Bittern boom in Coleambally!
A series of field trips raising awareness of Australasian bitterns living in rice got off to a brilliant start on Tuesday November 27th 2012, with four bitterns found in two rice bays on a property near Coleambally.
Australasian bittern and great egret in a rice bay near Coleambally
The evening kicked off with a BBQ in town and a presentation by ecologist Matt Herring on how to identify Australasian bitterns and why rice farms are so important for the conservation of this endangered species.
Attendees then piled onto the bus and headed out of town to a property known to host bitterns.
The first bittern was spotted before the bus even stopped moving and excited participants eventually spotted four bitterns amongst the rice in two bays, along with several white-necked herons and great egrets.
Watching bitterns through the bus window.
Not ready to call it a day when the sun set, most of the group then set out on a spotlighting expedition to a reserve maintained by Coleambally Irrigation. Wolf spiders, scorpions and mole crickets abounded, but the highlights of the evening were two tessellated geckos, two hooded scaly foot legless-lizards and three small curl snakes. A quick lesson in the differences between snakes and legless-lizards culminated in the advice that brown wriggly things should generally be left undisturbed, just in case.
Hooded scaly foot.
Rumours of dunnarts and planigales in the area sparked interest in a follow-up event some time in the future.
If you've seen or heard bitterns in a rice bay near you, please let us know!
