mccgadmin

Mistletoe continued

by

Late November 2017

The Brown Honeyeaters are back on the Mistletoe and it looks like the recent rains have encouraged them to breed again.

Brown Honeyeater feeding on Mistletoe
They are chasing them off, but I have now found the same Mistletoe on other Bottlebrushes about 100 metres away and the Mistletoebirds make quick work of flying between these bushes.

My curiosity got the better of me and I started looking into which Mistletoe species I was observing. I soon found out that Dr John Moss was the local guru on Mistletoes, because of his interest in the Butterflies and Invertebrates Club which he helped to establish. 
The connection is that Mistletoes are the host of the caterpillars of the Jezebel Butterflies. John and another Butterfly enthusiast Ross Kendall have written a first-class book entitled “The Mistletoes of Sub-tropical Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria“.

Scarlet Jezebel taking nectar

From their book I have easily been able to find out that my Mistletoe is the Yellow-flowered or Long-flowered Mistletoe Dendrophthoe vittelina and it is the host plant for the caterpillars of the Scarlet, Red-banded and Black Jezebels and a large number of small blue Azure butterflies.

One of the interesting facts I gleaned from their book is that different species of Mistletoes are often parasitic on other Mistletoes. This sound reasonable as if the Mistletoebird has fed on one species and goes to feed on a different Mistletoe, it is quite likely it will deposit its sticky undigested seed from the first species and it might grow.

But how did the first species get to a new host tree? 
Well, the answer might be that I found the Mistletoebirds I was photographing were attracted to the Bottlebushes to take nectar from the flowers and they could have seeds to deposit. 
Now I reflect on it I think this all may have happened many years ago as these trees are about 35 years old and the Mistletoes look quite old. Probably they were deposited as sticky seed by Mistletoe birds several generations ago right under my eyes and I never noticed.

I am looking forward to photographing the brilliantly coloured Jezebel butterflies laying eggs on my Mistletoes so the never ending story still has some more chapters!

Waterway Health and Assessment Training – July

by

Location: To be confirmed
Type: Workshop
Organiser: BCC – Community Conservation Partnerships Program
Contact: Michael Thorley via email: [email protected]


Topic: Stream condition: Vegetation and habitat monitoring/Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition (RARC)

Open to Creek Catchment members. Date subject to change. May require RSVP.

Book now for Aquatic Macro-Invertebrate Survey Training

by

In 2015/16, Brisbane City Council’s Creek Catchment Program (CCP) introduced the Waterway Health Assessment Training (WHAT) program to provide catchment groups with regular opportunities to skill up volunteers for their waterway monitoring programs.

The first WHAT workshop for 2018 will be held on Sunday 11th March. The topic is Aquatic Macro-Invertebrate Survey Training and catchment members are encouraged to attend. 


Aquatic Ecologist Natalie Toon will guide participants through the requirements and methodology to undertake an aquatic macro invertebrate survey in their local creek. Training will include capture techniques, identification of macro invertebrates, and how the results relate to waterway health. This is a fantastic workshop for those interested in monitoring creek health, and providing and protecting aquatic habitat.

When:  Sunday, 11th March 2018, 9:00am – 1:00pm (morning tea and lunch included)

Where: 681 Gold Creek Road, Brookfield

Cost:    Free to catchment group members
RSVP by 2nd March 

For more info: email Michael Thorley at [email protected]

NOTE: Council provides five WHAT workshops each year. To see dates for the remaining sessions, please visit our Creek Monitoring Calendar.

*NEW* Online Butterfly Identification List !

by

We are very excited about the release of our latest online field guide: Butterflies Found within the Catchment.

The list contains some beautiful photos of over 70 butterflies, species names, info about each butterfly’s behaviour and suggested plants to include in your garden if you’d like to attract them!  

This has all been made possible through the collaboration and generosity of Dale Borgelt, MCCG’s Public Relations Officer, and MCCG member and wildlife photographer Ed Frazer. Both share an interest in butterflies and a passion for wildlife photography. 

The list is accessible from our “Catchment Field Guides” menu item. 

Here are two small hints when you have the list open:

  • Click on a thumbnail to open a larger image
  • Press CTRL + F to search for a particular item. 

Take a look at the list now by clicking here. It’s absolutely worth checking out!

A hint of the magic in our new Butterfly List – a Lesser Wanderer

Courtesy of Ed Frazer

    

Where did the Bullies go?

by

How many of us remember what a “Bullie” is?
 
Back in the day, flocks of Bullies used to soar overhead but this is a sight seldom seen these days.
 
