Further records and breeding of the Eyrean Grasswren Amytornis goyderi in New South Wales

Abstract

Eyrean Grasswrens Amytornis goyderi have generally been considered habitat specialists associated with Sandhill Canegrass Zygochloa paradoxa on the dunes of inland Australian deserts in the Lake Eyre Basin. Following above-average rainfall in 2020–2022 and an associated vegetation response in the Strzelecki Desert, Eyrean Grasswrens were observed at 39 locations south-east of their known distribution, with sites up to 11 km inside New South Wales, well beyond the extent of previous easterly records on the New South Wales–South Australia border. Further, two sites were north of the New South Wales–Queensland border, confirming the species 380 km south of previous Queensland records. Nine sites were within feral-free exclosures at the Wild Deserts project site in Sturt National Park, New South Wales. Repeated observations between May 2021 and August 2022 suggest persistence for at least 16 months in ephemeral vegetation on sand dunes supporting no Sandhill Canegrass. Two instances of breeding were recorded, with juvenile birds and feeding by an adult male observed. We explore possible drivers for this apparent range expansion and future scenarios around persistence inside landscape-scale exclosures, within which theorised threats from feral predators and overabundant herbivores are absent, presenting an opportunity to assess the relevancy of these drivers on the ecology of Eyrean Grasswrens.