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Our sincere thanks to editor Cathi Lawrence for another outstanding production, and to all those who contributed articles.
News
View 2020 Brisbane’s Wild West Calendar entries
There is an opportunity to view and vote on the 75 images submitted for the 2020 Brisbane’s Wild West Calendar on Wednesday 17 July at 7:00pm OR Sunday 21 July from 9.00 – 11.00 am at The Hut, 47 Fleming Road, Chapel Hill.
The MCCG and the Rural Environment Planning Association (REPA) support THECA in the production of the calendar each year.
Since 2000, the calendar has featured the flora and fauna of Brisbane’s western suburbs and showcased the work of talented local photographers.
For more information, head to the THECA website, ring 3878 5088, email [email protected] or [email protected].
More Kids Day Photos!!!!
We’re pleased to share more photos from Kids Day at the Cottage 2019, courtesy of Dale Borgelt and Jim Pope.
They certainly show what a happy and busy day was had by all!, kids and grown ups alike!
Weaving with nature
Two completed looms
PR officer Dale Borgelt doing some PR!
Enthusiastic audience captivated by Martin Fingland
Martin & a carpet python
Martin Fingland with a lace monitor
Martin with a Squirrel Glider
Secretary Kathleen Walmsley with Robin Frost
Treasurer Alan Walmsley having a chat
SO many crafty things to do!
Kids helping at Kids Day!
Look at my bag!
Persisting platypus – wonderful talk at our mid year meeting!
Tamielle Blunt from the University of Queensland gave a wonderful talk about platypus and our platypus surveys at our 2019 mid year meeting.
Head to the MCCG Facebook page to enjoy the full story and photos of Tamielle’s talk.
Moggill Creek Catchment Tour 2019
On Sunday 16th June, MCCG hosted a very successful tour of the Moggill Creek catchment organised by Brisbane City Council (BCC).
The tour was attended by around 30 bushcare volunteers from around Brisbane as well as representatives from BCC’s Habitat Brisbane and Land for Wildlife programs. Our chairman Jim Pope has provided the following report:
The tour started at Dumbarton Drive, Kenmore, with a tour of the Lower Moggill Bushcare Group that has been supported by Habitat Brisbane since 2000 and is led by Judy Petroeschevsky.
The site stretches almost 1km along Moggill Creek from Kenmore State High School to Kilkivan Ave. Early works focused on the protection of creek banks in several high-flow reaches of the creek, using mass plantings of lomandras.
More recently, large Chinese elms (Celtis sinensis) have been removed along a 300m section and replaced with approximately 1000 native seedlings.
A particular feature of the site is an enormous Moreton Bay Fig tree (Ficus macrophylla) that is 35m tall with a canopy of 41m that is one of the largest of a single tree in any Brisbane park.
Next stop on the tour was a visit to the Blackbutt Park section of the McKay Brook bushcare group, near the confluence of McKay Brook with Moggill Creek.
This section was an addition to the Habitat Brisbane site in 2018 and consists of 500m of the west bank of Moggill Creek adjacent to Kensington Cct. and Parklane Tce.
It is dominated by incursions of Chinese Elms but the bushcare group led by Damien Egan recently obtained a Community Conservation Assistance (CCA) grant from BCC to remove a number of them from one end of the section across the footbridge at the bottom of Branton St. and replace them with natives.
After a delicious morning tea at the showgrounds, the tour then moved on to two adjacent Land for Wildlife (LFW) properties on a ridge overlooking Gold Creek Rd. The owners, Lynnette and Dianne have been registered with the LFW program for 11 years.
With assistance from BCC’s Wildlife Conservation Partnerships Program (WCPP) Lynette and Dianne have transformed large areas of the 4 hectare site that were once dominated by Lantana, Glycine, Easter cassia, Gidgee Gidgee and Climbing Asparagus.
The properties are a beacon for wildlife. Four seasonal bird surveys in 2014 sighted 58 species. Many tree hollows provide crucial habitat for Squirrel Gliders and areas now cleared of Lantana are now grazed by Red-necked and Swamp wallabies, while a friendly Echidna is often seen waddling along the paths.
Touring Lynette and Dianne’s Land for Wildlife property.
The tour then moved on to MCCG’s Native Plant Nursery at Gold Creek Dam, where Andrew Wilson and Bryan Hacker gave an overview of the nursery, (which has been operational since 1999), and showed the visitors around.
The nursery is staffed entirely by volunteers and provides between 12,000 and 15,000 native plants free of charge each year to members of MCCG and the Pullen Pullen catchment group.
They produce upwards of 200 species of native trees, shrubs, vines, forbes and grasses, mostly from seed collected locally, ensuring that plantings maintain the local provenance.
Andrew Wilson describes MCCG Plant Nursery operations.
The tour ended back at the Lower Moggill bushcare site, where participants enjoyed a delicious lunch before departing in time to avoid the afternoon storm!
