Listening Earth: morning bushwalks online

Posted on 16 April, 2020 by Ivan

Each week we are discovering more and more unique projects that are being delivered online and to your desk from a variety of scientists, institutions and other clever folk. One local project to watch and interact with each morning is Listening Earth’s daily morning bushwalks, delivered through the Facebook platform.

The beauty of the Listening Earth morning walks is the commentary from Newstead local soundscape guru Andrew Skeoch, who gives an entertaining and informative insight into the forest ecology and birds present in the morning chorus. Many of you will be familiar with Andrew, who spoke at Connecting Country’s 2019 Annual General Meeting. Andrew has an amazing personal collection of sonic and natural landscapes that transport you to wild places and remind us to tune into nature. To revisit our blog on Andrew’s talk at our 2019 AGM – click here.

The daily nature walks take place on Andrew’s property near Newstead in central Victoria, and have unearthed many treasures to date, including the sounds of the morning bird chorus and some unexpected guests. We also enjoy the insights he has into our local ecology and his connection to this land. Click on the video below to watch the nature walk, or visit his Facebook page – click here

https://www.facebook.com/listeningearth/videos/310664423232330/

Andrew also has an excellent series of talks and presentations, which can be viewed by clicking on the image below. In nearly 20 years of recording in remote locations, he has been fascinated by the diverse, wondrous and delicate sounds of our natural world.

A mountain of monitoring data added to Visualising Victoria’s Biodiversity

Posted on 16 April, 2020 by Ivan

Connecting Country has partnered with Federation University to incorporate our monitoring data into the State Wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams (SWIFFT) ‘Visualising Victoria’s Biodiversity’ project, an online data portal. This will give the community, landholders and our stakeholders a chance to see how our data looks across the landscape, and will allow for easy access to the data for anyone who is interested.

With coordination by Connecting Country’s Monitoring Coordinator, Jess Lawton, the data has been submitted to SWIFFT and is expected to be available for access later this year. ‘We will be very excited to see our mountains of monitoring data on a visual platform such as VVB and we believe this will make it much easier for the community to visualise the valuable work they have been involved with for over a decade,’ said Ms Lawton.

Many beautiful birds in our region are now well documented in online databases (Yellow-tufted Honeyeater photo by Jane Rusden)

Sharing our data with SWIFFT is part of our Habitat Health Check project, funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust to empower citizen scientists to monitor habitat health in central Victoria. The project is nearing completion in June 2020 and has enabled Connecting Country to review our existing biodiversity monitoring programs and transition to a sustainable model for future monitoring.

Visualising Victoria’s Biodiversity (VVB) is a place to discover and share spatial information on Victoria’s environmental values, conservation activities and research. VVB is a community resource and welcomes your feedback, input and contribution. VVB brings together existing environmental data sets and information created and managed by government agencies, organisations, community groups and individuals.

VVB allows users to create maps and view projects (image by VVB)

Connecting Country is excited by the potential to represent over a decade of biodiversity monitoring data in a simple visual format. We encourage anyone wishing to share spatial information on biodiversity values from anywhere in Victoria to contact VVB to explore options for visualising your data on VVB.

The VVB provides tools to:

• Generate a report with lists of environmental features, such as flora and fauna records, for a selected area of interest
• view map layers of environmental features and observations in any area of Victoria.
• Share information about your environmental project or research.

For further information on the Visualising Victoria’s Biodiversity project – click here.

All our Connecting Country monitoring sites will be added to the visual database (image by VVB)

Online training in wildlife acoustics

Posted on 9 April, 2020 by Ivan

Self-isolating? Unable to get out in the field or to the office as usual? Why not take advantage of this time to brush up on your recording and analysis skills? (and get some grown-up conversation if you’ve got kids at home!)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, US Company Wildlife Acoustics will be running a program of online events to help keep you sane. They are starting with some free training courses and drop-in sessions. Wildlife Acoustics create wildlife acoustic monitoring tools, specially designed to help scientists make impactful discoveries that expand our understanding of this biologically diverse planet. They are also keen to engage with the global monitoring community and ensure we can chat online, compare projects and listen to experts in their field.

Wildlife Acoustics has a full list of courses available for free online – click here. Popular courses book out quickly, but new courses are being added all the time. One of the most relevant ones for Connecting Country and our community is the following training session on Kaleidocope Pro, a suite of software tools that let you cluster, visualise and analyse wildlife recordings, and automatically identify species.

From Wildlife Acoustics:

Introduction to Kaleidoscope Pro for Birds and Land Animals

Date: Tuesday 14 April 2020

Time: 6-8 am Pacific US time, 9 am-11 am Eastern US time, 2-4 pm UK time, 3-5 pm Western European time – by our calculation this corresponds to 11 pm to 1 am in Victoria, Australia.

Are you interested in checking out Kaleidoscope Pro software for your acoustic file analysis? Have you just started to work with Kaleidoscope Pro and would like an in-depth primer on the basics of the software? Even if you are a power user of Kaleidoscope Pro there’s a good chance you’ll pick up a few new tips in this webinar. We’ll cover the basic functions of the Control Panel window. We’ll then spend time examining audio files and going through all the details of what the Viewer window has to offer. This webinar is an excellent foundation for more advanced topics such as cluster analysis and building classifiers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWjTWUJXGzw

Live cams bring the birds to you

Posted on 9 April, 2020 by Ivan

As we look out the home office window today, it is a picture-perfect autumn day: windless, colourful, mild, and particularly vibrant and green due to the recent rains. In many ways, it is the perfect day to go bird watching, even from the comfort of your home. Most of us are already craving interaction with nature, walks, rides and group gatherings, but for now we will be isolating in the nature of our homes.

