In Ed Frazer’s latest Bush Bites, Colin the Sparrowhawk was saved from certain death.  Ed muses the implications of interfering in the balance of nature and shares the adventures of a new friend.

Meet Colin the Sparrowhawk here

Colin in the Hacking cage 21/11/2019 Photo – Ed Frazer

Summer is here and isn’t it HOT already but not as hot as our latest newsletter!

As always it is packed full of the recent MCCG events such as the annual Photography Competition with an event ‘snap shot’ and also some ‘behind the photo’ tidbits of some of the winners.  Check out who is now First Aid trained and read all about the Creek Health Monitoring Program.

The local fauna and flora is fully covered with information on Powerful Owls, boxing Wallabies, Platypus, Frogs and ‘Collared Colin’. Lomandras, Butterfly Vines and weedy Taro are also featured.

Find out why Yvonne Quinlan volunteers and how you can too.  And if you have always wanted to go for a walk in the park with Malcom Frost – now is your chance!

As usual there is the Chairman’s Report and this newsletter has the AGM wrap up.

Grab a cold drink, sit back and enjoy the latest MCCG Newsletter.

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

The AGM for the Moggill Creek Catchment Group will be held at 7:30pm on Thursday
28th November at the Brookfield Hall.  Our guest speaker will be aquatic ecologist, Dr
Timothy Howell.

Tim is an aquatic ecologist whose childhood interests in freshwater ecology continued
through to his professional career. He holds a degree with honours in Aquatic Science
and a PhD (research) in fish ecology and river rehabilitation. While writing up his PhD
thesis Tim lived in Kenmore and spent much of his spare time poking around in Moggill
Creek. In 2010 he worked with members of the Moggill Creek Catchment Group to
develop the initial sampling protocols for the Creek Health Monitoring Program (CHMP).
Tim was involved in the initial surveys and continued to provide data analysis support
for several years after moving to the Sunshine Coast in 2012.

In recent years Tim has continued to undertake aquatic ecology assessments across
Queensland, including managing and leading an extensive annual fish sampling
program across the Brisbane region. He has also undertaken detailed assessments of
fish assemblages in several catchments within the Brisbane region, including such an
assessment within the Moggill Creek catchment in 2017.

This presentation will provide an overview of fish assemblages in Moggill Creek
covering:
– Native, translocated and introduced pest species recorded in recent times
– Species that appear to have become locally extinct
– Species which may be recorded in the foreseeable future
– Variability in life histories
– Spatial variability in assemblage composition
– The value of long-term monitoring programs (such as the CHMP)

Renewal and Committee Nomination Forms
Open the Membership Renewal Form for 2021 here and Nomination Form for
Committee positions by clicking here.

Recently MCCG obtained funding from the State Government under the Queensland Citizen Science Grants for a program to re-activate our Creek Health Monitoring Program (CHMP), with a particular emphasis on community involvement. The project is led by Adrian Webb and Lewis Peach and aims to survey at least 6 primary sites in the Moggill Creek catchment, (including Moggill, Gold and Savages Creeks) over a period of 3 years. Surveys will be carried out twice a year at each site and will comprise four elements: 1. Water Quality Monitoring, 2. Fish and 3. Macro-invertebrate Surveys and 4. Assessment of structure and composition of the creek bed, bank and riparian zone at each site (including invasive weeds).

The first major event of the program was a Fish Survey Training session on Sunday 15^th November, led by Leo Lee from ‘Save Our Waterways Now’ (SOWN), who is an expert on native fish in the greater Brisbane area. The training was held in Gold Creek just inside the Gold Creek Dam site and was attended by 18 enthusiastic volunteers. It was a very hot day, so all of us were happy to get into the creek, although care was taken to disturb the water and the creek bed as little as possible. We learned how to catch fish, both with box net fish traps and with dip nets and to identify some of the more common species, both native and introduced. (All native fish caught were returned to the creek). The event was somewhat hampered by the fact that there was no electrical power to The Cottage due to a fallen tree, which meant that we had no refrigeration, but fortunately Leo had brought a petrol generator, so he was able to conclude the training by showing us some very interesting video clips to reinforce the practical training. Leo is a mine of information and anecdotes about the fish of Moggill and surrounding creeks, so an interesting and entertaining time was had by all, despite the rather oppressive heat.

More information about the Creek Health Monitoring Project

If you would like to become involved in the CHMP, please contact me at: [email protected]

Jim Pope

Jim Pope setting a fish trap (photo: Tracey Read)

Practising with a fish net. (photo: Tracey Read)

Fish ID – Native/non-native (photo: Tracey Read)

Leo Lee presenting at the cottage (photo: Jim Pope)

Twelve volunteers recently attended a First Aid training course run specifically for MCCG by St John’s Ambulance and held in Brookfield Hall. The training was organised by Sam Bayford-Brown and funded by Brisbane City Council. It included Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training as well as basic first aid. It was attended by volunteers from our Native Plant Nursery and bushcare groups, as well as several Habitat Brisbane group leaders and MCCG Committee Members. John, the trainer from St John’s Ambulance, did an excellent job under somewhat trying conditions, (it was a very hot day and there is no air-conditioning in Brookfield Hall). John also had to compete with a thunderstorm in the afternoon and numerous police ambulance sirens, which made the experience somewhat surreal, but perhaps emphasised that accidents can occur at anytime and it is best to be prepared!

Many thanks to Sam for cajoling so many of us into updating our first aid training and to Donna Edwards and Simon Fox from Brisbane City Council (Community Conservation Partnerships/Habitat Brisbane) for supporting the initiative.

Attendees at First Aid Training in Brookfield Hall

The 2020 MCCG Photography Competition successfully concluded with a fabulous selection of photographs wowing the public at Kenmore Village recently.  See all the category winners here.

Thank you to all the volunteers, contributors, supporters and sponsors for making this annual event such a success!

Water Dragon by William McConaghy

In his penultimate issue of Feather Fascination,  Jim Butler reminds us of the importance of looking after habitats, nature and in essence our future too.  The consequences of climate change are dire for everyone.

To find out more, head to Jim Butler’s Feather Fascination November 2020.

Photo: Tawny Frogmouth and chick – Ed Frazer

As part of our new MCCG Citizen Science Creek Health Monitoring Project (CHMP) we are proposing to run a Fish Survey training session on Sunday 15^thNovember. If we have sufficient rain before then and conditions are suitable, the training will be carried out by the creek at a site to be advised. Otherwise it will be run as a classroom session at The Cottage, Gold Creek Dam.

Participants will learn about fish sampling and identification. No Previous experience is necessary and all those interested in participating in the MCCG Citizen Science CHMP are encouraged to attend. The training will start at 8.00am and last a little over half a day.  Refreshments and Lunch will be provided. Numbers are limited so if you are interested in taking part in the training, or to find out more, please email Jim Pope at [email protected] or phone (07) 3374 4181.