It's all browned-off! Colours at Mt Rogers, January 2014

It’s possible to dismiss the bush in summer as being all brown, beige and dead-looking: un-appealing to those accustomed to the strong colours modern technology has produced and promoted. Perceptive folk walking on Mt Rogers, however, see beyond the obvious.

Beige and brown: As the days get hotter, plants (particularly local and native species) overcome the lack of water and the desiccating winds of summer by drying-up. Many species have developed ways of conserving moisture; often, maintaining the chlorophyll-lushness of green leaves is an extravagance in Australia’s summers.

There’s sufficient moisture in seeds to maintain their viability until it’s time to germinate. Many species can conserve moisture because their roots are deep in the soil. For some birds and other animals there’s enough moisture in the seeds they eat, but others, such as the Double-barred Finches I’ve seen recently, rarely live far from water. Gardens adjacent to Mt Rogers which have water-features and shallow birdbaths help the survival of such bird species.

Introduced (non-native) grasses dry-off and seed quickly in early summer. Wild Oats grow tall above these. The beige seed heads have long since lost their seed; it lies on the ground, ready to germinate in the winter.

Bark peels off eucalypts in response to temperature changes. Quite often a new range of bark-colours is revealed after the shedding. There are wonderful textures in the patterns of many Mt Rogers trees, and often this includes the subtlety of browns, beiges and rust-colours that defy reproduction in a paintbox. When do children realise these subtleties, and see that tree trunks aren’t brown?

               

            I wonder what the profuse flowering of eucalypts around Flynn and on Mt Rogers indicates. Do trees ‘sense’ that dry times are ahead again? Under each tree there is debris produced by thousands of small to tiny caps rejected as the flowers open. Nectar-seeking birds and insects feed on the eucalypt flowers and thereby transport pollen: timing matters to these pollinators. Each eucalypt species’ flower caps and eventual gum-nuts are particular shapes, and together with distinct flowers and leaves they help in identifying the species.

            Eddying early morning wind took off the branch of a eucalypt not far from the Wickens Place carpark. It was the third tree to block Mt Rogers’ tracks. The branch has now been moved off the main access track. Chris rescued and re-installed the nestbox that is part of an Indian Myna PhD study, which aims to determine Mynas’ effects on native birds. 

                Rust: I came across a pile of very rusty-orange granules on the Centennial Trail beyond Hall. I assume the cone of tiny stones had been accumulated by the labour of myriads of ants bringing up pieces from below. The faded-rust colour of the path round Mt Rogers is quite often interrupted by changes caused by ants’ work. Some of the visible ant-hills are in the bush off the track and often linked by trails created by millions of insect footsteps. Black Mountain (about 13 km away as the Raven flies) has over 40 ant species and I expect Mt Rogers’ list would be similar in spite of the different habitats. Each species has its own niche for which the bush supplies food. On a particularly windy day there was the pathetic sight of an ant carrying such a large piece of leafy food that the burden acted as a sail and blew the ant away from its route to the nest.

                There have been several fox-reports and I have photos of what may be a den under an old ivy-draped tree-trunk. For a day or so there was the macabre sight of a possum’s remains being eaten away, bite-by-bite, by meat ants.

                Flowers and seed-heads of Kangaroo Grass are rusty at this time of the year. I discovered new clusters of native Sorghum amongst rank dry grass two weeks ago. In their prime the flower-heads have pendulous orange stamens but I was too late to find those.

                Greyish-brown – a feeble attempt to describe the colour of the reserve’s leaf litter. In fact, the range of colours is as enormous as the litter’s textures and diversity. Although the weather is very dry, the essential break-down of plant material in the leaf litter continues via the nutrient-recycling work of invertebrates, bacteria and fungi, on or just below the soil’s surface. The greyish-brown offers Dragon Lizards camouflage as we pass, whereas skinks use speed to escape from the threats we pose.

                For numerous birds the browns of their feathers aid camouflage, especially for incubators sitting on exposed nests for weeks. We’ve all appreciated the excitement of watching the Frogmouths over recent years. We’ve probably been converted to seeing browns differently as a result of enjoying the plumage patterns of ‘our’ special family. This spring–summer, Roy and Deb’s and Tracy’s families were honoured to have the fledged Frogmouths roosting in their gardens’ trees. 

               

               Even the black-headed Noisy Friarbirds’ plumage-patterns are attractive close-up…similarly Red Wattlebirds. Neither species needs camouflage!

               There have been sightings of a young kangaroo in both Crawford Cres. and Wilkinson St., Flynn. Was it one of our usually-cryptic Mt Rogers ‘roos? How often are our Eastern Grey Kangaroos not seen until they twitch their ears? They seem to prefer eating native Microlaena which is one of the grasses that doesn’t lose its greenness until late summer. Presumably there’s sufficient moisture in the Microlaena for their needs.

                Green: It can almost be said that any lush green leaves on trees at this season reveal an exotic intruder on Mt Rogers. There are bushes of Chinese Pistachio, Privet and Cotoneaster awaiting our volunteers’ attention. Under most trees’ branches there are green seedlings of Privet, no longer small enough to pull out as we’re passing. It’s a survival strategy for a shrub to prioritise the putting down of strong roots. Quite a few wattle species have leaves of a much brighter green than the eucalypts’ leaves. We’re hoping they will continue to thrive and spread, to eventually take over from the Cootamundra Wattles in providing nitrogen-fixing and fertility to the soil.

                In the shade of the trees there’s a welcome coolness due to the evaporative effect of moisture from the leaves. The leaves’ stomata cells regulate the entry and exit of gases and water vapour into the body of the leaf according to weather conditions. Eucalypt leaves have built-in dryness to reduce evaporation and the trees are able to angle their leaves to avoid receiving the full blasts of the sun’s rays.

                Yellow: The incredible survival power of plants is shown by the Mustard and Wild Cabbage weeds which have grown in a mere week or two to be knee-high now and in full flower above the beige of the mown grass on Mt Rogers and around town. Bees visit the yellow flowers. Flatweed has dandelion-like flowers and seeds that can blow away as readily as Thistles’ ‘fairies’. There can be over 100 individual florets on each stem. The St John’s Wort’s orangey-yellow has been browned off by Steve’s spraying efforts. It’s hard to calculate how many seeds’ dispersal he’s prevented by this timely follow-up from last year’s Ginninderra Catchment Group-funded spraying. I came across a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo’s crest feather the other day. It was surrounded by numerous white feathers around their roosting area off Rechner place, near the Flynn playground.

