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Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus)

The Plains-wanderer is a small, ground-dwelling Australian bird of sparse, treeless native grasslands. It is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act, and suitable habitat can occur on private land, reserves, travelling stock routes and infrastructure corridors, so clearing and construction projects require targeted habitat assessment and careful timing.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Critically endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Critically endangered.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

The Plains-wanderer can breed in most months, but spring is the usual breeding period. Timing varies with rainfall and grassland condition, so a breeding or dependent brood can occur outside the typical seasonal pattern.

Seasonal conditions can alter breeding, abundance and habitat occupancy substantially. Confirm current habitat condition and survey results before clearing, rather than relying on calendar timing alone.

  • Breeding: Breeding has been recorded in most months, with spring the usual period. A second clutch may follow sufficient summer rain, and breeding can extend into autumn.
  • Young: Eggs are incubated for about 23 days. Chicks are precocial but remain dependent until about 2 months old, so broods may occur in any season when breeding occurs.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing and construction are most likely to harm the species during the usual spring breeding period and when dependent young are present. Risk can occur in other months because breeding has been recorded in most months and second clutches follow suitable rain.

Identification

The Plains-wanderer is a small, cryptically coloured, quail-like bird with a lanky shape, long yellow legs and a long, slender neck. It is usually detected walking through short grass rather than flying.

Adults are 15 to 19 cm long, with a wingspan of 28 to 36 cm. Males weigh 40 to 80 g and females 55 to 95 g. The male is buff to light brown above and buff or orange-buff below, with fine dark markings, a pale belly and yellow legs. The larger female has a broad black collar with white markings and a broad rufous patch on the upper breast.

Identification: Similar species

Adult females are distinctive. Males and juveniles can resemble Red-chested Button-quail, Little Button-quail and Stubble Quail. Look for the Plains-wanderer's slender yellow bill, longer yellow legs, small hind toe, longer neck and pale eyes. Button-quails lack the visible hind toe and generally have different leg, bill and upperpart markings.

  • In flight, the Plains-wanderer's feet extend beyond the tail and the flight is weak and fluttering compared with quails and button-quails.
  • The species rarely flushes when approached closely. It more often crouches, stands upright on tiptoe, or runs with its head and neck held forward.

Identification: Field signs

The species is extremely cryptic and difficult to detect in daylight. It often walks, stops and stands upright with its neck extended. The main call is a low-pitched, hollow, resonant coo. Other calls include a soft chuck, chuck, a quiet irr and a drawn-out pie-pie-pie used in association with chicks.

  • Nests are shallow ground scrapes lined with grass, placed under or among native grasses and forbs. A grass canopy may be pulled over the nest.
  • Do not rely on tracks, scats or feathers for detection. The supplied sources do not describe diagnostic tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine.
  • For field surveys, inspect suitable sparse grassland during the day and use slow spotlight transects at night where appropriate. The recommended effort is 12 hours over 3 days for areas smaller than 50 ha, with survey nights ideally spaced about a week apart.

Distribution: States and bioregions

The Plains-wanderer is endemic to inland south-eastern Australia. Its present distribution is scattered, with the main strongholds in the Riverina of south-western NSW and the Northern Plains of north-central Victoria.

The species is recorded in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. It is associated with inland lowland plains, including the Riverina, the Northern Plains of Victoria, the Queensland Channel Country, and inland and north-eastern South Australia.

  • NSW: Mainly the Riverina of south-western NSW, including scattered records around and south of Deniliquin and occasional records in western NSW.
  • Victoria: The Northern Plains around Terrick Terrick National Park, Bael Bael Nature Conservation Reserve and Wanderers Plain, with records also from the Victorian Volcanic Plain and Western Grassland Reserve west of Melbourne.
  • Queensland: The Channel Country, including Astrebla Downs National Park, Diamantina Lakes National Park and Sandringham Station, with scattered records in adjoining native grasslands.
  • South Australia: The Willochra Plain, parts of the southern Flinders Ranges and arid areas north of the Barrier Highway, including stations near Kalabity, Boolcoomatta, Bundera and Mulyungarie.
  • Northern Territory: There are no confirmed records. Probable historical or recent sightings have been reported south of Alice Springs, but the occurrence is unconfirmed and probably marginal.