Fortunately there are many online resources that can keep us connected to nature, such as numerous nature-based identification exercises, skill testing, live cameras, videos and online quizzes. While these are never as exciting as seeing or touching the real thing, we are very impressed with the list of activities put together by the experts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Below is a summary of their suggestions for live cameras that can be viewed from the comfort of your home. You can watch the action live on the webcams setup all over the world – allowing for time zone differences. We particularly like the very lively and colourful tiny toucans in Panama.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Stream one of our Bird Cams for peace, beauty and intimacy with wild creatures. Many of our users keep a cam streaming all day long just for the calming outdoor sounds that filter in.

• Bring nesting owls, hawks, and ospreys into your home

Or watch a rotating cast of birds at our feeder cams:

• Ruffed Grouse and Evening Grosbeaks in snowy Ontario
• Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals at our offices in Ithaca, New York
• Tanagers and tiny toucans  (called aracaris) in tropical Panama

Birds in Backyards is go

Posted on 9 April, 2020 by Frances

With COVID-19 meaning we are all spending almost, if not, all of our time at home, it is the perfect opportunity to become acquainted with your birdy neighbours. Birds in Backyards surveys can be submitted at any time, and as often as you like. Your data tells BirdLife how our urban birds are doing and how our gardens, and our own behaviour in those gardens can impact on the birds visiting.

For information on how to join in Birds in Backyards visit the BirdLife website – click here

Join BirdLife Australia for a free Birds in Backyards survey webinar on  15 April 2020 at 7 pm AEST. You will learn some simple bird ID tips and how to do a survey using the Birdata platform. To register your interest – click here 

Even though we are not, birds are on the move!

Autumn is a season of migration, cooling temperatures (for the most part) and with most of us stuck at home, it give us another excuse to get out into our backyards and survey birds. BirdLife’s Birds in Backyards Autumn Survey runs from March to April with a focus on what unusual or unexpected birds are turning up in your backyard?

This fire season was unprecedented and many of our bird communities have lost refuge and resources, pushing them to their limits. There have been accounts of unusual birds turning up in unexpected places or at the extremes of their range and BirdLife want to know more about these occurrences.

What if I don’t know a Pipit from a Pardalote?

You don’t have to know the names of all your birds to take part. The Birdata portal and app will automatically give you a list of birds (with photos) known to be in your area and you can select from that list. The more surveys you do, the more accurate that list becomes.

The adorable Jackie Winter is common throughout the Autumn months. Photo: Peter Turner

Backyard science cures for boredom

Posted on 2 April, 2020 by Ivan

No doubt you have seen some great ideas of how to remain engaged and occupied during the isolation phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s a very challenging time and impacts continue to spread across the globe. Connecting Country is adapting our community engagement model, to deliver some events to our audience, community and stakeholders in the comfort of their own home. Stay tuned for when we advertise these events in the coming months. We also hope to produce some videos down the track to keep everyone engaged.

We have discovered some excellent activities you can do from the safety of your own backyard and still contribute to science.  ‘The Conservation’ recently published an inspiring article. Please enjoy the following extract highlighting many useful activities and ideas to contribute to backyard science. To view the full article  –  click here.

Environmental projects need your support too

The yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) is a curious little marsupial (photo by Jane Rusden)

If you’d like to get your mind off COVID-19, there’s a plethora of other options for citizen scientists. You can contribute to conservation and nature recovery efforts – a task many took to after the recent bushfires. Some sites ask volunteers to digitise data from ongoing environmental monitoring programs. Contributors need no prior experience, and interpret photos taken with remote digital cameras using online guides. One example is Western Australia’s Western Shield Camera Watch, available through Zooniverse.

Other sites crowdsource volunteers to transcribe data from natural history collections (DigiVol), historical logbooks from explorers, and weather observation stations (Southern Weather Discovery).

Citizen science programs such as eBird, BirdLife Australia’s Birdata, the Australian Museum’s FrogID, ClimateWatch, QuestaGame, NatureMapr, and the Urban Wildlife App, all have freely available mobile applications that let you contribute to ‘big’ databases on urban and rural wildlife.

Nature watching is a great self-isolation activity because you can do it anywhere, including at home. Questagame runs a series of ‘bioquests’ where people of all ages and experience levels can photograph animals and plants they encounter.

In April, we’ll also have the national Wild Pollinator Count. This project invites participants to watch any flowering plant for just ten minutes, and record insects that visit the flowers. The aim is to boost knowledge on wild pollinator activity.

The data collected through citizen science apps are used by researchers to explore animal migration, understand ranges of species, and determine how changes in climate, air quality and habitat affect animal behaviour.

This year for the first time, several Australian cities are participating in iNaturalist’s City Nature Challenge. The organisers have adapted planned events with COVID-19 in mind, and suggest ways to document nature while maintaining social distancing. You can simply capture what you can see in your backyard, or when taking a walk, or put a moth light out at night to see what it attracts.

For those at home with children, there are a variety of projects aimed at younger audiences.

