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Results from the Platypus Survey 2021

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There were at least 12 sightings this year which is great news and indicates that platypus are persisting in the Moggill Creek Catchment.

(Check out the map showing sightings and video below)

Key findings:

  • Some observers saw two platypus
  • When examining the times recorded, some may have been the same animals seen again by other observers downstream or upstream
  • Three sightings in lower Gold Creek. In addition, on the evening before the survey, two platypus were video recorded at the confluence of Gold and Moggill creeks on a private property. The two were seen vigorously interacting
  • One sighting in Moggill Creek near the Showgrounds
  • Six sightings in mid-Moggill Creek, off Rafting Ground Road (Huntington Estate)
  • One sighting a little further downstream in Kenmore Hills
  • One sighting in a large pool in lower Moggill Creek, near Moggill Road

Unfortunately, many of our core historical platypus hotspots were again negative this year and this has been the pattern for some years. These include upper Moggill Creek (Upper Brookfield), mid-Moggill Creek (Kenmore High School region), lower Moggill Creek (Kilkivan/Fortrose Street area) and mid-upper Gold Creek. This is always a concern, with water extraction from the creeks and general watercourse degradation from human activities continuing to occur in what is a peri-urban environment. Interestingly, the sightings this year were, however, mostly in the more urbanised creek areas.

Thank you again to Dr Christine Hosking for running the annual Platypus Survey in Moggill Creek Catchment and to all the volunteers who are up early for Platypus watching.


2022 Brisbane’s Wild West Calendar is out now.

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The 2022 Brisbane’s Wild West Calendar produced by THECA, REPA and MCCG, is now available for $12.50 per copy.

Those wanting copies should contact Bryan Hacker.  Calendars will also be available to purchase at the MCCG AGM on Nov 25th.

Payment can be in cash or EFT (see below) – only $12.50 per copy, plus $2.20 postage if required.

 

For EFT payment please transfer the appropriate amount and contact the MCCG Secretary.

Bush Bites!

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Our Migrating Birds.

We give little thought to the several species of local birds that migrate massive distances twice a year to spend part of their year in our backyards.

Imagine going from Kenmore to the Bunya Mountains and back on your own steam and you would get an idea of what some of our shortest distance migratory birds do each year. That’s what the Noisy Pittas and Pacific Bazas do.

Noisy Pitta, one of our ground feeding birds found along the banks of Gold Creek –  endangered by domestic cats.

Millions of tiny Yellow-faced Honeyeaters arrive from Victoria and Southern N.S.W. each year to feast on nectar from our flowering Eucalyptus in winter. They weigh only a few grams and yet they travel in such huge flocks that they can be detected by the weather radar on their trip of between 1000 to 2000km each way.

The beautiful Rose-crowned Fruit Doves, Scared Kingfishers, and Dollarbirds come from Northern Queensland and Papua-New Guinea each year to raise their next generation before flying back with their youngsters when they are only a few months old.

The real long-haul champions are the Latham’s Snipe, which arrive every winter from Japan and some even from Siberia. An enormous feat and fraught with huge dangers from weather conditions, bird shooters and loss of their regular stopover resting and feeding grounds on the way.

There are altitudinal migrants that spend the summer months out west and return east of the Great Dividing Range in winter such as the Pied Currawong.

Southern species like the Grey Fantail that head up north for the warmer winters, including the Swift Parrot that even reaches our area all the way from Tasmania.

Northern species such as the Koel (storm bird), Channel-billed Cuckoo, Sacred Kingfisher and Black-faced Monarch that fly down from PNG and northern Queensland to escape the hot wet season and breed in the summer months in southern Queensland.

Migration is the most dangerous time for birds, but the rewards of better food and climate must make the huge effort worthwhile as migration has been going on for millions of years.

However, recent studies show this may be changing, largely because of our interference. Habitat loss is obviously a major factor as migratory birds have well defined highways and stop-overs and these are being lost through our urban development.

Little research has been done on the complex migrations of birds in Australia, but a huge amount is known of the extensive migrations of hundreds of species between South America and North America.

What was of sombre interest was a recent report from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on bird migration mortality because of human intervention. Their report of annual bird deaths from specific human-related causes (other than habitat losses) in the U.S and Canada are horrendous.

By far the highest mortality, a staggering 2.6 billion deaths annually, came from cats. Both feral and domestic cats that are allowed to roam at night. Windows accounted for 624 million, vehicles 214 million, power lines 57 million, communication towers 6.8 million and wind turbines 679 thousand.  Lights from towns distracting the birds’ amazing navigation sense are responsible for unquantified losses are also probably in the high millions.

Domestic cat on the prowl for early birds at 4.30am along Gold Creek

We can act on some if not all these problems as individuals and the MCCG habitat rehabilitation programmes are making a difference locally.