Distribution: Strongholds and populations

The Riverina is the primary stronghold and north-central Victoria is the secondary stronghold. Queensland and South Australia contain important but more marginal or scattered habitat, while the NT status remains uncertain.

Estimated extent of occurrence: About 930,000 km² in the 2016 recovery plan

Estimated area of occupancy: About 330 km², with a continuing declining trend

Recent population estimate: About 250 to 1,000 birds in 2011 to 2014

Riverina trend: Numbers declined by about 93% across monitored sites between 2001 and 2014

Victorian trend: Numbers declined by about 95% on monitored Patho Plains paddocks between 2010 and 2014

Population pattern: Numbers can vary greatly with seasonal conditions, by up to tenfold in the Riverina

Distribution: Records and habitat critical to survival

Because the species is rare, fragmented and subject to large seasonal fluctuations, all occupied sites and suitable habitat within its likely range should be treated as important. The recovery plan identifies all regions where the species is likely to occur, and newly discovered locations extending its likely range, as habitat critical to survival.

Habitat: Preferred structure

Plains-wanderers require sparse, treeless, lowland native grassland. Vegetation structure is more important than the exact plant species present.

Preferred habitat usually has about 50% bare ground, 40% herbs and grasses, and 10% fallen litter. Most vegetation is less than 5 cm high, with scattered plants up to about 30 cm high. Grass tussocks are generally spaced 10 to 20 cm apart.

  • Prioritise open grassland with short, patchy vegetation and bare soil between tussocks.
  • Avoid assuming that all native grassland is suitable. Dense grass, excessive litter, heavy weed growth and woody thickening can make habitat unsuitable.
  • The species usually occurs on hard red-brown clay soils that do not support dense pasture growth under most conditions.

Habitat: Vegetation and setting

Recorded habitats include species-rich native grasslands, sparse chenopod shrubland, cereal stubble and low cereal crops. The latter habitats may be used occasionally, but their capacity to support long-term persistence is uncertain.

  • The species avoids dense vegetation and appears to avoid living or dead trees and tall shrubs. In NSW and Victoria, no birds were recorded within 300 m of trees 10 m or more in height in the cited stronghold surveys.
  • Suitable grassland can occur on private land, leaseholds, travelling stock routes, national parks, nature reserves and other conservation-managed land.
  • The supplied documents do not provide a reliable elevation limit. The documented distribution is inland, semi-arid to arid, lowland country.

Foraging habitat: Food

Plains-wanderers forage on the ground during daylight and twilight in open, sparse grassland. They obtain water mainly from food and from dew or rain drops on leaves rather than requiring regular access to water bodies.

Seeds and leaves account for nearly 60% of the annual diet, while invertebrates account for about 40%. Insects form a slightly larger proportion of the diet in spring.

  • Key plant foods include native grasses such as Austrostipa, Sporobolus, Panicum, Austrodanthonia and Eragrostis.
  • Other food plants include chenopods such as Atriplex, Maireana, Chenopodium and Sclerolaena, as well as Asperula, Galium and Euphorbia.
  • Prey includes beetles, ants, bugs, caterpillars, locusts and spiders.
  • Native plants provide most of the seed component. Exotic plants make only a minor contribution.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

Birds glean food from the ground in sparse vegetation and use open patches between grass tussocks. Dense grass reduces habitat suitability and abundance.

  • Retain a mosaic of bare ground, short herbs and grasses, scattered taller plants and light litter during earthworks planning and rehabilitation.
  • An individual home range in suitable Riverina habitat is usually 7 to 21 ha, averaging about 12 ha. Home range size changes with seasonal conditions and may be larger in more arid areas.
  • A breeding pair requires about 18 ha in suitable Riverina habitat, although the sources note that about half of the pair's home ranges overlap.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding occurs in solitary pairs on territories defended by the larger female. The nest is a shallow scrape in short native grassland, and the male provides most incubation and care of the young.

Breeding season: Breeding has been recorded in most months, but generally occurs in spring. A second clutch may be laid in summer, and sometimes in autumn, after sufficient rain.

Clutch size: Usually 4 eggs, with a recorded range of 2 to 5.

Incubation: About 23 days, mainly by the male.

Age at maturity: Birds can breed in their first year.

