News

Rainforests of Subtropical Australia (ROSA) Symposium 23-24 March

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A major Symposium of Science and Practice sponsored by Healthy Waterways and Catchments will be held at the Robina Community Centre and Auditorium, Gold Coast, 23-24 March 2017.

Members with a particular interest in sub-tropical rainforest may find this of interest.

It has been a decade since the last major rainforest conference in Eastern Australia and this 2-day event will feature guest speakers such as Tim Low, Professor Roger Kitching AM, Professor Carla Catterall and Professor Ralf Buckley among many others. Thematic presentations will fall into 4 streams:

  1. Rainforest Restoration
  2. Values
  3. Threatened Species
  4. Climate Change. 

For more info, click here.

Bird Oddities with Ian Venables

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Join Ian Venables, member of the Queensland Ornithological Society and Bird Life Australia, on Friday 31st March at Kenmore Library, as he shares some of the oddities found within the bird kingdom.

Presented by Brisbane City Council. For details, please visit our Calendar of Events.


Cottage Talk Thursday 16 February postponed

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Dr Sue Turner’s talk this coming Thursday – Having an eco-friendly garden in the suburbs – has unfortunately been cancelled. Dr Turner has kindly agreed to give her talk later in the year (date to be confirmed).

Members are still invited to drop in on Thursday morning from 10am, though! 

You can browse the Library, look at hard copies of past Newsletters, study maps of the area, look up info on native plants, or weeds, look at Ed Frazer’s books of native birds photographed in Brookfield, see the dung beetles collected in the local survey,  find out about the Richmond Birdwing vine available at our nursery, or just find out more about MCCG and its activities.
 

Also, your help in dusting, sweeping and swabbing floors would be greatly appreciated.
 

And if you do drop in, you may be rewarded with Dale’s famous cold fruit punch!

Please give Dale a call so she can confirm numbers on 3374 1035. 

A Myriad of Topics

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In this month’s Feather Fascination, Jim reflects on the past five years sharing his infinite love of birding through his column.

But he also invites you to let him know the topics that interest you!

What can we do together for the birds in our district?

Click here to read on.


A Feather Fascination moment!! This stunning Little Wattlebird
paused and posed on 17 April 2016
at Adavale St Brookfield – (photo courtesy of Alison Staines)

New Flight Arrivals

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We are very excited to announce that four new birds were officially recorded in the Catchment in 2016!  They include: 

  • Black-shouldered Kite
  • Little Eagle
  • Little Wattlebird.

This in itself is a remarkable result!

But the most recently observed new bird is particularly interesting. A male Hooded Robin was observed at Brookfield on the afternoon of 12 December 2016.

What is remarkable is that this bird was observed in Brookfield at all!


Photo courtesy of Julie Sarna

The distribution of the Hooded Robin does not include Brisbane but is spread over much of mainland Australia. This solitary bird was only observed once, so it was probably a bird that became disoriented, arrived in our Catchment by mistake and quickly went on its way back to its usual habitat. When this happens, the bird is called a ‘vagrant’ in the Australian databases and bird lists.

The observation of the Hooded Robin is spectacular because it is so beautiful and this is exactly what makes bird surveys and time-in-the-bush so rewarding.  The male is a beautiful jet black and pure white robin, while the female has more subdued grey-brown colours.

If you’d like to see a list of all the birds in our catchment and where to find them, please visit the Bird Project section of this website.  

Incidentally, the Hooded Robin is number 210 on the Moggill Creek Catchment Historical Bird List!

Bushcare Reminder – this Sunday!!

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Why not give start off your New Year by giving something back to the environment?

We have two working bees scheduled for Sunday 29 January – one at Huntington (Section 3) and another (Section 4) behind the Brookfield Showgrounds. Both commence at 8.30am.

Please click here to see more info about specific locations and times.



Cottage Talks 2017

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Members! Place a cross on your 2017 calendars on the third Thursday of each month as a reminder to attend our Cottage Talks!

 A wide range of new topics will be covered in this year’s program, co-ordinated by Dale Borgelt. 

Click here for more info.

First working bees for 2017

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We trust you’ve all had a wonderful break! Let’s launch the new year with an assault on the many weeds that have proliferated due to our recent humidity and storms. The weeds definitely did not take a break!

Planning is underway for this year’s working bees. These events are vital to protect and revitalise our creeks but they also offer some wonderful conversations and camaraderie! The McKay Brook Bushcare Group, shown below, is testament to this!

Click here to see what’s in store for January 2017.

 

Mannikins in Brisbane

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Have you ever seen a Chestnut-breasted Mannikin?

These beautiful chestnut brown finches can be seen in long grasses and lantana thickets near water across Northern and Eastern coastal Australia, including right here in Brisbane. They eat grass seeds, usually from the stalk rather than taking them from the ground.

Click here to learn about these interesting little birds in Jim Butler’s first issue of “Feather Fascination” for 2017. Jim’s article includes a stunning photo supplied by Ed Fraser which shows a Mannikin feeding from a grass stalk.

Weeds don’t take holidays!

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Everyone at the MCCG wishes our friends and supporters a safe and festive holiday season and a New Year that is abundant with new life and new projects!
Although many of us are still enjoying a break, we’d like to remind you that our first working bee for 2017 will be on Saturday 7 January at McKay Brook.

If you can spare a few hours that afternoon, please contact Bryan Hacker. 


Check our Working Bee Calendar for more info and to see Bryan’s contact details.