We had a working bee at “Bridget’s” (the section of Mt Rogers that was 'Hazard Reduction Burnt' in April 2019) and the bush to the north of the carpark
area at Wickens Place, Fraser.
Our 08.30 start was a precaution against the day heating up, but cloud cover didn’t clear until we were home again. Our rewards for another eight hours of volunteering were that
working conditions were ideal; the cool start being enjoyed by a score or more
of other Mt Rogers people walking along the track.
Before we even began we had fly-pasts from at least five
Superb parrots. Angharad began seeing a pair of Superbs on 14th November.
Angharad, Phil and Ted were apologies as they had other
calls on their time for Sunday 24th.
It was great to welcome Jemima and Ivan back to the workforce
from unavailability through UniCan studies and a sore shoulder respectively.
Chris came over to return pairs of gaiters he and Margaret
had borrowed for more active landcaring. They’re part of the team that collects
rubbish on their daily walks. Morgan and her family have replaced the information sheets
around Mt Rogers’ seats with more robust editions.
The essence of Landcare volunteering is that we offer and
share skills as and when we can, appreciating the valued contribution of those
who visit Mt Rogers and share their appreciation for this special place.
Angharad has been watching the Frogmouth family she found
once they’d established their 2019 nest. The photos are gorgeous. Here is one of them.
Ivan noted seeing Frogmouths in their Spence garden. This is
possibly another pair as the 65 hectare size of the reserve could support
4–6 families because of the flowers, shrubs and therefore insects we have in
nearby gardens.
Chris reported that Margaret had found evidence of Satin
Bowerbirds using the reserve’s shrubby cover for a bower site. Bowerbirds are
another species that enjoys visiting and sometimes raiding gardens for fruit
and vegetable delicacies.
We walked over to “Bridget’s” (named after Bridget who used to
live in Woodger Place and walked Mt Rogers regularly in those days) to check on
the African Lovegrass (ALG) growth that threatens the biodiversity of the bush
there.
We did a circuit of the area, digging or pulling out
Paterson’s Curse, daubing isolated ALG tussocks, Mustard, Skeleton Weed and
Flatweed.
As we worked we learned and shared stories, experiences and
information.
The Paterson’s Curse we found in this area is its
Boraginaceae family relative, Viper’s Bugloss. There are real Paterson’s Curse
plants elsewhere in the reserve but not as many as there once were.
The ALG infestation is recovering well from the Hazard
Reduction Burn although the isolated tussocks are more affected by the dryness
than those nearest the footpath.
There were scattered Flatweed plants; worth digging up so
they didn’t take more moisture from the recovering native vegetation.
The Flatweed flowers are dandelion-yellow. They’re held
aloft on long, thin stalks to attract pollinators whereas Dandelions’ stalks
are hollow and exude white sap when cut.
Each Flatweed flowerhead is a composite of 50–70 individual
florets which, when pollinated, produce 50–70 seeds to be blown away on the
wind … as infested, unkempt nature strips show all around the ACT and beyond.
Farther away from the path and carpark we were treated to an
almost-swathe of yellow native daisies: Chrysocephalum apiculatum & Chrysocephalum semipapposum.
Both have clusters of pom-pom flowers, the first being a ground cover
species.
There were a few native St John’s Wort plants just beginning
to flower.
Greenish-beige patches of native Plantain were affected by
the dryness. We dug out a few of the introduced plantain plants and tried to
tell the difference from their leaves and flowers.
Bluebells, Convolvulus and native grasses were more
cryptic. A Tricoryne lily would wait until the sun was really shining
before opening its yellow petals. These natives each have a robust root system
to withstand the cool burns from April.
Many of the Grevillea bushes had white scale
infestations on them.
Closer to Woodger Place were several regenerating Indigofera
adesmiifolia bushes and the offspring they’d produced over the years.
The huge ALG patch was daunting but we dug out a score of
the tussocks. We cut off flowers on some of the isolated African Lovegrass
plants and bagged them.
Too much digging would make the soil prone to erosion.
On the way back to the cars we couldn’t resist doing some
cosmetic landcaring by digging out the large and smaller Mustard plants growing
amongst the carpark’s mown ALG. This was a salute to Phil who’s dug out
hundreds of Mustard plants in the bush behind Schwarz Place. We filled 4–5 bags
with Mustard and Prickly Lettuce plants earlier in the year and TCCS were quite
prompt in taking the bags away to be mulched into compost.
We shared stories of poorly managed “dogs off leash”, the
few irresponsible owners who brought their dogs to Mt Rogers regardless of
others’ and wildlife’s safety and others whose dogs caused attacks within the
suburbs. We agreed on, and Marion later confirmed, appreciation for the Dog
Compliance Rangers who have visited Mt Rogers and got to know several of the
law-abiding Mt Rogers community in conversation … and dealt with deviants.
Today I met the man who brings mince to the Mt Rogers
magpies. Let’s hope he uses preservative-free mince.
Most Mt Rogers people would have shallow bird baths for the
birds that visit their gardens. We have a broken piece of terracotta pot in the
saucer-shaped dish so bees and small birds can reach the water without risk of
falling in.
Mt Rogers and so many gardens already have a February–March
look.
Let’s hope the next edition of Our Canberra has
advice on how and when to water for those new to our region and to gardening.
24 November 2019
