Bush Stone-curlews in agricultural landscapes: Do they have a future?
Bush stone-curlews Burhinus grallarius are found throughout Australia however southern populations have been declining dramatically in the last few decades. Unlike many other woodland-dependent birds in these regions, curlews occur in both remnant vegetation and agricultural areas, suggesting they may be able to persist in fragmented landscapes. In this study, I quantified habitat use by breeding pairs, comparing current patterns with historic data in northeast Victoria. In addition to highlighting broad-scale declines throughout the region, especially in the last twenty years, this analysis revealed the influence of landscape-scale attributes on curlew habitat use. Incorporating remotely sensed data with known patterns of curlew occurrence, resultant models (selected using an information theoretic approach) identified key landscape attributes determining curlew distributions, but also highlighted large areas of apparently suitable habitat presently unoccupied. While bush-stone curlews persist in many fragmented landscapes in southern Australia, the continued viability of these populations depends on integrating on-ground management in breeding areas with long-term planning to secure their feeding areas in farmland. As such, the curlew represents an ideal flagship for off-reserve conservation in rural Australia, highlighting the need to engage with local communities to ensure the ongoing maintenance of biodiversity values.