Spotted Bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata)

Conservation status

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

Breeding season

The breeding window is August to February, but the supplied study notes that its timing varies with local rainfall. The season below is therefore a broad planning guide rather than a fixed annual calendar.

Month values are January to December. A value of 1 means the activity occurs or risk applies; the supplied documents do not identify reliable peak months, so no month is marked 2.

• Breeding, mating and laying: Eggs and young have been recorded from August to February. Mating occurs at the male's bower, and the female then builds the nest. Timing varies with local rainfall.
• Young in nest: Nestling care is expected within the August to February breeding period. The documented nestling period was about 20 days and 17 hours.
• Recently fledged and dependent young: The older young fledged at about 20 days and 17 hours and remained with its sibling within 100 m of the nest during the following morning. The full dependency period is not reported.
• Movement and grouping: The species is generally local, solitary or in small groups, but may form flocks of up to 30 birds and occasionally more than 50 outside nest attendance. No regular migration is reported.
• Highest clearing risk: August to February is the breeding period documented in the supplied sources, so clearing or major disturbance is most likely to harm eggs, nestlings or recently fledged young during these months.

Identification

Spotted Bowerbirds are medium-sized, brown and buff birds that can be difficult to see in dry woodland vegetation. Avenue bowers, loud rasping calls and vocal mimicry are often more useful for detection than the bird itself.

The wings, tail and rump are brown or black with bold buff spots on the feather ends. The underparts are pale brown-grey with buff mottling, becoming plainer cream on the belly. The head is buff with darker brown streaking. Both sexes may show a pink erectile nape crest, but males generally have a more developed vivid lilac-pink crest, while females may have only a few pink feathers or lack the crest.

The species has swift, direct, undulating flight and usually stays near the canopy when flying above vegetation. Males may call and display from the ground or from branches.

Length: 270 to 310 mm.

Colour: Brown, grey, buff and cream, with pink or lilac-pink nape plumes.

Identification: Calls and behaviour

Calls include loud rasping sounds, hisses and squawks. The species can imitate other birds and some everyday sounds. Documented mimicry includes Whistling Kite, Blue-winged Kookaburra and a horse-neigh-like sound.

Birds are usually solitary, but groups may form around bowers during display and breeding. Non-breeding flocks can contain up to 30 birds and occasionally more than 50.

• Record repeated rasping calls, hisses, squawks or convincing imitations during dawn, daytime and breeding-season searches.
• Check ground and low-branch display areas near dense shrubs, not only the canopy.

Identification: Bowers, nests and field signs

The male builds an avenue-type bower from parallel walls of fine grasses and twigs, usually on the ground under sheltered shrubbery or overhanging branches. Decorations may include whitish, green, red or shiny objects, bones, snail shells, berries, metal and glass.

The female builds a shallow, loose cup of dry twigs and finer twiglets, usually in shrubbery 2 to 10 m above the ground and away from the male's bower. One documented nest was 6.4 m high in an Emu Apple and was 335 m from a bower.

No species-specific information on tracks, scats, sloughs, eyeshine or roost signs is provided. A bower or nest should be treated as an active fauna sign until checked by a suitably experienced person.

Documented nest height: 6.4 m.

Reported nest height range: 2 to 10 m.

Distance between documented nest and bower: 335 m.

• Search beneath shrubs, overhanging branches and dense understorey for an avenue bower and selected ornaments.
• Inspect trees and dense shrubbery for a loose, shallow stick nest, while avoiding disturbance to a nesting bird.

Distribution: Range and states

The species is endemic to Australia and is centred on dry inland eastern Australia. The supplied sources provide broad state-level information but do not define formal bioregional boundaries or a national population estimate.

The current distribution described in the supplied sources extends from northern Queensland through western New South Wales. Historically, the range extended into north-western Victoria and adjoining South Australia along the Murray and Darling River floodplains.

BirdLife lists the species from Queensland and New South Wales. The supplied state information identifies South Australia as Endangered, while the Victorian action statement reported the species as extinct in South Australia at the time of its preparation. These records indicate a need to verify the current state status before project decisions are made.

States with current BirdLife distribution listing: Queensland and New South Wales.

Historical southern range: North-western Victoria and adjoining South Australia, especially along the Murray and Darling River floodplains.

Supplied state listing: South Australia, Endangered.

