Red backed wrens

Resident and breeding.

Vulnerable to predators and will not venture more than 10 metres into the open. Require good cover. Tall cane/elephant grass works well. Experience has shown that it takes around two years for planted bushes and grasses to provide cover acceptable to the wrens.

Pale vented bush hen

Creek edges and adjacent banks where vegetation cover is good.

Breed in dense grass. Bush regeneration target species. Common in supportive habitat. Very secretive. Avoids people and dogs.

Pheasant coucal

Trees and dense tall grasses near creek. Nest on a platform of grasses within dense grassed areas. Will abandon nest if disturbed.

Black duck

Common. Breed in grasses near creek. Use creek edge vegetation for protection of young.

Brown quail

Very private. Will flush from dense grasses. Breed some years. Not present where there is not excellent cover.

Dusky moorhen

Common. Nest and spend much of their time concealed by grassy creekside vegetation, especially when they have young.

Wood duck

Very common. Breed in nearby trees, and spend much of their time on the creek. Use creekside vegetation for cover when they have young.

Crakes and rails

Creek edge cover. Apart from bush hens, are occasional visitors.

Waterbirds - regular visitors

Royal spoonbills. Little egret. Intermediate egret. Great egret. Little pied cormorant. White faced heron.

Work through creek edges to find macroinvertebrates and small fish. Cormorants dive for fish in deeper pools. Often base themselves along the creek for months at a time.

Waterbirds - occasional visitors

Nankeen night heron, Striated heron, Yellow billed spoonbill, Little black cormorant.

Work through creek edges to find macroinvertebrates and small fish. The nankeen night heron eats small fish, reptiles and insects – all dependent on good creek edge vegetation

Birds hunting creek and creekside fauna

Sacred and azure kingfishers are visitors that perch on and fish from immediate creekside trees. Kookaburra, Collared sparrowhawk and Brown goshawk hunt reptiles and small mammals breeding in revegetated creekside areas.

Bandicoots and Water rats

Northern brown bandicoots require quiet places with ground litter to shelter in during the day. Common. Nocturnal. Avoid people.

Rikali - water rats liver along lower creek banks. Burrows obvious. Recent increase in numbers. Presence is obvious when sites are improved, and burrows are quickly abandoned when vegetation is disturbed and cover lost. Populations encouraged as they are one of the only two native species which eat cane toads.

Snakes

Keel back snake/Fresh water snake. Creek edges with cover. Common. Safe (no fangs or venom). One of two native species which eats cane toads.

Carpet pythons. Common. Require cover. Tend to avoid open areas.

Water dragon

Will sun in the open, but require good cover to lay and protect eggs. Will not lay eggs in open grassy areas or near pathways.