Action plan in 2025 to save high level of threatened woodland bird species in Adelaide Mount Lofty Ranges

Birds such as the rainbow bee eater (image by David Pearce) and South Australian western whistler (images by Neale Dyster) were among species that the ReBird the Ranges Action Plan for Adelaide's Mount Lofty Ranges aimed to protect.
Images ocurtesy Landscape South Australia, Hills and Fleurieu

Conservationists, researchers and the South Australian government joined in 2025 for a bold new plan to save threatened native bird species throughout Adelaide’s Mount Lofty Ranges.

The Mount Lofty Ranges had one of the highest concentrations of threatened woodland bird species in Australia. Seventy-eight species weredeclining, and 12 species were already regionally extinct.

The ReBird the Ranges Action Plan sought to address this decline by restoring critical bird habitats through revegetation, protecting existing habitats and managing threats as well as researching, monitoring and adapting plans to improve bird recovery initiatives and make the community more aware and taking part in conservation efforts. The decline of bird species in the region was linked to factors including habitat loss, changes to fire regimes, and the impacts of native and feral grazing animals on the remaining native vegetation. The effects of climate change were also expected to worsen these threats.

ReBird the Ranges encouraged the community to be active in species recovery, through restoring habitat and supporting conservation projects. Some projects already started, included:
      *revegetating heathland in Deep Creek Conservation Park on the Fleurieu Peninsula to support the western beautiful firetail, Mount Lofty Ranges chestnut-rumped heathwren and Mount Lofty Ranges southern emu wren;
       * revegetating low-rainfall grassy woodland in priority areas of the eastern Mount Lofty Ranges, to support the diamond firetail, hooded robin, restless flycatcher, jacky winter, southern whiteface, chestnut-rumped thornbill and brown treecreeper.

The South Australian government contributed $1.8 million to the initiative with staff involved from its environment and water department, Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board and Forestry SA. Other partners included local councils, Trees for Life, Second Nature Conservancy, Nature Foundation, Birds SA, The University of Adelaide, SA Water, Bio-R, Greening Australia, Nature Conservation Society of South Australia, Birdlife Australia and Conservation Volunteers Australia.