Young: Chicks are precocial, can run soon after hatching, and become independent at about 2 months.

Lifespan: Wild life expectancy is unknown; captive birds have survived at least 8 years.

Breeding system: Solitary pairs; the larger female defends the territory and may be serially polyandrous.

Breeding habitat: Nest habitat

Nests are scratched into the ground and lined with grass. They are placed among native grasses and herbs, or rarely among crops. Suitable nest sites provide concealment without dense vegetation that restricts movement.

  • Protect short native grassland with approximately 50% bare ground, low grasses and herbs, scattered plants up to about 30 cm high, and light litter.
  • Avoid livestock access, vehicle movement, fire and earthworks around active nests and broods.
  • Breeding may cease during drought, and breeding success can also be low after heavy rainfall or flooding.

Sheltering habitat: Cover and refuge

The Plains-wanderer shelters in the grassland itself rather than using tree hollows, burrows or permanent roosts. Camouflage, low cover and scattered taller plants provide concealment from predators.

Birds crouch among grass when alarmed and may remain concealed rather than fly. Scattered plants up to about 30 cm high provide shelter and concealment, while grass tussocks are generally spaced 10 to 20 cm apart.

  • Retain patches of short grass, bare ground and scattered taller plants across works areas and retained habitat.
  • Do not plant trees or allow woody vegetation to thicken near occupied grassland. The recovery plan reports avoidance of trees and tall shrubs, including no records within 300 m of trees 10 m or more in height in the NSW and Victorian strongholds.
  • There are no documented requirements for hollows, caves, dens, burrows, roost trees or waterholes.

Sheltering habitat: Disturbance sensitivity

The species is normally sedentary when habitat remains suitable. It may move when displaced by cultivation, burning, drought, overgrazing or habitat loss, but displaced birds may not return.

  • Treat every occupied patch and nearby suitable sparse grassland as potential refuge habitat during clearing and construction.
  • Avoid sudden changes from open, sparse grassland to dense pasture, tall revegetation or woody plantings.
  • Use night survey methods where needed because detectability increases markedly at night, even though the species also feeds during the day.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main threats are loss and degradation of sparse native grassland, inappropriate grazing and fragmentation. Predation and chemical exposure can be particularly serious where remaining habitat is small or near productive agricultural and urban areas.

Conversion of native grassland to crops, introduced pasture and infrastructure has caused major historical decline. Clearing, cultivation, fertiliser use and introduced pasture can increase vegetation density, promote weeds and isolate remaining habitat patches.

  • Survey and map sparse native grassland before finalising access tracks, compounds, drainage, transport routes and construction footprints.
  • Avoid clearing occupied habitat and retain large, connected or functionally useful grassland patches. In the Riverina, suitable habitat islands may be only 50 to 600 ha and form about 5% of grazing properties.
  • Treat small patches near larger areas as potential temporary foraging or resting habitat, even though the species generally requires about 18 ha for a breeding pair.

Threats: Grazing, fire and hydrology

Light to moderate grazing can coexist with the species, but overgrazing during drought can reduce cover, increase mortality and displace birds. Insufficient grazing after rain can allow grass to become too tall and dense. Fire can damage habitat and disrupt life-cycle processes.

  • Manage grazing to maintain short, open grassland, with very light grazing or no grazing during drought and prolonged dry periods.
  • After widespread rainfall and rapid grass growth, assess whether strategic grazing is needed to prevent dense cover, while avoiding disturbance to nests and chicks.
  • Plan fire regimes with species specialists. Avoid burning occupied habitat during breeding and allow suitable refuges to remain.
  • Control changes to drainage, runoff and inundation. Widespread flooding and inundation have been associated with recent Victorian declines, while drought also reduces breeding and suitable habitat.

Threats: Predators and chemicals

Foxes and feral cats prey on adults, nests and young. Fox impacts may be greater near urban, irrigated and productive agricultural areas. Locust-control chemicals, including organophosphates, may kill birds directly or indirectly.

  • Manage rubbish, food and construction materials that could support rabbits or rodents and increase predator numbers.
  • Include fox and cat risk in project planning, particularly near urban edges, irrigation and cleared agricultural land.
  • Avoid spraying pesticides over occupied or potential habitat. Plan locust and other chemical treatments with the relevant land managers and ecological advice.