From surveying galaxies to the Bird Academy Play Lab’s Games Powered By Birds – starting young can encourage a lifetime of learning.

If you’re talented at writing or drawing, why not keep a nature diary, and share your observations through a blog.

By contributing to research through digital platforms, citizen scientists offer a repository of data experts might not otherwise have access to. The Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA) website has details on current projects you can join, or how to start your own.

Apart from being a valuable way to pass time while self-isolating, citizen science reminds us of the importance of community and collaboration at a time it’s desperately needed.

Local bird watching in a time of isolation

Posted on 2 April, 2020 by Ivan

Right now, the best thing we can do to help stop the alarming spread of coronavirus is to stay home as much as we can. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find pleasure in nature or practice our bird watching skills. Autumn is a lovely time to be exploring our ecological assets and watching our birds, while still practicing isolation and safe social distancing.

Connecting Country’s bird survey Group Sites could be just the thing for those of you local to the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria, by combining some bush time and exercise. Connecting Country has a number of bird survey sites located on public land, for the public to survey any time they wish. They’re all known to have interesting species present. If you’re lucky you might see birds like Hooded Robins, Diamond Fire Tails or Painted Button Quail.

Diamond Firetail has been spotted at our group sites (photo by Geoff Park)

The Connecting Country Group Sites are all on public land, and are perfect for 2 hectare – 20 minute area counts. You can find them on the Connecting Country website – click here.

Group sites encourage people to establish survey sites that other birdwatchers can visit, to optimise the amount of data that can be generated at individual sites. These group sites have been created in partnership with BirdLife Australia and developed with the beginner in mind. If you need a refresher on survey techniques or monitoring using the 2 hectare – 20 minute area count, please visit the BirdLife website – click here.

We also came across this excellent article in the Guardian newspaper, which mentions that we may be stuck indoors but the skies are a source of ornithological wonder. Experts reveal what’s out there, where to look and how to get competitive about it. For details – click here.

You don’t need all the gear in the world to go birdwatching, just binoculars and a field guide (photo by Connecting Country)

Tanya’s tawny tales: a good news story

Posted on 27 March, 2020 by Ivan

We were thrilled to receive a well-written story from our former superstar staff member, Tanya Loos, about the journey of a Tawny Frogmouth. Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, but are actually more closely related to the nightjars. Tanya gives us a great insight into these magnificent creatures and the journey of a special Tawny’s road to recovery. Please enjoy the following words and photos from Tanya.

The question I am most frequently asked is ‘I have found a bird that seems to be hurt – what should I do?’ It is always the same answer – capture the bird using a tea towel or towel, and place into an appropriately sized cardboard box. Then pop the box in a quiet room away from pets and people – and call a wildlife rescue number for assistance.

Usually it is a friend or local person – but a couple of weeks ago I got ‘the question’ via text from my teenage nephew! Heart burst moment! Nephew and Mum had seen a bird on the road in Hepburn – an owl they thought, that wasn’t flying away.

The owl turned out to be a Tawny Frogmouth – a much loved night bird that is commonly found in local forests and gardens. Even though Tawnies are brownish grey in colour, like owls, with big round eyes, like owls, they are quite different , and in a completely different bird family.

Owls (Strigidae family) are predators who hunt and kill their prey with their huge fierce talons. Tawny Frogmouths capture their prey – mice, frogs, and insects with their beaks. Their feet are strangely weak, without big claws, and are used only for perching.

In Australia, we have three species of Frogmouth in the Podargidae family – the Tawny which is found all over the country, and the Papuan and Marbled Frogmouths which are found in Cape York and southeast Queensland.

Another difference between owls and Frogmouths is that Frogmouths are masters of camouflage, with finely patterned feathers, who adopt a special ‘broken stick’ posture, where the Frogmouths close their eyes and point their heads up to the sky. Owls never do this.

One of the golden rules of wildlife rescue is that if an animal survives and can be released, it must be released where it was found. Animals such as Tawny Frogmouth have specific territories or home ranges – where they know where the best places to find food are, the best sleeping (roosting) sites and nesting sites. This area is also where their mates or family members are! Our family Tawny was taken to a wildlife carer in Gisborne – and after a week or two, I travelled down to see if the bird was ready for release.

In the picture you can see the loving hands of Lynda the wildlife carer as she was checking whether Tawny’s wings were strong enough to fly. You can also see that the feathers are slightly brown – which means she is a female bird! The males are completely grey – a lovely ash colour, with the same fine patterning.

Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, but are actually more closely related to the nightjars (photo by Tanya Loos)

Tawny wasn’t ready then, but yesterday Lynda texted me saying that Tawny has made a full recovery and is now ready to go back to her Hepburn forest.

The car collision must have been a mild one. Sadly this is the exception – as animal loving folks know – death by car is all too common. Driving slowly and carefully at night, dusk and dawn is the only solution.

To contact Wildlife Victoria phone: (03) 8400 7300 – and they will refer you to one of the many local wildlife carers in our region.

by Tanya Loos

Bird of the month: Australian Owlet-nightjar

Posted on 25 March, 2020 by Ivan

Welcome to our second-ever Bird of the month, a partnership between Connecting Country and BirdLife Castlemaine District. Each month we’ll be taking a close look at one special local bird species. We’re excited to be joining forces to deliver you a different bird each month, seasonally adjusted, and welcome any suggestions from the community and our supporters. We are lucky enough to have the talented and charismatic Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, with some assistance from the brilliant Damian Kelly. You may be familiar with the second bird off the ranks.

