Kate installed her nestboxes about a year ago. They look more weathered now as the second year of her PhD project, assessing the impact of the introduced Indian Myna on native birds approaches. Will the nestboxes be more appealing to native birds and small mammals? Will bees resume their lives in the 4 ‘boxes they took over and will Indian mynas nest again in the 4 ‘boxes I saw them using? Perhaps you saw more than 4 Mt Rogers Rechner Street Macquarie ) if you’re interested in these introduced avian invaders.
Concern is being expressed about another species with invasive tendencies, the Spotted Dove. At 30-32 cm it’s about the size of a Crested pigeon lacks a crest, but does have a black neck-patch with white spots. It was introduced between 1860 and 1920 and is common in other populated areas of eastern Australia
Their call is pigeon-like unlike the “boom” of the native Common Bronzewing pigeon which has bred-up and dispersed over the hill in the last 2-3 years. As spring approaches their “booming” is being heard again.
A very disturbing report came from Steve and Scarlet after finding one of the Frogmouths dead, with its neck through a diamond of garden fencing-wire. We tried, unsuccessfully, to find a scientific home for the sad corpse but Jill was the catalyst for a returning the bird to nature through a dignified burial.
I’m sure we’re all in the habit of checking the Frogmouths’ nest tree for any sign of activity. Perhaps the ‘authorities’ removal of some of the tree’s overhanging branches will make it less suitable. We don’t know whether Frogmouths quickly re-mate if widowed or whether the dead bird was one of the juveniles. Martin, of canberrabirds.org.au is collating information about Frogmouths’ activities this year (01.07.09 to 30.06.10) but please keep in touch about Frogmouth sightings so our community can follow the fortunes of the birds that so appealingly turned us all into bird-observers last spring.
Several folk have noted the building of “BMX”-runs in the wilder areas of Mt Rogers in recent months and weeks. This is a real dilemma situation as the young people approach their task with great effort, ingenuity and problem-solving. They are out in the fresh air, being active and working co-operatively within their groups. However the chances of their diggings and excavations doing harm increases as Mt Rogers recovers its naturalness and native vegetation structures. Miniature and micro-ecosystems are easily damaged when rocks and fallen timber are moved or grasses are dug out. Removing leaf-litter and fallen bark exposes soil to rain’s erosive forces and disturbs the essential sequence of decomposition and nutrient recycling that micro-organisms, fungi and invertebrates are performing amongst this dead-looking material. It might be useful to redirect their energies to areas of rank, introduced grasses and weeds and away from the best ‘bush’ but bike routes in more open areas probably don’t produce the craved adrenalin-rush and challenges. Mosses and lichens do reclaim the bare soil of abandoned bike-runs so nature will probably heal in its own way over time.
We held a WORKING-BEE on June 19th and made a start on the African Love-grass that’s invading, with mowers’ “help” from the car-park. We used light-weight mattocks for the clumps and progressed inland finding Verbascum rosettes and Serrated tussock that needed removal. Taking them out will prevent their seeding 2009-2010 but we’ll need to think of this as an on-going program of watchfulness as the seeds already in the ground germinate.
Serrated tussock is a Weed of National Significance illustrating concern nationally for its spreading. Many grazing areas of the Monaro are devastated by its invasiveness. Parks Conservation & Lands have employed contractors in the past to spray this weed. Earlier teams were very thorough and walked through Mt Rogers successfully seeking individual tussocks and small patches of the weed. I’ve sent two maps in asking for help with areas that were missed last year but suspect they’ve been lost in the burden of work that falls on this section of TAMS.
We also cut and bagged the many heads of Fleabane that were sheltering down-wind of the big burnt tree that was cut down as a result of fire-fighters’ over-enthusiasm. The bags of weeds & seed-heads went to Canberra Sand & Gravel who’ll take any weeds (except Pampas grass & Bamboo) for mulching and high-temperature composting. Aisha, Ann, Beth, John, Sally and William worked very hard and significantly increased their weed-identification skills but we were all stumped by a large beigy-brown grasshopper or cricket. It sought shelter in the grasses rather than coming up to be photographed. An initial search came up with a MUNDEICUS species but you can imagine what would happen if one Googled Cricket ACT !
In what I call Bridget’s corner ‘behind’ Woodger Place
On nature-strips Galahs and Cockatoos are busily eating the bulbs of Onion weed. If you’re in other parts of Canberra
I didn’t look closely enough and was complaining that I’d only seen one Apina callisto caterpillar. Since then I’ve come across many more but I’m sure they are “late” hatching. Do you remember the black, unfreezable caterpillars that were munching weeds near the path & crossing the gravel in winter 2007? We even created a make-shift notice saying DON’T SQUISH THEM…THEY’RE NOT SPITFIRES!!!. When they are about 3 cm long, the caterpillars make holes and tunnels in the bare hard soil where they pupate. I have seen Thornbills feeding in ‘caterpillar areas’ and therefore possibly eating them. The native moths fly in autumn and the species is said to be a pest in graziers’ paddocks. Southern Australian grasslands were theirs until 200 years ago of course.
There’s been a mass-germination event following our many small ‘doses’ of rain but, often, the greenery comes from shallow-rooted weeds rather than grass species. The male Superb blue wrens are again resplendent in their blue, breeding plumage. It’s possible there are three different wren-groups on the hill. There are pairs of Scarlet robins about, foraging for invertebrates on the ground whilst in the company of Thornbills, Weebills and perhaps Golden Whistlers. Some larger birds have been seen carrying or investigating the properties of twigs. Perhaps Ravens, Currawongs and Magpies are the first to build nests but their nests are easier to find than the intricate works-of-art of smaller species…Will migrant birds be returning soon?
Ginninderra Catchment Group has had 600 copies of a new Mt Rogers brochure printed. This edition has some agency name changes and a paragraph about our dogs being under control whilst in this “OFF-LEASH AREA” so there’s respect for others’ safety and snakes-in-season. If anyone would consider it therapeutic to fold some of the brochures whilst watching T.V. that would be a much-appreciated contribution to our community and publicising our ‘special place’!
More publicity: Pamela & Noel will have their Rechner Place
Ginninderra Catchment Group, umbrella-group for local Landcare workers, based at Kippax… 6278 3309.
Canberra Connect 13 22 81 for queries to Parks, Conservation and Lands about fallen trees, litter, etc.
Police attendance 131 444 regarding trail-bikes on Mt Rogers.
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