From balmy autumn to winter chill - Mt Rogers May 2011

WORKING BEES: Thanks to the enthusiastic response to my possibly-weird berry-harvesting in recent weeks there’s been a move to institute a monthly working-bee on Mt Rogers. These will be held on the FOURTH SUNDAY of each month. We’ll probably aim for 10 am in the cooler months and 8.30 am whenever summer happens and work for 2-3 hours.

Given the busyness and complexities of our lives there were at least two preferences so Sunday was chosen to avoid the clash younger people might have with ‘Saturday sport’. Having a ‘mid-week’ regular day has also been suggested though this might be a Tuesday as there are other opportunities to be close to nature through the Wednesday walks of the Canberra Ornithologists’ Group and the Australian Native Plants Society and the weekly, lunchtime presentation series at the ANB Gardens.

BERRIES: The berry-gathering has continued-on from the work of the Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) crew on April 10^th. Additionally a few stoic members of Mt Rogers Landcare Group have been cutting-off and bagging berries to reduce the number of berries birds can take elsewhere from Mt Rogers’ woody weeds. Parks, Conservation and Lands personnel worked on privet and cotoneaster along the south and eastern edge of Mt Rogers about five years ago but this spring-summer’s exceptional rainfall has encouraged lush new growth and increased berry-production both here and in numerous suburban gardens.

MANAGING WEEDS: Mt Rogers folk know that if we’re to retain the unique Australian flora and have enough water, space and nutrients for desirable plants we can’t afford to host these berry-producers in gardens just because they’re decorative and colourful. There are several fine examples of well-kept hedges of pyracantha and cotoneaster around. Their owners cut them back before the insignificant flowers have a chance to produce berries. The plants’ screening attributes are retained but the berries available for dispersal by hungry birds are significantly reduced. Most people know they have ivy and periwinkle problems as these super-durable plants sprawl over other plants and the ground in numerous gardens. Conversely there are also local residents who don’t know they’re hosting privets, brooms and honeysuckle which are other major invasive weeds. It’s been suggested that “offending gardeners” are letterboxed with explanatory brochures. This may be o.k. for those who are in a financial or physical position to solve the problem but eradication of established environmental weeds is a major undertaking. As a result of Floriade displays and ten years of WEED SWAP many more people are aware of what’s in or what shouldn’t be left in their gardens. In other words progress is being made!

VOLUNTEERS: Denis and Chris brought their trailers to the April, CVA working-bee allowing the branches to be removed. Two more offers of trailer-use have come forward so there may be other occasions when the gravel path is shared. This generosity shows that, with our users’ community, observations, comments, even catering-for volunteers and occasional guided walks there’s an intricacy of ways to be stewards of Mt Rogers.

GANG GANGS: Using the term reserve for Mt Rogers is convenient and reflects how we feel about the area but it is actually Urban Open Space. It is managed by TAMS, Territory and Municipal Services rather than those we traditionally call rangers. In the Hawke Review of the ACT Public Service there is a recommendation that all government agencies have the same TAMS logo for uniform badges, vehicles and signs. Wouldn’t this be a retrograde step if we lost the 30-year-old Gang Gang cockatoo logo? It has been synonymous with ACT land management, nature reserves, caring for wildlife and ranger activities for all that time and has only recently been adopted by more general ‘city-services’ agencies. Let’s hope we can speak out against this proposed change and restore the Gang Gang logo as a symbol for the capital’s bush workers. Barbara recorded a few Gang Gangs in their Melba garden recently and there’s a group of them resident in the denser forest habitats of Gossan Hill not far from Radford College and the retirement village.

DOGS & SHARING: As the tall grass bends and breaks-down, some of the more cross-country paths and tracks feel a bit more open. The mowing regime appears to have caught-up at last. These two factors mean that walkers’ dogs have more freedom to burn off their energy. Aren’t we fortunate that Mt Rogers is a dogs-off-leash area! There are as many friendships amongst dogs as amongst our people. It’s probably become part of our daily routines to learn more about what makes each dog ‘tick’, their social leanings and how each will behave. We’re also good at accepting sharing as part of our daily challenges with fit bodies, cyclists, joggers, frail bodies, stroller-drivers, birdwatchers and all manner of walkers being in the multi-use mix for the gravel path and ‘our patch’. It’s encouraging that our dog-owners show respect towards others by supervising their dogs and picking up doggie-doos that are on the path.

KANGAROOS: In the course of our berry-gathering we’ve seen plenty of evidence that there are a few kangaroos around. Dare we say they’re residents? Scats are a give-away but often the grasses have been flattened by the roos’ resting bodies. They even seem to have ‘wriggled’ under bushes’ branches though I’m not sure I can imagine how a kangaroo wriggles. I felt a bit guilty removing their cover by taking off privet and cotoneaster branches so that the next CVA crew can easily reach the main stems or trunk with chain-saw and glyphosate.

SPECIALS! We are proposing hiring another CVA crew on 24^th or 25^th September. The $600 funding will come from Ginninderra Catchment Group. GCG is also keen to host a WELCOME or an awareness day for Mt Rogers. Holding that on 24^th or 25^th seems to be a good opportunity. Let’s hope we can create something of a Mt Rogers Festival and introduce more locals to nature, our recreational area and the nature we’re trying to conserve. We know how invaluable taking time outside and exercising is maybe we can persuade a few more people that there are different ways to be healthy.

SURVEY: Sarah Sharp has been commissioned to undertake a survey of the incidence of invasive weeds around the ACT and on local leased properties. African Lovegrass, Chilean Needle Grass, Serrated Tussock and St John’s Wort are the survey’s target weeds and all are present on Mt Rogers. I have submitted reports to the survey. We’ve worked on them at working-bees over the years. An efficient contractors’ team has sprayed the whole area in recent winters for ST finding and killing isolated specimens. Whether there’s funding for a round of their specialist spraying this winter I’m not sure. We will try to organise for SJW to be sprayed in September-October. ALG was sprayed in the carpark area but it and CNG are still being spread by mowers in spite of theoretical cleaning between mowing sites.

SIGHTINGS: In the course of weeding we’ve not only come across kangaroos but also wonderful orb-weaving spiders and their huge webs. In some areas there’s an encouraging flush of growth from the native Weeping grass or Microlaena. It’s gradually taking over…we hope! Elsewhere the introduced grasses are rank and the seed-heads are above my head. However in many places there are individual native plants surviving or persisting after germinating wherever their seed landed. And then there are the glorious lichens, mosses and the rocks they colonise, the textures, colours and patterns of trees’ barks to further endorse the wonder and tenacity of the ‘bush’.

 

Yesterday, when a bouncy dog went into the track-side grass, it put up a quail. The quail would have exploded away from me if I’d been that close. It was either a Stubble or a Brown Quail. Both have that reaction of flying away from danger and thereby making identification tricky! I wonder if these native birds are resident and just rarely sighted or whether they succumb to foxes and then re-establish themselves.

