A “city wren” flitted across an ocean of swaying kangaroo and wallaby grass, defying the advance of concrete and glass on the near-horizon.
The Melbourne skyline was closer in the murky half-light than imagined, the steady rain blunting its angular outline.
The urban wrens were a welcome sight because in cities across mainland Australia this beautiful little bird is fighting for survival. In Australia’s second city, however, the superb fairy-wren is getting by with a little help from its friends.
A team of volunteers directed by conservation scientists are ensuring that the wrens are given the protection and space they need to maintain their presence in the inner-city.
The plight of the Melbourne wrens was revealed a few years back when data from Birdlife Australia’s backyard bird count was analysed. It showed that the wrens and several other city species were slipping from view. The worrying trend was replicated in other cities across the country.
The Melbourne City Council took note, backing the urban wrens project in the city’s biggest open space, Royal and Princess Parks and marshalling experts from not just Birdlife Australia but from RMIT University and the University of Melbourne.
The program was two-fold: to plant vegetation native to the area to provide ideal habitat for the wrens and to recruit “wren watchers” to monitor how the birds were doing. Fifty survey areas were designated and 55 wrens banded.
A unique combination of bands on the legs of individual birds allowed researchers and the volunteers to identify individual fairy-wrens so their movements and their social interactions could be determined.
Now this information is not only helping to improve habitat and track how well planting efforts are going, but to increase scientists’ understanding of the species.
The superb fairy-wren – also known as the blue wren in Tasmania – is one of the most colourful and familiar birds, being found throughout south-eastern Australia. They are an ideal study species because their abundance is closely linked to habitat quality, and they are easy to identify. They are common in urban parks and gardens but depend on dense shrubs that provide protection from predators, and a safe place to nest.
Superb fairy-wrens live in small social groups, usually comprised of one dominant male and several female and juvenile birds, which maintain and defend their territories. They forage for insects on the ground and below shrubs, which makes them easy prey for predators and vulnerable to habitat loss from urbanisation.
It is always a joy to see the wrens, and so it was on a trip to Melbourne last month when a male in shimmering, ultra-bright blue plumage hopped ahead of me on a Royal Park track. They are common in Hobart, though. I am happy to note that our state capital is bucking the national trend and the blue wrens remain common in our open spaces.