Distribution: Strongholds and subpopulations

The sources describe the species as common through much of its range, but declining or locally extinct in the far south. Northern and inland Queensland and western New South Wales are the best-supported areas of continuing occurrence in the supplied material.

In Victoria, historical records were concentrated in the extreme north-west, including Black Box woodland near the Murray. Records became sporadic after 1942, with a breeding record near Robinvale in 1979 and late 1980s observations at Euston across the border in New South Wales.

Known Victorian breeding record cited: Near Robinvale in 1979.

Late 1980s cross-border record: Euston, across the border from Robinvale.

Population estimate: No national or regional population estimate is provided.

• Treat records from riverine woodland, dry inland woodland and adjacent shrub-rich habitat as potentially important, particularly near the historical Murray and Darling floodplains.
• Confirm current records through the relevant state wildlife atlas or agency before clearing or construction begins.

Distribution: Trend and conservation context

The supplied Victorian action statement identified extreme rarity, low abundance and limited distribution in Victoria, with decline also noted in southern New South Wales. It attributed decline to habitat clearing and degradation, understorey loss, grazing, shooting, poisoning and introduced predators.

The species is listed as Least Concern globally by BirdLife, but this does not remove the need to manage local impacts in areas where the species or its habitat occurs.

Global IUCN category reported by BirdLife: Least Concern.

EPBC Act status supplied: Not listed.

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Spotted Bowerbirds use dry, open woodland and inland riverine vegetation, usually where the ground layer and shrub layer remain dense. Habitat quality depends on both food-producing vegetation and cover for bowers and nests.

Typical habitat includes dry open sclerophyll woodland dominated by acacias such as Brigalow, Mulga, Gidgee and Ironwood, eucalypts such as Bimble Box, River Red Gum and Coolibah, or mixed acacia and eucalypt communities.

The species also occurs in dry woodland with casuarinas such as Buloke and Belah, Wilga and cypress-pines. Riverine vegetation is used, especially where it adjoins dry woodland.

• Map and retain woodland remnants with dense shrub and small-tree understorey.
• Give particular attention to riverine woodland edges adjoining dry inland woodland.

Habitat: Structural features

Dense understorey is important for shelter, foraging, nest placement and bower construction. Fruiting shrubs, fine grasses, small trees, overhanging branches and mature woodland contribute to habitat function.

The Victorian action statement reports that loss of understorey shrubs and grasses through overgrazing, clearing and fire protection works threatens the species. Understorey simplification reduces foraging habitat and may affect bower construction and nesting.

• Avoid widening access tracks through dense shrub patches where an alternative alignment is available.
• Retain fallen and standing natural materials where they form part of a bower site or provide cover.
• Stage clearing so that connected woodland and shrub cover remains available around retained habitat.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The supplied documents describe the species as adapted to dry inland conditions and provide no elevation limits. They associate breeding timing with local rainfall and report habitat near inland watercourses, but do not define a specific hydrological or climatic threshold.

Elevation limit: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Rainfall relationship: Breeding season timing and length may vary with local rainfall.

Foraging habitat: Food and feeding sites

Spotted Bowerbirds forage mainly in trees and shrubs, taking fruit and berries, with seeds and invertebrates also important. They may forage on the ground and sometimes associate with other fruit-eating or nectar-feeding birds.

The species feeds on fruit, seeds, berries, insects and their larvae. It forages singly or in small groups in trees and shrubs, and occasionally bounds energetically on the ground.

In one nestling study, 59 percent of 359 identified meals were animal food and 41 percent were fruit. Grasshoppers and crickets made up 58 percent of animal meals.

Identified nestling meals: 359.

Animal meals: 213 meals, or 59 percent.

Fruit meals: 146 meals, or 41 percent.

Grasshopper and cricket proportion of animal meals: 122 meals, or 58 percent.

• Retain fruiting shrubs and trees within and beside woodland remnants.
• Search fruiting vegetation and ground layers for feeding activity, especially during the breeding season.

Foraging habitat: Recorded food plants and prey

At the studied nest, Currant Bush provided 57 percent of fruit meals, followed by Enchylaena tomentosa, Acacia salicina and probable Santalum lanceolatum fruit. The study found no evidence that figs were used at that nest.

Other recorded animal foods included arthropod larvae, pupae and egg cases, mantids, katydids, stick insects, beetles, caterpillars, spiders and a small skink.

