So tiny and so vulnerable': what chance will one of Australia's smallest birds have against a rocket launchpad?

"The southern emu-wren, one of Australia's smallest birds, weighs just seven grams, about as much as two teaspoons of water. More tail than bird, its six upright tail feathers make up more than half its length and the males have a distinctive sky-blue patch of feathers on their upper chest and throat. But conservationists say a planned rocket launcher in its habitat could lead to its demise."

"They're about the size of a matchbox with a tail about the size of a pencil, says Therese Pedler, chairperson of the Eyre Peninsula Environmental Protection Alliance in South Australia. They're the most striking, gorgeous little bird. Pedler and other community conservation advocates are trying to raise the profile of the little wren, which they say is facing an unprecedented threat from a planned rocket launch facility at Whalers Way, a conservation sanctuary about 32km from Port Lincoln in South Australia."

"Southern emu-wrens are widely distributed along the Australian coastline but three sub-species in South Australia the Eyre Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges and Kangaroo Island populations have declined to a point that they are listed as endangered under Australia's environment laws. The Kangaroo Island subspecies was listed after the summer of 2019-20 when fire one of the greatest threats to the species tore through the western end of Kangaroo Island, devastating the southern emu-wren's habitat."

The southern emu-wren is an extremely small bird weighing about seven grams, with six upright tail feathers that make up more than half its length and males showing a sky-blue chest patch. A proposed rocket launch facility at Whalers Way sits within key habitat on the Eyre Peninsula. Three South Australian subspecies — Eyre Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges and Kangaroo Island — have declined and are listed as endangered. The Kangaroo Island population was devastated by the 2019-20 fires. Mount Lofty Ranges numbers are around 300, and fewer than 1,000 remain on the Eyre Peninsula. Local advocates are campaigning to protect remaining habitat.

Read at www.theguardian.com