News

The tale of two non-native grasses. Talk by Prof. Jennifer Firn

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On the evening of Thursday 30th July, MCCG held its first Public Meeting of 2020 in Brookfield Hall. Prof. Jennifer Firn from QUT gave us a very interesting talk on the subject ‘The tale of two non-native grasses’. Prof. Firn, who is an environmental ecologist, proved to be a very enthusiastic and engaging speaker. She told us that there are approximately 2200 non-native (exotic) grasses that have been introduced to Australia since white settlement, far outnumbering the native species. Some of them have agricultural benefits, but many have spread into conservation areas where they have a negative impact on biodiversity and traditional aboriginal methods of land management. The talk was greeted enthusiastically by the audience, which was limited by the need to comply with covid-19 restrictions.

            

Photo Caption: Jim Pope presenting a gift to Prof. Firn in appreciation of her talk.

Councillor Greg Adermann supports MCCG

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Councillor Greg Adermann, the new Councilor for Pullenvale Ward, attended a meeting of the MCCG Management Committee held on Thursday 23rd July at our headquarters, ‘The Cottage’ at Gold Creek Dam. We presented him with a copy of the book that was produced in 2017 for the 20th Anniversary of MCCG and to tell him about some of our current plans. Cr Adermann expressed very strong support for all of our work and we hope to work with him on some future projects to enhance the local environment and engage more of the local community in our activities.

Photo Caption: Cr. Adermann at the MCCG committee meeting. Left to right: Malcolm Frost (Vice-Chairman); Alan Walmsley (Treasurer); Dale Borgelt (Cottage Manager); Kathleen Walmsley (Secretary); Jim Pope (Chairman); Cr Adermann; Mike Humphreys; Gordon Grigg.

 

Reducing our use of rodenticides

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Australian birds of prey such as owls and raptors can be killed by internal bleeding when they eat rodents who have ingested rat bait.

In 2018 a Western Australian study found that 73% of southern boobook owls which were found dead had anticoagulant rodenticides in their systems.

Small mammals such as possums, antechinus and bandicoots can also fall victim to bait that has been laid out to attract and kill rats and mice, and even larger mammals like wallabies and kangaroos have been known to suffer from rodenticide poisoning.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is currently asking Australians for their views about the regulation of rodent poisons.

On their website, Birdlife Australia offers advice about minimising our use of rodenticides. They also invite you to take a pledge to leave Second Generation rodent poisons on the shelf.

For more information, please visit their website.

Yellow-footed antechinus in our catchment © Beck Bain

The MCCG Native Plant Nursery at Gold Creek Dam recently installed a Bard Owl nesting box in the hope of attracting a pair of barn owls to take up residence and help control rodents in an environmentally friendly way. Rats and mice continually cause damage to seedlings in the nursery. The nesting box was funded by part of a grant from Brisbane City Council that supports the operations of the nursery. Thanks to Andrew Wilson and Damien Egan for installing the box. We will keep you posted if any barn owls (or other native wildlife) take up residence!

Brisbane City Council Free Native Plants Program

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MCCG members have an advantage when it comes to planting out their properties. We provide free plants for our members, mostly grown at our Nursery from seed collected by volunteers, all year round.

Brisbane City Council also offers a variety of native plants to eligible residents, who can claim two free native plants each financial year (July to June).

Residents who have purchased a newly built home or moved into their owner-built home within the past 12 months in targeted suburbs in the West can claim four free plants.

For more information, head to the Brisbane City Council website.

If you’re a MCCG member, don’t forget our Nursery is stocked with a wide range of trees, shrubs and understorey plants all looking for a good home, and free to members.

A list of available plants is available here: Grasses and other Herbaceous Plants

For more info please email Bryan Hacker at:  [email protected]

AND HAPPY PLANTING!!!

Plastic free July – get involved!

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For instance: switch from shower gel to bars of soap.

Use leaf tea instead of tea bags ….

It’s that simple!

We can each make a positive and lasting impact on the environment.

The time to start is NOW!

To find out how, head to the Plastic Free July website.

Marine litter (taken by Bo Elde in Norway, 2020)
Image provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Do birds of a feather really flock together?

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In fact, birds of different species engage in mutual “mobbing” behaviour, usually to ward off predators.

In his latest issue of Feather Fascination,  Jim Butler describes calls exchanged in collaboration between Noisy Miners and Magpies. Remarkably, there is clearly a common code of communication between them.

And it appears that this innate understanding is global.

