lizard

Moggill Creek

Catchment Group

News

Know Your Wildlife!

by

Test your skills each month with MCCG’s Wildlife Identification Quiz!

You’ll find Know Your Wildlife towards the back of every month’s The Local Bulletin.  Answers can be found by searching in the MCCG Catchment Field Guides.

Here is the May quiz:

Which of these birds is a brood parasite?

 

Photos by Ed Frazer

Answer:

  1. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) 
  2. Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)
  3. Brown Cuckoo-dove (Macropygia amboinensis)

The Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) is a brood parasite – it lays its eggs in the nests of
flycatchers, fairy-wrens, scrubwrens and thornbills, particularly the Brown Thornbill, Acanthiza
pusilla.

 

Published in

Kids’ Day at The Cottage – Sunday June 13th

by

Lock in the date for the much loved Kids’ Day at The Cottage.  This year we will again feature wildlife shows, arts & crafts activities and much, much more.

Members can pre-registration now by filling in this online form.

For more information about previous Kids’ Days go to this page Kids Day.

Sunday June 13th ~ 10am – 1pm

 

Vale Mike Humphreys (1942 – 2021)

by

Moggill Creek Catchment Group has lost one of its longstanding
members who has worked tirelessly as part of this volunteer action
group with the aim to conserve and improve the natural environment of
its catchment on both private and public land.

Since 1999 Mike has led the Gap Creek Bushcare Group working
to transform weed-filled undergrowth, and grazed paddocks, into a
creekside rainforest filled with a wide variety of local native plants. It also
includes a large planting of Richmond Birdwing vines to contribute to a
western Brisbane corridor hoping to bring back the threatened Richmond
Birdwing Butterfly species.

Far more often than scheduled working bees, the presence of his old
station wagon regularly parked at the Brookfield Rd entrance was
evidence that Mike was quietly working, bushcaring, somewhere on site.
Mike put in an enormous effort to bring the local landholders together to
plant indigenous species and create a healthy riparian zone along Gap
Creek. A very visible outcome is the establishment of a beautiful walking
trail along one side of the creek from Brookfield Road near Deerhurst
Road to Kookaburra Street which allows the local community to
appreciate the site’s on-going transformation into wonderful habitat for
native fauna.

Mike was always a strong advocate for the environment and his
enthusiasm and knowledge will be greatly missed by the MCCG. His
family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, Mike’s friends make
a donation to MCCG, either directly or via this gofundme site:
www.gofundme.com/f/hk6c42-michael-s-humphreys-memorial-gifts-for-bushcare

Vale Mike Humphreys.

Wildlife Matters & so does the habitat!

by

Our usual Wildlife Matters column in The Local Bulletin  focuses on our incredibly diverse wildlife in the catchment but this month we have a slightly different focus.  Wildlife thrives in a healthy habitat and we are very pleased to feature one of our catchment sites that is being restored and well looked after.

Here is the clickable link for the YouTube Video

 

All Wildlife Matters columns can be found in the Media Centre

Published in

Know Your Wildlife!

by

Test your skills each month with MCCG’s Wildlife Identification Quiz!

You’ll find Know Your Wildlife towards the back of every month’s The Local Bulletin.  Answers can be found by searching in the MCCG Catchment Field Guides.

We will provide the answers to each quiz right here in the first week of every month!

Here is the April quiz:

Which of these butterflies is NOT classified as a swallowtail?

1.

2.

3.

Chequered

  1. Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus – photo Ed Frazer)
  2. Tailed Emperor (Polyura sempronius – photo Ed Frazer)
  3. Clearwing Swallowtail (Cressida Cressida – photo Ed Frazer)

 

Answer:

The Tailed Emperor (Polyura sempronius) is classified as a Nymph, NOT a Swallowtail.

 

Published in

 

The Autumn Newsletter is out!

by

Now is the perfect time to grab a cuppa and take a good few minutes to relax and read another great MCCG Newsletter.  The Autumn Newsletter is packed full with so many interesting stories. There are frogs, hairy nosed wombats, echidnas, spoonbills, egrets, whipbirds, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, azure kingfishers and info on our volunteer efforts with bush care groups, working bees and much, much more.  Honestly, there is too much to list here!

Go and check it out for yourself Autumn Newsletter

Or read all the Past Newsletters

Pssst! We are also on the lookout for more volunteers with all different skills to help us continue all the behind the scenes work of Moggill Creek Catchment Group.  Could you join the MCCG team? More info in the newsletter.

