The Superb Fairy-wren is one of Australia’s most recognisable and favourite birds. And who doesn’t enjoy watching the antics of these charismatic, active and social backyard visitors? But did you know that the males undergo a seasonal colour change?

The striking iridescent blue with highly contrasting black and grey markings of the male Superb Fairy-wren is instantly recognisable. But the males only adopt this colouring for the duration of the breeding season in the warmer months. There is a good evolutionary reason for moulting twice a year, instead of once a year like most other birds.

While these little birds are socially monagamous, they are sexually promiscuous. They live in family groups and the dominant male and female form a stable pair to raise young, but both partners will mate with many individuals from other groups. So males adopt showy, noticeable colouring to attract as many females from nearby groups as possible.

As the breeding season ends and we move into winter, the breeding males revert to the duller, grey-brown colour of females, juveniles and non-breeding males. During this time insects become less abundant and the birds need to spend the majority of their time in the open foraging.

Being extremely attractive to the ladies has its cost. Fairy-wrens are vulnerable to predation from larger native birds such as Magpies, Kookaburras and Currawongs as well as introduced mammals like the fox and cat. Although brilliant blue feathers may be extremely attractive to females, it also makes the breeding males highly conspicuous to predators.

And the birds seem to be aware of this too. A study conducted by Monash University and Australian National University found that plumage colour changed behaviour.

The researchers played low-level and high-level alarm calls to the birds through portable speakers. Birds were fitted with coloured leg bands allowing the team to track individual birds’ responses.

The team found that males in their blue plumage were much more cautions than in their brown plumage. They reacted to low-level alarm calls more readily and took a longer time to come out from shelter.

The behaviour of other birds in the group was also affected. When a blue male was nearby, other wrens were less responsive to alarm calls and devoted less time to keeping a look-out.

The results suggest that the seasonal colour change is an adaptation that allows the birds to have the best of both worlds: they can be sexually attractive and bright while breeding, but also dull coloured and difficult to detect by predators outside the breeding season.

Do you want to increase productivity, reduce operating costs and improve the land value of your farm?

The Central Tablelands region is one of the most highly cleared areas of woodland in NSW. The Central Tablelands were once dominated by box gum woodlands. Due to extensive clearing box gum woodlands are now highly fragmented and have been declared threatened ecological communities.

Roadside corridors are some of the highest value native vegetation remnants in our district. Not only do they provide corridors for the movement of wildlife and add to the picturesque aspect of our district, but they can also be used to extend their value onto your our own property.

Roadside remnants can be utilised on your farm by allowing natural regeneration from the roadside vegetation to occur, planting similar species on your side of the fence, or establishing an internal network of shade trees, vegetation corridors or shelter belts.

There are many benefits to inviting the roadside remnant vegetation inside your property:

• Farms with shade trees and shelter belts are more aesthetically appealing and attract a premium over average land values. A survey conducted in the Central West indicated that farms with good quality native vegetation have a 15% increase on capital value compared to those without.

• Pasture productivity is increased by remnant native vegetation and established shelter belts. Native trees and shrubs provide habitat for birds, lizards and bats, the natural enemies of pasture pests.

• Pastures with some tree cover experience less soil moisture loss than those exposed to the full force of the wind.

• Cold and heat stress in livestock can significantly reduce farm income by reducing stock fertility, weight gain, wool growth, milk production, and increasing the mortality rate of calves and lambs and the susceptibility of stock to disease.

• Mature trees help to maintain and improve soil structure and fertility.

Many mature trees on our farms reaching the end of their lifespan, and once they are gone so will the benefits they provide. Landholders can the maintain these valuable ecosystem services by encouraging native vegetation regrowth on their farms.

Did you know that each year, Australian households generate around 13 million tonnes of organic waste and that about half of that ends up in landfill?

Organic materials such as food scraps and garden waste breakdown to methane when decomposing without air in landfill conditions. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide so reducing its emissions is an important factor in combating climate change.

Landfill is the most expensive form of waste management and while it’s free to drop your rubbish off at the Mid-Western Regional Council waste stations, don’t be fooled – as ratepayers we fund the operation and maintenance of these facilities.

Food waste is a large contributor to the organic waste going to landfill and, in many cases, can be avoided.

ABC TV’s recently screened War On Waste series found that the average Australian family throws out 20% of the food they buy each week. That’s one in every five bags of groceries and equates to about $3,500 worth of food a year!

Food waste can be divided into three categories: avoidable food waste (food that could be eaten); potentially avoidable food waste (food that could be eaten but is not commonly consumed e.g. pumpkin skins); and unavoidable food waste (food products that cannot be eaten).

In addition to contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, throwing out food that could be eaten means that the resources used to grow it like water, fuel and fertiliser are also wasted.

How can your household reduce food waste?

We’ve all done it – raced into the supermarket on the way home from work, grabbed a lettuce to go in tonight’s salad only to find another one hiding in the back of the fridge going slimey when we get home.

So the number 1 tip for households reducing their food waste is to look in the fridge and pantry before you go shopping, write a list and stick to it.