Threats: Roads and construction disturbance

The supplied documents do not identify roads as a separately quantified threat, but roads, access tracks and construction areas can remove habitat, divide habitat patches, increase vehicle disturbance and create edges where predators are more common.

  • Keep vehicles and machinery out of retained sparse grassland unless access is authorised and controlled.
  • Use pre-clearance surveys, low-speed vehicle movements and a stop-work procedure if a bird, nest or brood is found.
  • Prevent construction lighting, noise, dust, spoil and drainage changes from degrading retained grassland.
  • The supplied documents do not provide a species-specific road mortality rate or a standard road buffer.

Survey methodology: 1. Assess suitable habitat

Survey the Plains-wanderer in suitable sparse native grassland before clearing or construction. The species is cryptic, mainly ground dwelling and often sedentary, so habitat assessment and slow nocturnal spotlighting are important.

Map sparse, treeless native grassland before selecting survey transects. Suitable structure usually has about 50 per cent bare ground, 40 per cent short herbs and grasses, 10 per cent fallen litter, tussocks spaced 10 to 20 centimetres apart, and most vegetation below 5 centimetres with some plants up to 30 centimetres high.

Record nearby trees and tall shrubs because Plains-wanderers avoid areas close to trees. No birds were recorded within 300 metres of trees at least 10 metres high in the species strongholds.

Treat all suitable habitat and any newly discovered locations as potentially important habitat, including habitat on private land, reserves, travelling stock routes and leasehold land.

Typical home range: About 12 hectares per individual, with about 18 hectares required for a breeding pair in suitable Riverina habitat.

Typical habitat separation: Neighbouring pairs may be 250 to 400 metres apart.

  • Walk the proposed disturbance area and retained areas during daylight to map vegetation structure, bare ground, litter, dense grass, woody cover, tracks and likely nest habitat.
  • Use the daylight assessment to mark suitable areas for night transects, including areas that are temporarily suitable because of recent grazing or seasonal conditions.

Survey methodology: 2. Nocturnal spotlight transects

The Australian Government survey guideline identifies a slow-moving vehicle survey with headlights and a hand-held spotlight as the most effective method for this species.

Survey at night because detectability increases markedly after dark. Birds close to the vehicle may walk a short distance or stand on tiptoe, making them easier to detect.

Recommended method: Night vehicle transects with headlights and a hand-held spotlight.

Survey effort guide: 12 hours over 3 nights for areas smaller than 50 hectares.

Vehicle speed: Less than 5 kilometres per hour.

  • Drive transects through suitable grassland at less than 5 kilometres per hour.
  • Use a hand-held spotlight and vehicle headlights, and watch both the transect path and adjacent grassland for birds, movement and eye shine.
  • Complete 12 hours of transect survey over 3 nights in areas smaller than 50 hectares, with nights ideally separated by about one week.
  • Survey on nights with no wind or only a light breeze, and no rain or only light showers.
  • Avoid approaching birds closely because they may be disturbed, run or crouch in the grass rather than fly.

Survey methodology: 3. Supplementary daytime searches

Use daytime area searches and habitat checks to identify suitable grassland and confirm whether the proposed works could affect habitat. The species forages during the day and at dusk but is extremely cryptic.

Do not rely on daytime absence as evidence that the species is not present. Birds may flatten themselves among grass or run away without flushing.

Breeding period: Breeding has been recorded in most months, generally in spring, with additional clutches in summer when sufficient rain falls.

Nest: A shallow scrape on the ground lined with grass, usually among native grasses and forbs.