Lunch disappeared fast!
Many thanks to Brisbane City Council, especially Andrew Wills, Paul Devine and Cody Hochen, for organising a very interesting and successful tour.
For more photos, please visit the MCCG Facebook page.
Date claimer: MCCG mid year Public Meeting
Our mid year Public Meeting will be held:
Thursday night 27 June at Brookfield Hall, commencing 7.15pm
YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US!
The event will feature Tamielle Blunt from the University of Queensland.
Tamielle will give a talk on our ever popular annual platypus surveys, the quirky history of the platypus and details of her research. This is guaranteed to be a most interesting presentation!
Throughout her life Tamielle has been lucky enough to volunteer in many different wildlife positions. One of her favourites was with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy where she helped with biodiversity surveys, tracked down numbats and choppered (helicopter) camera traps out to vast rocky outcrops to capture photos of the Sharman’s rock wallaby.
It was her volunteer position in 2014 with cesar Australia on a platypus survey in the Grampians National Park that led her on the path of researching platypus. She completed her Honours program here in Moggill Creek based on the platypus and their associated habitat and dietary requirements. Now her PhD delves further into details of platypus populations in south-east Queensland.
We hope you can join us for this interesting talk on platypus!
For more info contact [email protected]
A platypus spotted in our September 2018 survey. © John Liddington
Wanted: Miconia
Have you seen Miconia growing in Queensland? Native to tropical America, miconia is a restricted invasive plant under the Biosecurity Act, 2014. Miconia is being targetted for early detection and eradication.
This small tree invades rainforest areas, competes with native plant species and impacts the habitat of native fauna. It is easily recognised by the distinctive purple underside of the leaves.
Report any sightings to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23.
For more information, head to the Business Queensland website.
Platypus Alert !!!!
We’ve just received news of a platypus sighting at a spot where (to our best knowledge) platypus have not been sighted before.
This morning (Wednesday 19 June), MCCG member Ed Frazer took his usual walk along Adavale Street, Brookfield to the bus turnaround triangle. This takes Ed over the small bridge to the the junction of Adavale St, Savages Road and Gold Creek Road.
Ed always looks in the creek and this morning had the enjoyment of watching a platypus feeding among the Elephants Ears (Colocasias) for about 10 minutes!
As the turnaround is the venue for the produce exchange and the starting point for many of our local runners and walkers, it is a very well frequented location.
We’re hoping there are more sightings. If you’re in the area, please have a peek in the creek! Let’s see if we can log more sightings of the resident platypus!
If you’re lucky enough to spot this generally elusive mammal, please email our secretary at [email protected]
ps: coincidentally, researcher Tamielle Brunt will be talking about the quirky history of the platypus and sharing details of her research at our mid year meeting next Thursday evening, 27 June. Why not join us? For more details, follow this link.
Ed managed to nab this shot of this morning’s platypus sighting on his phone
CWCN Moore Park Bushcare Launch
CWCN’s new Moore Park Bushcare Group is holding a public launch on Saturday June 29 at Moore Park, commencing at midday.
The group has received a grant from the Department of Environment and Science. The grant funds a project to build appreciation of the park as an environmental stepping stone between Mt Coot-tha and the Brisbane River, and to encourage communities of the Inner West to actively engage in its conservation activities.
Technical aspects of the project are now complete, including the preparation of brochures showcasing a gallery of local rainforest and woodland plants. The group is now busy with community outreach which will begin with its public launch on June 29.
The launch will be held at Moore Park (off Russell Terrace behind the Indooroopilly Primary School).
Come along for a Small Mammals Expo, plantings, walks and talks and refreshments.
For more info, contact Des Hoban, Convenor, via email at: [email protected].
Bird Walk in Indooroopilly/Fig Tree Pocket Rainbow Forest and beyond!
Join our CWCN colleagues for a walk through one of their oldest and wonderfully successful rehabilitation sites at Rainbow Forest on Saturday 22 June.
Cross and follow Cubberla Creek downstream along the Brisbane Girls Grammar’s Rangakarra Recreational and Environmental Education Centre and walk beyond through public park and open spaces to almost the Brisbane River.
It’s a beautiful walk in an area which has to be considered one of the gems in our catchments. Interesting bird sightings are a given. The location is flat and provides easy walking opportunities. Lyn Cole will share her knowledge and guide us through a fascinating area.
Where: Meeting Point at Rainbow Forest Park entry opp. cnr of Dobell and Clandon St, Indooroopilly (UBD 178 E11)
When: 7:30am—9:30am
Please wear closed shoes and protective clothing. BYO binoculars and water. We have some binoculars on standby just in case. Kindly let us know whether you are coming. It makes the planning easier.
For more info, download the CWCN flyer: CWCN+Bird+Walks+2019
If you have any questions, please ring Lyn on 0427 599 890.
