Wambo Coal AEMR 2011-2012 - Peabody Energy

and
• two sites have showed a continual decline in bird species richness since 2008,
namely sites 16 and 20.
Species Diversity across Sites
A comparison of the number of sites at which each species was recorded in 2011 (see
Figure 3-3) identified the following:
• Nine species were recorded across ten or more sites in 2011. The nine species in
order of highest to lowest site presence was as follows:
» Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) (n=16);
» Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops) (n=15);
» Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) (n=14);
» Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina) (n=13);
» Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) (n=12);
» Weebill (Smicrornis brevirostris) (n=11);
» Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) (n=11);
» Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) (n=10); and
» Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) (n=10).
• The Rufous Whistler was recorded at 16 of the 26 sites (62% of sites) in 2011 which
is a decrease where it was detected at 21 sites in 2010, representing a decline at
18% of sites.
• The Rufous Whistler had the highest presence across sites than any other bird
species in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 (n=18, 21, 21 and 16 sites respectively); and
• Almost half (49%) of bird recordings in 2011 were observed or heard at less than five
sites.
2011 Annual Ecological Monitoring Report, Final Report, May 2012 Page 19