Keep an eye out for the make-up of mixed feeding flocks of fantails and thornbills as I saw a male Golden whistler yesterday and there will be Scarlet robins here during winter. Some honeyeaters may also over-winter. Some were calling as they flew over on their migration away from the cold earlier in the week. If you see a number of wattlebirds together they too may be a migrating group rather than residents. Outdoor exercise saves heating bills!!!

Rosemary

Autumn-winter changes: has winter arrived? Mt Rogers update - April 2011

Congratulations to our cross-country walkers for keeping the narrow but valuable tracks open despite the grasses responding to the rains with rank growth that obliterated the route up to and across Mt Rogers’ ridge. Unfortunately most of the tussocks belong to Phalaris, Paspalum, Cocksfoot and Fescue – all introduced grasses that thrive on good rainfall and the soil that’s been “re-charged”.

In the pre-development days graziers would have paid good money for these grasses’ seeds and oats to improve pasture for their stock. Did they also spend money and countless hours on clearing the area of trees? They may have been told trees steal nutrients and water from the grasses their sheep & cattle needed. Rewards were available for cleared land in many states and jurisdictions. It’s quite sobering to visualize the hours of toil felling and ring-barking required and then reflect that these policies have begun the degradation and salination of countless hectares of Australian land.

Photos from the seventies show Mt Rogers as mostly open and treeless and supporting tall grass and thistles. Forty years on we resent these introduced grasses because, in good years, they grow tall enough to be a fire-hazard and might mask the presence of snakes which are a hazard to inquisitive dogs and unprotected legs. Although I saw three this week, there aren’t enough kangaroos to graze the grasses on Mt Rogers but, by autumn, the tallest, most healthy-looking grasses are native species…..Red grass, Weeping grass, Spear grass and smaller pockets of Kangaroo grass.

After overnight rain I donned wet-gear and gumboots and went cross-country too.

A certain, now deceased, ash tree offered a fine example of winged seeds having blown away from the parent plant. There are dozens of small ash seedlings amongst the grass. The seed that germinated to become the older tree may have blown in from a street where other, perhaps unwise; policies generated the planting of introduced trees without anticipating that their seeds would spread beyond nature strips. More encouragingly there were also seedling eucalypts doing well amongst the Weeping grass and several native Hop-bushes.

This partly illustrates the point some land-carers make that the bush will re-generate itself given favourable conditions. Of course it helps, and feels good, to give it a hand through weeding-out introduced species and planting, Years ago I discovered seven specimens of Indigofera adesmiifolia in seven different parts of Mt Rogers. I planted a few extras and they seem to be doing well, as do most of the plants the Guides put in in August 2010. Before the Guides planted we had to have both the proposed sites and the proposed locally-sourced native species checked for suitability.                             

The woody, environmental weeds we focused on for the working-bee on Sunday 10^th show the down-side of leaving the bush to its own devices. Parks, Conservation and Lands did some productive removals about five years ago in the south-east of Mt Rogers but since then Privet, Cotoneaster, Hawthorn, Ivy, Periwinkle, and Pyracantha have grown from berries brought in from suburban gardens.

Four Conservation Volunteers Australia volunteers, with Ken as their leader and six Mt Rogers carers (Sue, Anne, Christine, Pamela, Helen and Bob apologised) used loppers, saws and glyphosate to spoil the introduced plants’ seeding chances. Four trailer-loads of berried branches were removed for high-temperature composting at Canberra Sand & Gravel by Chris and Denis. Kirsty abandoned visitors to arrive later bringing new energy to our effort. Barbara and Berlinda also multi-skilled by providing delicious home-baked fare to enhance morning-tea.        

Anne had previously worked on Chinese pistachio and I made a start on a dense thicket of Broom whose seeds may have been brought by ants from a garden 50 m away. Because they have no natural predators here all these plants out-compete native vegetation for space, light, nutrients and water. They were given out as free-issue plants in the seventies until it was realised their berries were being taken into the bush (or others’ gardens) by birds. They proved useful as quick-growing screen plants and for hedges but those who’ve inherited them now face the task of removing them or making the annual effort to cut back the flowers or immature berries to reduce the weeds problem.

One of the signs of approaching cooler weather recognised by generations of Canberrans is the caroling calls of Pied Currawongs. Fifty years ago the birds used to return to the suburbs from breeding in the high country. Their behaviour has changed in response to the availability of the environmental weeds’ berries. The Currawongs were able to stay all-year with these supplies and when the berries were finished the birds also changed from supplementing their diet with Sparrows and Starlings to preying on the eggs and young of Fairy-wrens, Thornbills, Willie wag-tails and Honeyeaters. I read somewhere that one pellet regurgitated by a Currawong contained 60 Privet seeds. One pair of Currawongs may kill 40 broods (up to 2kg) of small birds to raise one brood of their own. You’ve probably noticed that Crimson rosellas and Silvereyes also enjoy Cotoneaster berries. This just adds to the complexity when appealing and attractive birds play a part in the negative cycle of weed dispersal. We prefer to ‘blame’ the big-guys.

There were several honeyeaters “up there” this morning making their specific contact calls. Honeyeaters are a very numerous group of birds and include Wattlebirds and the dizzyingly-fast Eastern Spinebills currently active in our gardens. In a bird book or on the COG* website’s gallery you’ll see that their beaks are ideal for probing into flowers. They have brush-like tongues for extracting the nectar offered by the plant in exchange for pollinating services. If you hear calling flocks of small birds passing through the Mt Rogers trees they may well be migrating groups of honeyeaters passing through towards warmer places for over-wintering. Yellow-faced honeyeaters were the most numerous this week.

It’s a good time to check out “mixed-feeding-flocks” of small birds. There may be several species feeding in the same area but using each other as look-outs in case of danger from raptors. Keep an eye out for Robins, Whistlers and several Thornbill species in these flocks. Grey fantails may seem to swoop very close but they have learned that we disturb insects as we walk and they seize the chance to capitalise on our exercise-routines. Perhaps fanning their tails also stirs up insects. Their aerial ballet is delightful to watch as they sally-forth from a branch after insects they’ve seen.

Tuesday morning was even better as there was an unperturbed mixed-flock on the edges and above the gully. There were Red-browed finches in the mix, sometimes eating fallen Paspalum seeds from the path. In the shrubs White-browed scrubwrens were concentrating on insects and probing under any lift-able bark. I have very few records of this species for Mt Rogers and I’ve not regularly found ‘Red-brows’. I moved on to the mountain-bike track south of the second summit. Work has resumed on refinements including moving soil and using a chain-saw to cut fallen timber. You may be pleased to know the ACT Government has employed consultants to examine tracks and trails within Canberra Nature Park areas. The Parkcare coordinators raised many relevant concerns at a recent meeting. I contributed 1) that it is essential that the needs of mountain-bike/BMX riders are met with allocations of track-building land that don’t impinge on conservation-value areas and within reach of their suburbs. 2) that any consideration of tracks trails and unofficial-building must also include other open-space/bushland areas not just reserves.

