 Gluepot Reserve joins the Riverland (formerly Bookmark) Biosphere Reserve (900,000 ha), an internationally significant area with direct links to other large conservation reserves in New South Wales and Victoria. It is part of the largest block of intact mallee left in Australia and so the viability of threatened bird populations and other flora and fauna there is high. The 18 nationally threatened species of bird on Gluepot Reserve includes the Black-eared Miner, Malleefowl, Red-lored Whistler, Regent Parrot, Scarlet-chested Parrot and Striated Grasswren. A further 17 species of regionally threatened bird live there (e.g. Major Mitchell Cockatoo, Hooded Robin and Redthroat). In all, 197 species of bird have been recorded on Gluepot Reserve.
Gluepot Reserve has a diversity of vegetation communities which support important wildlife other than birds. Reptiles are particularly abundant with 52 species located so far, including the threatened Bandy Bandy. Prior to the 2006 fire that burnt 8,000ha on Gluepot, the last fire on the Reserve occurred over 50 years ago, but many areas were not burnt leaving substantial areas of mallee and Casuarina woodland with trees that are hundreds of years old. These old trees have numerous hollows for nesting birds and deep litter for ground-foraging species. The vegetation quality is particularly high in the eastern third of Gluepot because the lack of water for a 10 km radius means that grazing impacts have been minimal.
This critically endangered species is the subject of an intensive Recovery Program across three States (see Wingspan, September 1996). This colonial honeyeater only breeds in old-growth mallee, preferring mallee on more fertile soils which have now been selectively cleared for agriculture. Overclearing and habitat fragmentation have favoured the more common Yellow-throated Miner (which prefers more open country), resulting in cross-breeding of the two species.
Reversing the genetic swamping of the Black-eared by the Yellow-throated Miner is a major task for the recovery team. This involves field research, captive breeding, cross-fostering and manipulation of colonies and their eggs in the wild, all with the aim of increasing the genetic qualiry of Black-eared Miner colonies.
This recovery field work is centred on the new Birds Australia Murray Mallee Reserve and the neighbouring Riverland Biosphere Reserve because this is where nearly all of the remaining Black-eared Miners now occur --including some of the now very rare pure-bred birds left in the wild. Gluepot is also the field study centre for the endangered Black-eared Miner and years of intensive research has produced an intimate knowledge of the species breeding habits and behaviour. Through this research we now know that there are over 200 colonies with more than 3,500 birds breeding on and around Gluepot Reserve - over two-thirds of the species remaining numbers. To spread the risk to the species, the Recovery Team successfully translocated eight colonies of Black-eared Miners from the Gluepot area to supplement tiny, genetically isolated colonies in north-west Victoria - this was a world first for such a highly social species. Further colonies will be translocated to Scotia in the NSW mallee when the drought breaks and breeding conditions improve. Monitoring the results of this work over several years will be a vital part of the Recovery Program.
This nationally vulnerable megapode has declined throughout its range and has disappeared entirely from large areas of Australia. Only detailed surveys will tell how many pairs of Malleefowl there are in the Birds Australia Gluepot Reserve, but based on average densities, there may be as many as 100 pairs. This would make our Reserve a very important area, given that there are only about 750 pairs left in New South Wales and fewer than 1000 in Victoria.
Malleefowl need blocks of mallee of at least 500 ha for long-term persistence, and breed most successfully in areas that have not been burnt for at least 40 years. The Reserve has established seven survey grids across the Reserve and these are surveyed annually to monitor Malleefowl survival and recruitment. The Malleefowl monitoring process on Gluepot is part of a wider survey methodology across Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
More than 30 years ago, Harry Frith showed that overgrazing of mallee could reduce Malleefowl breeding densities by 80% or more. An effective means of reducing numbers of herbivores in mallee is reducing the number of watering points. There is a major study into this option on Riverland Biosphere Reserve. The lack of water on Gluepot, now that all dams are closed, has already played a significant role in maintaining the vegetation quality there; it will be very interesting to measure in the long-term, what positive impact this has had on Malleefowl densities.
Red-lored Whistler
This nationally vulnerable species is patchily distributed over a restricted area of the Murray Mallee, with a few isolated outlying populations. There is no total population estimate of Red-lored Whistlers, though they have been recorded at densities of one bird per 50 ha and breed on Gluepot Reserve. A PhD study on this and and the Gilbert Whistler was recently conducted on Gluepot Reserve and hopefully the results of the study will form the basis for appropriate habitat management across its range.
The Red-lored Whistler appears to prefer mallee10-30 years after fire, and has been replaced in parts of the western Murray Mallee by Gilbert's Whistlers, probably as the result of changes in habitat.
 Scarlet-chested Parrot
This brilliantly coloured little parrot is an avicultutal favourite, but it is rare in the wild and has proved to be among the most difficult of all Australian birds to see in its natural habitat.
More than two decades ago Scarlet-chested Parrots on Gluepot Station were the target of an illegal trapping ring which was broken by the SA wildlife authorities. The parrots have been seen there in the last year, but with over 25,000 of them breeding in captivity, wild birds are now less of a temptation for trappers.
The parrots have been seen on Gluepot in a number of areas and are believed to breed in the more remote areas of the Reserve. In recent years they have appeared in greater numbers and were observed for up to three months, resulting in a great 'influx' of bird observers to Gluepot. Very little is known about the biology of this species. Altered fire regimes may have reduced the species' abundance, while greater availability of water in semi-arid rangelands may have favoured more water-dependent parrots to the disadvantage of the Scarlet-chested Parrot.
 Regent Parrot
The nationally vulnerable eastern subspecies of the Regent Parrot requires large blocks of diverse mallee near its nesting sites. The birds nest in River Red Gums along major rivers that flow through the Murray Mallee, and fly out to feed in the mallee. Past clearance of large tracts of mallee (5 km or more) has separated the nesting birds from their feeding areas and many former nest sites have been abandoned, leading to a marked decline in this once common bird.
Habitat clearance is no longer a major problem, but Regent Parrots still face many threats. These range from attrition of existing nest sites in dead trees, competition for nest sites from feral honey bees, accidental deaths from poisoning and road kills, and shooting when they damage orchards.
Regent Parrots feeding in mallee on Gluepote Reserve are mostly seen there after the breeding season. At times during the summer, over 200 birds have been observed drinking from the Reserves elevated bird watering troughs.
Striated Grasswren The sandplain subspecies of the Striated Grasswren is found in hummock grasslands across much of semi-arid Australia, though populations are fragmented and the birds range has contracted markedly. Clearance for agriculture has been important in the past, with the main threats now being altered fire management, grazing and introduced predators.
The secretive behaviour of the Striated Grasswren makes it difficult to assess its density, although current research on Riverland Biosphere Reserve should solve this problem and other aspects of the bird's biology. Because grazing has a particularly detrimental impact on Striated Grasswrens in mallee, the absence of water and hence grazing pressure from herbivores has provided a refuge for Grasswrens on Gluepot. The species appears to have a robust breeding population on the Reserve and is most commonly found in the spinifex country.
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Black-eared Miner