / S / 1
Spotted Harrier / R / 1
Swamp Harrier / C / 1 / B?
Wedge-tailed Eagle / R / 1
Little Eagle / S / 1 / Win
Nankeen Kestrel / S / 1 / B
Brown Falcon / C / 1 / Sum
Australian Hobby / C / 1 / Aut
Black Falcon / R / 1
Peregrine Falcon / S / 1
Brolga / R / 1
Purple Swamphen / C / 3 / B
Lewin's Rail / R / 1
Buff-banded Rail / S / 1 / B
Baillon's Crake / S / 1 / B / Sum
Australian Spotted Crake / C / 2 / B / Sum
Spotless Crake / R / 1
Black-tailed Native-hen / Was R, now S / 2
Dusky Moorhen / C / 2 / B
Eurasian Coot / C / 4 / B
Black-winged Stilt / C / 3 / B
Red-necked Avocet / C / 3 / B
Banded Stilt / R / 1
Pacific Golden Plover / R / 1
Red-capped Plover / S / 2 / B
Double-banded Plover / C / 2 / Win
Black-fronted Dotterel / C / 3 / B / Win
Red-kneed Dotterel / C / 2 / B / Sum
Banded Lapwing / R / 1
Masked Lapwing / C / 3 / B / Win
Australian Painted Snipe / R / 1
Latham's Snipe / C / 2 / Spr
Black-tailed Godwit / R / 1
Bar-tailed Godwit / R / 1
Little Curlew / R / 1
Whimbrel / R / 1
Eastern Curlew / R / 1
Terek Sandpiper / R (once) / On 20.10.2001
Common Sandpiper / C / 1 / Sum
Grey-tailed Tattler / R / 1
Spotted Redshank / R (One overwintered) / 1
Common Greenshank / S / 1 / Sum
Marsh Sandpiper / C / 2 / Sum
Wood Sandpiper / C / 1 / Sum
Ruddy Turnstone / R / 1
Red Knot / R / 1
Red-necked Stint / S / 3 / Sum
Long-toed Stint / R / 1
Pectoral Sandpiper / S / 1
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper / C / 4 / Sum
Curlew Sandpiper / C / 3 / Sum
Ruff / R / 1 / Sum
Gull-billed Tern (Asian race) / R (once) / 1 / 3 on 13.03.2005
Caspian Tern / C / 1 / B
Whiskered Tern / S / 3 / Sum
White-winged Black Tern / S / 1
Common Tern / S / 1
Arctic Tern / R / 1
Pacific Gull / S / 1 / Win
Silver Gull / C / 4
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo / R / 2 / First on 08.09.2010
Galah / S / 1
Long-billed Corella / S / 1
Little Corella / R / 2
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo / S / 1
Cockatiel / R / 1
Rainbow Lorikeet / Was S, now C / 2 / B
Musk Lorikeet / S / 2
Eastern Rosella / R / 1
Red-rumped Parrot / C / 2 / B
Blue-winged Parrot / S / 2 / Aut
Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo / S / 1 / B / Sum
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo / R / 1
Pallid Cuckoo / R / 1 / Spr
Fan-tailed Cuckoo / R / 1
Southern Boobook / R / 1
Eastern Barn Owl / R / 1
Laughing Kookaburra / R / 1
Sacred Kingfisher / R / 1 / Sum
Superb Fairy-wren / C / 2 / B
White-browed Scrub-wren / R / 1

Striated Fieldwren

/ S / 1 / B
Yellow Thornbill / R (no records since 1997) / 2
Yellow-rumped Thornbill / C / 1 / B
Brown Thornbill / S / 1
Spotted Pardalote / R / 1
Striated Pardalote / R / 1 / Aut
Eastern Spinebill / R / 1
Yellow-faced Honeyeater / R / 1 / First record 25.03.2012

