Black-faced Cormorant

Australia has five species of Cormorant including Great, Little Black, Pied, Little Pied and Black-faced – all five species can be found on the Gippsland Lakes. Four of the five species have a wide distribution across Australia including inland waters.  However the Black-faced appears to be the odd species out as it has a much more restricted range along the southern coast of Australia and around the Tasmania coast and only extending into coastal bays and lakes where these have marine water environments – that is it is not found in freshwater habitats.

The Gippsland Lakes has a sedentary population of Black-faced Cormorants with small flocks of up to 70 birds often found resting on sand islands in the Ocean Grange area, especially on Albifrons Island, and on rock groins on Rigby Island near Lakes Entrance. 

In early October 2022 I photographed a Black-faced Cormorant near Crescent Island which had fine white striations on its hindneck – a clear sign of breeding condition. 

Please click on photos to enlarge.

At this time there was a noticeable drop in numbers in the area which prompted me to check their breeding time which is September to February. So I concluded that most of our Black-faced Cormorants are away breeding at present. As they generally breed on rocky islands with cliff ledges and rocky platforms it is assumed they are breeding on rocky islands in Bass Strait to our west between Wilsons Promontory and Flinders Island. 

It is intriguing to ponder how the Black-faced Cormorant’s evolutionary history has confined it to marine habitats while our other four Cormorant species are much more versatile?

White-throated Treecreeper using next box

White-throated Treecreepers (WtT) build a cup shaped nest from bark, fur and grass in tree hollows. The Pizzey and Knight guide states they sometimes nest in building cavities and mine shafts. That said I was surprised to find on our rural property a pair of White-throated Treecreepers nesting in a 2019-20 Black Summer fire recovery artificial wooden nest box (box number 8605).

Please click on photos to enlarge.

Ten boxes were installed in box woodland on our property in April 2022 under the East Gippsland Nest Box Project (EGNBP) – you can find more information about this project here:

https://birdlife.org.au/projects/woodland-birds-for-biodiversity/egnbp

The project was managed by Sam Monks, BirdLife Australia Woodland Birds Project Officer – East Gippsland Nest Box Project. The size of the project was significant with over 500 boxes installed on 50 properties across East Gippsland by Tom Dawson of TD Tree Services. The project was funded from the Landcare Led Bushfire Recovery Grants Program.

I first noticed a WtT at the box several weeks ago. This morning (2 October 2022) I found that the pair have young they are feeding and still brooding, judging by the time the adults are spending in the box.

Before the box was occupied by the WtT’s it had clearly been visited by a bird that seriously chewed the face of the box around the hole and the roof/lid above the hole – see photos. 

I suspect a Rosella did this or perhaps a Galah – several other boxes have the same damage. Hollow nesting cockatoos and rosellas will do this to enlarge holes and to obtain chewed wood to form a nest base on which to lay their eggs. In hindsight it looks like the nest boxes would have benefited from a sacrificial piece of timber fitted to the roof above the nest box hole for the birds to chew to avoid damage to the roof. The boxes were installed with a layer of wood shavings for the birds to use however it looks like the urge to chew is ingrained in the bird’s nesting behaviour.

The following photos of the WtT pair at the nest box were taken this morning from the cover of a tree at a distance using a 600mm focal length lens to avoid disturbing the birds at their nest.

The male arrived with a small food item which he passed to the female seen inside the entrance of the box.

The male at the hole with more food for the female inside.

The female – note orange spots on the side of her neck – is about to leave the nest box. 

The male made several food deliveries to the young inside the box before he entered the box and did not come out again before I left so he was clearly brooding the young as it was early morning and the box was in the shade and it was cool. The female did not return before I Ieft.

So far this spring the nesting WtT’s are the only confirmed birds using the EGNBP nest boxes, however other boxes have been chewed and I have seen a pair of Crimson Rosellas inspecting one of the boxes.

In addition to the ten EGNBP boxes we also have six Gang-gang boxes installed in May 2022 under another post fire program. The boxes are 18 to 19 metres high in Manna Gums along about a 500 metre section of our river frontage. So far I have only seen one pair of Galahs using the Gang-gang boxes. 

The sixteen nest boxes are a valuable addition to our area which is tree rich but hollow poor, especially after the fire swept across our property.