• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
lizard

Moggill Creek

Catchment Group

  • Home
  • About MCCG
    • History Of MCCG
    • Catchment In Context
    • Governance
    • Benefits to our catchment
    • Projects
    • Why Do We Care
    • Volunteering
    • The Cottage
  • Get Involved
  • The Nursery
  • Activities
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Projects
    • Cottage Talks
    • Kids’ Day
    • Working Bees
    • Photography Competition
    • Platypus Survey
    • Creek Health Monitoring
    • Private Land Rehabilitation
  • Catchment Field Guides
    • Birds common in our Catchment
    • Butterflies in our Catchment
    • Declared plants in our Catchment
    • Dragonflies in our Catchment
    • Freshwater fish in our catchment
    • Freshwater turtles in our catchment
    • Frogs in our Catchment
    • Ladybirds in our Catchment
    • Mammals in our Catchment
    • Rare and vagrant birds in our Catchment
  • Plants
  • Wildlife
    • Birds
    • Butterflies
    • Dung Beetles
    • Feral Animals
    • Koalas
    • Native Fish
    • Platypus
  • Landscape
    • The Creeks
    • Soils
    • Vegetation
    • Land Use
    • Geology
    • Land Restoration
  • Media Centre
  • News & Newsletters
    • Latest News
    • News Archive
    • MCCG Newsletters
  • Bush Bites
  • Reference Material
  • Useful Links
  • Membership
    • Membership Information
    • Member Sign Up
    • Membership Renewal
    • Request Password
  • Contact MCCG

Balancing Flora and Fauna – Bush Bites with Ed Frazer

April 7, 2024 by mccgadmin

One of the aims of the MCCG is to restore the catchment to pre-colonisation as much as possible.

This aim is to support the return of the flora and fauna to something like what it was before our forebears cleared the land to supply food and timber to the emerging Brisbane settlement.  

To achieve this the MCCG has strongly encouraged the planting of plants native to the local area and the removal of exotic weed species.

Unfortunately, much of the catchment has been developed as pasture for horses with extensive planting of trees. The habitat this produces only encourages aggressive species such as Magpies, Butcherbirds and Mickeys.

When you consider what was here before was a huge variety of different habitats including large areas of vine forest and dry rainforest, the task of supporting the fauna that was here before settlement is never going to be achieved.

The recent seasons have been interesting in that despite excellent growing conditions the range of bird species present has been severely reduced and is only just starting to recover after several good years. It is quite apparent that we are not breeding enough birds in the catchment and are dependent on birds coming in from areas outside the catchment to replace those lost in the previous drought.

That we can support a wide range of species (over 170 species on my property) has been that they are largely supported by exotics, including several weed species such as Lantana, Chinese Elm, Camphor Laurel and Brazilian Cherry. These “weeds” are highly prolific when compare with natives. For instance, Lantana not only produces flowers and berries most of the year, the fruit dries out and hangs on the bushes through winter like dried out sultanas, which support a range of fruit eaters when nothing else is available. At the same time Lantana provides an impenetrable habitat for a range of animals such as Pademelons, Bettongs, Echidnas and nesting sites for finches and fairy wrens. 

While I am not suggesting we plant Lantana, we need to look at the plusses of exotic weeds and balance this information against the negatives. Clearing Lantana without considering what it is supporting is poor conservation.

What we can do is replace the weeds with productive species. The hybrid varieties of Grevilleas and Callistemons (now Melaleucas) flower far more frequently than the native species and support a range of birds. 

Balancing Flora and Fauna A Scarlet Honeyeater taking nectar from a highly productive hybrid Grevillea. Photo:Ed Frazer

 Some “weeds” determined by the BCC are not excessively weedy in the catchment and should not be removed. For instance, the Brazilian Cherry grows more like a shrub in our soils and doesn’t spread widely like it does in Florida.  It produces a huge load of berries in the heart of winter, supporting Mistletoes birds and many other species when nothing else is available. Its shrubby nature also provides excellent habitat. The Camphor Laurel is a beautiful tree and it can be easily contained so it doesn’t spread. It is hugely productive and research has shown it attracts and supports many native birds that bring in seeds of native species that are beneficial to support fruit eaters. Removing mature Camphor Laurels often results in a huge germination of seedlings that become a greater problem to control.

When developing a property in the Catchment give some thought to what is existing in the area before removing the exotics that may be supporting the wildlife. Select high producing natives, such as hybrid Callistemon and Grevilleas and consider exotics such as Guavas and Citrus. Plant new habitat before clearing weeds such as Lantana. If you clear the Lantana habitat first the wildlife its supporting will go away and probably never return. Consider species that support insects and provide fruit. Add a water feature with heavy planting to give safe access and you will go a long way to helping the Catchment supporting the wildlife that was here before settlement.

Ed Frazer

Filed Under: Bush Bites, News

Primary Sidebar

  • Latest Newsletter
  • Photo Competition
  • Projects
  • Creek Health Monitoring
  • Calendar of Events
  • Working Bees
  • Catchment Field Guides
Get  Involved!
MCCG on Facebook MCCG on Facebook
MCCG on YouTube MCCG on YouTube
MCCG on Instagram MCCG on Instagram

Secondary Sidebar

  • Home
  • About MCCG
    • History Of MCCG
    • Catchment In Context
    • Governance
    • Benefits to our catchment
    • Projects
      • Old Gold Creek Sawmill Forest Walk
      • Anzac Tree Daisy Project
      • Bird Project
      • Bird Project – Deerhurst Street Park
      • Creek Health Monitoring
      • Pacey Road
      • Rowena Street Park Restoration Project
      • Streamsavers
      • Smith’s Scrub
    • Why Do We Care
    • Volunteering
    • The Cottage
  • Get Involved
  • The Nursery
  • Activities
    • Old Gold Creek Sawmill Forest Walk
    • Projects
    • Cottage Talks
    • Kids’ Day
    • Working Bees
    • Photo Competition
    • Platypus Survey
    • Creek Health Monitoring
    • Private Land Rehabilitation
  • Calendar of Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Events List
  • Catchment Field Guides
    • Birds common in our Catchment
    • Butterflies in our Catchment
    • Declared plants in our Catchment
    • Dragonflies in our Catchment
    • Freshwater fish in our catchment
    • Freshwater turtles in our catchment
    • Frogs in our Catchment
    • Ladybirds in our Catchment
    • Mammals in our Catchment
    • Rare and vagrant birds in our Catchment
  • Plants
  • Wildlife
    • Birds
    • Butterflies
    • Dung Beetles
    • Feral Animals
    • Koalas
    • Native Fish
    • Platypus
  • Landscape
    • The Creeks
    • Soils
    • Vegetation
    • Land Use
    • Geology
    • Land Restoration
  • Media Centre
  • News & Newsletters
    • Latest News
    • News Archive
    • MCCG Newsletters
  • Bush Bites
  • Reference Material
  • Useful Links
  • Membership
    • Membership Information
    • Member Sign Up
    • Member Sign In & Renewals
    • Request Password
  • Contact MCCG
  • Donations
  • Affiliate Noticeboard and Directory
    • Affiliate Directory
    • Affiliate Noticeboard
      • Affiliate Noticeboard Post Item
      • Affiliate Noticeboard Edit Item

© MOGGILL CREEK CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP INC.
ABN 57 981 459 029
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US

ACNC-Registered-Charity-Logo_RGB

Proudly supported by

aus-gov-logo
BCC-Logo-ILoveBNE

© MOGGILL CREEK CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP INC.
ABN 57 981 459 029
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US

Proudly supported by

supported-by