Singing Honeyeater

/ R / 1 / Aut
White-plumed Honeyeater / C / 2 / B
Noisy Miner / C / 1 / B
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater / C / 2 / Win
Little Wattlebird / Was R, now C / 1 / B
Red Wattlebird / C / 3 / B
White-fronted Chat / C / 3 / B / Win
New Holland Honeyeater / S / 1
White-naped Honeyeater / R / 1
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike / C / 2
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike / R / 1
White-winged Triller / R / 1 / B
Golden Whistler / R / 1 / e.g. 25.3.2007
Grey Shrike-thrush / S / 1
Olive-backed Oriole / R / 1
Dusky Woodswallow / C / 1 / B
Grey Butcherbird / S / 1
Australian Magpie / C / 2 / B
Grey Fantail / C / 1
Willie Wagtail / C / 1 / B
Little Raven / C / 2 / B
Magpie-lark / C / 3 / B
Scarlet Robin / R / 1
Flame Robin / C / 2 / Aut. & Win
Hooded Robin / Old record on area now excised / 1
Eastern Yellow Robin / Old record on area now excised / 1
Horsfield’s Bushlark / R / 1

Eurasian Skylark

/ C / 3 / B
Golden-headed Cisticola / C / 3 / B
Australian Reed-Warbler / C / 2 / B / Spr
Little Grassbird / C / 2 / B
Rufous Songlark / R / 1 / B / Spr
Brown Songlark / C / 1 / B
Silvereye / S / 2 / Win
Welcome Swallow / C / 4 / B
Fairy Martin / C / 2 / B
Tree Martin / S / 2 / Aut

Common Blackbird

/ C / 2 / B
Song Thrush / R (old record) / 1
Common Starling / C / 4 / B
Common Myna / C / 2 / B
Mistletoebird / R / 1
Red-browed Finch / C / 2
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin / Old record near Patterson River / 1

House Sparrow

/ C / 3 / B

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

/ S / 1 / B
Australasian Pipit / C / 2 / B
Eastern Yellow Wagtail / R (two records) / 1
European Goldfinch / C / 3 / B

Common Greenfinch

/ S / 2 / B / Win

NOTES ON THE TABLE

The 190 species of bird listed above, which includes 106 wetland dependant species & raptors and 84 non-wetland dependant species have been recorded on Eastern Treatment Plant land since this sewage farm commenced operation in March 1975. This is the area shown in yellow on Melway Maps 98 and 94. The operating or ‘internal’ section of the Plant is here defined as the area bounded by the Patterson River on the north, Worsley Road on the east, Thompson Road on the south and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway on the west. The list also includes species that have occurred on ‘external’ areas south of Thompson Road bounded by EastLink to the east and south and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway on the west. This area includes an operating section embracing the serpentine of the old Frankston Sewage Farm and five other major wetlands accessed via Rossiter Road. The ‘internal’ section has been counted on a regular basis, generally monthly, since construction in 1974 and the external wetlands irregularly over that period. The major wetlands here include the historical Banyan Waterhole, previously known as Boundary Road Wetland, the Rossiter Drain and its associated lagoon, dam, water meadows & paddocks (known as PARCS because it was accessed via the Peninsula Aeronautical Radio Control Societies flying club area) and the Boggy Creek environmental wetland constructed in 2008.

Those species shown in normal type are wetland dependant species or raptors. Those in italics are non-wetland dependant. However, some of these, such as the Welcome Swallow, Fairy Martin, White-fronted Chat and Magpie-lark often concentrate at wetlands. Others inhabit the wooded, shrubby and grassland areas or may be just passing through or over. Species introduced into Australia, that is they are not native, are underlined.

Bird Names and Sequence: The sequence and names are those recommended by Christidis & Boles, 2008.

Frequency of Occurrence:

C = Commonly (usually) present.

S = Sometimes present.

R = Rarely present.

Peak Numbers: The numbers given indicate the order of magnitude of the population at its peak.

1 = 1 to 10.

2 = 11 to 100.

3 = 101 to 1,000.

4 = 1,001 to 10,000.

Breeding: B indicates those species known to have bred at least once; B? indicates those suspected of so doing.

Season: The season when a species is more likely to be present or present in its highest numbers is given. They may also be encountered at other times. Where no seasonal preference is shown the species may occur at any time of year.