Wings On King Island
By Anna Povey, Land for Wildlife Coordinator (North)
A good rust bucket isn’t usually a highlight of a trip, but this was just one of many things I enjoyed about my recent visit to King Island (KI). I’d chosen the cheapest hire car, its long-suffering paintwork ravaged by the salty winds that you’d expect on a remote island in the Roaring 40s. Alongside its beaten down, rustic charm was a delightful bonus – there was no trace of “smart car” to be seen. It did what I told it to do, and nothing else.
But as exciting as my dilapidated transport was, it was only one of the deceptively plain brown packages I had come to see on King Island – the others being the endemic King Island brown thornbill and the King Island scrubtit. Unfortunately, estimates place the numbers of these critically endangered species as low as 50-100 individuals, making Wings on King (the real reason I was visiting King Island) even more important.
Launched in April 2017, the Wings on King Project invites bird enthusiasts to visit King Island each spring and autumn to help gather data from established survey sites, and I was on the island to participate, and to give a talk on Land for Wildlife (LFW) at the event dinner. It was also a chance for me to touch base with current LFW members, as well as to meet potential members and volunteers.
King Island is an Important Bird Area that is home to ten of Tasmania’s twelve endemic species, along with nine sub-species unique to the island. Its unique placement in the Bass Strait means it acts as a biological stepping-stone halfway between Tasmania and the mainland, with many birds stopping in on their migration journeys. Many of Tasmania’s endemics aren’t found anywhere north of here, while several mainland species, like the nankeen kestrel I spotted hovering over a LFW property on my first day, don’t make it to Tasmania at all.
It seemed to me that a lot of things are different on King Island. For example, Tasmanian thornbills are not limited to wet forest there but are common in both dry and wet forests across the island. Brown thornbills on the other hand, which are very common in drier environments across the main island, are a Critically Endangered sub-species with extremely limited distribution and a different foraging niche on King Island. The isolation of King Island has also caused them to evolve an unusually long bill, used to probe for insects in the bark of eucalypts, unlike their Tassie or mainland counterparts.
Even the feral species are different, and it was hilarious to see gobbling wild American turkeys at a “lek” (where many males gather to perform for assessment by hens).
Sadly, many species have disappeared from King Island over the years. The King Island emu was hunted to extinction, along with southern elephant seals early in the 19th century. Grey goshawks, glossy black cockatoos, gang-gangs and forty-spotted pardalotes were all lost through extensive clearing and fires, threats that are ongoing to this day.
Fortunately, the dedicated conservation community, including groups like King Island Landcare Group, King Island Field Naturalists and the Wings on King project, are undertaking meaningful work to protect the species that remain and the habitat they depend on.
The friendly and connected King Island community is essential to the unique feeling of this island, starting with the welcoming rural tradition of greeting passing cars with a finger raised from the steering wheel. I met many generous and conservation-minded landholders, field naturalists and landcarers, who were eager to share their knowledge of the island’s natural values and what they’re doing to protect them.
We are very pleased to have gained the support of three wonderful Land for Wildlife volunteers on the island who have kindly offered their experience and enthusiasm to help more landholders join the Land for Wildlife program. We are also looking at connecting interested LFW members for local get-togethers, plant propagation and field naturalist excursions. If any islanders are interested, please email landforwildlife@tasland.org.au
If you are interested in Wings on King, the next surveys are 24-27 April 2025. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded people and with many of the survey sites hosted on private property, a great chance to see parts of King Island that most visitors don’t have the opportunity to. Visit www.birdsofkingisland.com/get-involved-with-bird-surveys/upcoming-survey-eventsto register your interest.
I would like to extend a big thank you to Sharp Airlines, the wings that helped me get to King Island, for sponsoring my transport to and from the island so I could participate in the Wings on King event, and the revival of the LFW program there.
