It is likely that we are facing an extended period of home isolation, which will be challenging for all of us.

I suggest we all try to get some exercise by taking frequent walks around the parklands, individually or in family groups, always being mindful of social distancing.

The conditions are currently excellent for outdoor exercise, but also for the growth of weeds!

I have been taking gloves and a pair of secateurs or a folding pruning saw with me on these excursions and cutting back some of the more vigorous weed vines. Balloon vine, glycine and Madeira vine are particularly rampant at the moment, with the latter now in flower. Madeira vine rarely – if ever – produces seed here. It propagates from tubers produced in leaf axils . We always make sure where Madeira vine occurs to collect any stem material or tubers in plastic bags for disposal. Underground tubers should be lifted with care and taken away in bags too.

Madeira vine tubers (courtesy Bryan Hacker)

So take a walk and check for weeds! This way we can all contribute to environmental protection while staying fit and healthy!

The MCCG website has recently moved to a new platform.

We are hoping the migration is seamless and that you do not notice any changes.

If you notice anything unexpected or any errors on the site, we’d be grateful if you could send an email to:  [email protected].

We thank you for visiting our website and hope you find the content interesting and useful!

We all know that birds love trees.

But in fact they need a lot more than trees in order to secure adequate food, shelter and safe havens for breeding.

Open Jim Butler’s March issue of Feather Fascination in which he shares a story that features the prolonged creation of inappropriate bird habitat.

Magpie Lark feed its young in a tree – photo courtesy Malcolm Frost

ALERT: Papaya ringspot virus poses a serious threat to  Queensland’s $25 million papaya (or pawpaw, or papaw) industry, which is located mostly in the north.

To protect our papaya production areas, two papaya ringspot biosecurity zones have been created to stop the disease from spreading.

Check the Business Queensland website to see which zone you are in before you move your pawpaw/papaya plants or seeds.

Please be aware the Section 11 working bee scheduled for Saturday 1st February has been put back a week to Saturday 8 February.

The group will meet at their Mabb St site and they will be working across the creek from Belford Street.

Start time is 2.30pm.

Best to park at the end of Belford Street (UBD Map 177, K7). Turn to your right and walk upstream, cross the bridge and head downstream and you will soon find the crew.

Bring protective clothing (long-sleeved shirts, jeans, sensible shoes/boots), gloves, drinking water, hat and sunscreen. Refreshments are provided!

Please come if you can – new members are always welcome and they’d love some help!

For more info please contact Bryan Hacker on 3374 1468.

The Huntington/Tuckett bushcare has changed the date of their next working bee. It will be put back by a week to Sunday 1st March, instead of the previously advised 23 February. Start time is 8:30am.

The group, led by Jim Pope, has hit the new year at full speed!

Last year their Habitat Brisbane bushcare section was extended from Tuckett Street Park down to the footbridge at the bottom of Branton Street. This encompasses the riparian zone on the western side of Moggill Creek, opposite Kensington Circuit at Brookfield.

The group’s first working bee was held at Kensington Circuit on Australia Day, and the objective was to clear the area to make way for new plantings.

With eight new volunteers turning up on the day, the group made great progress and the difference was notable! What a great start to 2020!

Jim extends a warm THANK YOU to all his wonderful volunteers, old and new!

If you’d like to get involved, please contact Jim on 3374 4181.

Great progress on Australia Day – next step: planting!

Although the rain has fallen it will take resilience and time to recover from our catastrophic Summer break. There are many lessons to be learned.

The SEQ Fire & Biodiversity Consortium’s annual Fire Science Forum may be of interest to many. Topics include prescribed burning, smoke, fire ecology, infrastructure risk, fire weather and an overview of Queensland’s 2019/20 Bushfire Emergency

The event will be held at the Queensland State Library on Tuesday 17, March.

For more info and to purchase tickets, please head to Eventbrite.

“The harvest we have sown is today emerging from the smoke haze.”

These words are taken from Jim Butler’s first issue of Feather Fascination for 2020.

It is a thoughtful and beautiful piece of writing, contemplating the complexity of our relationships with birds and our dependence on them to continue their vital role in maintaining our very existence. The article sends a powerful message about human behaviour, gently delivered around a poem and painting about a robin.

Please click here to read on.

 Pale Yellow Robin © Ed Frazer 

The DNA evidence is overwhelming!

It testifies that songbirds of the northern hemisphere are descendants of birds which lived in Australia 45 million years ago.

And the little Leaden Flycatcher is one of these remarkable species, whose songs delight us!

Head to Jim Butler’s Feather Fascination December 2019 to learn more.

Male Leaden Flycatcher – ©  Ed Frazer