Australian Owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus)

The Australian Owlet-nightjar almost looks like a sugar glider, very cute with huge dark eyes peering from a hollow. Well known local author and photographer, Damian Kelly, has been trying for several years to photograph the resident Owlet-nightjars on my property as they soak up sun in their hollow entrance. However, they seem to know when he is coming and vanish.

Until recently, when he finally managed to coax the two birds at my place into modelling for him. Thanks for the photo Damian. The Owlet-nightjar is a near ground level, small and agile, insect and spider hunter, who emerges on dark often to drink and then search for prey. They will take prey on the wing, by pouncing from a low perch or running along the ground. So if you’ve got too many spiders for your liking, install a couple of nest boxes for Owlet-nightjars as they love them.

The Australian Owlet-nightjar is one of Australia’s most widespread nocturnal birds (photo by Jane Rusden)

The Australian owlet-nightjar is colloquially known as the moth owl (photo by Damien Kelly)

Interestingly they are neither owl nor nightjar, but blend of these two, and a distinct species. Around their small bill and wide mouth are long rictal bristles for nocturnal hunting, reminiscent of nightjars. Like owls they have a round head and huge forward-facing eyes. Unlike nightjars, the eyes of the Owlet-Nightjar do not reflect light and they can be a very hard bird to see at night. Both male and female birds look indistinguishable, although the female can be slightly larger by 2-5%, which is impossible to actually see. Mostly they appear soft mottled grey with darker head stripes running back from the eyes middle of the head. If you see a rufous coloured Owlet-nightjar, it is most likely female.

Immature birds look almost the same as their parents, which is a nice change when you are trying to identify birds, as in many species they can look quite different. This species, thought relativity common in Box Ironbark Forest, can be incredibly difficult to find and see. They have a habit of dropping low in their hollow and out of sight before we’re aware of them.

Occasionally you may be lucky enough to see one that has flushed and is perched on a branch, but your best hope is in a hollow in just about anything from trees, to rocks, to buildings, usually not overly high up. I started putting up nest boxes when our resident bird tried to roost amongst tools in the back of the ute for several days! This year I discovered two Owlet-nightjars habitually roosting about 200 meters apart. The photos show the one in the nest box and the one in the tree hollow. Damian’s research found that pairs mate for life, but reside in nearby hollows.

Owlet-nightjars are often heard though rarely seen (photo by Jane Rusden)

They will have a dozen or more hollows they use over their home ranges of up to 80 hectares. I wonder if the two I see every day are a mated pair?

To listen to the varied and lovely calls of the Australian owlet-nightjar, please – click here

Words by Jane Rusden
Research material contributed by Damian Kelly
Photos by Damian Kelly and Jane Rusden

Grow Wild: Gardening to Sustain Wildlife in the Hepburn Shire

Posted on 12 March, 2020 by Frances

Update: The authors have cancelled the book launch of ‘Grow Wild’, but the book is now available to purchase.

Our Wombat Forest neighbours have been busy writing and publishing an excellent new book titled ‘Grow Wild: Gardening to Sustain Wildlife in the Hepburn Shire’.

They have extended a special invitation to the Connecting Country family to join them at the launch on Sunday 29 March at 2.00 pm in the Glenlyon Hall (Daylesford-Malmsbury Rd, Glenlyon VIC).

Written by local resident and avid gardener, Jill Teschendorff, and published by Wombat Forestcare, this beautiful book aims to empower people to include indigenous plants in their gardens and provide the special habitat needed by our local wildlife.

Guest speaker: AB Bishop author, radio presenter, horticulturalist and gardening ‘trouble-shooter’

Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

RSVP by Wednesday 25 March 2020
info@wombatforestcare.org.au
Jill Teschendorff 03 5348 7947

Please see the flyer for further information – click here

RSVPs are essential.

Butterflies enjoy backyard gardens and are excellent pollinators for many plant species. Photo: Elaine Bayes

Bird walk at Mount Tarrengower – 7 March 2020

Posted on 5 March, 2020 by Frances

Our friends and partners at Birdlife Castlemaine are having their monthly bird walk this weekend, at the beautiful Mount Tarrengower West, led by the wonderful Damian Kelly. This is a great opportunity to walk and talk with some of the best bird watchers around and increase your knowledge, as well as enjoy some lovely landscapes and company. Please find the event overview below, from their newsletter, as well as information about the AGM following the walk. For more details on Birdlife Castlemaine, please click here.

BirdLife Castlemaine District March Bird Walk

Saturday 7 March – Mount Tarrengower West 

BirdLife Castlemaine’s next walk takes us to Mount Tarrengower West, led by Damian Kelly. The habitat is grassy dry forest with box eucalypts on slopes, Red Gums and Yellow Box in lower areas. Birds that may be seen include Large Parrots, Eastern Rosellas, Thornbills, Scarlet Robin, Jacky Winter and Restless Fly Catcher.

Location and directions: From Maldon VIC take the Maldon-Bridgewater Road. About 2 km out of town turn left into Watersons Road. A further 1 km along is the turn off on the left to Mount Back Road. The walk starts here. Plenty of parking is available near this intersection.

