Bird of the month: White-fronted Chat

Posted on 18 April, 2023 by Ivan

Welcome to Bird of the month, a partnership between Connecting Country and BirdLife Castlemaine District. Each month we’re taking a close look at one special local bird species. We’re excited to join forces to deliver you a different bird each month, seasonally adjusted, and welcome suggestions from the community. We are blessed to have the brilliant Jane Rusden and Damian Kelly from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, accompanied by Damian’s stunning photos.

White-fronted Chat (Epthianura albifrons)

Despite being quite common in certain areas, I get excited when I see a White-fronted Chat because they are not so common in Mount Alexander Shire. A very striking bird, especially the male with it’s distinctive black and white colouring. The female is a bit more grey and brown, but still has the beautiful white chest and belly with the stunning black chest stripe.

The White-fronted Chat’s range extends across the southern parts of Australia, avoiding the driest areas, Tasmania and some of the larger islands in Bass Straight. Locally they can be found on the Moolort Plains, along the edges of wetlands such as Cairn Curran and Lignum Swamp. This kind of habitat is typical for them as it’s essentially open grassland around open damp and possibly saline patches of ground.

Foraging amongst seaweed on Port Fairy beeches is where Damian Kelly took a photo of this male White-fronted Chat.

So, what is it that makes White-fronted Chats attracted to open areas of habitat? That would be food of course! They wander around, but don’t hop, foraging for insects and occasionally seeds, on the ground and in low shrubs. If startled, they will fly a short distance to a prominent perch such as a branch or fence. I’ve usually seen them perched on fence wires.

White-fronted Chats usually stay in one place all year round, however weather and food availability will encourage them to move when necessary. Banding recoveries have been from less than 10km from the original site where the bird was banded, indicating they don’t move far.

Female White-fronted Chat, with her grey head, on a fence wire, a very typical perch for this species.

Interestingly, behavioural studies at Laverton Saltworks in southern Victoria, revealed that White-fronted Chats are quite an adaptable species. Often they will be in flocks of 30 or so birds, with pairs often foraging together, they also communally roost when not breeding. Cooperative breeding (where non-parent birds help raise chicks), is not apparent in this species and breeding pairs may change over the years. However, they nest semi-colonially, with several nests close together. Essentially there will be a whole lot of breeding pairs, who are a bit fluid about who they are paired to, hanging out together most of the time, but doing their own thing.

The adaptability of the White-fronted Chat is highlighted in their breeding, being opportunistic in drier country, largely in response to rain and food availability. However, in wetter coastal areas breeding is seasonal. The nest is cup-shaped and usually, three eggs are laid. Both parents will brood and feed the chicks, and hopefully, a Horsefield’s Bronze Cuckoo won’t find them, to parasitize the nest with their egg.

To listen to the call of the White-fronted Chat – click here

Jane Rusden
Damian Kelly

‘Our land at contact’ event: Tuesday 18 April 2023

Posted on 13 April, 2023 by Ivan

Our friends and project partners at the Newstead Landcare Group are excited to be hosting Professor Barry Golding at an event on 18 April 2023 on the environment around Newstead at the time of European contact. The event will be an intriguing exploration of historical and early botanical records that may be vital in our restoration efforts and planning of revegetation works. Please see details below, provided by Newstead Landcare Group.

Our land at contact

Last October, we were very excited about Prof. Barry Golding’s presentation on the environment around Newstead at the time of European contact. Alas, a lot of rain and rising floodwaters meant a last minute cancellation. We are now very pleased to announce that Barry will be presenting on this subject for us this April. Barry has combed through historical records to put together a vivid and moving picture of how the land around Newstead and its environs may have looked prior to contact.

The arrival of Europeans in Australia produced profound changes across the continent. It can be hard to know exactly what the landscape looked like before this dramatic upheaval. The documents left by the earliest intruders can give us a few clues. Professor Barry Golding of Federation University has combed through historical records to put together a picture of how the land around Newstead and its environs may have looked prior to contact. From the extensive permanent ponds on the Loddon containing literally tonnes of Murray Cod to the vast meadows of Yam Daisies (Myrnong), some of the descriptions Barry has found give us a glimpse of the extraordinary richness of our neck of the woods.

Ancient River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). Photo Barry Golding

Come along to our presentation on Tuesday April 18th when Barry will present what he’s learned about the extraordinarily rich and diverse vegetation communities that once adorned our landscape and the marvellous wildlife on this land and in the rivers.

The presentation will start at 7.30pm at Newstead Community Centre. All are welcome to attend, gold coin donations appreciated.

The Buzz project: promoting pollinators of central Victoria

Posted on 14 March, 2023 by Hadley Cole

The Buzz project: promoting pollinators of central Victoria, is a Connecting Country project funded by the 2022 Victorian Landcare grants, that aims to celebrate and expand community knowledge on the smaller heroes of our local ecosystems, the insect pollinators.

The project was launched with a presentation from local entomologist and bee specialist Dr Mark Hall, Senior Biodiversity Officer at the City of Greater Bendigo, on Wednesday 15 February 2023 at the Campbells Creek Community Centre. The presentation focussed on the various native pollinators we may see in the local area and was titled ‘Native pollinators on your property: who, where and what they do?’

