Displaying items by tag: Powerful Owl
Powerful Owl Coalition
STEP is one of a group of environmental organisations that has got together to write a position paper on the habitat needs of the Powerful Owl. This iconic bird is a keystone species for maintaining ecological balance in our bushland.
We now will be recruiting other groups to help disseminate the report to all areas where Powerful Owls live.
Powerful Owl Coalition
Protecting Powerful Owls
Coalition membership
The Powerful Owl Coalition is a group of concerned community environmental groups working in collaboration with the Powerful Owl Project of Birdlife Australia.
This page is hosted by STEP on behalf of the Powerful Owl Coalition
Powerful Owl Project Finishes but New Coalition Formed
The Powerful Owl is a keystone species of bushland in eastern Australia. The survival of the current population of this top predator is a key factor supporting the maintenance of a balance of fauna species and is an indicator of health in our ecosystems.
The Powerful Owl Project commenced in 2011 and is co-managed by BirdLife Australia’s Birds in Backyards program and the Threatened Bird Network. We reported on the activities of the Project in STEP Matters 169. Sadly, however, unless a new source of funds can be found the funding for this Project will run out on 30 June.
The Project has generated a lot of awareness of the existence of these iconic birds in Sydney’s bushland. One owl even has a Facebook page, Mikey the Owlet who lives in Byles Creek Valley Beecroft.
The objectives of the Project are:
- to engage the community to collect data to inform the conservation status of Powerful Owls in the Sydney Basin
- to identify site-specific management recommendations for all stakeholders and land managers with breeding pairs of Powerful Owls
- to inform, coordinate and support management amongst stakeholders and between land managers for conservation of Powerful Owls and other species
A major report was published in December 2014 but research has continued until now.
A conference was held on 8 June to provide a wrap up of the current data about urban Powerful Owls in the Greater Sydney Basin.
Powerful Owl Coalition
We all want to continue to give Powerful Owls a high profile. STEP and four other conservation groups from northern Sydney have got together to form a coalition with the following aims:
- to be proactive, not reactive, about their protection
- to educate and inform residents and organisations about their ecological importance
- to provide advice about habitat provision and maintenance
We have produced an information flier that will be distributed throughout local communities.
A detailed paper is being written to provide the latest understanding of the habitat conditions needed for the Powerful Owl’s survival, for breeding and foraging. Information will be tailored for all groups whose activities impact of Powerful Owls such as arborists and planners.
All groups concerned with bushland conservation are invited to join the Powerful Owl Coalition to help spread the word.
More information
Protecting Powerful Owls
More information
Birdlife Australia's Powerful Owl Project
Download a flier and give it to your friends and neighbours to read
Download our position paper paper which is designed to educate and encourage all levels of government, professionals, groups, communities and individuals to protect and increase the number of Powerful Owls in urban areas
Powerful Owl Submission to the Sydney North Planning Panel on the Redevelopment of Hornsby Quarry (May 2020)
Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This page is hosted by STEP on behalf of the Powerful Owl Coalition
Why they Need our Help
Protecting Powerful Owls
Why they need our help
Human actions are causing a decline in numbers through development on bushland fringes, removal of trees and vegetation and road deaths
They are a threatened species — there may be as few as 5000 in the world
Their habitat supports amazing wildlife, enriches our lives and connects us with nature
Future generations deserve to see these birds in the wild
How you can help
Download a flier and give it to your friends and neighbours to read
Download our position paper paper which is designed to educate and encourage all levels of government, professionals, groups, communities and individuals to protect and increase the number of Powerful Owls in urban areas
Make your garden Powerful Owl friendly
Submit sightings to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (give the time, date, place, any interesting details and, if possible, attach a photo or recording)
Contact your local council and politicians if you become aware of inappropriate development or clearing
This page is hosted by STEP on behalf of the Powerful Owl Coalition
How to make your garden Powerful Owl friendly
Protecting Powerful Owls
How to make your garden owl friendly
Maintain and protect your old trees and value your trees hollows — they’re homes for frogs, possums, sugar gliders and birds
Install a nest box
Plant native trees and shrubs
Plant understorey trees and shrubs to support prey species
Plant shrubs in dense, continuous groupings for birds
Don’t plant climbers and plants close to trees as they can damage the bark
Keep thick mulch away from with tree trunks
Avoid changing soil levels under tree canopies to maintain healthy tree roots
Employ reputable arborists to prune trees (you may need council permission)
Plant a gum tree, but not too close to your house, for future generations of Powerful Owls – you will also enjoy its beauty, wildlife and shade
Protect Ringtail Possum dreys (they look like footballs made of twigs)
Reduce hard surfaces such as paving
Let’s enhance our lives too
Residential areas with mature trees and canopies are more desirable and therefore valuable, than those without
By planting and caring for your trees and shrubs you will:
- reduce the temperature of your home thus saving money on cooling
- beautify your home
- improve your streetscape
- increase the amenity of your local area
and all the while you will be protecting Powerful Owls! What’s not to like?
