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ball.gif (4563 bytes) Rushworth State Forest
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Rushworth SF is about 1.5 hours by car from my home town of Melbourne and one of the largest areas of box-ironbark forest left in the state - a pretty woeful state of affairs. It's a really good spot close to Melbourne for some of the woodland birds. I've been keeping track of my records for the last few years and they reveal some interesting statistics. See my list below. Over the last few years the Fauna Survey Group has been monitoring the use of over 100 nest boxes at various locations throughout the forest by Brush-tailed Phascogales Phascogale tapoatafa and other species, notably Sugar Gliders Petaurus breviceps (see this page for our paper dealing with the fauna of Rushworth).
 
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We've found some pretty interesting data to date and a full paper discussing Brush-tailed Phascogale is in preparation. The photo on the left shows a female with young in November 1999.

Brush-tailed Phascogales are large Dasyurids or carnivorous marsupials. They feed on arachnids, small birds and carrion. They require large territories and tree hollows for nesting and breeding. The males live for only one year. They mate with as many females as possible before the mass die off. This is the largest Dasyurid to employ this breeding strategy which is also seen in Antechinus.
(photo by Chris Lester)
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Believe it or not, this is a Common Ringtail Pseudocheirus peregrinus observed on the Graytown Road on the southern periphery of Rushworth State Forest. You may be able to see in the photo that the animal has brown eyes and whiskers and a buff tinge to the fur, therefore it is not an albino but a leucistic animal. Another group of spotlighters saw a similar animal about a kilometre further down the road. Normally these forms wouldn't last long in a population due to predation by owls but in this area of roadside vegetation where tree hollows are so scarce there are quite possibly no owls around. For that reason the animals may be not only surviving quite well but increasing in numbers. It will certainly be worth keeping an eye on them.(photo by Chris Lester)
Rushworth Bird List (the numbers refer to percentage reporting rate for each species)

Emu 21.1 Laughing Kookaburra 73.7 Scarlet Robin 31.6
Brown Quail  5.3 Sacred Kingfisher 21.1 Red-capped Robin 10.5
Australian Wood Duck 15.8 Rainbow Bee-eater 10.5 Flame Robin 26.3
Pacific Black Duck 21.1 White-throated Treecreeper 84.2 Hooded Robin 5.3
Australasian Grebe 26.3 Brown Treecreeper 57.9 Eastern Yellow Robin 42.1
Little Pied Cormorant 5.3 Superb Fairy-wren 68.4 White-browed Babbler 52.6
Pied Cormorant  5.3 Spotted Pardalote 89.5 Spotted Quail-thrush 15.8
Great Cormorant 5.3 Striated Pardalote 68.4 Varied Sittella 15.8
White-faced Heron  10.5 Speckled Warbler 15.8 Crested Shrike-tit 21.1
White-necked Heron 5.3 Chestnut-rumped Heathwren 21.1 Crested Bellbird 52.6
Yellow-billed Spoonbill 5.3 Buff-rumped Thornbill 89.5 Golden Whistler 47.4
Brown Goshawk 26.3 Brown Thornbill 10.5 Rufous Whistler 52.6
Collared Sparrowhawk 5.3 Yellow-rumped Thornbill 26.3 Grey Shrike-thrush 68.4
Wedge-tailed Eagle  26.3 Chestnut-rumped Thornbill 15.8 Satin Flycatcher 5.3
Little Eagle 5.3 Yellow Thornbill 15.8 Restless Flycatcher 21.1
Peregrine Falcon 10.5 Striated Thornbill 26.3 Magpie-lark 15.8
Painted Button-quail 26.3 Weebill 78.9 Willie Wagtail 47.4
Common Bronzewing 68.4 Western Gerygone 5.3 Grey Fantail 63.2
Brush Bronzewing 15.8 Southern Whiteface 5.3 Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike 57.9
Crested Pigeon 15.8 Black Honeyeater 5.3 White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike 10.5
Galah 68.4 Yellow-faced Honeyeater 36.8 White-winged Triller 5.3
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 63.2 White-eared Honeyeater 57.9 Olive-backed Oriole 52.6
Rainbow Lorikeet 5.3 Yellow-tufted Honeyeater 100.0 White-browed Woodswallow 5.3
Musk Lorikeet 68.4 Fuscous Honeyeater  94.7 Black-faced Woodswallow 5.3
Little Lorikeet 52.6 Yellow-plumed Honeyeater   21.1 Dusky Woodswallow 57.9
Purple-crowned Lorikeet 26.3 White-plumed Honeyeater 47.4 Grey Butcherbird 5.3
Crimson Rosella 94.7 White-naped Honeyeater 26.3 Australian Magpie 57.9
Eastern Rosella 84.2 Black-chinned Honeyeater 47.4 Pied Currawong  26.3
Red-rumped Parrot 5.3 Brown-headed Honeyeater 94.7 Grey Currawong 89.5
Swift Parrot 5.3 Little Friarbird 5.3 Australian Raven 73.7
Pallid Cuckoo 15.8 Noisy Friarbird 15.8 Little Raven 10.5
Fan-tailed Cuckoo 15.8 New Holland Honeyeater 26.3 White-winged Chough 84.2
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo 15.8 Tawny-crowned Honeyeater 21.1 Diamond Firetail 5.3
Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo 15.8 Eastern Spinebill 21.1 Mistletoebird 21.1
Powerful Owl 5.3 Noisy Miner 21.1 Welcome Swallow  26.3
Southern Boobook 26.3 Little Wattlebird 5.3 Tree Martin 21.1
Tawny Frogmouth 5.3 Red Wattlebird 100.0 Silvereye 26.3
White-throated Nightjar 10.5 White-fronted Chat 5.3 Common Blackbird 5.3
Australian Owlet-nightjar 31.6 Jacky Winter 15.8 Common Starling 10.5
White-throated Needletail 26.3

 

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This page was last updated on Friday, 05 November 2004

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