Birding by camera: Novel use of remote camera traps reveals new records of birds in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia

Abstract

The use of camera traps to inventory biodiversity is now a standard practice in fauna studies. However, the utility of cameras in surveying birds is less well understood. Cameras can have some advantages over on-ground surveys, including their long deployment times and ability to capture images at night. We report here on the use of camera traps during a targeted research program on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands of Western Australia. Although the research was focused on the Houtman Abrolhos Painted Button-quail Turnix varius scintillans, cameras were successful in recording all resident landbird species known from the Wallabi Islands. Cameras added seven new records to the known bird fauna of the Wallabi Group, of which four were new records for North Island, two new records for West Wallabi and one species (Spotted Nightjar Eurostopodus argus) from East Wallabi was a new record for the entire Abrolhos Archipelago. These results suggest that cameras are an effective tool for inventorying birds when used in conjunction with other approaches.