Echidna Photo: Dave Edwards

Plant up the dams and creek sides.

by

The Moggill Creek Catchment is not well off for water to supply the district’s wildlife. Apart from the Gold Creek Dam and Gold and Moggill creeks there is little other permanent water. Even then the upper parts of Moggill Creek have dried out in recent droughts. The non- permanent creeks dry out rather quickly as most have porous, rocky bases in the upper reaches.

Little Pied Cormorant, Great Egret and Royal Spoonbill attracted to a well planted farm dam.  Photo: Ed Frazer

There were a few farm dams left over from the dairy and fruit farms in past times and recently a few dams have been built on private acreage. Unfortunately sites are often difficult and many have leaking problems and their water holding capacity is small. To make the most of what is available to encourage the wildlife and especially the small birds, reptiles and mammals that are dependant on reliable water sources, we need to improve the habitat around those existing water sources.

Dams with clear areas around their shores are only attract a range of aggressive birds such as Magpies, Butcherbirds, Magpie Larks, Ibis and Kookaburras. The same is true of the creeks where they have been cleared of overhanging vegetation. Ideally creeks should be planted with overhanging trees such as Sandpaper Figs, Mellalucas and creek Lillipillies. The trees should be reinforced with extensive plantings of shrubs, and patches of sedges, grasses and Lomandra.

Farm dams need similar treatment, but only the high side of the dam and where the water comes in need to be planted. Wattles make a useful planting higher on the banks and Grevilleas also do well around dams. Planting in the dams should include some broad-leaved plants for the frogs as well as sedges. Be careful with water lilies particularly if the dam is shallow.  Avoid Hardy waterlilies and use Tropical Waterlilies and Night Bloomers as they don’t spread and choke out the dam.

If you establish a good habitat around the dam or creek side you will be rewarded by a large range of beautiful birds such as Azure Kingfishers and a wide range of water birds, small mammals such as echidnas and water dragons. A well plated dam or creek side with a good tree canopy will go a long way to keeping out invasive water weeds. It will also contribute to making the creek a more suitable habitat for Platypus.

Azure Kingfisher taking advantage of a perch on a dead flower stalk over a farm dam.  Photo: Ed Frazer

Butterfly Talk Thursday evening 25th March with Cliff Meyer

by

Find out about the 87 species of Butterflies found so far in Brisbane’s Big Butterfly Count 2021.

Guest speaker Cliff Meyer will show and tell all at our first 2021 MCCG public meeting. To read Cliff Meyer’s bio click here.

7pm Thursday 25 March Brookfield Showground Hall.

A wonderful talk to enjoy and it includes a static display of the 87 species recorded to date.

Blue Tiger Butterfly   Photo: Jim Pope

Brisbane Biodiversity Seminar series – Aquatic Anomalies Tuesday 9th March

by

As the most biodiverse capital city in Australia Brisbane is home to some extraordinary rule breakers. Come and hear about current research and rehabilitation efforts for two of our most baffling aquatic creatures – a fish that has lungs and a mammal that lays eggs!

Event details

Date: Tuesday 9 March 2021

6.30pm – 8.30pm

Location: Kenmore Library Meeting Rooms – due to social distancing requirements, numbers are limited to 40 attendees, therefore this Seminar will also be Live Streamed online via “Teams”.

Schedule of events

6:15pm Doors open. Free Tea and Coffee will be available throughout the evening.

6:30pm Welcome

6:45pm – 7:30pm Tamielle Blunt (UQ PhD candidate & WPSQ Project Officer)

Platypus an Elusive Enigma – Tamielle will speak about all things platypus from history, biology, ecology, conservation, latest DNA sampling technologies and her PhD research. Tamielle hopes through research and community education, protection for this iconic species will become a priority because they are a species that may disappear right under our noses.

7:45pm – 8:30pm Mark Waud (Senior Scientist, Healthy Land and Water)

Lungfish Rehabilitation Project – Mark is heading up an exciting project which is giving the Australian Lungfish a helping hand by restoring their critical breeding habitats in the Brisbane River, significantly damaged by recent floods. He will take you through the surprising twists and turns in a project which is focussed on re-establishing the submerged aquatic plants that are vital for lungfish breeding.

RSVP: Bookings are essential. Book your spot through Eventbrite by noon Tuesday 9 March. If you register for the Live Stream, you will be sent the link and instructions on how to join the online event once you’ve registered.

For any enquiries, please call Tony Mlynarik on 0414 784 222