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World Wetlands Day Walk

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Grow your lifestyle by exploring our Brisbane waterways! 

Celebrate World Wetlands Day (Saturday 2 February) with an informative 2 km guided walk through the Billai dhagun Circuit at Boondall Wetlands.

Learn about residential and migratory shorebirds and their international significance to our world-renowned wetlands. Discover the traditional uses of plants and other wetlands resources.

After the walk, enjoy other trails close by, relax in the picnic area and visit the Environment Centre.

Date:   Saturday 2 February 2019
Time:   9-11am
Where: Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre, 31 Paperbark Drive (entry via Stanworth Road)
RSVP:  No bookings required

For more information: visit Brisbane City Council’s website.


The Royal Spoonbill – a nomadic bird which frequents both our catchment and the Boondall Wetlands. It visits coastal areas during drought. Photo courtesy of Ed Frazer.

Time to review the Bio Act

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Biosecurity Queensland is inviting your feedback into a review of the Biosecurity Act 2014.

This legislation governs how we manage biosecurity threats and operations in Queensland and a key focus is sharing the responsibility of biosecurity amongst all Queenslanders

Biosecurity Queensland wants to hear what you have to say about any of your challenges to embed the provisions of the Act into your activities (e.g. the general biosecurity obligation).

The review will be completed by 30 June 2019. You can submit your feedback to:
[email protected] by 31 May 2019.

Green Tree Frog

 

(Photo courtesy of Rosemary Pollock)

 

After the drought – Ed Frazer

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The long dry spell has mixed blessings for the wildlife on our Brookfield property.

The numbers of some species of birds are well down and the drought has had an impact on the insect eaters such as Monarchs, Flycatchers and Whistlers.

Some of the larger Honeyeaters have decreased and even the Rosellas, King Parrots and Lorikeets seem to be in much smaller numbers.

This used to concern me, but there is a flip side to this situation.

Once the rain arrives and the trees, shrubs and weeds start growing again, the flowering begins. The insects build up and there will be plenty of food that will support lots of wildlife.

In fact, there will be such a surplus of food, because of the low numbers that have survived the drought, that new birds will come in to fill the empty niches and probably we will even get some new species.

The drought has actually favoured some species. The last really big drought brought in the Plumed Whistling Ducks for the first time and because we keep our dams full, the numbers of water birds has actually increased substantially.

We have also had larger numbers of Reed Warblers than I have ever seen here before and even a pair of seldom seen Little Grassbirds, another species closely associated with wetlands.

Some of the more aggressive species still seem to do well during dry periods. The Willie Wagtails are in their usual numbers though they are nesting later than usual and will probably only do so once this season.

Scrub Turkeys are another aggressive species which seems to be thriving right through the drought and increasing in numbers whilst Butcherbirds, Magpies and Crows always do well in the open areas, probably at the expense of the more timid birds.

Another species that is flourishing is the Bell Miner, which has moved back onto the west facing slopes.

One species I am not happy to find is doing well is the Indian Myna. We had one pair of this pest species, but recently I counted 18 sitting on the powerlines! They probably moved in because their usual haunts ran out of food and water.

One bonus is that the Red-necked Wallabies are coming down around our houses and dams where they can always find some green grass and their favourite Milk Thistle. We are even seeing the shy Swamp Wallaby more often.

We are not keen on interfering with feeding the wildlife during droughts, but I must admit that I do have a few favourites that I feed a few mealworms to, including some Willie Wagtails, Kook – my friendly Kookaburra, who sits on my camera lens until I feed him and some Butcherbirds, Magpies and Plovers (Masked Lapwings). Even though we have many Magpies nesting on the property they have never attacked anyone and I am sure it is because they know I feed them.

When the rains return the breeding season will soon start, and it won’t be long before the birdlife returns.  It will be most interesting to see how many new arrivals there will be!

Return to Bush Bites

Declawing Cats Claw

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We’re pleased to report welcome news regarding the statewide crusade against Cats Claw Creeper.

In partnership with Seqwater, Healthy Land and Water has entered the 2nd phase of a 5 year project to tackle the invasive creeper which threatens riparian zones across South-East Queensland.

Click here to watch their video update. Although the video was filmed in the Lockyer Valley, many of the images of damage will no doubt resonate with you. 

For more info about Cats Claw Creeper, please read the following: Cats Claw Creeper Update Oct 2016

The Cats Claw fact sheet is another useful reference: Catsclaw mini factsheet (469 KB)

And the Brisbane City Council provides a comprehensive online identification tool.

We’re planting 300 native trees and shrubs!

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All on a Sunday morning!  Can you help?

Our Chairman Jim Pope reports that his bushcare group (Huntington Section 3) will be planting 300 native tress and shrubs in Tuckett St park on Sunday 3 February.  

Note: this is the January working bee, which has been postponed. Here is Jim’s message:

Our first working bee of 2019 would normally be the last Sunday in January, but I have another commitment on that date and it also corresponds with the Australia Day long weekend, so many of you may be away. 

Consequently our first working bee of the year will be on Sunday 3rd February. Please make a note of this in your diaries!

Weather permitting we hope to do a big planting – in the area of Tuckett Park that was recently opened up by removal of a number of large Chinese Elms. 

We will need as many as possible to attend since we are hoping to plant over 300 native trees and shrubs on the day!

The working bee runs from 8.30am until 11am.

If you’d like to take part please contact Jim on 3374 4181.

World Wildlife Day

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Location: Worldwide
Type: Event
Organiser: United Nations
Contact:

For more info about this international event, please click here.

World Wetlands Day

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Location: Worldwide
Type: Event
Organiser: Australian Government
Contact:

For more info about this international event, please click here.

Could fish sounds be an indicator of river health?

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We’re all familiar with the concept of bird song …

But it appears that fish can be equally vocal, using a variety of sounds like grunting, squealing and gurgling to gain access to food and mates, and possibly for social interaction.

Dr Simon Linke, of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University, is using “fish song” in a research project which is adopting a novel approach to monitoring the waterway health.

Using underwater microphones, Dr Linke’s team has catalogued every biological sound in the Einasleigh River in Far North Queensland. The sounds are identified by computer, providing a snapshot of the activity of fish species within the waterway at any given time.

Dr Linke suggests that the use of eco-acoustics could potentially also be used to locate insects and invasive species such as Tilapia, which make noises when they spawn or defend their nests.

This innovative project was reported on ABC News recently. It will certainly be worth following its progress. To learn more, visit the ABC News Website. 

An online Griffith University article from March 2018 provides further information: Eavesdropping on fish to measure river health.

An un-related article by the Acoustical Society of America provides some insight into the reasons for fish sounds: How Important are fish Sounds for Feeding, Contests and Reproduction?

Tilapia in Moggill Creek – courtesy of Jim Pope
Perhaps we’ll soon have a new, non-invasive way to locate Tilapia in our catchment!