  • Search suitable grassland on foot where safe, recording any birds, tracks, droppings, nests, chicks and behaviour.
  • Inspect likely nesting areas for shallow grass-lined scrapes under grass tussocks, particularly during spring and after suitable summer rainfall.
  • Repeat searches when habitat structure or seasonal conditions change, especially after grazing, fire, drought or heavy rainfall.
  • Do not use general bird survey effort as a substitute for the species-specific nocturnal transect effort where suitable habitat may be disturbed.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Complete the habitat assessment before finalising the disturbance footprint and survey design.
  • Use the survey guideline effort of 12 hours over 3 nights for suitable areas smaller than 50 hectares, unless a regulator requires additional effort.
  • Record survey dates, start and finish times, weather, wind, rainfall, moon or night conditions, transect routes, survey hours, observers, spotlighting method and all detections.
  • Record the location and behaviour of every Plains-wanderer, including whether it was alone, paired, with chicks, nesting, running or flying.
  • Report records, including confirmed absences where relevant, to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and provide them to the project regulator or approval authority.
  • Submit any nationally significant record through the project environmental reporting system and retain the original spatial data, photographs and field notes.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Avoid disturbing Plains-wanderers and their sparse native grassland wherever practicable. The species has a small, fragmented area of occupancy, depends on specific grassland structure and can be displaced by clearing, fire, drought, overgrazing and construction activity.

First avoid clearing suitable sparse native grassland, including habitat that is currently unoccupied but lies within the species' likely range.

Retain connected areas of suitable grassland rather than isolated small patches. Habitat islands may be only 50 to 600 hectares and are already fragmented by cultivation.

Retain the open, treeless character of the site. Avoid planting or retaining new trees and tall shrubs within or beside Plains-wanderer habitat where this would increase predation risk or reduce habitat suitability.

Keep the disturbance footprint away from known records, breeding areas and suitable retained habitat. Apply a site-specific buffer based on the mapped habitat, the proposed machinery activity and regulator requirements, noting that birds were not recorded within 300 metres of trees at least 10 metres high in the strongholds.

Habitat structure: About 50 per cent bare ground, 40 per cent herbs and grasses, 10 per cent litter, most vegetation below 5 centimetres and some plants up to 30 centimetres.

Tree avoidance observation: No records within 300 metres of trees at least 10 metres high in the NSW and Victorian strongholds.

  • Place access tracks, laydown areas, stockpiles, temporary compounds and drainage works outside suitable native grassland wherever practicable.
  • Do not assume that a patch is unimportant because no bird was detected during one survey.
  • Avoid fragmenting a retained area or isolating it from nearby sparse grassland.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and planning

The Plains-wanderer is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act and is listed under state or territory legislation across its range. Confirm the current legal status and approval pathway in the project jurisdiction before works begin.

A national approval may be required if the action is likely to have a significant impact on this nationally listed species or its habitat. Obtain state or territory permits, licences and approvals that apply to clearing, fauna handling, transport, relocation, fire, grazing or threatened species work.

  • Have the project ecologist check the EPBC Act referral position and any conditions before finalising the construction footprint.
  • Check the relevant state or territory threatened species, native vegetation, wildlife handling and clearing requirements.
  • Include Plains-wanderer habitat, survey results, avoidance areas, fauna handling arrangements, stop-work triggers and reporting duties in the fauna management plan.
  • Use the Plains-wanderer Recovery Plan and the approval conditions to set measurable controls for habitat structure, grazing and fire.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare the site

Complete the pre-clearance survey close enough to the start of works to detect birds using habitat under current seasonal conditions. Repeat it if works are delayed or habitat changes substantially.

Mark no-go areas, retained grassland, access routes and machinery limits on plans and on the ground. Use fencing and signs where this will keep machinery, vehicles, livestock and people out of retained habitat.

Stage works to avoid clearing all suitable habitat at once and to retain nearby shelter and foraging areas while construction proceeds.

  • Brief all supervisors, operators, spotter catchers and subcontractors about the species, its cryptic behaviour, habitat structure and stop-work procedure.
  • Inspect the work area for ground nests and chicks before daily works, particularly in spring and after summer rainfall.
  • Keep materials, spoil, weeds, contaminated soil and plant washdown areas out of retained native grassland.
  • Control grazing so that drought areas receive very light or no grazing, and prevent dense grass growth after wet periods from making retained habitat unsuitable.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and spotter catcher procedure

Use an active fauna management system during clearing, earthworks, fire and vegetation modification. The fauna spotter catcher must have authority to stop machinery when a bird, nest or suitable habitat risk is identified.

The fauna spotter catcher should inspect the work area before machinery starts each day and after any break that changes the work front.

The spotter catcher should work ahead of machinery, maintain visual contact with the active clearing edge and communicate directly with the machine operator and site supervisor.

