Frogmouths
For several weeks two Tawny Frogmouths
have roosted by day in a tree closer to their “traditional” nesting eucalypt.
They were hidden by foliage, but John and Nancy managed a few photos. We’ve
suspected that twigs were gradually being added to the nest in the fork and by
11th Margaret saw one of the birds on the nest. Peter added to this
observation on 13th September. The male incubates the eggs during
the day and the female at night. There may be 2–5 eggs to be kept warm for
30 days with the young leaving the nest when aged about 4 weeks.
Imagine sitting on sticks for all that time. Note that the rogue Magpie has
begun swooping to protect its nest near the Flynn playground.
Kookaburras
Two Kookaburras watched
during a Monday weeding session and were later seen investigating one of the
nest-boxes near the Wickens Place carpark. Lyndon and Kirsty have amazing
recent photos of the birds flying on a collision course with the box’s entry
hole presumably enlarging the entry. Will the plywood prove too sturdy for them
and will they change their hopes to a more natural hollow in a eucalypt? Have
the Kookaburras learned to try man-made structure because tree hollows are
increasingly scarce?
Superb Parrots
There have been many ‘canberrabirds
email-line’ reports of sightings of this colourful species in recent weeks
especially around Belconnen ... even in town-centre trees near St Vinnies.
Mary and Kirsty have photos of ‘Superbs’ feeding amongst the lush grass in
easements and on nature strips, and the birds’ choice seems to be chickweed as
well as grass seeds. Peter has captured a male in a digital photo. Check out
the two blog ‘pages’ with Superb Parrot in the name, at mtrogerslandcare.blogspot.com, if
the species is new to you. If you hear the parrots’ calls at dusk please be
alert to where they are heading and we may, between us, be able to locate some
roost sites.
Migrants
I suspect we’re not really
sure enough about the Superbs’ movements to class them as migrants but there
are many other bird species which return to the Canberra region for spring and
summer. Some are passing through to feeding and nesting areas in the high
country, whilst many breed around our region.
There are several cuckoos that
come here in spring but none of them has the familiar “cuckoo” call of European
cuckoos. Then there’s the Koel which we’ve become accustomed to hearing. It
seems odd that these birds should call so distinctly when they are preparing to
parasitise other birds’ nests, but they obviously have a need to first attract
mates.
Honeyeaters return in large
numbers, with the largest species being some wattlebirds and Noisy Friarbirds
with their ugly (?) black heads. There are at least six smaller species of
honeyeaters which come to Mt Rogers seeking nectar, with specifically shaped
beaks and active tongues probing into specifically shaped flowers.
Bees
A small book from 2000
illustrates Native bees of the Sydney
Region and states that Australia has over 1,500 species of native bees.
Some are 2 mm in size and others are up to 24 mm in size. Of the
approximately 200 species around Sydney the Blue-banded Bee is perhaps the one
most closely resembling the introduced honeybee in size. There are countless
shrubs and other blossoming plants in suburban gardens that attract native bees.
Honeybees are no strangers to our gardens either. Several trees on Mt Rogers
host honeybee nests. This trend also causes a shortage of hollows for
kookaburras, possums and numerous native birds.
Plants provide nectar, or
pollen or both for visiting, pollinating animals and often advertise their
presence with bright petals catching sunlight. Many species of plants have
co-evolved with the flowering plants they pollinate. The shapes of the petals
and the depth of the tube they may form are matched, just like the birds, by
the tongue-length of their bee visitors.
It has always puzzled me that
many children’s books colour their bee characters yellow and black. The
stinging insects that utilise these colours are European Wasps. Theirs is another
story of invasion and the spreading of the species into the Canberra region (from
about 1984) and even its southern bush areas. The imbalance caused by
introduced honeybees and European wasps pollinating native flowers is a major
concern. Of even greater concern is the effect of introduced Asian bees and
Varroa mite on the honeybees which pollinate a large proportion of our food
crops … nuts, apples, canola, tomatoes and honey-producing trees.
European Wasp queens will be
emerging from hibernation soon to seek new nest sites. The hotline for European Wasps
is 6162 1914 and the ACT Beekeepers Association has an informative
website.
Floriade and weeds
If you are new to the ACT
region, gardening and Mt Rogers there is an informative garden at Floriade
which shows the invasive plants for this region and a few of the thousands of
plants that could grow in Canberra gardens as non-invasive alternatives. The
garden is designed and put in place by Parks and Conservation Service personnel
with a team of some sixty volunteers rostered on in pairs each day to explain
why weeds are a problem everywhere and what can be done about local problem
plants.
The next WEED SWAP is on
November 3rd and 4th at Canberra Sand & Gravel’s yard
off Parkwood Road. With about 27,500 versus about 24,000 there are now more
introduced plant species in Australia than native plant species. Some ask why
this is a serious situation. But many people don’t have time to treasure the
uniqueness of Australia’s flora let alone understand why the uniqueness needs
to be preserved from the range of threats that modern lifestyles and wants
exacerbate.
Mt Rogers Landcare
Mt Rogers landcarers continue
to cut out the woody environmental weeds that deny native species space, water
and nutrients in the soil. Now is a good time to check gardens along
fence-lines, and under power cables and trees, for small privet and cotoneaster
seedlings that have emerged from bird droppings. Pull them out before this
becomes a major operation requiring tools and muscle-power!
Folk from Avery place have
weeded round several of the younger trees close to their houses’ boundaries.
Chris and Margaret have mattocked-out Verbascum rosettes. During recent
working-bees we’ve also removed numerous lush Patersons Curse plants and
clusters of small ones will be sprayed.
Jenny has reported
flourishing Cape Weed plants along the edges of the gravel path. We’ll probably
concentrate on removing isolated ones but Steve and Ann may be able to spray
those “uphill” of the path to prevent their seeds spreading.
Kirsty organised a walk with Laurie, a Eucalyptus expert. We were able to begin the sometimes-tricky lessons of identifying Yellow Box, Red Gum and Apple Box eucalypt species and distinguishing them from each other.
Nola and Graham have embarked
on an ambitious project to photograph the older eucalypts. There seem to be
about 70 of these original trees but the lines blur occasionally when eucalypts
planted in the seventies seem to have grown extra rapidly.
You can see from the above
that there’s a variety of ways to contribute to Mt Rogers. You’re probably one
of the hundreds of appreciators who walk there regularly and support what
others are able to do. Thank you all … you’re a great community.
Rosemary Mt
Rogers Landcare Convenor
6258 4724 27.07.12.