Time: Meet at the destination at 9:00 am, or to carpool from Castlemaine meet at 8:30 am outside Castlemaine Community House (30 Templeton Street, Castlemaine VIC).

Important information about walks: Bring water, snacks, binoculars, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, sturdy shoes, long pants during snake season, and other weather-appropriate gear.

Walks will be canceled if the temperature is forecast to be 35 degrees or more during the walk period, severe weather warnings are in place, persistent rain is forecast, or if the day has been declared a Total Fire Ban day.

Questions? If you have questions about our walks program, you can email us at castlemaine@birdlife.org.au, or call/text Judy Hopley (0425 768 559) or Asha Bannon (0418 428 721).

All levels of experience are welcome – they’re a friendly bunch and the walks are a great chance to learn from and have fun with fellow birdwatchers.

The 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of BirdLife Castlemaine District Branch will follow the walk at 11:30 am, at 25A Church Street, Maldon. Morning tea will be provided from 11:00 am.

Mistletoebird on a dead branch. Photo: Geoff Park

Nature photography in Newstead – 8 March 2020

Posted on 5 March, 2020 by Frances

The Mount Alexander region is blessed with some extremely talented nature photographers. Their thoughtful and evocative images help us appreciate and connect with the local environment. Local photographers and Connecting Country supporters, Janet Barker, Frances Cincotta, Patrick Kavanagh, Geoff Park and Bronwyn Silver, are holding an exhibition, Photographers of the Goldfields, at the Newstead Arts Hub in March 2020.

The launch and exhibition opening will be this Sunday 8 March at 11 am, so please come along and enjoy the talent on display and some tasty local food. 

Heron and Egret (photo: Geoff Park)

Here is a message from the photographers:

From the tiniest world contained on a dewdrop, to the expansive landscapes of the Plains and Mounts, the beauty of the Goldfields is all around us. However many treasures remain sight unseen, until revealed by the camera’s lens/focus.

Photography allows us to appreciate, understand and learn more about our local environs. Seen in its best light and in the moment, a photograph reveals that millisecond in time, for all time.

Bronwyn Silver, Geoff Park, Patrick Kavanagh and Janet Barker see their photography as a way of celebrating and ultimately protecting nature. Photographers of the Goldfields 2020 will feature some of our favourite gems, worth taking a longer look at.

Saturday 7 March to Sunday 29 March 2020
Weekends & Monday 9 March from 10 am to 4 pm 
Launch: Sunday 8 March at 11 am – All welcome
Newstead Arts Hub: 8A Tivey Street, Newstead VIC

Scroll through below to enjoy some favourite images and visit the exhibition to see more.

What scat is that? – take the quiz

Posted on 27 February, 2020 by Ivan

Have you ever been out walking and wondered ‘what scat is that?’ You can call it scat, faeces, or just plain poo, but if you’re not too squeamish, you can learn a lot from animal poo. Wild animal poo is known as scat, and it can be very useful in working out what species are nearby because each type of scat is different. It is a fascination among the scientific world and the broader community alike.

Of course, some scat will begin to dry out and look different with age, so if you really know your business, you’ll be able to tell how long ago the animal was there. It is well known that Koala poo, for example, goes from a moist green to something that looks more like dried out grass pellets. Regardless of the name you give it, most people go out of their way to avoid digested animal waste – but not the most dedicated scientists and animal lovers.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the animal world, identifying scats can tell you a lot about a creature, including what they eat, where they go and even how they live. The ABC has created a fun ‘What scat is that’ online quiz, which has excellent images and questions to assist learning. It is part of the ABC’s ‘How to Summer’ science series, which covers a variety of topics including ants, sea-creatures and scats.

Take the scat quiz to test your skills and learn a bit more about another survey technique and potential curiosity wonder!

To take the quiz – click here

Around two centimetres wide and high, this scat forms almost a perfect cube. Which animal left it? (photo: ABC)

Bird of the month: the chatty Crimson Rosella

Posted on 13 February, 2020 by Ivan

Welcome to our first-ever Bird of the month, a partnership between Connecting Country and BirdLife Castlemaine District. Each month we’ll be taking a close look at one special local bird species. We’re excited to be joining forces to deliver you a different bird each month, seasonally adjusted, and welcome any suggestions from the community and our supporters. We are lucky enough to have the talented Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about the first-ever bird of the month. We know you’ll be familiar with the first bird off the ranks. We thank Jane for the following words, the first of many posts to come.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)  

Recently I returned from a month-long conservation volunteer hiking trip pulling weeds in coastal south-west Tassie. As I sat looking out on the bush from my living room, a Crimson Rosella flew in to drink from one of the many freshly fill birdbaths around my home. It walked in that funny fashion parrots do which is slightly pigeon-toed, up to the rim of the pot base holding water and dipped its head for a drink. Using it’s incredibly dexterous foot, it then scratched its head, turned and flew off.

A mature Crimson Rosella (above) and two immature Crimson Rosellas (below) showing the different coloring (photos by Jane Rusden)

There are various races (forms, often denoted by color variation), but let’s take a look at our local Crimson Rosellas. Mature adults have a vibrant crimson head and chest, with mid to very dark blue wings and tail. Immature birds are olive green in the body and head, as they mature the crimson replaces the green. Both mature and immature birds have a mid-blue patch which extends from the lower mandible (bill) to the cheek.