A consternation of Currawongs alerted me to the flight of a large brownish bird which alighted in a tall wattle just below the ‘second-summit’. It was, I think, a juvenile Brown Goshawk. It was very watchful but the resentful Currawongs only flew ‘so’ close. After some minutes I realised the raptor had a small bird in its talon as it would pluck out a few feathers from time to time. Eventually all moved off and the cacophony flew away. Luck places birdwatchers at the scene of the action, sometimes, but the little bird’s genes won’t be passed on.

I hope you’re out early enough these mornings to catch the effects of misty dewdrops on cobwebs. Such beautiful decorations show there are far more spiders around, playing their essential role in ecosystems, than we realise. If 1) you want to watch where your feet are going there should be several species of fungi emerging from the ground or leaf-litter whilst the soil is still slightly warm and still moist. Some lichens are fruiting now and mosses will green-up when the next rain falls. If 2) you like paintings of bush flowers visit the artists’ exhibition at the ANBG. Most of the excellent works are by everyday enthusiasts rather than professionals…all are inspiring. If 3) you enjoy reading about the bush and its wildlife seek out A Bush Capital Year by Ian Fraser with Peter Marsack’s evocative paintings illustrating each season’s subjects. If 4) you need a closer-look-picture-book to share with young children try Julia Cooke’s My Little World which focuses on plants and animals found on Black Mountain. Local wildlife in print at the Nation’s Garden where, I suspect, the water-dragons are hibernating by now!

* Canberra Ornithologists’ Group

Putting Birds in Backyards into Google is another way to research birds from our region.

Mt Rogers update - December 2010

The extraordinary spring has made way for a wet beginning to summer and an almost tropical humidity. Throughout the region we’ve seen wildflower species responding to the rain and recharged soil-moisture in numbers and a diversity not seen for a decade. 

Summer is attempting to impose its conditions on Mt Rogers now, with the soil damper than it’s been for decades. For days, if not weeks, after the ‘last’ rain, water has been moving downhill and emerging from ‘secret’ soaks and ‘springs’.

 

The path shows, in several places, the layers of previous paths and the underlying rock. Let’s hope the dampness and the need for rain-gear didn’t deter families from taking lessons in erosion, the power of water and the probable drainage patterns of the ridge that is Mt Rogers. Water moving north could end up reaching Ginninderra Creek via the Gooromon ponds tributary and south-flowing water reaches Ginninderra Creek by flowing ‘under’ the suburb of Flynn. Several properties that I know of seem to ‘leak’ water when it rains with shrubs and a huge Photinia between us and our neighbours always seeming to flourish regardless of drought. I’ve assumed that their success and the ‘leaks’ are evidence that natural drainage patterns can’t always be tamed by engineers’ planning and obliterated by bulldozers when suburbs are created. The creek has had historic levels of water passing along it as a result of inflows from as far away as Gungahlin as well as the many localised creeks and drains. (The levels of plastic, general rubbish weeds and natural debris were also high but that phenomenon and a levy on recyclable containers are other stories!)

Most plants have responded to the rain with exceptional growth in our gardens, locally and regionally. The small plants that the Guides planted in August not far from the main car-park are doing very well. Native plant species have emerged from drought-induced hesitation or dormancy appearing in places that have seemed weedy or degraded for decades as well as in biodiverse habitats.

We held a working-bee on 14^th November with Ann and Sue helping to develop a technique of Flatweed and Cat-sear removal from the grassy woodland north-east of Rechner Place’s playground. Whilst this might seem a trivial way to use volunteers’ labour this area is relatively free of invasive species, hosting natives such as Blue grass lilies, Love creeper and Barbed wire grass in addition to numerous Early Nancy and common but attractive spring flowers. As we pulled the weeds from the soft ground, cutting-off and bagging the flower-heads we were hard-pressed not to step on Onion orchids. They have appeared in thousands in the region in recent months, even in quite degraded-seeming grassland. Last year I thought it was pretty special to have found one or two because they were the only ground orchids I’d ever found up there. Being green they’re easily overlooked amongst the other greens of spring.

The trigger for suggesting this weeding was finding three plants of native violet, Viola betonicifolia if you wish to look it up, in the lee of large boulders. When I spotted the first one it was in full flower, its purple-blue blooms highlighted by a shaft of sunlight. It seems the species has appeared in many places in response to conditions but it’s especially cheering to find that Mt Rogers has a small population. That’s another ‘new’ species for our Mt Rogers list.



It’s fascinating to ponder how long corms, bulbs and tubers will ‘wait’ underground for the right conditions. Perhaps the seed banks of some species have been depleted by the mass germination. Will all 2010’s seeds be fertile and survive being eaten by insects, birds and other animals? How many will find the right soil conditions and fungal partners and germinate in the future? If we were able to harvest & destroy all the weeds’ seeds would we be able to rid our Landcare sites and gardens of these pest for ever!

Obviously, for new species we are finding now, it’s a long time for seeds to have remained viable in the soil after the scouring and re-shaping that saw the suburbs developed in the seventies so perhaps the seeds were carried in by visiting birds. Have the orchids “tubers” or “corms” been present in the soil over that same period or have their minute seeds blown in? The lone Sun orchid had 19 flower buds when I last saw it. How did it arrive on Mt Rogers? Orchid seeds are minute and they each need the presence of a specific fungus before they will germinate.         

Early in November the Friends of Grasslands (FOG) organised a photographic workshop in Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve. The aim was that participants would enhance their skills under the sympathetic and expert eyes of professional photographers. The native grasslands revealed a richness of buttercups, milkmaids, bluebells, daisies and lilies, as well as native grasses, for our digital lenses. Hand-lenses had plenty of use also seeking the often-exquisite detail of low-growing flowers. 

In the former sheep paddocks to the west of Mulligans Flat the land has been scoured, graded and reshaped into the suburb of Bonner. Will the new residents, mortgage-laden, ever have time to learn about the species in the neighbouring nature reserve? By late October and after rain, Mulligans Flat provides a wonderful display of natural temperate grassland flowers. The grassland ecosystem is endangered because they were so easily farmed and built on. Our existing grasslands show us what Mt Rogers’ grassy areas would have looked like and that re-planting in the treeless areas isn’t necessarily the “right thing”.

   

There are rich grasslands now surrounded by Dunlop’s streets, and Mt Rogers’ open space probably remains because, at the time, it was uneconomical to build or pump water to houses on the highest ground. Mansions creep up the hillsides of Tuggeranong’s valley and the ex-pine forest land and vistas beyond Weston Creek won’t last much longer or contribute the breathing-space of open space in the lower Molonglo Valley.

The incredible diversity of natural temperate grasslands has inspired and amazed many this spring. Grasslands and woody grasslands such as Mt Rogers are, to our region, what rainforests are to those living further north.