                Pink and red: Once the sun’s been up for a while the native Bindweed’s flowers will follow the light. The plants are climbers so the flowers can sometimes be seen knee-high on the stronger stems of other plants such as grasses and ‘Skeleton Weed’. The strong pink is different from the colour of Galahs’ feathers, spotted if one has time to watch parents feeding their screech-begging chicks – though the movements of regurgitating don’t make for a pretty sight. The Galah female’s iris is red if you’re close enough to see the eyes.

                Of course there’s a bit of pink in each Paterson's Curse flower, but I hope those of us with gloves will have pulled these weeds up and bagged them as we’ve walked.               

                Both Rosella species have red feathers, with the Crimson Rosellas’ red being mixed with green until the young birds are no longer ‘teenagers’. Did a pair nest in a hollow near the Flynn playground? The Eastern Rosellas’ red can sometimes be seen in fallen feathers, but their plumage has green, yellow and blue feathers too. 

                Real rainbow colours have been common in mid-Flynn until recently as Rainbow Lorikeets fed on gardens’ unharvested apricots and loquats. On one evening there were more than 20 Lorikeets on the western edge of Mt Rogers. The species has bred-up from a few birds released from a Hawker aviary some 15 years ago, or so the story goes.

                Blue: Bluebells seem to have been inconspicuous this summer on Mt Rogers, but perhaps I’ve been home from my walk before they really opened out for the sun. There are plenty of days with blue skies to represent the colour, however. Quite often the forecast “possible showers” have led to attractive cloudscapes and spectacular sunsets but all without significant rain...food for thought and a reason for ensuring the garden’s watering system is efficient.

               

Rosemary, Mt Rogers Landcare Group.  6258 4724      

12.01.14

WHAT WILL 2014 BRING? MUSINGS FROM MT ROGERS, 25.12.13. AND 06.01.14

As I sit on a small boulder at Snow Gum Corner a cool easterly cools me and wafts traffic noise up from Kingsford Smith Drive. Some of the other boulders and rocks have been turned over as sacrificial reptiles were sought for amusement and personal gain. Cockatoos have pruned a Wattle whilst sharpening their beaks and seeking seeds from the copious pods.

Flowers from a little group of Clustered everlasting daisies manage to shine bright yellow even though the sky is overcast. They, and the groups of native Sorghum I found a bit later amongst rank weedy grasses, are inspiring reminders of Mt Rogers’ pockets of grassy woodland that have escaped being swamped by Canberra’s settlement and expansion.

Ecologically the Snow Gums, Eucalyptus pauciflora, shouldn’t be here but parent trees were planted when Mt Rogers was revegetated after Flynn, Fraser, Spence and Melba were built in the early seventies. The species belongs further south, the nearest natural group being south of Aranda Bushland and near the Glenloch Interchange.

At the nearby seat there are a few bottles and pieces of rubbish left by the care-less. Litter and the rock-turning are evidence of Mt Rogers visitors with different agendas to the hundreds who enjoy “the hill” for its own sake each week. (By 29^th the rubbish had been removed: more evidence that the reserve’s carers quietly collect others’ mess as their contribution to a purer nature).

My intention, after our family gathering yesterday, was to pull out St Johns Wort (SJW) today and return to collect and bag the drying plants later. I realised the patch I headed for had been sprayed by Steve D as the plants looked browned-off, with the stamens of any remaining yellow flowers shrivelled to a blob in each flower’s centre. I GPS’ed the site and another which I didn’t know about. Its plants are now pulled as an interim measure and awaiting collection.

Steve is an accomplished wildlife artist, and regular classes prevent him from attending monthly Sunday working-bees where we make a difference against other environmental weeds as the seasons dictate. On Mondays Steve’s usually at work. That he is prepared to undertake Chemcert and weed identification training and chase up supplies of the required chemicals, shows Steve’s a dedicated land-carer in the very best local and Australia-wide tradition.

Ginninderra Catchment Group (GCG) has organised and funded official spraying of blackberries, honeysuckle and SJW which boosts Mt Rogers Landcare Group’s mission; to continue what we began….loving, appreciating, caring for and enhancing the special place Mt Rogers is for its other species and for us. Steve quietly and effectively donates time and spraying expertise which complements the regular working bees and GCG’s program. 

As we are so closely in tune with nature and aware of the seasons’ and time’s changes here we know that others show similar stewardship and love for reserves throughout the ACT. Canberrans are not alone; landcarers of all origins respect the land they have farmed for generations. Indigenous people survived by reading Australia’s unique landscapes, by knowing the land supported them and by taking only what they needed from each place in order to survive. The ancient but surviving tradition of being sustained by the land and respectfully managing species offers a direct link to our relationships to Mt Rogers as individuals and groups care for the land and draw strength from the place itself when we need to withdraw from life’s stresses and be surrounded by the natural world.

You don’t need to have read The Future Eaters, Affluenza, On Borrowed Time, High and Dry, If You Love This Planet, Silencing Dissent, Treading Lightly, The Biggest Estate on Earth, Big Oil, Oil and Honey or to have seen First Footprints to know that since September 2013 the increasingly illogical systems which order our lives are placing pressures on land, oceans, country, ecosystems, climate, the environment and people with an income of less than $100,000 per year (‘the rest of us’) as never before.

Those who know instinctively or from their experience, study and training how to care for land, habitats, species and humans are being ignored and scorned by the powerful. ‘The rest of us’ have felt the effects of climate change and know its consequences include an uncertain future. We are seeing human rights, and any rights other species may have had, eroded. Places we love are threatened by irreversible change.

Yet…..Millions of organisations and numerous individuals around the world know we are part of and witnessing Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History is Restoring Grace, Justice and Beauty to the World. We are witnessing the playing-out of the saying, attributed to Gandhi, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win.” Countless people are being bullied, exploited and displaced by corporations who see their traditional lands as resource-rich profit opportunities. Countless people are becoming activists when they’ve never been so before. They each are making a stand because to do less is not an option. Lives are at stake as never before.