Currant Bush contribution: 84 fruit meals, or 57 percent of fruit meals.

Enchylaena tomentosa contribution: 20 fruit meals, or 14 percent of fruit meals.

Acacia salicina contribution: 6 fruit meals, or 4 percent of fruit meals.

Probable Santalum lanceolatum contribution: 22 fruit meals, or 15 percent of fruit meals.

• Retain Currant Bush, Enchylaena tomentosa, Acacia salicina and other fruiting plants where they occur naturally at a site.
• Avoid removing fruiting shrubs from the foraging area around a nest or bower during active breeding.

Foraging habitat: Foraging range

The parent attending the documented nest appeared to forage mostly within 150 to 250 m. It travelled farther for probable Sandalwood fruit than for most food collected near the nest.

This observation is from one nest and should be used as a site-planning indicator rather than a species-wide home-range estimate.

Observed usual foraging distance from nest: 150 to 250 m.

• Include nearby fruiting vegetation and connected woodland within at least 250 m of a located nest when assessing likely breeding habitat.
• Check beyond 250 m where important fruiting plants or woodland corridors are present, because the documented bird travelled farther for some food.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding depends on a male's avenue bower and nearby woodland or shrub habitat suitable for a female to build a nest and provision young. Females build the nest and raise the young alone in the documented account.

Males build decorated avenue bowers and use them for courtship and mating. Following mating, the female leaves the bower area to build a nest and rear the young. The female is presumed to provide all parental care.

The documented nest was in a leafy Emu Apple in low open woodland dominated by acacias and eucalypts, with vine thicket. The nest was 6.4 m above ground and 335 m from a known bower.

Breeding season: August to February; timing varies with local rainfall.

Clutch size: One to three eggs, most often two.

Incubation period: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Nestling period: About 20 days and 17 hours in the documented nest.

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Lifespan: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Parental care: A single parent, presumed to be the female, attended and fed the nestlings.

• Protect both the bower and nearby nest, feeding and shelter habitat when a breeding site is identified.
• Do not assume that a bower marks the exact location of a nest. The documented nest was 335 m from the bower.

Breeding habitat: Nest and bower habitat

The nest is a bulky, loose stick structure placed in a tree fork and concealed by fine-leaved foliage. The documented nest was built into three forking branches, 11 to 15 mm in diameter, with a shallow, sparse twig cup inside a larger stick foundation.

Males build bowers under sheltered shrubbery or overhanging branches. Dense understorey provides construction material, concealment and protection from predators.

Documented nest height: 6.4 m.

Nest outer cup diameter: About 170 mm.

Nest interior cup diameter: About 135 mm.

Nest depth: About 200 mm.

Documented branch diameter: 11 to 15 mm.

• Retain trees with dense foliage and suitable forks, especially where they occur within woodland with a dense shrub layer.
• Avoid clearing or heavy machinery near active bowers and nest trees during August to February.
• Inspect nearby dense vegetation if a bower is found, because the associated nest may be some distance away.

Sheltering habitat: Cover and concealment

The supplied documents do not describe dens, hollows or roost structures for this species. Shelter is associated with dense woodland and shrub cover, leafy nest trees, overhanging branches and understorey around bowers.

Spotted Bowerbirds use dense understorey, small trees, shrubs and overhanging branches in dry woodland and riverine vegetation. This cover supports bowers and nests and may reduce exposure to Foxes and Cats.

The documented nest was well covered above and at the sides by fine-leaved foliage. After fledging, the young moved together in loose association within 100 m of the nest during the observation period.

Documented post-fledging association: Young remained in loose association within 100 m of the nest during the observed morning.

• Retain dense shrubs, small trees, ground cover and overhanging branches around known or potential bowers and nest trees.
• Keep machinery, lighting and repeated human activity away from dense cover used by recently fledged young.
• Maintain escape cover between retained woodland patches where practicable.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuge structures

No information is provided on use of tree hollows, burrows, dens, caves, roosts, tracks, scats or eyeshine. The documented nest was an exposed stick structure in a tree rather than a hollow or cavity.

• Do not rely on hollow or burrow searches alone when assessing this species.
• Include ground-level shrubbery and sheltered areas beneath overhanging branches in fauna habitat inspections.
• Treat an avenue bower as a significant species sign and retain its surrounding cover until its status is assessed.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main documented risks are loss and simplification of dry woodland and riverine habitat, understorey removal, grazing, inappropriate fire, introduced predators and direct persecution. Project impacts can affect birds even when the nest itself is not cleared, because feeding habitat and cover may be removed.