Being a parrot, they have an extremely strong, down-curved bill, which is powerful enough to crack wattle and grass seeds, as well as gum nuts. Like many parrots, they are amazingly expert chewers, which is useful when renovating tree hollows in eucalyptus at breeding time. For such a powerful bill, Crimson Rosellas can use it to be very clever and delicate at manipulation of all manner of things.

Primarily you’ll see Crimson Rosellas in trees, thought they do wander about on the ground at times. They are a species that can be found in both the local Box Ironbark forest as well as in towns and gardens. I mentioned tree hollows – parrots need tree hollows in which to nest and raise their young. In our area much of the bush was cleared during the gold rush, which in tree terms is not that long ago. Therefore, there hasn’t been the passage of time for trees to grow old and develop tree hollows. You might like to consider putting up a Crimson Rosella nest box in your garden. I have several at my place and they are used regularly by a number of species, including Crimson Rosellas.

To listen to the varied and lovely calls of the Crimson Rosella, please click here.

Distribution of the Crimson Rosella (image from Atlas of Living Australia)

Words by Jane Rusden

eBird learning tool: a different approach

Posted on 6 February, 2020 by Jess

Being new to bird watching can be a daunting and exciting experience for many, with plenty of birds seemingly having similar appearances and attributes. Thankfully there are many excellent books, guides, smartphone apps and community groups that can assist with the learning of how to identify birds in your region. But we all know that practice, practice, practice is the key to getting familiar with our incredible birdlife in the field and learning from experienced bird-watchers is a great opportunity in our region (see Birdlife Castlemaine’s monthly birdwalk). To the beginner, it can very hard to tell similar species apart, such as the variety of Lorikeets in our region pictured below. Can you recognize who is who?

Photo: Geoff Park

Photo: eBird

Photo: eBird

However, if you cannot get out into the field as often as you like, or cannot access locations to practice your bird spotting skills, there is another way to improve your skills on our local species. We’d like to introduce you to a great learning assistant: eBird Photo and Quiz

Each custom quiz presents you with 20 birds that occur at a date and location of your choosing, pulled from millions of photos and sounds added to the Macaulay Library by eBirders around the world. Guess the species—and don’t worry if you’re wrong—this challenging quiz is for your own fun and learning. After each guess, you’ll rate the photo or sound for its quality, helping curate the Macaulay Library so it is more useful for you and for science. It can be quite a challenge, but we do enjoy that you can choose any location in the world and any date, and get a different mix of birds for every quiz. Sure, it is not as good as being in the field with an expert to guide you, but it could be the next best thing. It is particularly enjoyable to listen to the sounds that go with each bird.

Give it a try, and see how many you can guess correctly.

There is also a useful smartphone app that we highlighted in a previous blog, that we find very useful: Ask Merlin, what is that bird. 

Can anyone guess this local beauty? Photo: Ebird

Trust for Nature: covenanting for conservation

Posted on 30 January, 2020 by Ivan

Have you ever wondered about conservation covenants and how are they applied? Did you know that we have already lost 80% of our biodiversity on private land in Victoria? We recently caught up with Senior Conservation Officer at Trust for Nature, Kirsten Hutchison, to learn more about this important conservation measure and what it means for landowners across our biodiverse nation. Here is a summary of the questions we asked Kirsten, which we hope will assist landowners in our region better understand covenants and the work Trust for Nature do in Victoria. Kirsten has been with Trust for Nature for nearly a decade and based out of the Castlemaine Office.

What is the concept of conservation covenanting properties?

Conservation covenants are voluntary. They are agreements on property titles that enable private landholders to protect nature forever, even after the property changes hands. Conservation covenants are set up for free—costs are covered so there is no cost to the landholder—and they are one of the most important things a landholder can do to Victoria’s environment.

Why should a landowner consider covenanting a property?

Since 1835, 66% of Victoria’s native habitat has been cleared. This has been most acute on private land, where 80% of biodiversity has been lost. Around 60% of land in Victoria is currently privately owned. Victoria is the most intensively settled and cleared state in Australia so it’s critical that we protect what’s left. This makes private land protection vital if we’re going to save Victoria’s threatened species and ecosystems. National and state parks are simply not enough.

Across the state, more than 1,450 private landholders have protected threatened woodlands, wetlands and grasslands with conservation covenants. These places are home to some of Victoria’s most threatened species such as the Helmeted Honeyeater and Plains-wanderer.

Kirsten Hutchison from Trust for Nature and Jody Gunn at Bush Heritage Australia, on Bush Heritage’s Nardoo Hills Reservem which has Trust for Nature conservation covenant on it. Photo: Bush Heritage Australia.

What are the criteria for covenanting a property?

Generally a property needs to be at least 10 ha in size, have good connectivity and contain high quality remnant native vegetation. Priority is given to properties that have threatened species and vegetation types present on them. Trust for Nature is guided by its Statewide Conservation Plan which identifies 12 priority landscapes across Victoria that will make the greatest contribution towards conservation on private land. The plan also identifies 148 native plants and 88 wildlife species to target for conservation on private land.

Who do I contact about discussing conservation covenants?

Contact Trust for Nature Head Office in Melbourne on (03) 8631 5888 and they can direct you to the appropriate regional staff member. In North Central Victoria you can contact Kirsten Hutchison (Senior Conservation Officer) on 0459 168 865.

