We had arranged to meet up last October 24^th and do some work on the Old Gold Creek Sawmill Forest Walk at the end of Gold Creek Road.  Neither of us could have expected to be diverted by an amazing biological show we chanced upon, already well underway on the last creek crossing.  Two large male goannas were locked in serious, vigorous combat!  We were gobsmacked!  Camera phones out immediately.  The goannas (Varanus varius) took no interest in us, they were much too busy, often standing high on their hind legs, chest to chest, their tails used as props, their arms around each other, pushing, pushing, to and fro, sometimes falling over and rolling and thrashing on the ground, tails swishing, clawing each other and each apparently trying to get on top and hold down the other.  And this went on and on as we watched, agog.

They were about the same size and early on it seemed to be a contest of strength only, with little or no biting.  But biting became more common as the fight continued and blood was shed, smearing onto the combatants.  Towards the end, it became quite brutal, until one finally succeeded in pinning the other down, each still with a hold on the other, sometimes between clenched teeth.  After we’d been watching for about 50 minutes the clinch ended suddenly.  One escaped and dashed off, disappearing into the bushes upstream.  The victor left in the same direction a couple of minutes later and we saw no more.

Conferring later, we found we had both been very impressed by their persistence, and their stamina, and you can judge the strength of their commitment by watching the (condensed) video below.

Male combat in reptiles must be quite common but may usually be less prolonged. Perhaps this bout was a long one because the contest was so even.  This is not the sort of thing one can expect to see often, or at all, even if you are a goanna afficionado.  One of us has a biologist colleague with a sufficiently serious interest in varanid lizards to be an invited speaker at international conferences.  But despite his many hours of field work he has yet to observe male combat.  Indeed, there seem to be few substantial reports, and most record brief engagements, sometimes interrupted by the observer’s presence.

So, what is this all about?  We’re sure you’ve realised already that there must have been a lady goanna somewhere nearby.  We couldn’t see her, but there was probably some compelling scent wafting in and these two each wanted the owner of it for himself.  Yes, this is all about goanna love and, in contrast, we are sure you will be pleased to learn that their mating behaviour is said to be ‘very tender’.

Gordon Grigg and Andrew Wilson

Photos and words by Gordon Grigg and video courtesy of Andrew Wilson

A Baboon on my bin!

While trimming and binning branches in suburban Kenmore, I noticed that I was being watched by a recently displaced eight-legged resident, that had climbed out of the foliage in my familiar red Brisbane City Council rubbish bin. With prominent white facial hairs contrasting with a dull black head and large, close-set, knowing eyes forming little black mirrors, the resemblance to an African baboon or middle-aged gorilla was remarkable.  Add to this the impressive black mouthparts and muscular, colourful legs set in dynamic stance, all went to make this small animal leave a big impression on me.

Northern Green Jumping Spiders (Mopsus mormon) are common suburban residents in leafy gardens.  Reaching 15 – 18 mm in size, they are thought to be one of the larger jumping spiders in Queensland.  They are part of the Salticidae (jumping spider) family, a very large and diverse group of spiders in Queensland, forming a very significant part of the natural biodiversity present within the Moggill Creek catchment. They exhibit sexual dimorphism, with females larger, and greenish overall, with orange and whitish markings on their head.  Males have blackish heads, with a black topknot and whitish side whisker-like hairs. Viewed close-up, both sexes are remarkably colourful.

Active and sophisticated hunters, Northern Green Jumping Spiders, search and locate prey using their very large eyes.  True to their moniker, they can jump significant distances to capture prey, and are excellent at plotting and planning their maneuvers, due to their great visual acuity.  A safety or dragline attached to their abdomen stops them from falling too far in the rare event they miss a prey item.  As undiscerning predators, Northern Green Jumping Spiders feed on many kinds of insects, but moths, flies and ants (and sometimes other spiders) found on trees and shrubs are common prey.  As skilled and daring hunters, sometimes prey much larger than their own body size may be taken (such as damselflies or small grasshoppers).

Females are involved in nest preparation, with an elongate leaf rolled into a cylinder, and a whitish web-nest or egg sac constructed in which eggs are laid.  Three compartments, one with the eggs, another with the female, and the other the male, are constructed, which suggests cooperative parental care or defense.  Some behaviors observed strongly indicate nest guarding.

I left my red bin lid open overnight, to let any other insects in the foliage escape, and hopefully make it back to safety.  But I thought about the baboons in my back garden for quite a while.

Sandy Pollock

IN EARLY March (2024) we noticed that a lot of wisteria leaves accumulated at the back of our letterbox and we wondered who, and why. Some small animal?

But the letterbox stands on a pole and is plastic and very smooth, without ‘hand holds’ to enable an animal to get to the slot at the top of the fold-down door. It normally hosts a couple of katydids, but they couldn’t harvest leaves. A human, for some unimaginable reason?

We left the leaves there, and soon we noticed they had been spread all over the bottom of the letterbox box to a depth of 4-5 cm. Surely some animal (with sticky feet?) must be responsible. After a week or two we got a glimpse of the inhabitant, and in mid-March, this photo. It was some sort of mouse-like critter.