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

Research shows that the humble Noisy Miner communicates with other bird species – © Ed Frazer 

Know your wildlife?

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

You'll find Know Your Wildlife towards the back of every month's The Local Bulletin.

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

So, do you have your answers ready for the July quiz?  The correct answers are:

  1. Rose-crowned fruit dove
  2. Emerald dove
  3. Latham's Snipe.

ps: If you need some help, we'd recommend searching our digital field guides! Open them from the side menu:

These alphabetical lists provide a wealth of local information about wildlife. They feature thumb-nail images which expand to a larger view when you click upon them.

Keep an eye out for next month's quiz! 

WOW factor!

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That’s the best way to describe our latest newsletter for Winter 2020!

This issue has something to please everyone! It’s loaded with photos and great articles.

We meet our new PR Officer Sam Bayford-Brown who certainly hasn’t let the Corona Virus lockdown get in her way!

And another new member Dr Manda Page, who works for the Queensland Government, will educate us about threatened species here in the catchment.

Are you struggling with the scourge of Balloon Vine? Bryan Hacker can help you!  And he also profiles the native Binung Fern which is available for members from the Nursery.

As if that’s not enough, Bryan shares a lovely photo of a very special spider’s web.

Ed Frazer never fails to astonish with his dazzling photos. In this issue Ed’s shutter is focused on Scarlet Jezebel butterflies, their pupae and the adult butterfly – a great read and a feast for the eyes! Ed has also written a wonderful profile about longstanding MCCG member and horticulturalist Andrew Wilson.

Phil Bird brings us up-to-date on the number of frog species recently surveyed in the catchment. Have you heard of a Bleating tree frog? Go check out Phil’s article!

And our Chairman Jim Pope delivers a call to arms to double the area of protected land in Queensland from 8% to 17%.

GRAB A CUPPA AND HEAD TO OUR WINTER NEWSLETTER!!  Just click the link at the top right of your screen! You’ll be glad you did!

Our sincere thanks to Newsletter Editor Cathi Lawrence for delivering such a vibrant issue, and to our loyal and hard working contributors for their diverse and quality content. We acknowledge the skills and effort of so many MCCG members – we are indeed fortunate.

The stunning Scarlet Jezebel – © Ed Frazer 

 

Secrets of a motion sensor camera

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With the support of Cody Hochen, Wildlife Conservation Partnerships Program Officer at Brisbane City Council, a group of MCCG members set up a motion-sensor camera in the Kenmore High School grounds near McKay Brook over the last couple of weeks (June 2020).

They have graciously shared the results with us. The images were surprising in many ways, showing that some fauna is highly active at night. Only a few different species were recorded, but there was plenty of activity from them on most nights. In all, over 500 images were captured!

There were shots of a couple of possums, with one of them a short-eared possum.

Lots of bandicoot interest! Unfortunately the camera was a little too high and every image is of its back. Cody believes it is a long-nosed bandicoot.

There was the usual brush turkey activity and sadly, also a very healthy fox. It was only captured on one occasion. This is particularly disappointing as it has only been a month after unsuccessful efforts by a BCC trapper to trap feral cats and foxes in the area.

There were high hopes for a photo of an echidna as there are clear signs of activity but unfortunately, it was camera shy and managed to evade the camera.

On a more encouraging note, on a check on Saturday 6 June, a micro-bat was found in one of the group’s purpose-built bat tubes installed last year. There have been a couple of previous sightings in these tubes but the regularity of sightings seems to be improving.

Here is a selection of photos from the night. The first two feature the long-nosed bandicoot, and the remainder show the possum and fox.

   

 

    

 

Purpose built homes for Micro-bats

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A group of MCCG members has been busy creating micro-bat tubes, nine of which were installed in the McKay Brook vicinity near Kenmore State High in 2019.

…. and they’ve had some SUCCESS !!!!

On Saturday 6 June 2020, a micro-bat was found in one of the group’s purpose-built bat tubes!

There have been a couple of previous sightings in these tubes but the regularity of sightings seems to be improving.

This tube has contained a micro-bat in the past but on the previous most recent check, it was empty. Others of the nine tubes have contained lizards and large spiders (mainly huntsmen).

These micro-bat tubes are made with recycled materials.

The one shown in the second photo below (with the year 7 class block in the background) was the one which we believe housed the micro-bat.

We’re hopeful more micro-bats will take residence!

This is Micro-bat Tube No 5, installed on a Stringy Bark in May 2019

Checking Bat Tube Nbr 8, home to an occupant