In our latest Bush Bites article, Ed Frazer shares his memories of watching Bullies in flight back in the seventies, and he proposes his own theory about why they disappeared … 

…  and perhaps why their flocks may be coming back!

Click here to learn more!

Found in Tuckett Street Park: A tiny turtle!

by

This baby turtle was found emerging from a nest in the  woodchips surrounding the childrens play area in Tuckett St. Park. 

It seems that the mother had laid her eggs in the soft layer of woodchips/sawdust right next to the play equipment.

Some kids in the play area found the turtle. They carried the youngster to the creek and safely released it. 

It seems remarkable that it survived given the number of children (and adults) trampling all over the area!

We assume it is a baby Brisbane Short-necked turtle, but perhaps someone can confirm that! 

If you know the species, please send us an email at:  [email protected]

A Tricky Feathertail Glider Release

by

In our Summer Newsletter, Chris Read kindly shared his  story about the soft release of a Feathertail Glider family from his property.

The story has a happy ending but there are some surprising encounters along the way!

We have now published Chris’s heartwarming story in Bush Bites and we have added some photos to accompany it.

Please click here to open it. It may leave you speculating!

 

If you have a catchment story you are willing to share for Bush Bites, please send an email to: [email protected]

A surprisingly tricky Feathertail Glider release – Chris Read

by

FEATHERTAIL GLIDERS ARE THE MOST ATTRACTIVE ANIMALS – warm, energetic, bouncy, enormous eyes, a feather for a tail and able to curl up in the palm of hand.

 

They glide 20+m between trees. They are hard to find but are actually common in the Moggill Creek catchment.

Our neighbours about a kilometre away had been given a family of Feathertail Gliders that had been rehabilitated for by local Moggill wildlife carers for soft release back into the bush.

Soft releasing involves allowing the gliders to settle into the local environment in an aviary for a number of weeks. They typically feed on local flowering plants, mealworms, etc to build strength in readiness to be released back into the wild.

The aviary is then opened over a succession of nights, allowing them to explore the area but to return if desired for food and shelter during the day. This allows them to transition to fully wild animals quickly, but at their own pace.

But this time we struck an unlikely problem!

After a week or two, the local Boobook Owls (also very common) started visiting nightly. They would sit in front of our neighbour’s aviary and call loudly, surely attracted by the potential food.

It made for great photos of the Owls, but also made it impossible to release the gliders!

I was asked if we could move the gliders to my aviary (remember over a kilometre away) and release them away from the Boobooks.

Wonderful!! … I love gliders and although I had heard Bookbooks regularly calling in the distance, I had never heard them close to my house. After settling the gliders into my aviary, I kept them for two days and then planned to release them.

Soon after dusk on the planned release night, my daughter Nadia came to me and said that she could hear a scary blood curdling screaming sound in our back yard.

When we went to investigate we discovered an incredible family of five amazing Boobook Owls surrounding the aviary almost taunting the gliders to come out and play.

Not the night to release we decided, but I continue to ask myself some questions:

  • How did the Boobooks track the Feathertail Gliders from over a kilometre away when the Feathertails are so tiny and spend most of their time tucked up in their hollow nest box?
  • Can the Owls hear something that we can’t? Is it a smell?
  • If the Owls have senses this sensitive and effective, how does any wild glider, mouse or insect have a chance to survive each night?

We released the gliders a few nights later and regularly hear the Boobooks in the distance. Now that the gliders have departed, the Boobooks are never as close or loud as the night of the planned release…..

Challenge of the Cane Toad

by

Cane toads (Rhinella marina) pose a very serious threat to our native wildlife, particularly those which feed on frogs. This includes goannas, snakes, dingoes and quolls, for whom cane toad venom, which contains adrenalin and cardotoxic steroids, can be lethal.  

The MCCG is working with Professor Rob Capon from the University of Queensland to catch cane toad tadpoles using cane toad venom. We are also liaising with BCC about the collection of adult cane toads.

Note: please check our Summer newsletter for an update about the MCCG’s work on the Cane Toad Challenge!

But in the meantime we can share some info about a different approach to the Cane Toad Challenge. It seems we have other interested parties who are just as keen to eradicate the toad!

Last year, Ed Frazer managed to shoot a sequence of photos showing two different birds feasting on cane toads on separate occasions. The first was a White Ibis. The second was a Cattle Egret. 

For both birds, taking down and ingesting their respective cane toad was no easy feat! 

Here is the first shot of the Egret’s marathon feast:

Check our Bush Bites section to see more of these remarkable and unique photos!