Although the patterns of birds’ breeding vary from year to year the effects of the increased rainfall have fascinated local birdwatchers. Some species which have come to the ACT region for our style-of-summers seem to have stayed away or nested elsewhere.

Larger numbers of Superb parrots than usual remained to over-winter here. There were quite a few extra sightings and then a quiet period before now. Presumably the birds were nesting in or near Mulligans Flat and Goorooyaroo and the young are now strong enough to join their parents foraging further afield. Numbers around the northern and western edges of Mt Rogers have increased in the last 2-3 weeks. This may show that other groups have flown here from breeding areas deeper in NSW.

In mid-Flynn there seems to be a roosting area. The parrots’ calls begin soon after the raucous, daily fly-past of Sulphur crested cockatoos. The Superbs have been enjoying loquats and obviously remember where the trees are from year to year. Un-harvested fruit supplements their diet of Acacia pods and grass seeds.

Finally, let's not forget the weeds! As we all know from our own gardens, the rain has benefited the weeds as well as our desirable plants. Perhaps the daunting task of restoring order has overwhelmed you but there is much fascination surrounding the behaviour of weeds, and trying to identify newcomers.

Rosemary

Mt Rogers Update - September 2010

During the night of 29^th August the call of a Boobook owl wafted through the open windows. They’re apparently sedentary so perhaps a Mt Rogers bird was getting ready for spring or calling en route to hunting insects, arthropods and small mammals. Last weekend I was shown a possum’s daytime shelter in a nature-strip tree. Nuisances at times and an introduced, environmental disaster in New Zealand, it’s still easy to take their cuteness and presence for granted. Just imagine how many people would long to have the gorgeous colours of our “everyday” rosellas and King parrots flying through their gardens? How lucky we are to be so close to “the bush” and its species.

Have you seen the ACT Government’s adverts calling for comments on the future look and operation of our city? Be part of a vocal minority in this instance and send in your vision for Canberra’s future so planners and politicians are in no doubt that we value the bush and open spaces of our capital more than wanting Canberra to be like other cities. Call the Time to Talk team on 6205 8618 or 6207 6457 or visit www.canberra2030.org.au. There are topics such as Environmental sustainability, Liveability and wellbeing, Land use and planning and City form that have direct implications for caring for and appreciating an area such as Mt Rogers.

On 15^th August fifty people signed up to plant shrubs and a few eucalypts in honour of a Guides Australia celebration. In liaison with Planet Ark’s Tree Day and with tube-stock from Greening Australia the girls and their families energetically dug into Mt Roger’s soil, added water crystals and teased out the young plants’ roots. Even though the soil’s damper than it’s been for years, the Guides have promised to water their plants until they’re established. Local species that should be more numerous have been added to our landscape. The weather wasn’t helpful. It was inspiring to see so many people helping to improve the biodiversity of Mt Rogers in this, the International Year of Biodiversity. Thanks to our Landcarers Ann, Kirsty, Olga and Flemming who were able to guide the Guides!

We’ve added a new plant species to the area’s list. Just wandering through the area west of a Cootamundra wattle monoculture I came across a Kurrajong tree. It’s only a bit taller than I and a bit more bent than it should be but this sturdy “cousin” of Bottle and Illawarra Flame trees should grow straighter now that fallen eucalypt branches have been moved away from it. Some of the older suburbs have Kurrajongs as street trees, there are some on Mt Majura and at CSIRO Discovery’s carpark. The “spectacularly large woody pods” from mature trees split open to show the seeds. Which birds ate and dispersed the seeds to give us this smooth-barked sapling with a tapered trunk?

Another mystery is the collection of Grevilleas to the right of the rough track up from the Bingley Crescent bus stop. There’s a wonderful range of colours between red & deep pink as well as the oranges, but who planted them and when? There are some locally occurring Grevilleas but I don’t think these specimens really “belong” to a purist’s idea of local!

Not far from the Grevilleas and the spring flowers near Woodger Place fences is a decaying pile of garden rubbish. It includes introduced grasses that been found on Mt Rogers as yet. The garden rubbish should have gone to Canberra Sand & Gravel at Parkwood but the dumpers are clearly of the opinion that “It’s only the bush” and “Who cares?”. Little do they know that there’s a community of people around Mt Rogers who do care!

Since beginning this series of observations there’s been more warmth in the sun and perhaps that has triggered the flowering of more species. Early nancy flowers are pushing through the grasses. They’re white and have rings of purple close to their centres. If you look at a series of the flowers you’ll see that there are differences. Unusually male & female flowers are borne on separate plants. Bulbine lilies are beginning to flower now from plump yellow buds. Dianellas are also lilies and we have planted several with the Guides funding. They’ve taken to Mt Rogers well over the years. As far as I know there were just two original clusters of these deep-blue flowering plants which have bluey-purple berries. I’ve had an unsuccessful search for ground orchids as both pink and blue species are in flower amongst the leaf-litter on Bruce Ridge near Calvary hospital.

We have lost several familiar trees as the result of erratic winds and storms. Presumably the roots have a less tenacious hold on soil when it’s saturated. I wonder if any trees whose roots are still in the soil will hang on to life by growing new branches from the horizontal from now on?

I wondered whether an earlier period of gales would dislodge the collection of twigs that passes for the Frogmouths’ nest. This happened in 2009 and the birds moved their nesting activities into a Schwarz Place tree. You can imagine my delight on 28^th August, to see the incubation process had begun on the nest, in the fork of the large eucalypt where many of us stopped to watch the family in 2008. Apparently the male incubates during the day & the female takes her turn at night. I did have a brief look for the roosting female in the tree but it’s possible she’s further away in another eucalypt. Let’s hope the magpies near the Rechner Place Playground won’t take exception to our nest-watching over the 30 days it’ll take and when the young are nestlings.

Haven’t the dogs enjoyed the deep puddle that’s filled up as the gully drains towards this playground? The puddle’s partly caused by the drain under the path being blocked but also from the volume of water that’s draining off the side of the ridge. The water seemed beautifully clear as it carved a way across the new path’s gravel and flowed into the channel. Decades ago when the family had tadpoles we were able to come to this channel and collect “green slime”… the algal filaments which fed our temporary pets. More recently Magpie larks would use the channel’s mud for making their cup-shaped nests but that’s also long before the long drought period that might have ended

Also in this same area last week I saw a Fan-tailed cuckoo dive down for a hapless Apina callisto caterpillar. These are the dark moth-caterpillars which tunnel holes into the hard gravel and bring the granules they’ve cut up to the surface one at time. All their feeding happens in winter but they have anti-freeze in their bodies to protect them from the frosts. I can’t get excited about eating a slightly bristly caterpillar with such a strong chemical in its cells!