Clearing for agriculture, infrastructure and other development removes woodland, riverine vegetation, fruiting shrubs and the understorey needed for bowers and nests. Fragmentation reduces connected habitat and may isolate local occurrences.

Removal of timber and understorey, including for fire protection works or wood collection, can remove bower material, nest cover and foraging habitat.

• Avoid clearing dense understorey and fruiting vegetation around known records, bowers and nest trees.
• Retain linked woodland and shrub cover between habitat patches where practicable.
• Locate temporary works, stockpiles and access tracks outside retained understorey and riverine woodland.

Threats: Fire, grazing and hydrology

Inappropriate fire regimes can remove the shrubs and grasses needed for foraging, nesting and bower construction. Persistent grazing by stock, kangaroos and rabbits can prevent understorey regeneration and simplify the ground layer.

The sources identify riverine and floodplain vegetation as habitat but do not provide a specific hydrological threshold or quantify the effects of altered water regimes. Changes to water availability should therefore be assessed through their effects on woodland condition, fruiting shrubs and regeneration.

• Avoid broad-scale removal of the understorey through fire protection works where it is part of retained habitat.
• Manage grazing and temporary construction access to allow shrub and ground-layer regeneration.
• Protect riverine woodland, floodplain vegetation and established fruiting shrubs from drainage, dewatering and other hydrological changes where practicable.

Threats: Predators and direct persecution

Red Foxes and Cats are identified as predators that may increase where understorey is sparse or fragmented. The Victorian action statement also identifies illegal shooting, poisoning and historical shooting around orchards and vineyards as contributors to decline.

There is no disease threat identified in the supplied documents.

• Do not use poison baits or other controls that could directly affect Spotted Bowerbirds.
• Apply approved feral Cat and Fox controls where authorised and supported by the project environmental plan.
• Control food waste and avoid creating conditions that attract Cats or Foxes to retained habitat.
• Use fauna spotter catchers and site inductions to prevent shooting, harassment or unauthorised handling.

Threats: Roads and construction disturbance

The supplied sources do not quantify road mortality or specify a road avoidance distance. Roads and construction can nevertheless remove habitat, divide woodland, disturb bowers and nests, and increase access for predators and people.

A nest may be several hundred metres from a bower, so restricting protection to the bower footprint may not protect the breeding area.

• Survey both sides of proposed roads and work areas for bowers, nests, dense shrub habitat and calling birds before clearing.
• Use staged clearing and fauna supervision during August to February, when eggs and dependent young may be present.
• Stop work and seek ecological advice if an active nest or recently fledged young are found.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat and bower searches

Survey Spotted Bowerbirds by combining searches for birds, bowers and suitable dry woodland habitat. The supplied documents do not provide a formal state survey guideline or prescribed survey effort, so the project ecologist should set effort from the extent and condition of habitat, likely detectability and the relevant approval conditions.

Map dry open woodland, inland riverine vegetation and dense understorey before selecting survey points. Suitable vegetation includes acacia and eucalypt woodland, casuarina, Wilga and cypress pine communities, particularly where small trees, shrubs or fruiting plants are dense.

Search beneath shrubs, overhanging branches and other sheltered ground sites for the species' distinctive avenue bower. Record each bower with a GPS, photograph its condition and check for recent decoration, maintenance or bird activity.

Search a wider area around any bower because females usually nest well away from the male's bower. One documented nest was 335 m from an active, deteriorating bower.

Documented nest height: 6.4 m in an Emu Apple, Owenia acidula

Documented nest to bower distance: 335 m

Typical nest height in action statement: 2 to 10 m

• Walk all retained and proposed clearing areas systematically, including woodland edges, riverine vegetation and dense shrub patches.
• Record the location, condition and apparent activity of bowers, fruiting shrubs, watercourses, woodland remnants and connections between remnants.
• Treat an active bower, repeated bower visit or confirmed bird record as a high priority location for impact avoidance and targeted follow-up.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted bird observations and call detection

Undertake repeated observations during the breeding and display period, with priority from July to December for bower activity and from August to February for records of eggs or young. Use quiet observation points near, but not immediately beside, active bowers and suitable fruiting woodland.

