Bringing Back Byron Shire's Rainforest Birds

Location: Upper Wilsons Creek, NSW, Australia
Action: Habitat Restoration
Area: One hectare
Price per tree: $10
Threatened Species: Wompoo Fruit-dove, Rose-crowned Fruit-dove
Habitat: Lowland Subtropical Rainforest
Threats: Loss of habitat
Our Partner: Reforest Now 
Total Cost of Project: $2,500

Some of Australia’s most beautiful rainforest birds are threatened with extinction due to the loss of their rainforest habitat. In the Byron Shire of Northern NSW, 99% of the Lowland Subtropical Rainforest has been cleared and urgent action is required to restore the rainforest for Threatened species.

This project will focus on Upper Wilsons Creek in the Byron Bay hinterland which has one of the greatest areas of rainforest remaining in the Byron Shire. We will help threatened species through regeneration of one hectare of subtropical rainforest. This project extends the outcomes that began in 2008 and has so far regenerated 28 hectares of subtropical rainforest. It will be supplemented by the planting of 250 trees that provide food for our target species of frugivorous birds (fruit eating).

Threat to Wildlife, Climate, People and Planet

The Wompoo Fruit-dove and Rose-crowned Fruit-dove are some of the 25 threatened species that will be helped through this project.

The 25 species recorded in Wilson Creek, that are listed as Threatened by the New South Wales government’s Biodiversity Conservation Act include;

Birds: Albert's Lyrebird, Barred Cuckoo-shrike, Bush-hen, Marbled Frogmouth, Masked Owl, White-eared Monarch, Rufous Scrub-bird, Sooty Owl, Black Bittern, Double-eyed Fig-parrot, Glossy Black-cockatoo, Osprey, White-eared Monarch, Wompoo Fruit-dove, Rose-crowned Fruit-dove, and Rufous Scrub-bird.

Mammals: Little Bentwing Bat, Large-eared Pied Bat, Eastern Long-eared Bat, Golden-tipped Bat, Koala, Large-footed Myotis, Red-legged Pademelon and Spotted-tailed Quoll

Amphibians: Loveridge's Frog, Pouched Frog

Reptiles: Stephen's Banded Snake.

We will be implementing the recovery actions recommended by the NSW government that includes planting species of trees that provide food for frugivorous birds.

Recovery actions: Implement bush regeneration within patches of rainforest habitat to remove invasive weeds, taking particular care to compensate for camphor laurel removal by planting winter-fruiting native laurels, figs and Elaeocarpaceae to avoid significant reduction of existing food resources.

As a targeted action for these Threatened species we will plant an additional 250 trees to close up canopy gaps. Site preparations across December 2018 working with the land manager to clear Lantana and prepare ground for tree planting. Site preparation will be done chemical free and Lantana (a species of woody weed) will be mulched and hand pulled. The trees will all be planted before the end of May 2019 and the plants mulched with chopped Lantana. Reporting on the restoration of the site will occur over a period of 5 years as part of an ongoing commitment to this site. All the trees will be propagated from seeds sourced from nearby trees and the planting is designed to achieve canopy closure to exclude weeds. Our project partners Reforest Now will manage the planting of the trees and will care for the trees for three years to ensure they survive and thrive.

The cost of growing, planting, and maintenance is $10 per tree, so we need to raise $2,500 to plant 250 trees for rainforest birds and restore rainforest habitat.