Red Eared Firetail Distribution

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BJohn
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Location: Greenbushes Western Australia

My interest and passion was revived last night when during a casual BBQ, a friend from a nearby property mentioned the variety of small birds, including firetails visiting her garden. I called around this morning for a cuppa and was delighted to see many attracted to the bird feeder and many nests in surrounding trees up to a height of 5 metres. Recently they reported juveniles coming onto the back porch for a bit of an adventure. Sharing these couple of pictures with you all with a view from the back porch. I think the dam reticulation helps quite a bit to provide feeding grasses and welcome relief to these somewhat solitary finches.
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Bruce
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elferoz777
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nice!

ive heard of flocks up northern nsw but not seen em. keep it secret for their sake.
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finchbreeder
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The southwest corner of WA is a known habitat. But exactly where is kept a bit hush hush for the birds sake. Lucky you seeing them in the wild. Enjoy.
"The red-eared firetail is an endemic species of the south-western corner of Australia. The species is uncommon to scarce within its range, although it may be locally common in undisturbed locations, which is typically heavy forests and dense heaths around gullies, rivers, and swamps."
LML
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Rod_L
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finchbreeder wrote: 28 Dec 2020, 22:49 "The red-eared firetail is an endemic species of the south-western corner of Australia. The species is uncommon to scarce within its range, although it may be locally common in undisturbed locations, which is typically heavy forests and dense heaths around gullies, rivers, and swamps."
Unfortunately more pristine bushland is being destroyed every day for people to build houses and it is really annoying.

Sometime between 2016 and early 2020, someone in the government gave the go ahead to sell the land around the Goodga River nature reserve in Albany. The land was cleared of all trees and native plants and turned into farm land for cattle to graze. Why this happened is beyond me because there are heaps of farms with great pastures for sale in and around Albany so there was no need to clear any bushland just to make more grassy paddocks.

Not only that but any chemicals and runoff will now end up in the Goodga River, which has an endangered species of fish in it and that will probably become extinct soon due to people releasing introduced species into the river.

The Goodga River nature reserve and surrounding habitat was home to the Albany pitcher plant, various endangered small mammals, and was a major feeding site for the red and white tail black cockatoos down that way.

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The firetail finches were common around Walpole for a while too, but again land was cleared and the big trees removed and the birds went with it.

Down the road from me is a small area of native bushland and it was home to 8+ species of native orchid and various other native plants. There was a family of magpies that lived there and a few pairs of native pigeons. In early spring 2019 the council decided to do a low intensity burn to remove the leaf litter on the ground. Well typical idiots in the council and the local fire group managed to turn a low intensity fire into something that had flames shooting up higher than the power poles. Needless to say they killed all the baby birds and animals in the reserve. The adult birds moved out of the reserve during the fire and came back a few days later but there was nothing left for them except a black charred home and a poisonous verge around it. The council went through after the fire and sprayed herbicide on the verge around the reserve and poisoned at least 4 magpies, some parrots, pigeons and currawongs.

A week after this they sprayed a bunch of native orchids up the road from the reserve. And about 2 weeks before they burnt the reserve, they sprayed over 500 native orchids that were growing on it, but left the African daisies in the reserve.

In 2017 the same council sprayed and cut down a heap of native trees near the reserve and they were home to 2 families of red tail black cockatoos. The birds left the area and came back the following year for 2 days before leaving again. They came back last year for a couple of days as well before leaving. I don't know if they came back this year due to not going outside because of covid.

But councils and governments all over the country are destroying the last remaining patches of bushland and killing everything that relies on them. My guess is the red ear firetail will become another casualty of stupid people clearing the bush for their holiday retreats.

For the OP, you need to put out a feeder and have some water around for the native birds. And plant your property up so there are lots of bushy plants and trees to give them somewhere to live. If you feed it and provide a safe predator free habitat, they will come. :)
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finchbreeder
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For the OP, you need to put out a feeder and have some water around for the native birds. And plant your property up so there are lots of bushy plants and trees to give them somewhere to live. If you feed it and provide a safe predator free habitat, they will come.
Agree with most of this - doing it to a degree. Just not the feeder. Better to plant natural foods they can get if you are away or drop off the planet. Interestingly enough the Red tail black has adapted to eat the berries of the Lilac tree/White cedar. And is doing so with enthusiasm up here in the Midwest.
LML
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Rod_L
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I agree about having lots of native plants but seed should also be supplied if you can. Due to farming and land clearing, the native grasses that the birds normally feed on have gone from most areas. This means you can have all the habitat in the world for the birds but if there are no seeds available, they won't thrive. Having a bowl of seed out for them will give them something to supplement the other foods they eat. Just put x amount of seed out each day and leave it at that. If they eat it all before lunchtime, that is fine and all they get for the day.

If you rehabilitate the land and plant up a heap of native grasses, then that would also help them.

Any way, we want more pictures and video so get your camera out and go have some more cuppas with the neighbours. :)
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finchbreeder
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My bad - as the younger generation says.
Not explaining myself well - When I say plant habitat, it is an automatic that that must include food sources. Lots of food sources. So like you say Rod, lots of native grasses, and a few of the introduced ones that go down real well with the finches.
Bruce - hope you have the opportunity to see these little gems some more. And encourage your friends to plant a native grass garden on some of that bare land.
LML
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Rod_L
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finchbreeder wrote: 01 Jan 2021, 13:17 My bad - as the younger generation says.
Not explaining myself well - When I say plant habitat, it is an automatic that that must include food sources. Lots of food sources. So like you say Rod, lots of native grasses, and a few of the introduced ones that go down real well with the finches.
Bruce - hope you have the opportunity to see these little gems some more. And encourage your friends to plant a native grass garden on some of that bare land.
gotcha :)
death to all cats & ants
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