News

MCCG AGM & Guest Speaker Wesley Nielsen Tues Nov 25th

October 23, 2025 by mccgadmin

Moggill Creek Catchment Group AGM

Tuesday 25th November 2025

Brookfield Hall (Showgrounds)

DOORS OPEN 6.30 pm AGM & TALK 7- 9 pm

Refreshments provided

Guest Speaker: Wesley Nielsen – WiFi Enabled Nest-boxes in Local Parks

Wesley has been passionate about our native fauna all his life. Growing up on a Land for Wildlife property in Brisbane’s Western suburbs gave him the opportunity to discover our often hidden arboreal fauna by inspecting nest boxes.

Over the last few years, Wesley has begun the journey of taking the experience from a 10 year career in electronics product design and manufacturing to develop the first standalone and purpose designed nest box monitoring station.

Wesley’s dream is to use this technology to enable all members of the community to discover our native arboreal fauna and in doing so capture the date required for anyone across Australia to develop best practice tools like nesting boxes and other systems to support the conservation of these precious species.”

There will also be a small quantity of Platypus merchandise left over from the 20th Anniversary Platypus Survey for sale.

Cash and Card payments accepted for merchandise and for renewing membership.

Wildlife Matters! Nest Building by a Potter Wasp

October 15, 2025 by mccgadmin

A few months ago, a large, beautifully marked wasp appeared, building a mud nest just outside our front door and well in under the eave. It was a Potter Wasp, Phimenes arcuatus. It had chosen the stem of a potted Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) and, as time went by, its frequent arrivals each day carrying a ball of mud, led to it constructing a series of mud cells, each to hold an egg and each built on top of the previous one, gradually encasing the stem of the fig. It was fascinating to watch its marvellous skill, fashioning the moistened mud by using its forelimbs and mandibles to make each dome-shaped ‘pot’. At the top of each cell it left a very carefully made entrance hole, circled by a lip, and just the right size for the female wasp to insert her ovipositor (photo 1) to deposit an egg in the cell. Female Potter Wasp laying egg in mud nest

Her next task was to find and insert a caterpillar to nourish the wasp larva after it hatched (photo 2). Sometimes the cell would remain open for many hours, even overnight. Were caterpillars of the right size hard to find? Had the wasp died? And then we’d find the entrance sealed and the wasp would do some more mud work, perhaps to obscure where the entrance was, before she started on the next cell up the stem, building it partly on top of the one just finished so that the nest as a whole gradually extended up the stem. A video of the whole process can be seen on the MCCG YouTube.

Female Potter Wasp bringing caterpillar to feed larva

And then one day I noticed that one of the wasp’s wings was fraying, shortening it be a third. How could she fly? But she kept coming. Then one day ‘she’ arrived with two intact wings! And the penny dropped; apparently there was more than one wasp! And maybe more? As the cells extended up the stem, the wasps put on more mud, obscuring the definition of individual cells.

From about mid-December 2024 and on through March the cells extended up the fig’s stem by about 20 cm. While cells at the top were still being built and provisioned, exit holes low down showed that mature adults were already emerging at the bottom (photo 3). Eventually the upward extension came to an end about the end of March. Counting the exit holes in early May, at least 25 new adults had emerged. It seems to have been a successful nesting season.

Complete Potter Wasp nest showing exit holes

Words and Photos by Gordon Grigg

Published in the October 2025 edition of the Local Bulletin

20th Anniversary Platypus Survey and Celebration – Sept. 14th 2025

September 30, 2025 by mccgadmin

Thank you again to all the volunteer Platypus Spotters and Supporters for, joining us for the 20th anniversary of the Moggill Creek Catchment Group’s Platypus Survey! The longest running platypus survey!

A huge effort from all involved and I cannot thank you enough for your patience and support!

We had more than 80 volunteers across 53 sites, and 12 platypuses were spotted!

I mentioned that the lower numbers with such a huge survey effort may be because we are coming to the end of breeding season. There may not be as much movement from the males anymore (their job is done) and the females would be in their burrows, hopefully nesting with babies! The babies will emerge early next year!

A big thank you to the Team Leaders – Melanie Venz, Beck Bain, Damien Egan, Sophia Broese van Groenou, Aaron Wiggan, Julia Wharton and Suzy Philip, a massive thank you for helping wrangle such a mammoth effort. To the Moggill Creek Catchment Chair Tracey Read for organising the celebrations and the many people and organisations who supported the event, we really could not have done it without you ALL!!!

Enjoy watching the video for the 20th Anniversary Platypus Survey and Celebration!

Until, next year take care,

Tam.

Dr Tamielle Brunt

Platypus Watch

Wildlife Queensland

2025 Photo Competition

August 31, 2025 by mccgadmin

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

Get your cameras out and start snapping to enter this year’s competition. There is over $1500 up for grabs in cash prizes, thanks to the generosity of our local sponsors.

Entry is open to all members of the public with photographs taken within the Brisbane and Ipswich Catchments. See the flyer below for details on Open categories and Digital Young Persons (prep – year 6) category.

The 2025 Photo Competition forms can be downloaded now

General Entry Form

Terms and Conditions of entry for the Digital Young Person category

20th Annual Platypus Survey Celebration – All welcome – Sunday 14th September

August 15, 2025 by mccgadmin

Following the early morning platypus survey (0430 – 0730 am), everyone is welcome to join in the 20th Annual Platypus Survey celebration!