I sent the photo to our Land for Wildlife Officer and after some consultation with colleagues there was agreement that it was probably a Fawn-footed Melomys  (Melomys cervinipes), a native rodent. The ‘Melomys’ bit is reasonably certain, the ‘probably’ is because the other species of Melomys in this area, the Grassland Melomys (Melomys burtoni) prefers grassland habitat.

Fawn-footed Melomys (Melomys cervinipes) in a letterbox Photo: Gordon Grigg

 On checking, the Melomys was sometimes visible and sometimes either not there or buried under leaves. They are nocturnal, so should be ‘at home’ during the day. Several times it was in full view, just sitting still and looking at us. Once I saw just its back above the leaves; presumably sleeping. It brought in some new leaves, and seems to do some ‘housekeeping’ on them.

Letters come, and the occasional large parcel, but it apparently tolerates these disturbances and as I write this, it is still in residence.

The katydids are no longer there. We wondered if the melomys had eaten them, but they are recorded as being vegetarian, eating leaves, shoots and fruits they get by foraging in the canopy where they usually make a spherical nest leaves. I do wonder if they are strict vegos though. Many mainly vegetarian animals will take a meaty snack if one is available. The spider looks pretty fit though.

There are, or were, four species of Melomys in Australia (the Bramble, Cay Melomys ( Cay Melomys (M. rubicola M. rubicola) became extinct recently). The Australian ones have relatives in Papua-New Guinea and Indonesia and collectively they are sometimes referred to as ‘mosaic-tailed rats’.

Gordon Grigg 

Please join us for our 2024 AGM with guest speaker, Aislinn Spencer on Native Bees

Brookfield Hall, Brookfield Showgrounds, street parking available

Time:  6:30pm arrival for, 7:00 pm start (~9:00 pm finish)

Refreshments provided and lucky door prizes!

If you would like to nominate for the MCCG committee download and print the 2024-2025 nomination form

The meeting minutes from the 2023 AGM can be download and viewed here

Full AGM details are on the Events calendar

Annual Platypus Survey Result 2024

This year, 48 dedicated volunteers surveyed 34 sites across Moggill and Gold Creeks as part of the annual MCCG platypus survey. A total of 13 platypuses were sighted, with three sites recording two individuals each. Sightings were well distributed, spanning from Upper Brookfield to the Moggill Road Bridge. Although platypuses had been recently spotted in hotspot areas like Branton Street and Mumford Bridge, they managed to evade us on the morning of the survey.

Overall, the creek habitat appears healthy, though some areas are showing signs of low water levels, and sections that were once deep are becoming shallow due to sediment and gravel buildup. Shallow waters pose a concern for platypus movement, especially during breeding season to find friends, and it also makes them vulnerable to predators (like the fox spotted at Creekside Park which will be reported to the council). We’re collaborating with Brisbane City Council (BCC) to address these issues, focusing on creating deeper pools—either naturally, using log jams and large tree roots, or through dredging with input from experts such as hydrologists.

On a serious note, three funnel nets were recorded at Branton Street. Such nets are legal, and are commonly used for shrimping, but aquatic wildlife can easily become trapped and drown in such traps (as Wildlife Queensland has documented).

Thank you to the volunteers who joined bright and early to help gain valuable data, to the Team Leaders, and to Bridget and Helen for coming to support the breakfast. See you all next year for the 20th Anniversary MCCG Survey!

Dr Tamielle Brunt

Photos from this years Platypus survey from Cheryl Turner

PLATYWALKS

BCC is supporting a number of free ‘Platypus Watch Walk & Talk’ events, where PlatypusWatch Project Officer Dr Tamielle Brunt will talk about this amazing animal as well as the research happening in Brisbane. As you walk through known platypus habitat, Tamielle will talk about what keeps them happy in the waterways, local conservation efforts and how you can get involved with the ACF Platy-Project monitoring program.

Members may be particularly interested on the PlatyMonth walk on Friday, 27th September (4-6pm) which takes place at Gold Creek Reservoir, 660 Gold Creek Road Brookfield.

To register for this free event, book via Eventbrite. The organisers highlight that there is no guarantee that platypuses will be present during the guided walk.

Tamielle also reminds us all, ‘Citizen science is a vital tool in monitoring wildlife populations, and as many of you know, it’s PlatyMonth! You can contribute by recording your sightings with the ACF Platy-Project.

10 Tips to help our Platypus

For more information about Platypus and how to look out for and care for them click on the link for the Platypus brochure from Wildlife Queensland

Another wonderful edition of the MCCG quarterly newsletter is out now. Sit back relax and enjoy some time reading about what’s happening, what’s happened and how you can be a part of our fabulous local catchment group.

Here are some of the headlines in this newsletter …

Chairperson’s Report

MCCG Photography Competition

Backyard Diversity: MCCG Talk (not to be missed!!)

2024 MCCG Platypus Survey

UNSW MCCG Platypus Research

Free PlatyMonth Walks

Seeds: Hairy Birds Eye

Weeds: Yellow Bells

Remembering Jenny Hacker

Photo: Cheryl Turner platypus 2024

With much thanks and appreciation to Cathi our newsletter editor for all your efforts in putting this newsletter together, and huge thanks to all the contributors!