Search and listen during the cooler parts of the morning and afternoon, when birds are likely to be moving between feeding areas, bowers and nests. Record all visual and auditory detections, including the direction of travel and any use of retained habitat.

The species can give loud rasping calls, hisses and squawks and can imitate other bird calls and everyday sounds. Do not identify a record from a mimic call alone; seek a visual confirmation or corroborating evidence such as a bower or repeated calls from a fixed location.

Display and bower activity: More pronounced before breeding, July to December

Breeding records: August to February, with timing varying with local rainfall

Documented local foraging distance: Usually within 150 to 250 m of the nest during the study

• Use binoculars and a directional microphone where available, and keep observers and vehicles away from active bowers and likely nest trees.
• Record survey date, start and finish times, weather, observer effort, route or observation points, call type, location accuracy and the behaviour of each bird.
• Do not use call playback near an active bower or suspected nest unless it is specifically approved in the fauna management plan and by the relevant authority.

Survey methodology: 3. Nest and breeding checks

Inspect suitable trees and dense shrubs for the loose, shallow twig nests used by this species, but do not climb or closely approach a suspected nest without an approved method and competent personnel. The documented nest was built in three forked branches and was partly concealed by fine foliage.

Give additional protection to any nest tree or occupied nest area during August to February. A nest may contain one to three eggs, most often two, and young may leave the nest after about 20 days of nestling development.

Use remote observation from a hide, vehicle or other concealed position where practical. A 55 hour observation study detected one attending parent, but this research effort is not a general survey prescription.

Clutch size: 1 to 3 eggs, most frequently 2

Documented nestling period: About 20 days and 17 hours for the first young to leave the nest

Documented attending parent: One parent, presumed to be the female

• Search trees with sheltered, leafy branch forks from ground level and inspect likely nest habitat from several angles without disturbing foliage.
• If a nest, eggs or dependent young are found, record the tree or shrub, height, stage of breeding and an agreed no-entry area in the fauna management plan.
• Repeat observations at a distance before clearing, because a single absent adult does not demonstrate that a nest is unoccupied.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

• Set and justify the number of visits, observation hours, transect coverage and targeted bower searches in the survey plan, because no species-specific effort guideline is included in the supplied documents.
• Survey all proposed clearing, access, stockpile and construction areas and any retained habitat that could be affected by noise, dust, lighting, traffic or altered drainage.
• Repeat the survey when habitat conditions change, when a bower or bird is detected, or when works move into the July to February breeding period.
• Record nil results, habitat searched, survey limitations and all evidence of presence, not only confirmed birds.
• Submit confirmed records and significant bower, nest and habitat observations to the relevant state wildlife database and provide records required by the approval authority.
• Check current state conservation status before works commence, because the supplied material includes historical state assessments that may not match current listings.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Plan works around the species' dependence on dry woodland, riverine vegetation, dense understorey, fruiting shrubs and ground sites used for bowers. Avoiding habitat loss is preferable to relying on capture and relocation.

Retain dry open woodland and riverine vegetation, especially areas with dense understorey, fruiting shrubs and sheltered ground suitable for avenue bowers.

Avoid active bowers, occupied nests and the surrounding movement area between bowers, feeding habitat and nest sites. A documented nest was 335 m from a bower, so protection limited to the bower itself may not protect associated breeding habitat.

Maintain connected woodland and shrub cover between retained patches and watercourses. Avoid creating isolated remnants where practical.

• Design the clearing footprint around active bowers, suspected nests, fruiting shrubs and dense understorey rather than removing these features as a first option.
• Keep machinery, temporary access tracks, lighting and storage areas outside retained habitat and outside any exclusion areas specified by the fauna management plan.
• Use the smallest practicable clearing width and retain understorey beneath and around suitable nesting trees.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Approvals and timing

Confirm the current EPBC Act status and state listing before finalising the method. The supplied profile states that the species is not nationally listed and identifies a South Australian listing as Endangered, while the historical Victorian action statement describes the species as extinct in South Australia at that time.

Schedule vegetation removal outside the main breeding period where practicable. Breeding has been recorded from August to February, and bower activity is more pronounced from July to December.

Obtain any state wildlife, scientific research, handling, relocation or clearing permits required for the project and jurisdiction. Do not rely on the absence of an EPBC listing to remove state approval obligations.