We can lock up the cat at night and turn off the outside lights to help. There are things to put on windows to prevent bird strikes. Not removing Lantana until replaced by appropriate natives and simply planting shrubs like Callistemons and Grevilleas around dams and not clearing to the edge of creeks so the birds can safely come in to drink will also save many of our birds from their greatest local danger roaming domestic cats.

Get in tune with the seasons and listen out for the Rain Bird (Koel) and watch out for the Flying Hockey Stick (Channel-billed Cuckoo) and say goodbye to the Grey Fantail and welcome the Sacred Kingfishers as the spring changeover of migrant birds takes place. Think of the huge perilous undertaking they are making. Enjoy them while they are here for the migration will be reversing in autumn; but by then the next group of migrants will be arriving.

 

Ed Frazer

 

Wildlife Matters!

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MCCG Annual Platypus Survey

Moggill Creek Catchment Group have been carrying out annual platypus surveys in the catchment since 2005. The surveys are coordinated by Dr Christine Hosking (UQ) and held in early September each year during the breeding season, when platypus are most active. Since platypus are predominantly nocturnal, the surveys involve 50 or so volunteers taking up predetermined observation sites before dawn, observing their section of the creek for a couple of hours, then sending in their report (with photos where possible) for collation and analysis of the results. Observers need to be careful not to mistake other species, notably water dragons, freshwater turtles and the rarer native water rats (Rakali) which are distinguishable by the white tip on their tails.

Regular surveys of native wildlife are important in monitoring the health of the environment over time, with changes in numbers providing important indicators of seasonal variations due to drought, flood, bushfires etc. and longer-term changes due to pollution, land clearing, urban development and climate change. Platypus numbers are a good indicator of creek health, but are significantly affected by drought and flood cycles. Since 2005 the surveys have recorded individual platypus sightings across the catchment varying from around 6 to a maximum of 20. Numbers were low following the drought years of 2005-7 but recovered in 2008. They fell in 2013 and again in 2018 following dry winters, but overall seem to be reasonably stable, averaging around 11 confirmed sightings each year. Recently there have been few sightings in the upper reaches of Moggill Creek, with numbers concentrated in Gold Creek and the mid-sections of Moggill Creek, both of which benefit from environmental flows emanating from Gold Creek Dam.

In previous years participants were rewarded by a cooked breakfast at the Pony Club in the showgrounds, but this has not been possible over the last two years due to Covid restrictions. This year’s survey was held on Sunday 12thSeptember. Results are still being verified but about 11 confirmed sightings were recorded. Many thanks to all those dedicated volunteers who sacrificed a Sunday sleep-in for a very good cause!

Jim Pope

Platypus  Moggill Creek    Photo: Ed Frazer

 

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Know Your Wildlife!

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How well do you know the local wildlife?  You are invited to meet the Wildlife Identification Challenge!

Can you identify these birds using the MCCG Digital Field Guides?

What do they have in common?

 

Answers:

  1. Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta) photo Ed Frazer
  2. Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) photo Ed Frazer
  3. Bell Miner or Bellbird (Manorina melanophrys) photo Ed Frazer

These are all Honeyeaters belonging to the family Meliphagidae, a large group of small to medium-sized birds, members of which are found predominantly in Australia and New Guinea, but also in New Zealand and some Pacific Islands.

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The Spring Newsletter is OUT!

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What a treat this newsletter is … as always! There are some of the fabulous, hardworking and longstanding Moggill Creek members (Dale Borgelt, Bruce Siemon and Alan Walmsley) showcasing their work and properties. Dr Manda Page writes about the Tasmanian Tiger, Beck Bain wants us to get snapping for the upcoming Photo Comp and there is much much more!

Check out the newsletter here

An image of the Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger, or marsupial lion), from the National Museum of Australia.

 

Bush Bites – Freshwater Turtles

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There are four species of Freshwater Turtles found in the Moggill Creek Catchment. They are common in Moggill and Gold Creeks and Gold Creek Reservoir and these species are well established and under no threat.

Earlier information about these reptiles called them Tortoises, but recently that name has been reserved to land dwelling Tortoises, which are not native to Australia.

Broad-shelled River Turtle. This species often travels overland during mating season.  Photo: Ed Frazer

Freshwater Turtles can be quite long living though few reliable records have been kept. A span of 50 years or more seems reasonable.

The eggs are laid on the banks of streams in soil which can vary from sand to clay. The incubation period can be from several months to two years and is influenced by temperature and rainfall.

Many eggs are lost to drought and predation by water dragons, goannas, water rats, birds and foxes. The hatchlings are also preyed on by catfish, eels and even Platypus, but a few survive and it is not uncommon to see a full range of sizes swimming together in the creeks.