Mostly these activities are at local levels and are ignored by media moguls’ corporations. Increasingly local activism is powered by Internet connection and supported by millions through globally-circulated petitions which attract signatures from ‘the rest of us’ for local issues. We know what is going on, on an unprecedented scale. Acting locally connects to global situations.

‘The rest of us’ fight with people-power, often passing on strong messages through stories backed-up by reliable facts. Corporations, which choose not to see the effects of fossil fuels on the planet, fight with lobbying, money and spin to protect their profits. 

Landcarers, such as Steve and our Landcare group, quietly getting on with battles against weeds and providing species data from their special places, are the Mt Rogers versions of people-power. They’re now being increasingly recognised and appreciated locally and beyond. Farmers who’ve battled weather-variability and insulting produce-prices for decades in order to provide food & milk for millions have often been forgotten. Farmers and market gardeners who nurture soils and keep artificial chemicals out of their production processes have been laughed at for emphasising quality rather than quantity but are now heroes and heroines to thousands who seek natural, nutritious food. Groups of everyday people whose lives and land are threatened by coal seam gas exploration and the expansion of coal mining are fighting for their health, survival and rights, in Australia and the world over. 

Mt Rogers folk have created a strong community which is bound together through caring and sharing daily conversations with observations of the natural world as catalysts for interaction.

I think the next year will show that similar ‘conferences’ are agents of change and forces for action everywhere. We are not alone in knowing that the natural world is too beautiful, too mysterious, amazing and essential for ‘the rest of us’ to allow undemocratically powerful corporations to cause change and destruction.

On New Year’s Day I was amazed and delighted to find a keen bushwalker who had travelled from the southern part of Canberra to cut, daub and remove environmental weeds from the Hall approaches to the Centennial Trail. Quietly and fully-equipped, this unknown landcarer made a difference for native species. “I couldn’t bear seeing the weediness again” was his explanation. Volunteers, daily, feel and receive more dividends than corporate shareholders.

Pat reports enjoying flights of Superb Parrots on and from Mt Rogers, and there are numerous other reports of fledglings in “automatic-begging-mode” as our gardens provide insect and seed-food via parents’ foraging. The Frogmouths have roosted in Schwarz Place trees on several occasions to the delight of their hosts. These are some of the dividends we receive from being naturalists and landcarers who take the time to see, stop, muse and wonder.

Rosemary, Mt Rogers Landcare Group   6258 4724.

YELLOW SWATHES….NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2013

Capeweed

As Floriade drew thousands towards swathes of organised colour from overseas plant species, a pale yellow invasion covered open grassed areas. After two modest springs, Capeweed* seeds responded to the winters’ dampness by germinating in their millions. Even though they’re annuals they grow rapidly, taking space from grasses. Having stout stems Capeweed is useful for learning daisy-chain-making. The plants can be levered out of damp soil when young.

Capeweed’s pale-lemon flowers show the flower structure typical of blooms in the huge worldwide daisy family. A circle of colourful ‘petals’ attracts potential pollinators towards the flower’s centre and a reward for carrying and dispersing pollen. Capeweed flower-heads are composites of scores of tiny flowers each with the potential to produce seeds. The Capeweed plant’s fruit is covered with purplish rusty-brown ‘wool’ and it’s possible that several bird species are eating them now as they forage on nature strips.

‘Dandelions’

Dandelions* have many more individual flowers than Capeweed but are also circled by ray florets advertising to invertebrate pollinators. Their yellow flower-heads turn towards the sun. The ray florets and sepals close over the flowers by nightfall. On wet or less sunny days the pollen is protected by the flowers remaining closed.

Six weeks after Floriade closed, unmown nature strips and open spaces show swathes of dandelion-yellow from two similar species. Flatweed and Cat’s ears are far more common than Dandelions, raising their flower-heads above rosettes of leaves which take space from grasses and clovers. Cat’s ears are annual and may be easier to pull out of damp soil than Dandelions or Flatweed with their perennial deeper root systems.

All three have parachute-like seeds once the flowers are fertilised. They efficiently use breezes, wind and slipstreams to aid dispersal. I once counted 120–150 flowers on Flatweed flower-heads, which explains their successful invasions. Dandelion flowers are edible, which is one way of preventing them from seeding. Murnong or Yam Daisies provided Indigenous people with a staple starchy food and have flowers similar to Dandelions.

St John’s Wort

With stamens surrounded by five deep-yellow petals St John’s Wort (SJW) might initially resemble yellow daisies but their invasiveness is much more obvious. Paddocks and hillsides are covered in SJW-yellow now that the 2013 stems have grown up and through the rusty-brown stalks from last year’s massive flowering.

Some areas of Mt Rogers were sprayed for SJW. Now there is a need to tackle what has emerged from the soil or germinated since. Steve D has made a start on this using a less laborious back-pack-spray unit borrowed from Ginninderra Catchment Group and supplied chemical.

Mustard

Another pale yellow weed that is tough and quick growing is one of the Turnip Weeds, and their look-alike Hairy Mustard. They belong to another huge family, the Brassicaceae. If you’ve seen white butterflies visiting them you won’t be surprised to know they’re related to cabbages, cress, rocket and canola. They don’t form swathes but they certainly show their presence by growing above grasses to also announce their values to bees and other pollinating insects. The exception is Canola which is cultivated in massive paddocks beyond the ACT’s borders.

Paterson’s Curse

Not cultivated but also capable of producing swathes of colour, Paterson’s Curse (PC) can be photogenic for calendar scenes and useful to apiarists because bees seek out the flowers’ nectar. To others it is an extremely invasive weed and can be poisonous to livestock.

Mt Rogers has relatively few populations of PC. Our walkers have made a point of carrying gloves and pulling up young plants. We are now in a more structured phase where the plants are pulled up and bagged so the flowers can’t continue to set seed on the ‘hill’. For today’s working bee Angharad, Flemming, John and I concentrated on PC to the north of the Wickens Place car-park. Richard and Kirsty worked solo, pulling and bagging the plants they found elsewhere. We all found several Vipers Bugloss plants (like PC, originally from Europe) where we worked. Until now the Bugloss has tended to be a weed of higher country than Mt Rogers 704 m.

Both PC and SJW were the subject of much research to find biological control invertebrates. Sometimes evidence of the weevils and beetles can be seen on plants but the success of these introduced and much-tested controls has been patchy.

