The initiative is being conducted across the region, with rice growers helping to spot and uncover the secrets of Australia’s “Bunyip Bird”, which is also known as the globally-endangered Australasian Bittern. 

Thanks to funding from the Riverina Local Land Services, those co-ordinating the project have established almost all of the 80 core study sites (23-30 hectares each) for this season.

The team has randomly selected rice farms in the Murrumbidgee and Coleambally Irrigation Areas, which gives a powerful base to explore the results, according to ecologist Matt Herring.

“Once again, we’re targeting the aerial/spreader/dry-sown rice, which bitterns show a strong preference for,” Mr Herring said. 

“We still have many surveys and much number crunching ahead, but it’s safe to say there are currently somewhere in the vicinity of 750 Australasian Bitterns in the rice crops of the Riverina.

“That’s 19 to 50 per cent of the world total.

“It’s a compelling case to unite agriculture and conservation, and we’re onto it.

“But like the Amazon and the deep ocean, the secrets of the Bunyip Bird are well kept.

“Uncovering them will help provide us with the information we need to ensure a healthy marriage between farming and conservation.”

The team recently discovered its first nests for the season, with one bittern found in rice and one in a Cumbungi swamp.

“Surprisingly, they were at similar stages, suggesting the rice season doesn’t necessarily delay breeding,” Mr Herring said.

“Unfortunately though, the Cumbungi nest failed, with predation the likely cause.

“The rice nest is still going strong and chicks could be hatching (soon). “We’ve begun using sensor cameras with the aim, among other things, to determine the prey fed to chicks.

“The videos we’ve retrieved so far are astounding and are a goldmine of new information and an incredible insight into the secret lives of Bunyip Birds.”

Another recent discovery was of the first chicks for the season, with three nests in three adjacent rice bays found.

“Polygyny (a mating system where males have multiple female partners) is more apparent than ever, with this site appearing to support only one booming male and three females,” Mr Herring said.

“We have much to learn. 

“There are nine chicks altogether and, as I’m sure many of you will agree, they are among the cutest, most precious non-human critters on Earth.”

To help keep residents up-to-date with the initiative, the Bitterns in Rice Project website is soon set for launch.

“It will provide an information hub for our work and offer people around the world with the opportunity to follow the movements of bitterns once we begin tracking,” Mr Herring said. 

Find out more at www.murraywildlife.com.au.