• Refer the project under the EPBC Act if the current national listing or project assessment indicates that referral is required.
• Check the current state threatened species list, wildlife legislation, planning approval and permit conditions for every state or territory in which the project occurs.
• Include survey findings, exclusion areas, fauna handling arrangements, stop-work triggers and reporting requirements in the approved fauna management plan.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Site preparation

Complete a pre-clearance inspection close to the start of works, because bowers may deteriorate and birds may move into habitat after the original survey.

Mark active bowers, suspected nests, nest trees, fruiting shrubs, retained woodland and access limits on plans and on the ground. Use visible fencing or bunting that will remain effective in the project's weather and traffic conditions.

Use exclusion fencing where it can protect retained understorey and bower sites without creating a movement or entanglement risk. Inspect the fencing daily while works are active.

• Brief all machinery operators, supervisors and fauna spotter catchers on the species' appearance, calls, bowers, nest habitat and stop-work procedure.
• Remove unnecessary materials, waste, food and artificial shelter from the work area before clearing, while leaving retained natural understorey undisturbed.
• Stage clearing so that retained woodland and shrub connections remain available while each work area is completed and checked.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Daily controls and machinery coordination

Keep a fauna spotter catcher involved throughout habitat removal and any activity near retained woodland, bowers or nests. The spotter catcher must have authority to pause machinery and must work from the approved fauna management plan.

Complete a pre-start inspection of the work area, exclusion fencing, marked bowers, nest trees, access routes and retained habitat each day.

Use a controlled clearing sequence in which the spotter catcher is ahead of machinery, maintains clear communication with the operator and can stop work immediately.

Keep plant, vehicles, workers and temporary lighting out of marked exclusion areas unless the fauna management plan expressly permits entry.

• Use low speed and short work fronts near retained woodland, dense shrubs, watercourses and known bower locations.
• Stop machinery when the spotter catcher loses visual contact with the work face, when an animal enters the work area or when an unmarked nest, bower or other fauna feature is found.
• Do not chase birds from bowers, nests or retained vegetation to make them move before clearing.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Fauna handling and unexpected finds

If a Spotted Bowerbird is found, stop the immediate task, keep people and machinery back, and allow the bird to move to retained habitat where safe. The spotter catcher should handle the bird only when necessary to prevent injury or where authorised by the permit and fauna management plan.

Use an appropriately ventilated, secure container and minimise handling time if capture is authorised. Only trained and authorised personnel should capture, transport or release the bird.

Release a healthy bird into nearby retained habitat that provides suitable woodland, shrub cover and food resources, subject to the permit and plan. Do not move it to an unrelated site or across a major barrier without approval.

Transfer an injured bird promptly to an appropriately experienced veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer, and record the outcome.

• Stop work and establish an exclusion area if a nest, eggs, dependent young, injured bird or active bower is found.
• Do not disturb eggs or young, climb a nest tree or remove a nest unless the relevant authority has approved the action.
• Treat a bird that repeatedly returns to the work area, a bower or a nest as a stop-work issue requiring ecological review.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Habitat feature protection and records

This species builds open twig nests in trees and uses dense understorey and sheltered ground for bowers, so inspect branch forks, shrubs and ground cover before removing vegetation. It is not documented in the supplied sources as a hollow-dependent species.

Retain logs, rocks, leaf litter and understorey where they form part of the retained woodland or bower setting. Move these features only where necessary, under the fauna management plan and with spotter catcher direction.

Avoid sediment, dust, altered drainage and accidental fire entering retained riverine or woodland habitat. These changes can reduce fruiting shrubs, understorey and feeding habitat.

• Record each daily work area, clearing date, weather, personnel, habitat removed, fauna observed, captures, relocations, injuries, nest or bower findings and any stop-work event.
• Photograph and GPS any new bower, nest or significant habitat feature before work resumes.
• Escalate repeated disturbance, loss of a marked bower, damage to a nest tree, fauna injury or failure of exclusion controls to the project ecologist and approval holder.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Completion checks

Check that clearing has not removed unrecorded breeding sites or left unsafe retained habitat edges. Keep fauna controls in place until the project ecologist confirms that the work area is stable and the approval conditions are met.

Inspect the cleared edge, retained woodland, access tracks and nearby shrub patches after each clearing stage for injured or displaced birds, newly exposed nests, damaged bowers and broken exclusion controls.