Rabbits & foxes

Reports of rabbit and fox sightings are continuing. In some cases there’s evidence of possible dens and definite rabbit scrapings. The foxes’ presence is particularly worrying because we have several ground-living and ground-nesting birds, but we have sighted Quail and Speckled Warblers this spring which is encouraging.

Working-bees

The hard-work highlight of 24^th November was cutting and daubing two large Pyracantha west of and down from the summit. They had thousands of young berries which we hope will cook to inedibility over the next few weeks. Ann, Flemming, Ivan and John and Rosemary showed persistence and tenacity; earlier Kathy worked with the team on other woody weeds. Anne intends to contribute through seek and destroy sorties for woody weeds when she can. Angharad also does volunteer landcaring at Mulligans Flat.

Living next to nature

This is the title of a new booklet from the Conservation Council. Its focus is on “being a good neighbour to the bush next door”. It complements the series of brochures for which Belconnen’s Treasures was the first title. Majura’s Treasures is the latest in the series with Molonglo’s Treasures to join those of Gungahlin and Tuggeranong as a way of finding out about natural and cultural heritage for each area.

Living Next to Nature is a good introduction to the knowledge and appreciation the Mt Rogers community already has and it’s an attractive way to pass on our feelings.

The season changes…

We are going through phases of different seasons each week if not each day. Unusual bird species are still turning up: Black Honeyeaters near Dunlop’s Jaramlee Ponds, and Painted Honeyeaters near Urambi. With many eucalypts in flower there may be “unusuals” on Mt Rogers even now. If you have the chance, mention the likelihood of snakes to newcomers with dogs. Enjoy the holiday period and a break from official landcaring!

Rosemary   Mt Rogers Landcare Group   

6258 4724   

02.12.13.

* Capeweed Arctotheca calendula, a native of South Africa. Asteraceae family.

* Taraxacum species cover several dandelion types.

* Cat’s ear Hypochaeris glabra and Flatweed H. radicata are European, of Mediterranean origin.

* St John’s Wort Hypericum perforatum. Native SJW is Hypericum gramineum.

* Turnip Weed Rapistrum rugosum and Hirschfeldia incana, from the Mediterranean region.

* Paterson’s Curse and Viper’s Bugloss. Echium plantagineum & E. vulgare. Native to Europe.

Mt Rogers, Spring-Summer 2013

A draft for this newsletter began a few weeks after the excitement of the Scarlet Honeyeaters’ visit to Almond-blossom on the Flynn edge of Mt Rogers. There have been sightings of single male ‘Scarlets’ southside and in the Botanic Gardens (ANBG) since then. What a shame the birds weren’t banded so we could identify individuals. Bands on birds’ legs aren’t easy to see however, and we know how small and fast-moving these delightful birds are.

Since then there’s been the whirl of meeting hundreds of Floriade visitors as Ann and I joined many other landcarers in volunteering time to explain the invasive plants problems we all face. The Bush Friendly Garden (BFG) shows the region’s invasive species and suggests replacement plants for Canberra’s harsh conditions. The photos here show (top) a small part of the 'good' plants section of the BFG, and (below) a view of the whole BFG (the central area often is filled with visitors), including one of the information folders at the entrance.

The BFG’s visitors were diverse, ranging from some not realising that native plants had flowers and some not realising how colourful native plants’ flowers are, through to others who engagingly shared their landcaring experiences from all over Australia and the globe. As volunteer explainers we soon come to realise that for many city-dwellers Floriade is the closest they come to nature. As volunteers working in local reserves with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service personnel and Catchment Group colleagues we can help the time-poor to appreciate the inter-connectedness of nature and the effects of humans’ expectations on other species.

The latest version of Are Your Garden Plants Going Bush? has a reference to sleeper weeds’ changing habits and their insidious spread into reserves and along neighbouring nature strips. Most of the weed species were useful through their original functions as screen plants, greenery, hardy shade plants and ground-covers, but their berries were dispersed into the bush by birds. Olives are food plants: yet, unharvested in suburban gardens, the birds are taking their berries into the bush. Gazanias, Gaura, African and Seaside Daisies, Californian poppies all give cheerful colour and are hardy in Canberra’s hot summers, and yet their seeds blow or float away to colonise other spaces and nature strips. In the bush they will take space, nutrients and water from the native plants. Our message was that cutting the colourful flower-heads off and binning them after flowering will prevent seeds forming and dispersing.

Yesterday the Australian Native Plants Society sale at the ANBG moved 6000 or more native plants into the region in a bit over an hour. The ANBG’s Growing Friends have their sale on November 9^th if you’d like native plants whose parents grow at the Gardens. The Gardens are spectacularly in flower at the moment and are well worth a visit. Have your cameras ready for water dragons near the waterfall and around the ponds. These lizards are quite similar in size to the Eastern Bearded Dragons we see on Mt Rogers.

Superb Parrots, Galahs and Cockatoos are among the bird species seen on the ground in September and October eating the seeds of Chickweed. There have been several reports of Superb Parrots feasting on the green flowers elm trees produced profusely this spring. Sightings of the parrots have tailed-off now with speculation mounting as to where they might be nesting in the ACT.

“Our“ Frogmouths began a nest in their “traditional” tree but seem to have repeated this process at an unknown site elsewhere. Similar false-starts have been recorded at The Pinnacle but those birds are incubating eggs now. When Superb Parrot calls were heard in Flynn in early September there were also calls from Noisy Friarbirds. The pink flowers of Ironbark trees were popular with both species, and the officious Wattlebirds kept themselves busy bullying these less common species away from the eucalypts’ nectar.

With many colourful Eucalypts as street trees around Canberra it’s easy to forget to check whether other eucalypts are flowering. The value of cream and white flowers’ nectar to birds and insects is just as high. Have you noticed the huge numbers of Hoverflies around at the moment? The ubiquitous-for-2013 Capeweed seems to have Hoverflies doing their pollinating whereas Honeybees are scarce. Hoverflies are a cosmopolitan group of flies belonging to the Syrphidae family. The markings and colours are similar to wasps’ and are a protection from predators who avoid interactions. Hoverflies in Australia, as elsewhere, perform invaluable pollination services. They also are a bio-control benefit by pest-controlling aphids and leaf-hoppers. There’s a website The World of Syrphidae and a Wikipedia Hoverfly article if you wish to investigate further.

