By Tania Martin
PROTECTING the lyrebird is still a top priority for a group of hills bird-watchers.
After 50 years of watching, recording and learning from the birds, the Sherbrooke Lyrebird Survey Group (SLSG) is still going strong.
More than 60 past and present lyrebird enthusiasts attended a celebration last Saturday, 20 September, to mark the group’s birthday.
The group was formed in the late 1950s when a number of concerned enthusiasts uncovered plans to convert parts of the Sherbrooke section of the Dandenong Ranges National Park into a pine plantation.
After extensive lobbying the group was able to stop these plans.
This was a turning point for the group which decided more information was needed on the lyrebird in order to protect it.
Group founders Ralph Kenyon, Dr Len Smith and Ina Watson then approached the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife for approval to study the birds.
In September 1958, the first meeting of the SLSG was convened with the intention of better understanding the lyrebird’s lifecycle and habitat.
Lyrebird populations in the Sherbrooke region of the park have almost tripled since 1988, jumping from 60 to 160.
SLSG secretary Jan Incoll said work by the Friends of the Sherbrooke Forest had also been instrumental in boosting the population numbers.
Parks Victoria ranger Matt Hoogland said data collected by dawn surveys and the ongoing monitoring of the birds had provided a significant contribution to the management of the national park.
Mr Hoogland said the population of the Lyrebird had been clearly linked to the health of the forest.
Latest
Twenty thousand more carpenters, electricians and plumbers
The Victorian Government is delivering the skilled workers Victoria needs to meet its housing targets, with more than 20,000 carpenters, electricians and plumbers getting...