Aisha, Clare and Catherine assisted by Rachael did some more work on stubborn Serrated tussock clumps on 29^th August. The three girls are working towards a Guides Centenary badge and Mt Rogers has benefited from their “community service” work. Prior to that they sowed New Holland Daisy seeds in the area where they removed first large group of ST tussocks. The seed came from Mt Rogers plants and the species is known to be a good “coloniser” of bare or disturbed soil.

We’ll hold another working-bee on Sunday September 26^th from 09.30 to finish off this ST patch and possibly resume work against woody weeds which need cutting & dabbing. If you’re going to Floriade over the next month call in to the three gardens which offer information and ideas!

There’s the weeds display garden which shows the woody weeds we’re working against on Mt Rogers. The Australian National Botanic Gardens have a Five senses garden and then there’s The Kitchen Garden with ideas as well as a series of interesting talks or demonstrations. If you’re going at a weekend and want to avoid parking hassles drive to the University of Canberra carpark and catch the regular buses that travel from College street, through Civic & past Floriade.

Rosemary

Winter 2010 Mt Rogers update

PLANTING  On 8^th May ten little plants were offered a new home to the north of Schwarz Place. I think there’s only one Bursaria left on the edge of a garden in Spence’s Jordan or McNolty places. These slightly prickly shrubs provide ideal shelter for small birds and the white/cream flowers attract insect pollinators in late summer … also good for birds! Judging by other locals ‘hills’ and nature reserves these plants would have been common on Mt Rogers. Perhaps sheep nibbled new shoots in the grazing days. Or perhaps the shepherds took them along with other shrubs which might have competed with the needed grasses.

            We’ve found that Acacia buxifolia, Box-leafed wattles, do well in re-planting situations. Several planted 4-5 years ago are now budding-up again for spring. Five planted not far from the Wickens Place car-park have also enjoyed the recent rainfall. We kept water up to them, weekly, during the summer.

WEEDING Our ten volunteers then went on to cut & dab woody weeds on either side of the gully that drains down to the 2008-9 “Frogmouths’ tree”. It’s been a while since these areas had their environmental, woody weeds removed so there was no shortage of targets for loppers. Chris and Margaret carried this technique over the ridgeline, working in the north to cut out more cotoneaster, privet, hawthorn and Chinese pistachio. Anne and Kirsty removed a large pine seedling with Anne going on to collect bags-full of privet berries. Peter and Sue came to work having already exercised their dogs. “The Wynn Trio” are adopting the idea of working on their own ‘patch’ closer to the Fraser side.

SERRATED TUSSOCK     Aisha, Claire and William have returned several times to the Serrated Tussock growing near what I call the Benchmark tree. Sally co-coordinated their efforts and the noxious weed’s tussocks have been taken off the ‘hill’ and taken away by Parks Conservation & Lands’ Jenny Conolly to be buried six-feet-deep. We’ll be scattering some New Holland Daisy seeds in the mattocked area before long.

ROSES Just before winter set-in I made an attempt to cut off berries from large Briar rose bushes. Remind me to put up signs next summer inviting folk to come and harvest the rose hips because they make excellent, vitamin C-rich jelly. Do you know of anyone who’d be interested in reviving the ancient art of jam-making! When I was working near one outcrop of boulders several striped skinks kept me company. Delightful little reptiles.

THE PATH As a result of Mt Rogers walkers alerting them to the problem TAMS* organised for the circling path to be re-surfaced so that it’s much more functional for us, especially those using wheels. Would it be interesting to have statistics to show how many pairs of feet had trodden the path? They’d helped the rain wear away looser material exposing rocks and stones. Footwear with chunky-grips is still advisable.

EROSION      The narrower tracks and literal footpaths that are uphill from the main path haven’t had the same attention so the challenges of variable and rough terrain remain for the cross-country walkers and those going to the summit. Where vegetation has been worn away these paths are also eroding. At various times an enterprising person has laid branches across the paths. At first this seemed to be to deter trail-bikers but they probably enjoyed the extra challenge of jumping their bikes over the impediments.

            More recently the twigs and debris crossing the paths from the trig-point were accompanied by a notice to “please avoid using the path” whilst erosion-control repairs were in place. Determined walkers have, instead, walked beside the path and widened the way to and from the summit.Will this, over time, increase the area that’s eroded? Would it be best to leave the narrow path bare and to accept that it’ll become a waterway during heavy rain? Should a request be made to TAMS to put retaining logs on the path as a form of stepped access? This was done on the way down to Jacob place, Flynn but that area needs maintenance now.

            The erosion process is also happening quite spectacularly in the gully that leads up from near the “newsletter seat”. It’s another track that’s been widened as agile walkers avoid the erosion-exposed rocks, stones, roots and debris. If you study the damaged areas you’ll see how water-borne debris and silt is trapped against tree roots and larger stones. The debris, in turn, traps seeds which may germinate and grow into plants which could stabilise the material. On a more gentle slope re-vegetation might happen naturally from these “leaky-weirs” and water would be deflected off to the side to benefit trees, shrubs and grasses rather than rushing off to the streets’ storm water drains.

AN INSPECTION On Friday last I was driven around the main path by John. I was asked to contact him about suitable places for planting. I think he’s the closest we’d be to having a Ranger as he said he often patrols the area and was a point of contact when Mt Roger queries go through from Canberra Connect. He’d recently handled several comments about the new path.

“BMX” John also deals with reports of “BMX” tracks built in areas he patrols. One of his solutions is to send in bobcats to destroy the youths’ work. Whilst this should cure erosion problems the builders cause I doubt whether this is the best answer when the BMX-ers have damaged quality vegetation and habitats. If only specific areas could be set-aside for the BMX-builders that would suit their needs but not damage the habitats we are trying to preserve, observe and enhance.

PLANTING  A Leader from the local Guides group has contacted us to ask if the Guides could have a planting session on Mt Rogers as part of Anniversary celebrations and National Tree Day. This will be feasible as long as the guides and their families are prepared to keep the water up to the young plants until they are well established. John suggested places where planting would be suitable and Kim came along to ensure we knew which species to plant. We will be obtaining the plants propagated from local seed by Greening Australia’s volunteers in Aranda.

            Sunday August 1^st is the planned PLANTING DAY. So come & join in and lend your expertise and friendship! Obviously winter isn’t really ideal but at least the soil is a damper than it’s been for some time and we can use weedy branches to partly shelter the new plants from frost or break them in gently.

BIRDS I did hear Double-barred finches the other day and I’ve seen a few honeyeaters but a rather quiet period for birds is probably due to less frequent visits and the fact that several species have moved away from the ACT for the cool months. Golden whistlers are about though so watch for the male’s glorious yellow breast feathers. There are Scarlet robins, Grey fantails and wrens to watch for also. No sign of the Frogmouths in their 2010 nesting tree. If you’re out and about elsewhere and remember their call, the COG email-line has had reports suggesting some Superb parrots are over-wintering. Three flew through Flynn about a month ago. Observers in Scullin and Cook have noticed between 21 – 30 recently. Where are they roosting and feeding?