The rogue magpie at the Rechner Place playground was active for a while, prompting one family to post warning signs about its swooping. That’s another fine example of Mt Rogers’ behind-the scenes community-spirit. And it probably had an immediate effect compared with the official Canberra Connect 13 22 81 process. Thank you, whoever you are! Perhaps this magpie family also moved its nest as the signs were taken down a week or two later.

I saw a snake swimming across a dam at Strathnairn recently. Some of you may have seen Eastern Brown snakes on Mt Rogers already. I wonder what mechanisms have evolved for mutual co-existence between snakes and kangaroos? How do ‘roos avoid being bitten?

A month ago (20.09.13) Ann, Flemming and Ivan joined me in a working-bee in the “best-patch” behind Woodger Place, Fraser. We were seeking-out isolated African Lovegrass (ALG) tussocks but we also enjoyed seeing how the wildflowers had come back after the Hazard Reduction Burn there in April. My observation would be that there were fewer Hovea flowering there this year but that’s also an observation from other reserves. The Stackhousia or Creamy Candles may have had their bulbs roasted as we’ve come across good stands of these on The Pinnacle.

Four photos below show (top 2) Asperula conferta, Common Woodruff, wide and close up, taken by Rosemary recently (October), and (lower 2) some of the wildflowers we saw on 20.09.13. Tool and specs are included to give scale. The interesting thing that the first photo might show is that the Asperula seems to dominate in this patch, whereas the surrounding vegetation is dominated by Wild Oats and another introduced grass. It could be a rather clayey damp area or a drainage-run...or was until these last hot and windy days. There were Soldier Beetles on most of the oat flowerheads above this patch. Asperula conferta is quite common in specific places and it would be interesting to find out more about its place in the scheme of things.  

Chris and Margaret have made a concerted effort to cut & daub the newest ash seedlings alongside a corner of the blue-metalled track to the tower. On another occasion they pointed out a contractor spraying the ALG that had grown up since a similar effort in 2012. The Ginninderra Catchment Group’s co-ordinators are again collecting GPS data to prepare for spraying Blackberry infestations in the catchment. Please call them on 6278 3309 to notify infestations on public land or land in our local area. I’ve observed one or two Blackberry clusters from bus journeys and there’s another between Kangara Waters and Lake Ginninderra. Whilst the clusters give shelter to small birds such as wrens they are also impenetrable enough to harbour rabbits.

Around the canopies of Eucalypts there may be Jezebel butterflies visiting the flowers of mistletoes amongst the trees’ branches. The butterflies seem like Cabbage Whites at first, but most in this group have red, black and yellow markings. An even luckier sighting would be a male Mistletoe Bird. The birds are also seeking the nutritious nectar of the flowers. The Meadow Argus is a brownish butterfly with patterned scales which include circular ‘spots’. Also around now, seeking out native daisies, are Australian Painted Lady butterflies with almost black tips to patterned wings. There are small, pale-beige moths amongst grasses. Their markings are delicate and pretty if you’re able to be close enough to them with a hand-lens or zoomed camera lens!

The next Mt Rogers Landcare Group working-bees are scheduled for Sunday 27^th October, meeting inland from the Flynn playground at 9 am, and Monday 4^th November meeting at the Wickens Place, Fraser carpark at 9 am.

Further ahead again is an Australia-wide gathering for all who are concerned about Australia’s future. The movement for stronger Climate action is holding rallies and gatherings on Sunday 17^th November. Those who regularly enjoy Mt Rogers are already committed to a healthy future. Please add your voices to show that the majority of Australians want real Climate change action from leaders by attending. Park at University of Canberra and catch a bus to Civic for 11 am in Garema Place.

Rosemary    Mt Rogers Landcare Group. 6258 4724       21.10.13.

Scarlet Honeyeaters at Mt Rogers

Hi Mt Rogers carers,

Just by chance at about 10.30 am on Wednesday 28^th August I came across these spectacular little birds in cherry trees on the edge of the reserve off Schwarz Place, Flynn. It was just incredible that the cherry trees provided enough nectar for them and other local honeyeaters for most of Wednesday. The "Scarlets" were around on Thursday morning for some of our locals to photograph them.

Scarlet Honeyeater

Scientific Name: Myzomela sanguinolenta

Thank you Roger Williams for sharing your photos. They are very fast little birds, even faster than Eastern Spinebills. Fortunately it seemed as though the Wattlebirds didn't see them as a threat to their territory or their food supplies. 

Incidentally, we think the Frogmouths may be adding small twigs to their nest site. Just be aware that the rogue magpie's testosterone levels may be on the rise near the Flynn playground.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/rroger880/9618105065/

WHAT’S A WORKING-BEE? MT ROGERS, EARLY AUGUST 2013

By the 9.30 meeting time on August 5^th, three of us had arrived at Wickens Place on a partly cloudy, beginning-to-be-windy morning and Kirsty had already caught up with Lyndon about his excellent bird photographs. (Lyndon’s Crescent Honeyeater, ‘captured’ on Mt Rogers, features in the Canberra Ornithologists’ August (and august) newsletter). Ann texted and arrived just after we’d worked on a patch of Patersons Curse (PC) rosettes near the path and were walking east into the bush under the power-lines.

Two kangaroos watched us approach, from among the tall grasses. We apologised for disturbing them and they moved away unconcernedly…just in case. Kangaroo scats of various ages showed that they use the place regularly. It’s a good, sunny spot. The rank grasses and native shrubs hide their presence but they can readily hear people walking along the path or up towards the summit. If dogs do detect them the kangaroos have a wide choice of tracks to use as they bound away to safety.

This area’s PC had been tackled before, on 03.09.12, when Claire, Chris, Kirsty and Margaret made an effort to reduce the numbers of this weed with its toxic alkaloids. Today’s PC rosettes were small and easily dug out from the damp soil with gardeners’ prong-ended diggers.

As we became more familiar with the species we were able to find smaller, newly germinated plants. It was a kneeling job, over a main area 6m x 10m, with folded sacks serving as kneelers.

