Brochures
The time has come to re-do the Mt
Rogers brochure. It will probably be a triple-fold this time with a similar
text but fewer photos. Maybe the map will change also. We have had the offer of
a great landscape photo looking towards Belconnen. There are other photos we
can use from the blog www.mtrogerslandcare.blogspot.com Shall we include the frogmouths as they
brought us all together into a caring and observant community?
Foxes
I offered brochures to someone
this morning and he said “What’s being done about the foxes?” He pointed to the
den area. I should have mentioned that the Parks and Conservation Service’s
Vertebrate Pests Officer receives sightings details from us and others
occasionally. But it’s not their policy to lay baits for foxes in areas near
the suburbs. Perhaps Mt Rogers’ foxes keep the rabbit numbers down? Has anyone
seen Quail or Speckled Warblers recently. Both species nest on the ground and
one would expect them to be easily caught by foxes. Fox scats seem to suggest
they eat a large number of beetles.
Families
Several families were out and
about walking and exploring the wilder parts this morning. Let’s hope they
found plenty to watch, see and remember from their walks. When Mary & I
stopped for a chat near where several Magpies were foraging we had the
impression they were keeping an ear out for the rustle of a plastic bag. We
moved to households’ feeding of native birds and then to families bringing
bread down to Lake Ginninderra’s waterbirds. Such feeding may be therapeutic
for the families and the closest some people come to nature but how does this
human indulgence affect the birds? Should places for these interactions remain?
Is it o.k. if the number of birds affected means others elsewhere are safe from
interference? Or will the fed birds pass on diseases to truly wild birds when
outsiders come in for occasional visits?
Bird food
In our gardens the ornithologists
and the RSPCA recommend providing shallow, well-maintained bird-baths but raise
several points against feeding wild birds. Someone dumped garden rubbish on the
edge of Wickens Place in spring. Galahs, Rosellas, Cockatoos and even Superb
Parrots enjoyed the included aviary-seed waste for several weeks. On Monday we
noticed a crop of corn and sunflower seedlings had grown up from the
twice-uneaten seed.
There are some eucalypts and
wattles in flower, providing nectar for birds and bees. As well, mixed flocks
of small birds (Mixed Feeding Flocks or MFF) have re-formed after the species’
respective breeding and are now seeking insects, larvae and seeds from grasses,
shrubs and trees. Ravens are scavenging and, in our yard, Currawongs collect
any casualties from mowing or invertebrates drawn to the surface after rain.
I’m not sure what they were seeking but I heard Superb Parrots from the Gully
as I began my walk at about 9.30. Quite a large flock has regularly been seen
around the Australian Institute of Sport through summer.
Greenery
Barely 48 hours after the first
summer-drought-breaking rains fell, germination began. Wild oats pushed their
way through the debris of last season’s crop. Tiny seedlings on the ground show
other grasses, clovers, chickweed and fleabane. Capeweed is dense in some
places with bare soil hosting Pigweed Portulaca
oleracea which is succulent enough to withstand heat. One bare patch not
far below the second summit had mass-germination of Goosefoot or Crumbweed Dysphania pumilio (formerly Chenopodium pumilio). It’s a native species but there are
several non-native members of this family including Fat Hen. The Crumbweed
seeds are chunky but small and I imagine Crested Pigeons would eat them. We’ll
be on the lookout for Patersons Curse seedlings in the reserve as we dug out
hundreds from the broad gully north of the main car-park on Monday 3rd.
Kirsty, Lorraine and Flemming worked then and have memories of the other sites
similarly weeded in the past.
Reptiles
Reports of a near-fatal snake bite
a couple of weeks ago were very alarming. The dog recovered but the resulting
precautionary advice is for dogs bitten on Mt Rogers to receive both Brown
snake and Tiger snake anti-venin.
The Pet Ambulance can be called
from Holt for transport 0448 789 039 but
they’re unable to give anti-venin.
Ric Longmore gave a presentation
on local snakes to the Field Naturalists on Thursday 6th emphasising
that much of the ACT’s bush is Eastern Brown Snake habitat. Mt Rogers is ideal.
They seek small mammals, nestling birds, skinks, frogs and other snakes. They
may pass through backyards on the urban edge. Colour variation is common
amongst the browns, and banded markings may be present particularly on
juveniles. Red-bellied Black Snakes can be expected close to waterways, such as
Ginninderra Creek and farm dams.
Flowers
Have you noticed that Bluebells
are having a late flowering on nature strips around Belconnen. They have grown
as quickly as the weeds have, especially in places where mowers don’t reach
them. We’ve also found native St Johns Wort, Desmodium, Glycine and several
tussocks of Barbed Wire Grass in flower this week on Mt Rogers. They show the
tenacity and persistence of real Australians in taking advantage of the recent
rain and still-warm days. The pale yellow flowers of Hickory Wattle Acacia implexa are right on cue for
their ‘late summer’ season.
Rubbish
Last Sunday was Clean Up
Australia Day and, as usual, the predominant ‘rubbish’ along Ginninderra Creek
was recyclable cans, bottles, fruit-box type drink containers. Give your support
to the nationwide Container Deposit scheme through online petitions. Coca Cola
is dead against this logical recycling incentive and is making claims about
ineffective outcomes. Mt Rogers is kept clean by a silent corps of walkers who
voluntarily collect others’ carelessness daily. Sometimes there’s residue from
gatherings at the summit. Again, our quiet achievers remove the evidence before
much more accumulates.
Beyond local
On 17th March there’s
a Canberra March in March that
follows nationwide peaceful demonstrations, on 15th and 16th,
on behalf of those affected by government measures. Walk from the 300-series bus
stop at the Albert Hall to Queen Victoria Terrace behind Old Parliament House
for 10 am. And then march to Parliament House to voice your objection to
the way the Australian open spaces, reserves, farmland and bush are being
exploited to death by big profit-seeking corporations. Details at March in March.
Mt Rogers is small but it’s a
vibrant symbol of our connection with the natural world. Imagine how we’d feel
if a coalmine wiped it all out or if it were covered with coal seam gas wells. These takeovers and the destruction of groundwater
quality are happening to Australian farms and communities throughout the
country. We can speak up to support other Australians!
Rosemary, Mt Rogers Landcare Group 6258 4724
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