FLOWERS    The warm end of autumn tricked quite a few spring flowers into blooming and the native Guinea flowers, native St Johns wort, everlasting daisies and Bluebells were no exception on Mt Rogers. Most of these have now capitulated to winter but there are many fungi bearing their spores in colourful toadstool-shaped or ‘bracket’ fruiting-bodies.

A SIGN?        At one stage during the drive-round with John he mentioned the large rocks that are used to make vehicle entrance more difficult. I wondered whether a large rock could be used in the carpark area as a Mt Rogers sign if the rock were sculpturable or engravable. Does anyone know a sculptor or stonemason we could ask? Obviously we’d have to clear the idea with the authorities but it might be a way of achieving a sign before the government has funds for a real replacement.

WORKING BEE      There will be another working-bee on Sunday 11^th July from 9.30am and from the Wickens Place car-park in Fraser. Please wear clothes suggested by the expected weather, sturdy footwear & hats. Some of the work will involve cutting off African Lovegrass heads & bagging them. Then we’ll grub out the tussocks. Winter’s not ideal for cutting & dabbing (using herbicides) as the plants’ sap needs to be flowing for the chemicals to work but there are always briar roses lurking amongst the better vegetation.

Rosemary Blemings Mt Rogers Landcare Group Co-ordinator

* TAMS Territory & Municipal Services

Is the 'kingfisher tree' dying? Mt Rogers update Autumn 2010

It’s difficult to remain indoors on these calm, sunny days. The “bush” almost demands investigation and welcomes observations tho’ I expect snakes aren’t hibernating yet. The Kingfisher tree is a magnificent old eucalypt on the edge of the gully that was bulldozed into conformity some thirty-five years ago to drain below McNolty Place, Fraser. It has that name because I saw my first Mt Rogers Sacred kingfisher perched in it 14-15 years ago.

Today (24.03.10) the tree has a brown, stressed appearance apart from a few green branches but it is a hive of activity. The ‘swarm’ consists of twenty Grey Fantails, delightful birds which are relatives of Willie wagtails. Watch their aerial ballet as they fly and dive after insects. As they alight each time they fan out their tail feathers probably hoping to swish more insects into the air. Sometimes enterprising individuals will swoop past walkers or land close by on a lookout branch. They have learned that we disturb a moveable feast as we walk.

The tree’s brownish leaves are marked by insect damage and some have lerps, the exquisite constructions which mark the presence of psyllids. You might even enhance your walks by using a hand-lens to look at these ‘houses’ but the danger is you’ll slow down your exercise routine and may even become hooked on the miniature world of novelty and detail that a lens can reveal. It’s not uncommon for Eucalypts to suffer phases of insect infestation which can give them a dead-look but usually infestations turn out to be part of the cycle of plant-insect relationships and the trees recover.

It’s quite common for Grey fantails to be part of a mixed feeding flock (MFF) of small birds that forage together but target different prey in the different storeys of the bush’s plant populations. The MFF species offer an element of safety from predators as there are several individuals on the alert for danger. I sometimes think Grey fantails are a real bonus when bird-watching because they may inform other MFF members that this weird person isn’t really a threat.

The reward for birdwatching today was seeing at least three Scarlet robins. Two were males and their brilliant scarlet shone like beacons when they were perched on a look-out branch in the sun, contrasting with the handsome black of back feathers and their white forehead spot. Earlier in the month I saw a White-throated Treecreeper not far from the Wickens carpark. There haven’t been many sightings on Mt Rogers as I suspect the area is too small for a pair to reside here and this bird may have been the one reported as being, briefly, in Spence and Fraser gardens.

Our local bluebells are spectacular again, thriving on the late summer rains and turning even roadsides into gardens. There are several species all related to the ACT’s emblem the Royal bluebell, Wahlenbergia* gloriosa, which grows at higher altitudes. Separating the flowers into species by flower size or leaf shape seems to be a job for the experts. Perhaps the variables we see are more related to soil chemistry or moisture than geography. On Mt Rogers the flowers peek out amongst the late-flowering grasses but close at night until sufficient sunlight shines on them next morning.

Bluebells flower throughout the spring and summer but for several weeks they’ve been joined by other native species which are having a second flowering or are confused by the signs the weather has brought. The lemon yellow petals of the Grey Guinea flower, Hibbertia obtusifolia**, create a flower that’s fifty-cent piece size. They grow in grassy woodlands on a slightly shrubby bush up to ‘knee-height’. Also in flower amongst the grasses now is native

St John’s wort: November is its normal emergence time. If you look closely the five soft-orange petals seem to create an almost ready-to-turn, swirling effect.

I seem to remember Bindweed being one of the banes of my English parents’ gardening days and the native species around here is quite tough, being one of the first plants to reappear after a grassland fire. The pink flowers also close overnight, reopening once stimulated by the sun. The branches trail over the ground and leaves seem to respond to rainfall in spite of summer heat. They sometimes show up in weedy situations so their tenacity makes them a favourite.

If you know the flowers of garden peas, beans and Sweet peas you’ll have realised that the familiar Hardenbergia also belongs to “the pea family”. It’s a spring-flowering plant whose purple flowers brighten many a harsh roadside or cutting-situation. Autumn brings dense ground-hugging patches of another purple pea-flower, Glycine. It has broad leaflets whereas its ‘cousin’ has more linear leaves on twining branches. Another pea-flowering species has creamy flowers with some pinkish-maroon on the tiny petals. They’re almost invisible but if you’ve ‘gone bush’ recently you’ll have ended up with the seeds stuck to socks, laces and fabric!

Residents of Rechner Place and Schwarz Place have been stuck with a deafening reality for some months. The Cockatoos have adopted the trees around the Flynn playground as a roost and grooming parlour. Visual evidence shows in the scattering of white feathers on the ground but the raucous cries of the birds dispersing from there each morning is enough to have residents in all adjacent suburbs rushing to shut their windows. Today (29.03.10) the birds were playing acrobatically in the rain obviously enjoying their showers and the chance to rid their feathers and skins of the itchy mites, lice or other invertebrates that are their constant companions.

When walking north-east along the ridge from the playground area I found evidence of the activities of another species with pestilential behaviour. Quite a few rocks had been lifted up during a search, I assume, for lizards and skinks. Often the lichen-covered rocks had been allowed to tumble down the slope. That there had been no attempt to replace the rocks and boulders shows that the hunters have no idea of the amount of micro-system-disturbance they are causing. Lichens no longer face the sun or receive rejuvenating rain, ant colonies are exposed as are any other small creatures such as scorpions and invertebrates which are a beneficial part of the leaf-litter fauna. What happens to any hapless lizards which are found? Do they earn the hunters a few dollars before the purchasers kill them by mis-feeding them? Are they released into gardens where cats hunt them to death? I suppose “t’was ever thus” but it seems so arrogant to assume we have a right to flout the law and take what we want from the bush.