Recheck retained habitat near any active bower or nest for machinery intrusion, fallen branches, dust deposition, lighting impacts and loss of understorey.

Keep the fauna spotter catcher or another authorised ecologist available for the period specified in the fauna management plan, particularly where works occurred during August to February.

• Do not remove exclusion fencing, habitat markers or temporary fauna controls until the project ecologist signs off the area.
• Repair damaged fencing and reinstate displaced logs, branches or understorey where this can be done without further disturbance.
• Record the completion inspection and any corrective action.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained woodland, dense understorey, fruiting shrubs and known bowers after works to identify continued use, abandonment or further disturbance. Use the same locations and methods where possible so that results can be compared.

Report all confirmed records, active and inactive bowers, nests, injuries, relocations, mortalities and breaches of controls to the project approval holder and relevant authority.

Provide records to the relevant state wildlife database and include spatial data, dates, photographs, survey effort and confidence in identification.

• Monitor during the relevant breeding period where the project may affect known breeding habitat, with emphasis on July to December for bowers and August to February for nesting.
• Investigate a sustained loss of bower activity or bird detections where the project has removed or fragmented habitat.
• Apply approved offsets or other compensation measures where residual impacts remain and the approval requires them.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Rebuild habitat structure and food resources

Rehabilitation should rebuild dry woodland structure, dense understorey and food resources rather than focus only on tree canopy. The species uses shrubs and ground cover for bowers and nests in open twig structures in trees.

Replant locally appropriate dry woodland and riverine species that match the pre-clearing community, including acacias, eucalypts, casuarinas, Wilga or cypress pine where those communities occurred before disturbance.

Establish dense understorey and fruiting shrubs. Documented nestling foods included Currant Bush, Carissa lanceolata, Enchylaena tomentosa, Acacia salicina and probable Sandalwood, Santalum lanceolatum, while Myoporum is identified as a dense fruit-bearing shrub used in habitat elsewhere in the species' range.

Reinstate fallen timber, leaf litter and other natural ground cover where they were removed and where they can support understorey recovery and sheltered bower sites.

• Use local provenance seed or tubestock where available and obtain approval for any planting outside the original community.
• Control weeds until planted shrubs and woodland regeneration are established.
• Do not clear regenerating understorey to create a neat site, because sparse ground cover reduces bower and foraging habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Protect restored habitat

Fence or otherwise protect rehabilitation areas from domestic stock, excessive kangaroo grazing and rabbits where these pressures prevent understorey regeneration.

Manage feral Cats and Red Foxes in accordance with the site management plan and relevant law, particularly where monitoring confirms use by Spotted Bowerbirds.

Use fire planning that retains mature woodland, regenerating shrubs and ground cover. Avoid broad or poorly timed burns that simplify the understorey or remove potential bower sites.

• Prevent new tracks, wood collection, stock access and storage within rehabilitation areas.
• Maintain connections between restored patches, riverine vegetation and existing woodland where practicable.
• Do not install nest boxes as a substitute for habitat restoration, because the supplied sources describe open twig nests rather than hollow nesting.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Success measures and adaptive management

Monitor plant survival, understorey density, fruiting shrubs, grazing pressure, weed cover, predator activity and the condition of any retained or restored bower sites.

Use repeat searches for Spotted Bowerbirds and bowers during July to December and repeat breeding checks from August to February. Record both detections and nil results using consistent effort.

Assess success by the establishment of connected dry woodland with dense understorey, the persistence or return of suitable fruiting shrubs, reduced grazing and predator pressure, and confirmed use by Spotted Bowerbirds or active bowers.

• Set site-specific targets for survival, weed control, grazing exclusion and habitat cover in the rehabilitation plan rather than using unsupported species thresholds.
• Review planting, grazing, fire and predator controls if monitoring shows declining understorey, loss of fruiting shrubs or no continued bower use.
• Report monitoring results, management changes and confirmed records to the approval holder, relevant state authority and relevant state wildlife database.

Sources

• [PDF] Notes on the Nesting Biology of the Spotted Bowerbird - Birdlife, BirdLife Australia: https://afo.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/download/886/867
• Spotted Bowerbird, bio-prd-naturekit-public-data.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com: https://bio-prd-naturekit-public-data.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/actionstmts/Spotted_Bowerbird_AS_10680.pdf
• Spotted Bowerbird, BirdLife Australia: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/spotted-bowerbird/