I worked a few metres away, cutting off and bagging the remaining flower-heads of a patch of African Lovegrass (ALG) that has been “unattended” for several years. The plants were mattocked-out and bagged. Actually we use double-ended hoes as they’re much lighter than mattocks. The pointed blade allows digging and levering that only gradually prises the plants out of the soil. Less soil is left bare and disturbed for future infestation by any seeds that are dormant and awaiting the opportunity to germinate. By then scattering seed heads and seed from native grasses on the weeded area we are, I hope, increasing the density of these grasses so they will out-compete other grass seedlings and weeds. I also moved dead branches from near their one-time trunks and placed them over the grass-thatch to prevent its being blown away. After I’d been working for a while I looked up to see a portly Kookaburra on a branch, watching us all at work.

We each tried photographing the laid-back hunter as it kept warm by trapping air between its feathers.  Several times it swooped to the ground for an invertebrate; once I saw the victim was a worm. Again, it was a while before we realised that there were two Kookaburras sharing our patch of bush. We understood more when one of them flew directly at the trunk of an ancient eucalypt trying to enlarge a small hole into a usable hollow. We didn’t know until then to apologise to them for disturbing their morning’s work!

Last September our tendency to intersperse our landcaring with bird-watching yielded poor photos but magical memories of Kirsty’s find — a Boobook Owl perched for its daytime sleep under the yellow roof of a wattle’s canopy. Moments like that are such special rewards for the volunteering we already enjoy. There’s also the range of subjects for discussion and nature experiences shared or proffered for explanation.

Having finished the main patch we radiated out to check for outlying PC plants, finding two young privets for Ann to pull out. Flemming found a neat hole in the ground and called us over: “What’s made this?”. It was about 8cm across and more than 15cm deep. Plants draped over the edges showed it wasn’t new but, inexplicably, I dubbed it a Mutton-bird burrow.

In the meantime the Kookaburras had moved away slightly but we were sure they’d return to enlarging their hole after we left. We moved the full sacks of ALG back to the car, walking past Cootamundra wattle in full, glorious, yellow bloom. The blossoming branches are habitat for tiny caterpillars, which in turn, attract Weebills, Thornbills and other insectivorous birds. Wattlebirds’ varied calls surrounded us. We presumed the birds were moving from one tree with nectar-producing flowers to the next. In the process they’ll chase any other birds from their territory whether the others compete for food or not.

One ancient eucalypt which I once called the ‘possum tree’, fancying it had possum scratch marks on the trunk, caught our attention with its textural markings on the bark at its swollen base. We drew together to look at the artistic effect and the colours, and had no idea how such pock-marked damage had occurred. Can anyone tell us? The scribbles on some gum trees have been caused by the larvae of tiny moths but the marks here were mostly circular holes and indentations with some of them healed over by the ever-growing bark.

The carpark looks mown and neat at present though there are still ALG plants with seeds where mowers can’t reach and behead them. I believe an Orienteering event is scheduled for 14^th August. The runners and walkers will be joining us in taking ALG from the carpark into the reserve as they navigate the challenges of the day’s laid-out trails. Such events bring home what “shared amenity” means and that we can’t really claim Mt Rogers as “ours” alone. We also want other people to be converted to the wonders of Mt Rogers, though let’s hope they learn to slow down, observe and learn from animals’ behaviour and plants’ seasonal changes. Even boulders don’t remain static as lichens’ acids dissolve the rock. If we’re being realistic, ants, kangaroos, other paws, birds and breezes are moving seeds and spores around constantly.

We walked over to the “behind Woodger Place section” which was Hazard Reduction Burnt (HRB) in February 2013. I call it Bridget’s because Bridget used to live in one of the three adjacent houses. We’d removed PC rosettes there previously along with Fleabane plants and seedlings that had grown up following TAMS mowing and ALG spraying. We were able to compare the introduced Plantain or Ribwort we’d been finding earlier with the similar but native Variable plantain, Plantago varia, which grows in dense swathes in this area. The native’s leaves are a bit hairy, greyer-green, not smoothly surfaced and often have visible notches on the sides. Perhaps the geology suits them, or they like the partial shade, or the trees prevented the ground from being scoured by bulldozers 45 years ago.

The HRB has killed off younger wattles and some shrubs but most are being true to their Australianness and are re-sprouting. Indigofera adesmiifolia planted some 8 years ago are vigorous in their recovery from having been mown by an over-zealous TAMS contractor. Others, originals at this site are recovering from being HRBurnt. We upset 2 Common Bronzewing pigeons by coming into their patch and they flew away. They’ve always liked this place as a refuge amongst the shrubs and native grasses. There have been reports of them nesting in the reserve and their ‘ooming’ calls have become familiar as they’ve dispersed from the car-park area over the last 5 years.

The green leaves of Bulbine bulbosa are growing up through the leaf litter or through the winter-beige grasses. The lilies’ bright yellow flowers will bloom later than the currently-invisible Early Nancy, Wurmbea dioica. Under the trees, which host passing Superb Parrots in summer, there should soon be purple Hovea linearis if the approach of spring is to be believed.

Walking from the carpark we came across Rock fern pushing through the recently bare ground. These Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia are great survivors, behaving like mosses and lichens in that a small amount of rain or drizzle is enough to turn “dead” fronds into lush greenness seemingly within hours. (The phone included in these photos is to indicate the plants' size.)

There were more Rock ferns nearer the boulders and rocks and beyond into the more open grassland. Throughout, there are healthy Grevilleas which are tending to self-seed hereabouts (don’t tell the purists who consider these non-local Grevilleas to be weeds) because the honeyeaters love their nectar-rich flowers.

The grassed area is remarkably species-rich. Rosettes of Cymbonotus lawsonianus are designed to confuse us. The leaves look like weedy daisy leaves or like PC. The flowers might look like Capeweed blooms.

       Another confusing native is more like Flatweed with its smooth leaves. The Solenogyne dominii leaves’ edges have a small rounded toothed effect. I’ve only noticed these and their insignificant daisy flowers in recent years. Perhaps they’re less noticeable in drier years. 

Tough strappy but thin leaves belonged to Lomandra or Mat Rush species. Coming back after the HRB or pushing through grasses or the soil they’re often left by grazing animals as just too coarse to eat. Looking grass-like but actually another lily species is Tricoryne elatior, Yellow Rush Lily. They’re one of the first species to grow back from sturdy root-stock after fire. Even when flowering they can be cryptic because the flowers tend to remain closed until the sun’s been shining on them for a while.

