As the days warm up (to over 30 C as I write) the changes that precede summer become more obvious. We’ve had our month of Frogmouth-watching followed by the daily glance up to the nest since the chicks hatched. I heard they fledged on WEED SWAP weekend, 5th and 6th November and their disappearance was greeted with “Where are they?”. Great news from John and Nancy on 17.11.11 that they had found them and now have wonderful photos of the quintet. The birds were in the gully area on a horizontal branch … the three chicks close to father, with mother roosting on a separate branch to the right of the tree’s trunk. One chick had adopted the dead-branch pose like Mum but the others couldn’t resist wide-eyed stares at the interloper. (The 2 photos below are by Lyndon on 17 November.)
The nestbox that fell off the tree and was on display at the Mt Rogers Explorer Day contained the remains of a nest, four white Rosella eggs, a large amount of bee-debris including dead bodies and honeycomb including young bees that died in their hexagonal cells. Part of the reason for the ACT-wide checks by CIMAG volunteers has come from the possibility that Mynas are now shunning the boxes in favour of using tree-hollows in reserves. In other words they’re back to their old, wildlife-threatening behaviour. What do you think? Have you seen any Indian Mynas regularly entering tree hollows around Mt Rogers? Please let me know, with a location if possible (phone 6258 4724).
Steve W has been videoing birds on Mt Rogers. Lyndon has taken a DVD-full of Mt Rogers wildlife photos. Colin has continued to refine the poo-bag dispenser so that bags can be taken for use when supplies at home are forgotten on dogs’ regular walks. He’s also invented and made the notice-stands that are currently being used to inform people about Superb Parrots, using one of Jude’s photographs. Steve D is about to try trapping Mynas in Melba. Soon Myna chicks will be around and, we hope, they will be naïve enough to enter the traps or not listen to their wary parents.
On 29th October I took part in the Canberra Ornithologists Group’s annual Bird Blitz. Members visit the majority of grid-cells in the COG area of interest to see which species are present, record numbers and any breeding activities. It was wonderful to stroll around Mt Rogers seeking birds and making incidental notes of plants during the grey rainy morning. The Owlet Nightjar peered out briefly as I began (photo below is by Steve W). A cute beginning to a ‘hunt’ that also included brief sightings of three Superb Parrots near the carpark.
A beak-clacking Noisy Friarbird swooped towards me as I walked, obliviously, too close to its nest. They’re assertive honeyeaters, a bit smaller than Wattlebirds. Their distinctive penetrating calls announce their arrival in late spring. Later I came across a peaceful active group of small birds gleaning insects and enjoying the raindrops amongst the leaves. There were Whistlers, Silvereyes and Thornbills hosting migrants passing through to the higher ranges to nest. The Rufous Fantail was a happy surprise, the rust-coloured plumage on its back a contrast to the more subdued but attractive plumage-colours of the more common Grey Fantail. A pair of Leaden Flycatchers was skittish. Will they try nesting on Mt Rogers? They have failed in past seasons even though they tried nesting close to a Friarbird’s nest to take advantage of the Friarbirds’ bravado.
I watched two Double-barred Finches and two Red-browed Fire-tails foraging on the newly-green edge of the hazard-reduction-burn area. Flocks of ‘Red-brows’ are fairly common in other reserves but on Mt Rogers we don’t see either of dainty these grass-eating species often enough. Sometimes the mewing calls of the Double-bars are heard before the birds are seen. Four Superb Parrots, at the end of the walk near the Wickens carpark, were preening. They were using final rain-drops to help re-arrange feathers for their fast, streamlined flight and to move-on the mites that live amongst their feathers.
(The next day, in another survey (plants), volunteers were down on hands and knees amongst the apparently rough and weedy paddocks beyond The Pinnacle in Hawker. Each square metre was much more diverse and interesting than overall appearances would indicate. In some squares there were 20-25 species and often these were tiny native plants or native grasses which have withstood the swamping-growth of introduced grasses and weed species. This survey is part of an experiment to see what treatments help improve the chances of native plants in grasslands.)
There is an ACT awareness campaign about African Lovegrass at the moment. There was an advert in the Canberra Times apparently and one in the Chronicle of 15th November on page 20. I’m not sure if the ad. is particularly helpful: if you’re not sure what this grass looks like there is plenty still surrounding the asphalt of the carpark even though the area was sprayed a couple of years ago. The aim is to keep this highly-invasive grass out of areas where it’s currently absent. Mt Rogers is one such area though mowers have moved its tiny, black seeds into the reserve from the Moroney Street Fraser-Spence easement. Our Landcarers have worked on this grass in the past, digging out and removing isolated clumps. We’ll need to maintain this vigilance!
Since the epic Working-Bee with the Conservation Volunteers on 24th September we’ve continued cutting and daubing environmental weeds. We’ve used weed wands to daub on the glyphosate which is stored in the length of the wands. They can be quickly aimed at the cut stem and make reaching into dense bushes easier for pairs of weeders. The target species for our saws and loppers are Privet, Cotoneaster, Pyracantha, Hawthorn and the occasional Briar Rose. As we worked on 23rd October we had the weird calls of Dollar-birds accompanying us for a couple of hours. They are also summer migrants passing through in search of nest sites.
On 20.11.11 I had another chance to check out the hazard-reduction-burn area to see how the plants have reacted to the burn. Fescue, Cocksfoot and Microlaena grass tussocks have sprung back to life. The first two are in flower whereas the Microlaena, like most other native grasses, flowers later in the summer. The weeds Salsify and Goatsbeard have ‘daisy-like’ flowers and huge seed-heads afterwards where the seeds parachute away. Perhaps they were going to have a good season anyway but they’ve certainly survived the burn using stored food in thick parsnip-like taproots. The ‘dandelions’ seemingly everywhere are Flatweed. Their leaf-bases are very good at taking space from native and other species on Mt Rogers and un-mown nature strips. Quite a few younger Eucalypts which were burnt are sprouting from their bases.
If you have a chance, take a walk through the native grassy-woodland area ‘above’ McNolty and Schey places. It was disconcerting to find a large ‘pile’ of rabbit poo but the emerging wildflowers show that the fire has only set them back not killed them. There are Spear and Microlaena grasses, Yellow Rush Lily, Lomandra, Sheeps Burr, Rock Fern, Button Daisies, Slender Tick-trefoil and Bluebells growing strongly or just about to flower.
I heard a Koel call once or twice “co-elle” but one which I heard over Charnwood yesterday sounded as though it needed more practice. These big cuckoos have only just arrived in the ACT for this summer or only just become vocal.