Use slow, staged clearing so the spotter catcher can inspect ground habitat and respond to a bird, nest or chick before the machine enters the area.

  • Fence and sign retained habitat before machinery enters the site.
  • Keep vehicles, workers, dogs, stockpiles and temporary lighting out of retained habitat unless authorised in the fauna management plan.
  • Record the location, time, activity, response and outcome for every fauna interaction and every stop-work event.
  • Use spotlights or other night survey equipment only in accordance with the approved method and avoid repeated disturbance to a detected bird.

During habitat disturbance: If a Plains-wanderer is found

Stop work in the immediate area and keep people and machinery still until the ecologist or authorised fauna handler assesses the bird.

Do not chase, corner, catch or move a bird unless handling is authorised under the relevant permit and is necessary to prevent harm.

If relocation is authorised, place the bird in nearby retained habitat with suitable sparse grassland structure, outside the active work area and away from machinery, roads and other immediate hazards.

Use a qualified wildlife carer or veterinarian for an injured, weak or exhausted bird. Do not give food or water unless directed by a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer.

Typical response to alarm: The species may flatten itself and rely on camouflage, or run away; it rarely flies.

Nest and young: The nest is a ground scrape, the usual clutch is four eggs, and young become independent at about two months.

  • Treat a bird that crouches, flattens itself or runs as present even if it is no longer visible.
  • Keep observers and machinery away from a nest, eggs or chicks and obtain advice from the project ecologist before resuming work.
  • Do not handle eggs, chicks or adults unless the authorised fauna handler confirms that handling is permitted and necessary.
  • Record the bird's location, condition, behaviour, photographs where safe, action taken, handler, destination and outcome.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat features and stop-work triggers

Plains-wanderers use open ground, short native grasses, herbs and scattered taller plants. They do not depend on hollow-bearing trees, logs, rocks or wetlands, so do not create or retain these features as substitutes for suitable grassland.

Ground disturbance can remove nests, eggs, chicks and the grassland structure needed for feeding and concealment. Treat any ground scrape, adult bird, chick or suitable habitat unexpectedly exposed by works as a stop-work matter.

  • Stop work if a Plains-wanderer, nest, eggs or dependent chicks are found within the work area or could be affected by the next work step.
  • Stop work if machinery enters a marked exclusion area or if clearing begins outside the approved footprint.
  • Stop work during conditions that create an uncontrolled risk, including fire, excessive dust, vehicle movement through retained habitat or uncontrolled stock access.
  • Obtain written clearance from the project ecologist before restarting work after a threatened species stop-work event.
  • Use the approved fire and grazing controls because wildfire, high frequency fire, overgrazing and insufficient grazing can alter the required grassland structure.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Check that clearing controls worked and that retained habitat remains suitable after construction. The project environmental officer should keep the species record, compliance evidence and monitoring results together for the life of the approval.

Inspect the cleared edge and retained grassland after each clearing stage for injured birds, nests, chicks, entrapment, unauthorised disturbance and changes to grassland structure.

Complete a final fauna inspection before removing exclusion fencing or allowing construction traffic to use an area that contained suitable habitat.

Check that no spoil, mulch, weeds, sediment, fencing, lighting or drainage works have reduced the open and sparse character of retained grassland.

  • Confirm that all no-go areas remain intact and that the final disturbance footprint matches the approved plans.
  • Search accessible retained habitat for a relocated or displaced bird without repeatedly disturbing it.
  • Escalate any injured animal to the authorised fauna handler, veterinarian or wildlife carer and document the outcome.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and compliance

Monitor retained and rehabilitated habitat for Plains-wanderers and for the grassland structure specified in the project approval or fauna management plan.

Use repeat nocturnal vehicle transects where monitoring is required, applying the survey guideline method consistently so results can be compared between periods.

Monitor after major changes in rainfall, grazing, fire, flooding, earthworks or weed cover because abundance and area of suitable habitat vary with seasonal conditions.

Recovery plan monitoring locations: The Riverina region of NSW and the Northern Plains of Victoria are identified as strongholds for long-term monitoring.

Population response: The recovery plan seeks an increase in population numbers and area of occupancy from the very low levels recorded in 2011 to 2014.