The males are generally smaller than the females and they are often seen following the females for a considerable time in an attempt to mate.

Turtle eating a dead fish in Gold Creek.  Photo: Ed Frazer

They feed on a wide variety of items, but prefer shrimp, insect larvae like dragonflies, and clams which they crush by attacking the edges of the shells with their powerful jaws until they open. They also clean up any dead fish and aquatic plants and any fruit that drops into the creeks such as Mulberries.

A Saw-shelled Turtle climbing on driftwood to enjoy the sun in winter.  Photo: Ed Frazer

A Brisbane Short-necked Turtle climbing on a sunken log in Gold Creek.  Photo: Ed Frazer

Most of their feeding is in the two hours after sunrise and before sunset, but they will
respond to a feed of bread, fish or meat or better still floating fish foods or insects.
In the cooler months they can often be seen sunbathing on rocks or logs poking out from
the creek where they can drop back into the water if disturbed.

A Fresh Water Turtle Catchment Field Guide will be on the MCCG website shortly.

Evening Talk – Thursday Sept 23rd with guest speaker Dr Manda Page

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Avoiding extinction – the challenges of working with threatened species in Queensland

Thursday 23rd September 2021, Brookfield Hall, 6.30pm for 7.00pm

Speaker: Dr Manda Page

Queenlsand has 1020 threatened species listed under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. All of these species are considered to be at risk of extinction and there are many, many more that we simply don’t have enough information about to assess their risk. Working to avoid these species going extinct is a challenging task, but there are teams of dedicated people in government, the private sector and the community that are taking up the challenge.  We will explore some of these challenges and the inspirational work being undertaken to fight against extinction in Queensland.

Dr Manda Page is the Director of Threatened Species Operations with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. She has worked on threatened species recovery in various forms over the past 30 years.  Dr Page completed her PhD in ecology at the University of Queensland then continued as an academic, teaching students about conservation. She moved to Western Australia to take up a role with a private conservation organisation (Australian Wildlife Conservancy) then the Western Australian Government as their Principal Zoologist. She returned to Queensland in 2019 to take up this specialised threatened species role. Dr Page will share some of the highlights and challenges of her career and current role.

Photo: Dr Manda Page

REGISTRATION FOR 2021 PLATYPUS SURVEY: SUNDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER

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Dear platypus volunteers,

It is that time again, and despite Covid, we would like to conduct the annual survey. We have not missed a year of collecting snapshot platypus data since 2005! Please see the information flyer attached and note the deadline for registering.

As with last year, we will go directly to our observation sites, with no pre-survey gathering, and sadly, again there will not be a post-survey breakfast! It will be a simplified Covid-safe activity, but no less important or enjoyable!

If you have received this email but did not participate last year and would like to be involved this year, please let me know when you are registering and we can arrange a survey site for you.

If you are registering and participated last year, you will need to go to the same survey site again this year. Please reconfirm your site details when registering.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Cheers,

Chris

NOTE: If we happen to be in another lockdown on 12th September, we will cancel the event for this year.

Wildlife Matters!

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Threatened Species Profile – Koalas

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is probably Queensland’s most iconic threatened species, and we are lucky enough to have them living in our local area. You can’t mistake their unique features like a large round head, big furry ears and a big black nose. But sadly, koalas are threatened with extinction. In southeast Queensland, the reasons for this precarious situation are mostly attributed to loss of habitat but they face other threats locally such as being hit by cars, attacked by dogs and disease.

A new Koala Conservation Strategy was released in 2020 by the Queensland government to direct and better coordinate recovery actions. One of the actions in the Strategy is to have improved koala habitat mapping so that important habitat can be protected. There is core koala habitat throughout our local area with some of it classed as Koala Priority Areas, which are afforded the highest protection because they are considered important to safeguard koala populations. If you want to know whether your property is mapped as core koala habitat you can request a property report or use the interactive mapping available on Queensland Globe: (https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/maps/map-request)

In addition to providing important koala habitat locally, we also host the Moggill Koala Rehabilitation Hospital, which specialises in treating and rehabilitating koalas for return to the wild. They are also trialling a new Chlamydia vaccination to beat the devastating disease plaguing the koalas.

You can help support our local koala population by retaining large established trees, planting koala food trees, watching out for them on the roads at night, keeping dogs confined at night, and reporting sick or injured koalas. If you want to go koala spotting, we have recently recorded them in Anstead Bushland (see photo), Moggill Conservation Park, John Sprent Reserve and areas of Mount Coo-tha. Look out for them on Mt Crosby Road and Lake Manchester Road. If you’re looking for some koala-inspired day trips, check out the picnic areas and reserves around Wivenhoe Dam.

If you see a sick or injured koala, please call the hotline on 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625).

Manda Page

Anstead koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)                       Photo: Manda Page

 

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