First extensive mist-netting survey! The 2014 Indonesia expedition saw Operation Wallacea ornithologists completing the first extensive and systematic mist-netting survey to be conducted in the forests of Buton Island to date. Generally speaking mist-netting is not as effective a methodology in the Buton forests as it can be in other tropical ecosystems, and capture rates are typically low, hence nets have not been widely employed in previous seasons. However, netting here still regularly detects cryptic understorey species that are overlooked by other techniques, and scientists here were interested in quantitatively evaluating the usefulness of the methodology, balancing low capture rates against the detection rate of ‘unique’ species missed by all other survey methods. The results of this study were very interesting. While the number of birds caught was far lower than that achieved by scientists working in most other Opwall sites, many of the birds caught were shy understorey species – such as the Red-backed Thrush (Zoothera erythronota), that were entirely missed by point counts and other techniques. Scientists concluded that, while mist-nets are not especially efficient in the Buton forests, their use is still necessary in order to build up a complete picture of the Island’s bird community. These results are aimed to be published in a peer-reviewed journal next year. Pictures in order: Red-backed Thrush; Spot-tailed Goshawk; Sulawesi babbler; Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000