 We found one example of another post-fire survivor: Convolvulus erubescens, Australian Bindweed. Its pink flowers also close overnight but turn expectantly towards the “moving” sun by mid-morning. We could see strong regrowth from Everlasting daisies Chrysocephalum apiculatum even when the clumps had obviously been burnt or scorched. Chrysocephalum semipapposum is represented by taller tussocks. Both have pom-pom heads of tiny, yellow daisy flowers by late spring.

Some of the grass tussocks showed charcoalled leaves where the patch burn had scorched them. New leaves are growing healthily, stimulated by ash and smoke from the HRB. Occasionally Vittadinia cuneata, New Holland Daisy, were growing in the mown but unburnt areas. They, and the more familiar, native Bluebells, seem to thrive in the toughest of locations.

There was some gruesome excitement as we noticed a Raven tearing at a hapless corpse between ‘Bridget’s’ and the bus stop on Bingley Cres. We were torn between going towards the Raven and possibly frightening it into taking off with its victim and not knowing what its food was. Moving a few steps at a time we tricked the bird into flying off and leaving what turned out to be a headless wattlebird. Nature at work, but we could only mull over why the wattlebird had met this fate. Ravens are scavengers. For decades they were mostly called crows and had bad reputations amongst graziers until it could be proved that they fed on dead lambs not ones they’d killed. They mate for life apparently and also feed on grasshoppers and other insect pests. Nesting can begin in July with the young forming groups as they mature towards breeding in their third season.

I suspect “our” magpies in mid-Flynn are also nesting, because only the male turns up for scattered dry porridge oats. So we may need to be prepared for swooping near the Flynn playground if that magpie’s hormones turn him into a two-month-rogue. A much pleasanter warning is that Frogmouths elsewhere have begun building nests. Keeping an eye on “our” Frogmouths’ usual tree-fork may show that they’re in step with those in other reserves or suburbs.

I’ve used scientific names for some of the plants so that finding their images from websites will be easier. Scientific names have a reputation for being complicated but several of us have reported that if young children are given the scientific name from the outset they don’t run into the same problems as we sometimes do. One granddaughter was as happy with Vanessa kershawi as with Painted Lady for the name of one of Australia’s commonest butterflies.

Where do the Latin or Greek-sounding names come from?  Hardenbergia violacea is a favourite scrambler, now in flower or nearly so on Mt Rogers. It was named in 1837 for Baroness Franziska von Hardenberg, curator of the collections of her brother Baron von Huegel. The violacea part of the name means ‘violet-like’, referring to their striking purple colour. If you Google Alyogyne huegelii you’ll find a beautiful Australian version of Hibiscus and it was named after Baron von Huegel. Species names that end in …ensis reflect plants’ geographic origins (ensis means ‘originating in’). For example, there’s a rare orchid found in the ACT, the Canberra Spider orchid, Arachnorchis actensis. Other species’ names refer to the shapes of leaves, the plants’ habit, the flowers’ colour or other significant features.

The next Mt Rogers working-bees are scheduled for Sunday August 25^th and Monday 2^nd September. The latter will take the form of a walk and exploration to see what spring is stimulating, starting from Wickens Place from 09.30. So bring friends and new neighbours to show them what natural history Mt Rogers has to offer.

Floriade begins on 14^th September and another Weeds Display Garden is planned. Call in to see the display to the north of Stage 88 and we’re always looking for volunteer explainers to meet and greet visitors and share stories about weeds and wise garden-planting! (3-hour shifts in morning or afternoon, with information all ready to hand out).

The above text I hope shows that working-bees aren’t all hard grind and physical labour. We observe, share and learn as we work, marvelling in the little patch of bush we affectionately call ours whilst knowing it’s home to thousands of other species.

Rosemary, Mt Rogers Landcare.   6258 4724

MT ROGERS EARLY JULY 2013

Macgregor.    On Saturday 22^nd June the Landcare Day at Macgregor was held beside Ginninderra Creek in such perfect weather that several of us peeled off layers of clothing to counter the ‘heat’ when working in the sun. We cleared weeds and the introduced grasses around the plants which were put in to replace mature poplars (removed after public consultation because they continuously send up suckers which alter the flow of the creek and make mowing time-consuming).

The young plants are doing really well and mulch was added around some furthest from the creek-line where mulch isn’t subject to being washed away during floods. Local eucalypts, wattles, bottlebrushes, Native blackthorn (Bursaria) and grasses have been restored to the creek zone.  They will add new habitat for small birds and a non-weedy vista for the many who walk along the nearby path. Passers-by called in for information and a “What’s Landcare all about” chat with Ginninderra Catchment Group providing publicity material, tools, a marquee and putting on a BBQ as Damon did for our Mt Rogers Explorer Day. With the linear Macgregor area (it follows the line of the creek) it’s more difficult to create a community of carers, but most of the Umbagong Landcare Group regulars turned up for whatever time they could spare, giving the young plants weed-free space for a while at least.

Mt Rogers working-bees.   Although all seems quite damp on Mt Rogers at the moment it is a very different Landcare site from Macgregor. Our community continues to support our landcaring by participating in a variety of activities. Flemming and Ivan scouted for Briar rose plants, collecting & bagging the hips to stop birds spreading the seeds, and dug the bushes out where possible. With Margaret and Chris, Flemming planted out some native grass plants. The little Sorghum leiocladum plants were propagated by Robert from Umbagong Landcare Group. There are two clusters of native Sorghum already on Mt Rogers. It’s a tall grass with spectacular, reddish flowers and seed heads when conditions promote flowering. We later scattered some grass thatch from a native Poa in a bare area near the ‘recent’ Hazard Reduction Burn behind Woodger Place. People can’t always be here to volunteer. Each working-bee has “apologies” as our members fulfil other obligations.

New seedlings.  Mt Rogers is largely doing its own revegetation. Let’s hope the soil stays damp as eucalypt, wattle and shrub seedlings lengthen their roots rather than rely on sporadic rain seeping through the topsoil. On 23^rd June Ann, Flemming and Ivan again worked on Briar roses and on patches of Periwinkle behind the Bainton Crescent “Cactus gardens”. And today Ann and I did some preliminary work on Cotoneaster, readying the plants for cut and daub with herbicide once the sap’s flowing again. During each session we find there are tiny weed seedlings thriving under large trees’ branches: privet, Viburnum tinus, Ivy, Briar rose, Cotoneaster. This goes to show that plants with berries, whether useful in the garden or not, are causing problems in bush reserves.