This page is hosted by STEP on behalf of the Powerful Owl Coalition
What do Powerful Owls need to survive?
Protecting Powerful Owls
What do they need to survive?
Huge old growth trees more than 80 cm in diameter, with hollow entrances of 40 cm or more
Roosting trees with dense canopies, particularly near rivers, creeks and gullies
Foraging areas of complex vegetation large enough to support abundant prey species such as possums and birds
Urban green spaces, bushland and leafy gardens
Safe flight paths through bushland and urban areas
Humans to help them survive and thrive
This page is hosted by STEP on behalf of the Powerful Owl Coalition
Do you know that Powerful Owls
Protecting Powerful Owls
Do you know that they ...
Are Australia’s largest owl
Are an icon of the Australian night
Are charismatic, impressive birds
Top predators which help to keep our ecosystems in balance, e.g. by controlling possum populations
Are only found along Australia’s east coast
Live for up to 25 years in the wild
Have long and strong partner bonds
Grow up to 60 cm in height
Have a wingspan of up to 140 cm
Have striking yellow eyes
Have large orange feet with strong, sharp talons
Are brown and white with brown chevrons on a white chest
Chicks have downy white chests and grey masks
Nest in large hollows of trees over 150 years old
Have a delightful low ‘hoot hoot’
Need to eat approximately one possum (or flying fox) per night
This page is hosted by STEP on behalf of the Powerful Owl Coalition
Powerful Owl Coalition
Protecting Powerful Owls
Why they need our help
Human actions are causing a decline in numbers through development on bushland fringes, removal of trees and vegetation and road deaths
They are a threatened species — there may be as few as 5000 in the world
Their habitat supports amazing wildlife, enriches our lives and connects us with nature
Future generations deserve to see these birds in the wild
How you can help
Download a flier and give it to your friends and neighbours to read
Download our position paper paper which is designed to educate and encourage all levels of government, professionals, groups, communities and individuals to protect and increase the number of Powerful Owls in urban areas
Make your garden Powerful Owl friendly
Submit sightings to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (give the time, date, place, any interesting details and, if possible, attach a photo or recording)
Contact your local council and politicians if you become aware of inappropriate development or clearing
This page is hosted by STEP on behalf of the Powerful Owl Coalition
Update on Hills Council Plans for IBM Site
STEP Matters issue 193 provided detail on the application by Mirvac to build 600 apartments in the former IBM business site next to Cumberland State Forest. In addition to the IBM site Mirvac owns a large land area that currently contains high quality bushland.
Hills Shire Council applied to the Department of Planning for a Gateway Determination to allow rezoning of the bushland part of the 28 ha site for R4, high density. The department issued the Gateway Determination on 31 October telling the council to do more homework and amend the zoning plan to provide protection of the high value vegetation.
Lo and behold, Hills Council then wrote a letter to the department on 12 December 2017 requesting an amendment to the Gateway Determination to permit zoning of the high quality bushland as E3, Environmental Management. This would allow the area to be subdivided into 2 ha lots with the associated need to bushfire protection zones, roads, water supply, etc all leading to the destruction of endangered ecological community and threatened species habitat.
Mirvac has advised in writing that they want the area zoned as E2, Environment Conservation, and they are not seeking to impose the cost of this protection on the council. So all the community groups opposed to the development are at a loss to understand why council applied for E3.
Council has also applied for special conditions in the DCP for just this site that are different from the rest of the Hills Council LEP. It also requests the removal of the 2.5 ha recreation zone, saying it could create public open space. Why not commit to providing open space that will be essential for the new residents?
They have requested approval for site specific provisions which would enable a single developer, Mirvac, to build a completely ‘new type of housing’ which has been built nowhere else in the Hills Shire, on 86 m2 blocks, in a zoning which provides for 700 m2 lots.
We await the next decision by the department. Go to www.forestindanger.org.au for the latest news and how to make a submission to council or the Department of Planning.