Sunday September 14th – Brookfield Showgrounds Bar – 0830-1130

0830: Sausage Sizzle run by the Kenmore Girl Guides

0830 – 1130: Interactive waterbed investigations, environmental displays, arts and crafts and games

0900 – 1000: Wildlife Show by WildCall

1015: Welcome and celebratory speeches by MCCG Chairperson, History of the platypus survey by Dr Tamielle Brunt

1030: Cutting of the celebration cake and photo time with a life-size platypus!

Don’t forget to support future surveys with platypus merchandise and the fundraising raffle.

If you would like to volunteer as a ‘platy spotter’ for the platypus survey register here:

Wildlife Matters: Volunteers needed for Platypus Survey

August 15, 2025 by mccgadmin

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September 14th Platypus Survey register now

August 3, 2025 by mccgadmin

It’s the 20^th year of the MCCG platypus survey!

Please register for the morning survey here.

Sunday 14^th September

4:30am – Meeting at Brookfield General Store

5:00am – Head to site with team leader and ready at site by 5:30

7:30am – Finish Survey and head to breakfast at the Brookfield showgrounds (550 Upper Brookfield Rd).

There will be a celebration in the morning from 9am at the same location. There will be cake!

It’s a huge milestone for the catchment group, more details on the celebration breakfast to come soon.

The Winter Newsletter is out now …

July 3, 2025 by mccgadmin

Enjoy reading all the latest news and happenings from the Moggill Creek Catchment Group in the Winter newsletter. Meet some of the other members and how they are supporting the group, and learn more about weeds, wildlife and natives too. Thank you very much to all the contributors. Everyone is most welcome (and encouraged!) to contribute a articles or photos.

Click her to read the Winter Newsletter

Brookie Show 2025. Our new MCCG double marquee (Photo Tracey Read)

Kids’ Day at The Cottage Land Bugs marquee with Jessa and Andrew (Photo Tracey Read)

Kids’ Day at The Cottage Water Bugs marquee (Photo Tracey Read)

Kids’ Day at The Cottage Volunteer of the Day Oliver (Photo Tracey Read)

MCCG Nurser volunteer John Crowley (phot0 Tracey Read)

June 24th Evening Talk: Echidnas with Dr Kate

June 11, 2025 by mccgadmin

Please join us for MCCG’s second evening talk for the year. Dr Kate Dutton-Regester is a wildlife ecologist and lecturer based in Brisbane (Meanjin), with a deep passion for Australian native species and community-driven conservation. She holds a PhD from The University of Queensland and has led numerous research projects across wildlife health and ecology.

June 24th at the Kenmore Library (after-hours entrance via Lift)

Doors open 6.30pm for a 7 pm start.

Refreshments provided.

Everyone welcome.

The Joys of Weeding! Wildlife Matters

May 27, 2025 by mccgadmin

Weeds can generally be thought of as plants that are in the wrong place, for example unwanted species in a herbaceous border or vegetable patch. Many of them may have positive attributes, for example as a food source for insects, birds or other wildlife. Mark Twain defined a weed as a plant whose benefits have yet to be recognized (or words to that effect). Since colonization, thousands of plant species have been introduced to Australia, either deliberately, for agriculture and horticulture, or inadvertently as overseas trade and travel has multiplied. Many of them have been beneficial, but a small proportion have had devastating consequences for agriculture and/or the environment.

I have written previously in this column (January 2023) about the devastating impact of exotic weed vines on some of our riparian zones. Cat’s claw creeper, Madeira vine and glycine can smother and overwhelm native trees and shrubs if left unchecked. For this reason, much of the time of our bushcare groups is spent weeding. While this may be less appealing to many of our volunteers than planting native species, it is essential to maintaining a healthy ecosystem and has its own rewards. There is great satisfaction in freeing a beautiful native tree from the burden of overbearing weed vines that otherwise would deprive it of sunlight and make it more susceptible to damage by storm or flood. It also provides good physical exercise and there are mental health benefits. If you have had a bad week, or are depressed by the state of the world, a couple of hours attacking weeds along your local creek can be an effective outlet for your frustrations and help to relieve stress!

Recently, the Huntington/Tuckett bushcare group was involved in some weed removal on a grander scale (see photos). During the middle of the last century, Chinese elm trees (Celtis sinensis) were planted extensively along creek banks in the local area. These are large deciduous trees that grow rapidly and provide intense shade in summer, which were presumably seen as attributes by the dairy farmers who occupied much of the area at this time. Unfortunately, they also produce prodigious quantities of seeds, spread rapidly and suppress the growth of native species by depriving them of light. Removal of these trees is an ongoing challenge and last year we received a grant from Brisbane City Council to employ contractors to remove and chip three large Chinese elms from an area near the Branton St. footbridge in Brookfield and replace them with natives. The project proved challenging, (the three trees produced around 80 cubic metres of wood chips!) and was not helped by the recent adverse weather and floods, but eventually we succeeded – see photos. Thanks to the Council and all those volunteers who braved the elements to assist with site preparation and the planting of 180 native trees and shrubs!

If you would like to join one of our bushcare groups, do your bit for the local environment, get some healthy exercise and meet some of your neighbours over morning tea please check out the MCCG website or contact me at [email protected]

Jim Pope

Industrial strength weed clearing and mulching – photo Jim Pope

Re-planting with natives, in the rain! – photo Jim Pope

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