Sleeper weeds.  A list of sleeper weeds has been drawn up for the Parks and Conservation Service. These species are causing problems in the ACT’s bush because their seeds are easily dispersed even though they are favourites for gardens. We can help Mt Rogers and other reserves and their landcaring volunteers by ensuring the plants’ seeds can’t be spread by birds, blown away by wind or slip-streams or carried on wheels. Californian poppy, Seaside Daisy, Gazanias, South African Daisy Gaura, Euphorbia and Nandina are sleeper weeds. Will birds eventually begin spreading Agapanthus seeds by deciding they’re edible. Will unharvested olives become a problem here as they have in the Adelaide Hills? On a positive, native dispersal-note we did find a young Kurrajong tree today, growing where its seed had been dropped, probably by a Currawong. Mt Rogers now has about ten of these fascinating native trees.

Kangaroos.  Thank you for reporting more sightings of the kangaroos. They are an attractive part of the Mt Rogers scene seeming to use nearly every part of the reserve whilst also being adept at hiding away and sheltering when they need to. For cross-country enthusiasts the tracks they have pounded are really useful and introduce walkers to the reserve’s range of habitats. It’s easy to see that the kangaroos favour Weeping grass because the tussocks are eaten down. Until they move or flick their ears the kangaroos are so well camouflaged amongst the winter-beige grass. The other afternoon a hunched, hopping shape with a black tail crossed the gully. I’m pretty sure it was a wallaby … so there’s another challenge for observers … what solo animals are we seeing?

Frogmouths.   It’s also worth keeping an eye out for the Frogmouths. Several times they’ve been in a roost tree near the nest-eucalypt but they’re not there everyday. The tree is one near the Flynn playground and their perch-branches are above the concrete drain with its galvanised railing. There’s also an old metal Orienteering sign as a marker. Expect a dark blob equalling two birds amongst or partly hidden by the foliage.

Observer’s reward.  A report on 22^nd on the Canberra Ornithologists’ email-line mentioned finding Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters feeding on Mt Rogers with other canopy birds a few days ago. Visiting, Roger W emailed a photo of the bird with its spectacular deep yellow chin and black mask. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/rroger880/9089357937/   Kevin D has also sent a photo to capture his moment of triumph and he said he’d also seen a Crescent Honeyeater. Both are new species for my list of Mt Rogers sightings.

Birding.  Last Saturday began as forecast: “showers”. I left the myna trap baited and walked up to see what Mt Rogers could offer. Quiet small birds in a Mixed Feeding Flock (MFF) were busy in the trees and shrubs uphill from the notice-box, busily gleaning but giving each other confidence during Ravens’ and Currawongs’ calls. A larger bird moved, proving to be a male Golden Whistler and its mate was nearby. A Striated Thornbill flew so close I felt I could almost reach up and touch it. Others hovered beyond clusters of eucalypt leaves where they can see and peck at tiny insects with their thorn-shaped beaks. A Weebill had grabbed a 2 cm-long caterpillar, reinforcing how vital these insectivorous birds are to the health of plants whether in the bush, on farms and in our gardens. There was a cacophony of “Miss Piggy” Spotted Pardalote calls above us.

A coup.  A canopy-search revealed Yellow-faced and White-eared Honeyeaters and, for a long instant a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater amongst the copious buds of a Eucalypt. Wow! To think that the birds had remained here for a week after that first sighting.

Is the excitement of bird-watching a benign form of hunting where nothing is killed and the trophies are memories … and photographs if one can carry the necessary gear?

Wrens’ calls signalled their arrival and there were Yellow-rumped Thornbills on the ground. Red-browed Finches alternated between shrubs’ safety and the grasses. In an open area where the CVA crew felled Chinese pistachio for us, another Wow! Two Speckled Warblers foraged in short grass near a long-fallen trunk. They’re a vulnerable species in the ACT, delightful un-afraid little ground-nesting birds. Steve joyfully reported seeing three of them later that day. Can we claim they have bred successfully in spite of foxes and suburbia’s cats?

Undergrowth.   I then went on through the trees and along the roos’ tracks, finding forests of mosses, lichens and liverworts with sporangia giving height to their ground-hugging diversity. Recent rain has enlivened these essential plants and stimulated fungi to raise their spores into breeze-catching spaces. See some photographs here.

Musings.  You will know from these newsletters and our conversations that Mt Rogers is an obsession for me. It’s part of the natural scruffiness of the Australian bush but a miniature example of all the beauty, complexity and interconnectedness that daily enlivens our curiosity and restores our sense of wonder at life’s and Australia’s uniqueness.

As members of our caring and observant community you’ll also know that Mt Rogers is occasionally under threat from a range of forces and processes. The reserve we share reflects situations elsewhere in Australia where natural habitats, uniqueness and icons such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Kimberley and our “food bowl” are threatened.

Shooting and grazing in national parks, logging native forests, fracking, drilling and mining on agricultural land, mining in wilderness and native forests and industrial-farming and over-fishing are being allowed by the powerful … those who have not have not yet moved beyond exploitation and domination in favour of respect for other species and, as we do, living more simply so others may, simply, live.

We are not alone.   Although feeling a sense of despair is common amongst long-term landcarers, threatened land-loving farmers and landowners and all those with a love of the outdoors, habitats and species, surely we mustn’t give up? Communities around the world are uniting in action against the destruction of their heritage by the powerful. They observe and question what is happening, question and refute the accompanying “spin” and adopt whatever form of activism each situation requires. Thousands of organisations are involved involving millions of individuals and yet their activism is rarely reported in the mainstream media. Google wiser.org, to Discover, Connect and Share what’s happening.

Even if we’re time-poor the Places You Love Campaign is concentrating on saving Australia’s special places, national parks, nature and marine reserves by asking that we phone/write to our MPs saying environmental protection laws must remain under the control of Federal Parliament and not be devolved to the states. The campaign’s website lists, with links, all the organisations who are partners.

The importance of activist-numbers to amplify everyday Australians’ voices is paramount.

Change has to come and is coming from the grassroots, from people like us.

Rosemary, Mt Rogers Landcare Group. 01.07.13 - 08.07.13.   6258 4724