It’s rainy now but let’s hope the balmy, calm summer days resume for a few more weeks and that the changing of the clocks won’t dent the resolve that’s needed for our exercise routines! Obviously stopping to observe the above species isn’t much good for exercise either but glimpses of the natural world have their own value for our health.

Rosemary Blemings, Convenor, Mt Rogers Landcare Group.

*Wahlenbergia bluebells were named to honour a Swedish botanist and medical professor who died in 1851.

**Hibbertias were named for George Hibbert a London merchant, private botanic garden owner and importer of Australian plants who died in 1837.

Check out Sacred kingfisher, Scarlet robin, Flame robin, Grey fantail, Weebill, Thornbill in the gallery of the Canberra Ornithologists’ website www.canberrabirds.org.au

Try Hibbertia obtusifolia, Glycine tabacina, Glycine clandestina, Desmodium varians, Hypericum gramineum, Hardenbergia violaceae, Convolvulus erubescens, Lichens, Fungi, Cryptogams on the Botanic Gardens’ website www.anbg.gov.au

WATCH FOR SIGNS ANNOUNCING A LATE-APRIL WALK, WONDER & WEED SESSION!!

Mt Rogers: Visiting parrots, January 2010

An especially warm welcome if this is one of your first summer walks on Mt Rogers. You’re joining a long-established, informal community of people (and pets) for whom this urban open space offers fresh air, exercise opportunities, views and contact with the numerous species that share its habitats.

Over time we’ve become more observant and been rewarded by sightings of over 80 bird species, thousands of invertebrates, dragon lizards, skinks and snakes and an expanding range of native plants trying to win back space from species introduced since Europeans settled in the region. For example Acacia implexa, Hickory wattle, is showing its creamy-yellow flowers right now. It’s native to our area but, in contrast, there are Privets with creamy yellow flowers in gardens where the owners are unaware that their weeds’ black berries have been spread into bush areas like Mt Rogers by hungry birds.

We seem to be nearing the end of the period when Mt Rogers is a hot-spot for visiting parrots. Traditionally family groups of the endangered Super parrot, Polytelis swainsonii, have flown to NW Belconnen from their NSW breeding areas around Christmastime. For a few weeks the young birds have been ‘creched’ around Mt Rogers’ trees whilst the parents forage in the suburbs. But this year was different as at least 35 Superb parrots arrived in our area as early as September. Members of the Canberra Ornithologists Group (COG) have been happy to receive details of sightings in attempting to piece together the puzzle of this early-arrival event. Were these non-breeding birds? Did they come here to breed? If so did they find enough tree hollows to nest in? How do they relate to the groups of Superbs seen in reserves east of Gungahlin and the cohort of about seven birds that have been seen on the Belconnen golf-course over winter?

For probably a month there’s been no shortage of the begging calls of young Superbs around Fraser’s Wickens Place carpark trees and the delightful flights of the brilliant-green birds. Walkers have recorded “lots” of the parrots feeding on the ground amongst the mown grass. It’s hard to get used to the idea that these iconic birds might be spreading the seeds of the noxious African love-grass just as readily as the beautiful King Parrots love to eat, and therefore spread, Privet berries.

Once the young have developed greater flying stamina, family groups have dispersed over the Belconnen suburbs seeking other grassy spaces and un-harvested prunus, loquat and other fruit from gardens. There’s certainly plenty of to-and-fro flights but do they come back to Fraser to roost at night? Will most of the Superb parrots leave the ACT in mid-January or will any of them dare to compete with other species for grassy-woodland habitat and remain here? 80% of Australian birds need OLD, hollow trees for nesting. Such trees are also essential for mammals such as Sugar gliders and possums. In and around Boorowa and their other breeding areas the felling of old, dead or dangerous eucalypts has triggered the Superb parrot’s endangered status. For many decades such timber was removed from paddocks and sold as firewood. Fortunately most country-people now value fallen timber, ancient trees and the “untidy bush” as habitat and resist the temptation to “tidy-up” for appearances sake.

Scruffy trees’ peeling bark is home to a huge diversity of insects and their larvae. Timber is usually no match for the powerful beaks of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Towards autumn we may see more of these large birds visiting Mt Rogers and any gardens where Hakeas and coniferous trees grow. Beetle and moth larvae gnaw away under trees’ bark creating the tunnels and tracks that are visible once the bark’s gone. The colours and textures of these natural patterns are glorious, especially after rain’s trickled down the trunks.

Dead branches also serve as ideal perches for robins as they survey the ground and leaf-litter for insect-movements. Scarlet robins are a feature of Mt Rogers for part of each year. They specialise in diving down towards the ground to grab larvae or insects which they’ll eat once back on the bare branch. (Check for birds’photographs in the gallery of www.canberrabirds.org.au) None of the Australian robins is related to the Robin redbreast that’s probably featured on some of your Christmas cards – settlers chose the names for look-alike reasons. The Rose and Red-capped robins that are sometimes seen passing through Mt Rogers woodland are, with the Golden and Rufous Whistlers, insect-eating birds both photogenic and worth encouraging as pest-controllers.        

They may not have been seen over Mt Rogers but we’ve all heard the penetrating calls of the Koels. Most ACT suburbs have been flown-over in recent weeks. These large cuckoos seek to lay their eggs in Wattlebird nests and leave the parenting to the hosts. Perhaps the birds we’re hearing are rounding-up the fledged koels in order to teach them how to be koels rather than large honeyeaters. The visiting, smaller cuckoos don’t have a “cuckoo” call but they do like to sing from dead-branch lookouts. They’re also insectivorous with some even specialising in devouring the really prickly-looking or hairy caterpillars. Some have iridescent feathers which would rival the colours on the wings of our Common Bronzewing pigeons.

Raptors use bare branches on Mt Rogers as lookouts for their prey. I had a report the other day of a Little Eagle flying high between Spence shops & Fraser … good news, as they are becoming increasingly rare around the ACT as development spreads into the lands that are their home ranges. Can you imagine what it would have been like for the early settlers to find Brolga, Australian Bustard and Emu in the country they worked so hard to ‘tame’? Doubtless many were eaten or scattered as settled areas spread. Mt Rogers still has vestiges of the grasslands and woody-grassland that would have supported these large, wide-ranging birds.

Even now COG members are continually amazed at the vagrant or irruptive species that are found for a few days in our region, blown-in by circumstances or by changes in their normal, distant habitats. For example Black-tailed Native hens were seen along Ginninderra Creek and near Lake Ginninderra. A Black honeyeater was feasting on the nectar of Patersons’ Curse (PC) flowers along the creek in spring. There was no shortage of these invasive, noxious weeds but on Mt Rogers numbers have been quite minimal this summer. Some of you hand-pulled isolated plants in spring which has set the species back, on our patch, for this year.       

