Not only does it have a beautiful, and well recognised call, but Dasyornis brachypterus, once highly endangered, is now thriving in Booderee and the nearby Jervis Bay National Park.

Three times a year a survey is conducted for the Eastern Bristlebird, with the spring count recording the highest number of birds since the surveys began 17 years ago.

Booderee Natural Resources Team Leader Dion Maple said 150 birds were either heard or seen during the survey.

"That's a great result and the biggest number we have ever recorded since the surveys started in 2003," he said.

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"It's a huge sign of the success of our fox control and ecological burn programs."

Eastern Bristlebirds were once more widespread along the eastern coast, living in thickly vegetated habitats, but declined because of predation pressure from introduced species like foxes and cats and habitat loss through human development, the spread of invasive weeds and road mortality.

Although thriving in Booderee, the species is still considered endangered.

During survey, park staff hit Booderee just before dawn, and each time walk the same tracks, about 36 kilometres, where the birds are known to inhabit.

"We use a distance sampling method during survey, where we estimate population by knowing where a bird has called and how far away it was from you," Mr Maple said.

"Bristlebirds are very territorial, so you know when you walk from one area to another you have a new contact.

"They have a really powerful song in the bush - it's a very distinctive call and you can hear one bird call out and its partner answer.

"We used both sound and sight recordings. We listen to the birds and record the type of calls they make and mark the location with a GPS.

"You can hear the birds from miles away, however sometimes it is difficult to hear above the other birds in the morning."

From 2003 to 2015 on average, Mr Maple said 1.5 birds were recorded per kilometre.

"This year it has jumped up to 3.8 birds per kilometre. That's a big jump."

Mr Maple said that success is largely down to the fox control program undertaken in the park.

"For 20 years we have baited foxes regularly and as one of the bird's predators, having a low fox population has allowed the Bristlebirds' numbers to increase."

Eastern Bristlebird at a glance

He said also having a good array of quality habitat for the birds both in the park and in the Jervis Bay area, with a variety of different fire histories, has also led to the increased numbers.

Bristlebirds like to live in dense areas of heathlands.

"While heath burns well, it needs a certain time to mature before it can burn again and that has also given the Bristlebirds another chance to flourish," Mr Maple said.

"Not being a migratory species, Bristlebirds are also greatly and directly impacted by fire events.

"We have been lucky we have been able to reduce and protect the amount of area impacted by fire.

"We thankfully remained relatively unscathed in the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires - that has been another reason for our growth in numbers.

"There is also a network of protected areas between us at Booderee, the adjacent Jervis Bay National Park and places like Heritage Estates near Vincentia, which both also provide good habitats."

Mr Maple said along with the Bristlebirds, there has also been an increase in other species in Booderee after the 2019-20 bushfires.

"A lot of other species have been seeking refuge in the park," he said.

"We have seen an increase in other species of importance, such as the Gang-gang Cockatoos."

The Booderee area is known as the Bristlebirds' central population, there is also a northern and southern population but they are not doing so well.

But such has been the success of the Jervis Bay Bristlebirds, with such a robust population, it is hoped in time the local population can be used to contribute to the conservation program for the species.

Mr Maple said there is the potential to relocate the birds.

"We have translocated Bristlebirds from Booderee and Bherwerre Peninsula across Jervis Bay to the Beecroft Range to establish another population over there," he said.

"That was 20 years ago and was a success so can be used as an example of what might be possible."

Bristlebirds are so called because they have strong bristles at the base of their bill, which enables them to push through the thick heath in which they live.

They rarely venture more than a metre above the ground and don't undertake long flights, making them particularly susceptible to predation.

Shy and cryptic they mostly occur in dense, coastal vegetation.

Although secretive, they are occasionally seen scampering across open clearings and are easily located by their loud, melodic song and a harsh, sharp alarm-call.

They can survive more than four years of age, breed from August to January, usually laying two, sometimes three eggs, in a domed nest close to the ground.

The young are extremely dependent on their parents until March/April.

The plumage of the Eastern Bristlebird is dull brownish above and lighter grey below, with rufous (reddish-brown or brownish-red) wings.

The tail comprises about half the bird's total length of 21cm and may appear to be distinctively frayed. The wings are very short and rounded. The legs are long and strong. The face is paler and the eye is bright red.

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