  • Measure bare ground, grass height, litter, tussock spacing, exotic annual grass cover and native grass cover at fixed monitoring sites.
  • Record all detections, survey effort, weather, habitat condition, construction incidents, fauna handling and corrective actions.
  • Report non-compliance, unexpected threatened species records and monitoring results to the approval authority within the required timeframe.
  • Maintain exclusion fencing, signs, access controls and grazing controls until the ecologist confirms that they are no longer needed.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and residual impacts

Avoidance and habitat retention should be addressed before considering an offset. Any residual impact must be managed in accordance with the EPBC Act decision, state approval and the approved offset or conservation measure.

Do not count modelled habitat as equivalent to occupied or functioning habitat without checking habitat structure, area, seasonal condition and management security.

  • Document the area and condition of suitable habitat cleared, retained, restored and protected.
  • Record the tenure, management arrangements, duration and performance measures for any offset or conservation area.
  • Include Plains-wanderer habitat outcomes in compliance reports and identify corrective action if habitat condition declines.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore suitable grassland structure

Rehabilitation should recreate the sparse, open grassland structure used by Plains-wanderers, not a dense pasture or wooded reserve. Set targets for structure and threat control before works start.

Reinstate native lowland grassland with about 50 per cent bare ground, 40 per cent herbs and grasses and 10 per cent fallen litter where this is consistent with the local reference condition.

Use locally appropriate native grassland and chenopod species rather than dense introduced pasture. The recovery plan identifies native grasses including Austrostipa, Sporobolus, Panicum, Austrodanthonia and Eragrostis, and chenopods including Atriplex, Maireana, Chenopodium and Sclerolaena as components of the species' food resources.

Keep most vegetation below 5 centimetres, with scattered plants up to about 30 centimetres for concealment, and retain tussocks about 10 to 20 centimetres apart.

Do not plant trees or tall shrubs within restored Plains-wanderer habitat unless the approved ecological design demonstrates that they will not reduce habitat suitability.

  • Remove construction materials, compacted spoil and weeds before spreading suitable soil or seed.
  • Use staged soil handling that retains local native grassland seed and avoids importing weed seed.
  • Protect restored areas from vehicle access, inappropriate grazing and uncontrolled fire until the grassland structure is established.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage grazing, fire and predators

Use grazing as a management tool only when it maintains the required sparse structure. Light to moderate grazing can be compatible with the species, but overgrazing during drought can displace birds and increase mortality.

Use very light grazing or no grazing during droughts and prolonged dry periods. Prevent dense grass growth after widespread rainfall by applying an approved grazing regime where appropriate.

Develop a fire plan that avoids high frequency fire and protects breeding habitat, because fire can alter habitat structure and the species' life-cycle processes.

Control foxes and cats in accordance with approved wildlife and pest management requirements, especially where fragmentation or productive surrounding land may increase predator pressure.

  • Inspect grass height, bare ground, litter and tussock spacing after grazing, fire and major rainfall events.
  • Change stock access when monitoring shows that habitat is becoming too dense or too sparse.
  • Do not use fire as a routine substitute for planned grazing management without ecological approval and an assessment of breeding risk.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Monitor rehabilitation until it provides stable, connected habitat with the required structure and no unacceptable weed, predator, grazing or fire impacts.

Use fixed photo points, vegetation plots and repeat nocturnal transects to measure habitat condition and Plains-wanderer use.

Treat a rehabilitation area as successful only when it meets the approved habitat targets over the required monitoring period and does not displace birds from adjacent retained habitat.

Recovery plan success measures: Improved habitat quality, reduced exotic annual grass cover, increased native grass cover, appropriate grazing fencing and refugia during extreme environmental conditions.

Refugia: Designated areas where habitat structure is maintained within the Plains-wanderer's preferred parameters during extreme environmental fluctuation.

  • Measure the percentage of bare ground, vegetation height, litter cover, tussock spacing, native and exotic plant cover and tree or shrub encroachment.
  • Record Plains-wanderer detections, breeding evidence, chicks, signs of predation and any use of restored areas.
  • Maintain monitoring in the Riverina and Northern Plains strongholds where the project affects those regions, and monitor other known locations affected by the works.
  • Report failures such as dense grass, weed invasion, tree encroachment, loss of bare ground or continuing absence of suitable habitat, and implement corrective action.

Sources