Fieldwork journal...

A small part of my work over the next two months is fieldwork in Toohey Forest; a 640 hectare forest block surrounding the Nathan campus of Griffith University. The map below shows the location of Griffith University in relation to the centre of Brisbane. The approximate boundaries of Toohey Forest are shown outlined black. It encompasses the Nathan campus of the uni and, to the east of the Pacific Motorway, the Mt Gravatt campus.

The picture below shows an aerial image of Toohey. In this image you can see the Nathan campus of Griffith Uni (where I work) at the bottom of the forest block, surrounded by the ‘Ring road’. The smaller Mt Gravatt campus is obvious to the right of the Pacific Motorway, which cuts down the middle of the forest! Interestingly, the large stadiums to the bottom right of the campus is where the 1982 Commonwealth Games were held….. bit of random trivia there!! As you can see from this pic, the forest is rather large!!

The forest is divided into 10 sectors (see figure below), and over 10 weeks, I will be surveying a part of every sector. I say a part of every sector, because there are a number of other observers also assisting. The aim at the end of the summer survey period is to have surveyed every sector 5 times; attempting to cover every part of Toohey Forest including all edges, gullies, hilltops and even the campus.

This has been undertaken over many years, with data stretching back to the early 90s. In short, this data will effectively represent a control model, by allowing us to compare what is happening in the greater Brisbane area with what is happening in Toohey Forest. What I intend to do over the next 10 weeks is present the species lists and details of each of the 10 surveys, in case anyone is interested in what I see! Needless to say, doing bird surveys can be quick taxing on your sleep patterns. In order to be out in the field just after dawn, (and given that QLD does not have daylight saving), I need to be up by 4.30am and am in the field by 5 – 5.15am!! ANYWAY, onto the results of my first survey. The first sector that I surveyed is Sector 7 on the morning of 29th October 2008.

Date: 29th October 2008
Time: 0530 - 0810
Sector: 7
Number of species seen: 23
Number of birds seen: 174

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (1)
Galah (3)
Grey Butcherbird (4)
Grey Shrike-thrush (2)
Laughing Kookaburra (1)
Mistletoebird (5)
Noisy Miner (25)
Pale-headed Rosella (4)
Pied Currawong (1)
Rainbow Bee-eater (1)
Rainbow Lorikeet (48)
Red-backed Fairy-wren (13)
Rufous Whistler (1)
Sacred Ibis (1)
Sacred Kingfisher (6)
Scarlet Honeyeater (4)
Silvereye (11)
Spotted Pardalote (2)
Striated Pardalote (3)
Torresian Crow (6)
Variegated Fairy-wren (6)
White-throated Honeyeater (11)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (15)