What are the restrictions on covenanted properties?

A standard covenant generally does not permit:

• Native vegetation removal.
• Introduction of any non-indigenous vegetation.
• Subdivision.
• Deterioration in the quality, flow or quantity of water.
• Removal of wood or timber.
• Removal or disturbance of soil or rocks, including cultivation.
• Application of fertiliser.
• Pasture establishment.
• Recreational use of trail bikes and other recreational vehicles.

However, these standard restrictions can be modified in certain circumstances where the Trust is satisfied that the conservation of the land will not be adversely affected, i.e., the Trust can give permission for a temporary variation of the covenant via a ‘Letter of Approval’.  Permission granted by a letter of approval is conditional on the upholding of the conservation values of the property.

What are the benefits for biodiversity and our ecosystems?

Together with conservation covenants and reserves, we have protected more than 100,000 hectares across Victoria. This provides safe places for native animals and plants forever and helps to protect some of Victoria’s most threatened species such as the Helmeted Honeyeater, Growling Grass Frog and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.  We also work with partner organisations such as Zoos Victoria and the Royal Botanic Gardens which rely on covenanted land for the safe release of plants and animals from captive breeding programs.

The Trust’s stewardship program provides ongoing support to landholders with a conservation covenant. The aim of the program is to ensure that all significant areas covenanted by the Trust are managed to maintain and enhance (where possible) the conservation values by preventing and controlling any threats to the biodiversity of a site. The program does this by providing the following services to landowners:

• Practical assistance: A site management plan is prepared for each proposed covenant in consultation with the landowner during the initial covenanting process.
• Technical advice: The Trust sources and provides technical advice to ensure landowners have access to up-to-date conservation related land management advice.
• Education: The Trust provides resources to enable landowners to improve their knowledge about managing and monitoring their covenanted properties. This is achieved through field days, information sheets, developing flora and fauna monitoring programs and one-on-one contact with landowners.
• Financial assistance: The Trust provides information on financial assistance that may be available from time to time for covenanters, including incentive grants for conservation activities (such as fencing, pest plant and animal control, and revegetation), rate rebate schemes with local councils, and tax concessions for the protection of covenanted properties.

Protecting and enhancing biodiversity on private land has public benefits to ecosystems and sustainable landscapes. The landowner named this paddock ‘Kirsten’s Paddock’ as a tribute to her efforts in protecting this important Plains-wanderer habitat.  (Photo by Kirsten Hutchison)

Trust for Nature – some general facts:

• TfN are a not-for-profit Victorian conservation organisation and are one of Australia’s oldest conservation organisations, established by an Act of the Victorian Parliament in 1972.
• Together with conservation covenants and reserves, has protected more than 102,000 hectares across Victoria.
• Trust for Nature has registered more than 1,459 conservation covenants since 1986
• Trust for Nature owns 42 nature reserves across Victoria, including the iconic Neds Corner Station, a 30,000 hectare property near Mildura that was once part of the Kidman empire.
• Trust for Nature uses a revolving fund to buy and sell private land with high conservation values. They protect these properties with conservation covenants then on-sell them to new owners.

Watch the following video for an overview of Trust for Nature’s valuable work.

Bird walk at Warburtons Bridge – 1 February 2020

Posted on 28 January, 2020 by Frances

Birdlife Castlemaine District Bird Walk: Saturday 1 February 2020 at Warburtons Bridge, Glenluce VIC

Birdlife Castlemaine’s next walk takes us to Warburtons Bridge, Glenluce VIC. The walk will be preceded by ‘Breakfast with the birds’ at the Warburtons Bridge picnic ground on the Loddon River.

Please bring food to share, your own drinks, cutlery, etc. Breakfast will commence at 8:30 am followed by a walk of approximately 1 km. Birds that may be seen include Brown Treecreeper, White-browed Scrubwren, Eastern Yellow Robin and various Honeyeaters. Unusual sightings at this area have included Brown Quail and Spotted Quail Thrush.

There is a toilet at the camping ground.

Location and directions: Warburtons Bridge is located on the Drummond-Vaughan Road, Glenluce VIC. Coming from Castlemaine, travel to the destination via Chewton and Fryerstown on the Vaughan-Chewton Road.  At 3.1 km past Fryerstown turn left onto the Drummond-Vaughan Road.  Warburtons Bridge is on the left, approximately 1.8 km from this turnoff.

Time: Meet at the destination at 8:15 am, or to carpool from Castlemaine meet at 8:00 am outside Castlemaine Community House, 30 Templeton Street, Casltemaine VIC.

Bring: Water, snacks, binoculars, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, sturdy shoes, long pants during snake season, and other weather-appropriate gear.

Important information about walks: Walks will be cancelled if the temperature is forecast to be 35 degrees or more during the walk period, severe weather warnings are in place, persistent rain is forecast, or if the day has been declared a Total Fire Ban day. We’ll continue monitoring the forecast, so please check BirdLife Castlemaine’s Facebook page (click here) on the evening before the walk in case we have to cancel due to the weather conditions.

BirdLife Castlemaine District

Questions? If you have questions, you can email BirdLife Castlemaine (castlemaine@birdlife.org.au), or call or text Judy Hopley (0425 768 559) or Asha Bannon (0418 428 721).