Purple vistas in the country may be photogenic but they’re not a sign of wise-husbandry. The alkaloids in PC can be harmful to long-lived stock and wildlife and each plant’s rosette of leaves takes over soil and space from pasture grasses or native plants. Salvation Jane is the name given to PC in some states as the blooms offer food for honeybees and lead to good honey harvests in otherwise lean times.

The exceptional, or well-timed, spring rains of 2009 have shown how native plants react to good time and rainfall patterns. Onion orchids were quite dense in one place where I’d previously overlooked their possible presence whilst checking the Blue grass lilies. Creamy candles bloomed in several places and, once again the residents of Woodger Place had a great wildflower display beyond their back fences. The Grevilleas, probably planted there in the seventies, were also very colourful.

When you have dogs off leash please be aware of the terrain they’re exploring as snakes are bound to be around in the summer months. Perhaps prepare with an action-plan, should a dog be bitten, such as having vets’ phone numbers with you, together with other emergency contact numbers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Rosemary Blemings, Convenor

Mt Rogers Landcare Group
Part of Ginninderra Catchment Group, 62783309

Mt Rogers' approach to summer 2009

Within two November weeks, the lush greenness of spring growth was replaced by the beiges of summer. Grass flowers dried rapidly. Any shed seeds may have provided food for birds such as Finches and Rosellas. It would be comforting to think that birds’ digestive systems crunch-up weed seeds and are kinder to the seeds of plants we’d like to encourage. Unless we keep to the paths ourselves we’re likely to disperse seeds as they hitch a ride on Velcro, socks, laces, fabric and amongst our dogs’ hair. We don’t even need a hand-lens to see the extraordinary structures seeds have developed to spear or screw their way through fibrous material. Millions of years of subtle changes, trial and error ... evolution!

The swathes of grass awaiting mowers are being attended to in priority-order ACT-wide. “Above” the gravel path there have been many hidden treasures amongst the grasses. In Mt Rogers’ more intact habitats we’ve had glimpses of the richness and miniature beauty of the region’s natural temperate grasslands that we’ve altered through farming and continue to build-over. Whilst checking the progress of clumps of Blue Grass Lilies I came across Onion orchids of the Microtis group. How many times have I walked there in spring and not been observant enough to find them?

Shall I cheat and say “most ground orchids don’t flower every year”? Being green they’re not even as obtrusive as the white Early Nancy lilies that Mt Rogers welcomed at the end of winter. Both Black Mountain and Aranda Bushland have had magical displays of yellow, pink, bluey-purple orchids this spring. There were even the harder-to-find Spider and Gnat orchids pointed out to us by those who guided walks into these orchid-rich reserves.* Perhaps the grazing stock and the scouring of the terrain as our suburbs were built destroyed the Mt Rogers orchid population’s tubers and fleshy roots. There is one blue Sun orchid that I know of. It produced several flower-spikes but I’ve not seen the short-lived flowers actually open. It’s apparently self-fertile but would the minute seeds find the correct fungus to stimulate germination? Sun orchids have fairly-conventional-looking flowers but the amazing shapes of the ACT’s other ground orchids species show the complexity and intricacy of the plants’ structure as each strive to attract specific native wasps, gnats, male sawflies and other insects as pollinators.

The Frogmouths intrigued us again but they have now moved away from their nest site in Schwarz Place. Being literally off the beaten-track fewer Mt Rogers folk were able to monitor their progress daily. Gales blew away the first twigs of their nest in last year’s tree so the parents re-located to a fork near their roost site. The male incubated the eggs during the daytime and later sheltered growing chicks when hatched. The female’s days were spent roosting in a nearby tree or, unfazed, above the gate into the house.

Over several mornings in early November the calls of Superb Parrots were heard and birds were seen flying over the nearest suburbs. The arrival of about thirty of the endangered parrots in September has generated more questions than answers. Members of the Canberra Ornithologists Group have been very grateful for reports of sightings (including numbers and male-to-female ratios). Our seeing only males during a trip to Mulligans Flat on 7th November suggested the females were incubating eggs in the reserve's hollow trees. Enthusiastic golfers phoned-in sightings from Belconnen Golf Course’s over-wintering group of seven Superbs, but where do they forage during the day? How many Superbs will come to Mt Rogers and the ACT around Christmas time?

Several sightings of Bearded Dragons have been mentioned. They’re quite different from the iconic Frilled-necked lizard of inland Australia but we can still enjoy their extended beard and yellow mouth during displays of fierceness. Once warmed-up they seek grasshoppers, beetles, moths and other invertebrates as well as fruit, berries and other plant material. Apparently the female digs a tunnel and lays over 30 eggs before refilling the hole … who’d be lucky enough to witness that?

In contrast Eastern Blue-tongued lizards have twelve live young and they’re efficient controllers of snails. It would be good to have them in our garden but next-door’s cats would be a threat. Other invertebrates, berries and fruits are included in their diet. January brings the Herpetologists’ Snakes Alive display to the Botanic Gardens. It’s a great opportunity to meet our local reptiles safely and to see Corroboree Frogs, young Crocodiles and more venomous snakes. Please ensure your dogs are under control this summer so our lizards are safe and Mt Rogers' snakes don’t claim victims. Also, check when the vets are open in case a snake-bite does occur.

Species of Brown butterflies seem more numerous this summer. Grasslands and Woody Grasslands are their habitat preferences. Their caterpillars will feed on several species of our grasses and you may see gatherings of the butterflies on the higher parts of the ‘reserve’ as males hope females will meet them there for mating. This phenomenon is ‘hill-topping’. Have you ever seen butterflies gathered around puddles? They are seeking chemicals near the shallow edges of the water. Yesterday I came across a lone paper daisy plant shining bright yellow in the sun. (There’s a great display of these daisies on the southern edge of The Pinnacle’s woodland at the moment) Butterflies complete an attractive picture if they’re found visiting these daisies when the camera’s ready!

We seem to have had quite a few Sparrows around home in recent weeks. They almost hover under the eaves at times trying to grab spiders. Yesterday there were several gleaning insects, with Silver eyes, amongst the rhubarb leaves and stalks. On Mt Rogers there’s a particular area frequented by these relatively innocuous introduced birds. Their untidy nests seem to be made mostly of grass. I’ve not even found a Friar bird's nest this year but I’m sure there are numerous brilliantly-made structures around the hill. Many small native birds bind grasses, leaves, bark and lichen pieces together with spider silk. Some even go to great lengths to decorate their nests but that’s partly a camouflage technique where nests are on branches or hanging amongst foliage. Can you imagine trying to weave a home with these natural materials and with “no hands”?

References

• David L Jones Field Guide to the Orchids of the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, NPA, 2008 . Before moving from Melba closer to the coast David was a regular Mt Rogers walker.
• Bennett, Ross Reptiles and Frogs of the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, NPA, 1997
• National Parks Association of the ACT is also working towards publishing a guide to insects of our region…great initiative.

Rosemary, Convenor, Mt Rogers Landcare Group