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Robbie back in Vic. giving coastal wetlands tour

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Robbie seems to like crossing borders. He also seems to have taken up the position of Coastal Wetlands Tour Guide – SE SA & SW Vic.

Just when we thought he might be settling down at Pick Swamp in South Australia after his big journey, this energetic young Australasian Bittern flew 8 kms along the coast back into Victoria. He spent a day or two in the wetland areas around the mouth of the Glenelg River near Nelson, and then kept moving.

Flying another 12 kms along Discovery Bay Coastal Park, his last transmission yesterday put him about 21 kms from Pick Swamp. He is certainly one very mobile Bunyip Bird. See below for maps of his movements along the coast, at Pick Swamp and the Glenelg mouth.

PICK to discovery

Movements of Robbie from Pick Swamp along coast into Victoria.

 

Pick Swamp high accuracy 2 and 3 movements

High accuracy movements (<500m error) of Robbie at Pick Swamp, South Australia.

 

Glenelg Mouth High accuracy 2 and 3 movements

High accuracy movements (<500m error) of Robbie around mouth of Glenelg River.

Robbie likes what he’s found; and is connecting wetlands / people

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Robbie seems pleased with what’s he’s found on the South Australian coast, 557 kilometres from the rice crops of Coleambally. And he’s already connecting wetlands and people through his journey.

Of all the places Robbie could go, he’s chosen the recently restored Pick Swamp, which forms part of the internationally recognised Piccaninnie Ponds Karst Wetlands Ramsar Site. The folks in South Australia are chuffed. It’s a great endorsement of their conservation efforts, and highlights the value of the area to endangered species and the importance of a network of wetlands, even when they’re far apart. Some people have joked that South Australia and rice don’t normally go together, but Robbie isn’t privy to water politics and sees no boundaries, just one big connected landscape with different wetlands to sustain him.

He’s moving around a bit, checking out the local area. For a moment there, we were worried he’d drowned in the ocean, with some low accuracy transmissions putting him several kilometres out to sea during high winds. But all is well. We suspect he’s finding lots of tasty morsels to satisfy his hunger after such a big trip. Nearby, and back across the border into Victoria, the Nature Glenelg Trust is doing some brilliant wetland restoration work on the Long Swamp, so he may discover some good habitat there too.

These are amazing initial insights into where the rice-breeding Australasian Bittern population goes after harvest and spends the non-breeding season, particularly for young birds like Robbie that the rice yields. These Bunyip Bird secrets have only been revealed because of the generous crowdfunding for Tracking Bunyip Birds. With any luck, we’ll get another bittern away with a satellite transmitter over the coming days. Stay tuned …

Pick Swamp June 2012 - Image Credit Mark Bachmann

Pick Swamp, South Australia: Robbie likes what he’s found next to the sea. (Photo by Mark Bachmann)