All levels of experience are welcome – they’re a friendly bunch and the walks are a great chance to learn from and have fun with fellow birdwatchers.

How to help wildlife in hot weather

Posted on 22 January, 2020 by Ivan

Central Victoria’s summers are often relentless, and don’t seem to be getting cooler and wetter anytime soon. Hence it’s a good time to reflect on the best methods of helping wildlife survive the warmer months. Thankfully, there is plenty of information already published and proven to work, which we’ve summarised in this post.

Animals Australia provides the following useful summary of priority actions that you can do to at your place to help wildlife right now.

1. Leave water out for animals

Sweltering summer days can be uncomfortable to be outside in for just a few minutes. Imagine what it’s like for animals who have no way of escaping the heat. During extreme heat waves, native animals can suffer terribly and even die. The simple act of providing them safe access to water can help them cope.

Water tips:

Birdbaths are an excellent way to provide water to thirsty animals, although they do not cater for ground-dwelling animals (photo by  Frances Howe)

• Leave shallow dishes of water in the shade. Try to avoid metal dishes unless they’re in full shade as they will get very hot in the sun.
• Put some dishes high up or in trees if you can, to help keep wildlife safe from predators.
• Use shallow bowls if possible, as small birds can become trapped in deep dishes and drown. Cat litter trays can be suitable and inexpensive.
• If you use large bowls or buckets, be sure to place some sticks, rocks and/or bricks inside to allow any trapped animals to make their way out.

2. Keep dogs and cats indoors

Not only will this help your animal companions escape the heat, but it will enable thirsty wildlife to access water in your backyard safely.

3. Cover your pool

It may feel counter-intuitive to prevent wildlife from cooling down in your pool on a hot day. But heat-stressed animals looking to cool down are at risk of drowning in the deep water. It’s not great for animals to be drinking pool water anyway as it may make them sick. Ensure animals have access to safe and fresh water sources in your yard instead.

4. Keep an eye out for heat-stressed wildlife

If you spot any critters who look like they’re struggling, call your local vet or local wildlife rescue group (for contacts – click here) for help. During natural disasters (e.g., bushfires), wildlife carers can be overwhelmed, but your local vet may be available and can assess the situation and treat injured animals (for free).

Tips for heat-stressed wildlife:

• Be particularly mindful at dusk and at night as many nocturnal animals will be more active during this time.
• Prepare an emergency kit to keep in your car including water, a blanket or towel, and a box. For kit suggestions – click here
• Save a few local wildlife rescue contacts in your phone so that you can ring for advice if you need it. For contacts – click here
• Help reduce the chances of animals being hit on the road. For details – click here

5. Share your fruit trees with hungry wildlife

The colorful Rainbow Lorikeet is well adapted to searching for backyard fruit if needed (photo by DPI WA)

Wildlife who have survived through bushfire are hungry. They have not only lost their homes, but their sources of food. During this time of ecosystem disturbance and habitat loss, it’s never been more crucial to protect species like flying foxes, who are key pollinators for many plants. The more flying foxes we can keep healthy and happy, the better our ecosystems will survive and regenerate. So consider taking down your fruit tree netting, and share some fruit with native wildlife.

6. Know what to do if you find distressed or injured wildlife

If you have found an animal who is visibly distressed, wrap them loosely in a blanket or towel if it is safe to do so, and place them in a cardboard box, before placing the box in a dark, quiet and cool place. Injured animals will often be quite frightened, so if there is a risk they may scratch or bite, wear gloves and try gently ushering them into a washing basket without touching, them instead of wrapping them in a blanket or towel.

Offer water but not food and call a wildlife carer immediately, or your local vet. Never pour water into an animals’ mouth -it’s not natural and can cause additional distress and even physical harm. Instead, provide cool water in a bowl and allow them to lap from it.

I spy…baby goannas in Shelbourne!

Posted on 16 January, 2020 by Asha

Can you see the young Tree Goanna (Varunus varius, aka Lace Monitor) in the photo below?

Many thanks to Newton Hunt for sending through these observations from his property in Shelbourne, Victoria. Newton said the one pictured is about 0.6 m long, but two larger goannas of 1.2 m and 1.5 m also visit the property regularly.

An interesting fact from the Bush Heritage website about Tree Goannas is that they ‘will dig holes into the side of termite mounds to lay their eggs. This is clever as the termites then rebuild the nest around the eggs, keeping them safe and at a constant temperature. When the young hatch the mothers return to help dig them out.’

Young Tree Goanna in Shelbourne (photo by Newton Hunt)

Newton also sent us these two photos of Wedge-tailed Eagle chicks he watched being reared in 2019:

Juvenile Wedge-tailed Eagles in Shelbourne (photo by Newton Hunt)

Juvenile Wedge-tailed Eagles in Shelbourne (photo by Newton Hunt)

BirdWatch Spring 2019: results are in!

Posted on 23 December, 2019 by Jess

Connecting Country’s long-term bird monitoring program was established to investigate the effects of habitat restoration on woodland birds. This was the first year our sites were monitored by our team of amazing volunteers. The 2019 monitoring season was supported by funding from the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust as part of our Habitat Health Check project.

We’re also on the lookout for more volunteer bird monitors! If you have bird identification skills and are interested in joining our bird monitoring program, please email our Monitoring Coordinator, Jess Lawton (jess@connectingcountry.org.au).