Participants enjoying Dr Mark Hall’s presentation on pollinators.

Dr Mark Hall introduces the range of bees we can see across the landscape.

We had a wonderful turnout to the presentation with up to forty enthusiastic attendees who came along with fantastic questions. Mark spoke of the many pollinators present across the landscape from native bees, to flies, butterflies, moths, and beetles. He spoke of the importance of connectivity between gardens, roadsides, and bushland of native vegetation to help build corridors for pollinators to move and plenty of wooded areas for them to nest in. We learnt of the specific adaptations native bees have formed to pollinate indigenous plants and how introduced insects such as honey bees cannot perform the same pollination service as efficiently as the native pollinators.

Following the presentation, we then went out on a field trip with Mark to a private property in Harcourt on Friday 24 February 2023. The field trip was titled ‘promoting native pollinators from property to landscape.’ Thirteen enthusiastic participants came along to learn of the various monitoring techniques we can use to investigate the pollinators occuring on our properties, Landcare sites and in our backyards. The beautiful property of Lois from Barkers Creek Landcare and Wildlife group did not dissapoint! Although it is late in the season for many insects, we discovered a range of insect pollinators in Lois’s garden and the bushland on her property. A couple of species of Blue banded bees were on show, as well as the Imperial Jezebel (Delias harpalyce) butterfly that feeds on misstletoe, a few dragonflies were noted however were very difficult to catch with the net as they zip about so fast! The most exciting discovery was a Cuckoo Bee (Thyreus) found in one of the insect traps. As the cuckoo part of the name suggests, the native Cuckoo Bee will take over the nests of Blue Banded Bees by laying their eggs in with those of the Blue Banded Bees. Although the Cuckcoo bees are not the friendliest of bees they are very beautiful and Mark reassured us that they appear to exist in smaller numbers than many of the other native bees.

Participants gather around an insect trap to hear from Dr Mark Hall. Photo by Lou Citroën.

Field trip participants Lou and Tully inspect a specimen from the insect trap. Photo by Hadley Cole.

Dr Mark Hall shows field trip participants native bees caught in an insect trap. Photo by Frances Howe.

So far The Buzz project has been a wonderful success, bringing together community members, nature enthusiasts and Landcarers with a common focus of learning more about the various native pollinators occurring across the local landscape, where they live, how they behave and the types of pollination services they provide.

Connecting Country would like to thank Dr. Mark Hall for his brilliant contributions to The Buzz project. The knowledge he has shared with us all will go a long way to building a greater understanding of the native pollinators of the region. A big thank you also goes to Lois and Geoff for sharing their beautiful property in Harcourt for the field trip.

If you or your Landcare group are interested in learning more on how to monitor and survey insects across the region please get in touch by emailing hadley@connectingcountry.org.au.

We will host one final event later in the year in Spring to wrap up The Buzz project, so stay tuned for more details!

This project was funded through the Victorian Landcare Grants and the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

Blue banded bee species. Female and male specimens. Photo by Mez Woodward.

Leaf cutter beetle. Photo by Lou Citroën.

Imperial Jezebel (Delias harpalyce). Photo by Lou Citroën.

We need your help! Mapping our old trees of central Victoria

Posted on 28 February, 2023 by Ivan

We are excited to announce the arrival of our new mapping portal, that aims to assist community citizen scientists to map the old, and often large, trees of central Victoria. The interactive mapping portal is part of Connecting Country’s larger project, ‘Regenerate before it’s too late‘ which aims to engage the community on the importance of old trees across the landscape and how to protect them. Within the mapping portal you will also find an updated species list that will assist with the identification process of the large old trees.

Over the next three years (2023 – 2025), we will continue to host community workshops and develop engagement resources such as the mapping portal and a video. We will also work with local landholders to implement practical on-ground actions to protect their large old trees and ensure the next generation of large old trees across the landscape.

The community, including landholders, Landcarers and land managers, will be vital in mapping their favourite old trees across our region. Anyone can access Connecting Country’s new online mapping portal. The portal uses BioCollect, an advanced but simple-to-use data collection tool developed by the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) and its collaborators. BioCollect helps users collect field biodiversity data for their own projects, while allowing the data to be easily copied into the ALA, where it can be publicly available for others to use in research, policy and management. This allows individual projects to collectively contribute to a larger science database.

We need your help!

The mapping portal is now open for any community member to record the old trees in your area. You will need to register with the Atlas of Living Australia (its easy and free), then upload a photo and enter the field details needed for the survey. The portal will ask you simple questions about the tree location, size, species, age (if known), health status and habitat value.

To record your large old tree, or view the field survey questions and required measurements – click here

By recording large old trees you will help build our understanding of the large old trees in our region, and contribute to the largest biodiversity database in our country. As the database grows, you can also access the portal to learn about other wonderful large old trees in our area and view the photos.

Trees can be tricky to identify, especially eucalypts. If you are unsure about the identification of the tree species, you can:

• Use the to iNaturalist app to assist with identification –  click here
• Refer to a good guidebook, like those published by Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests – click here
• Visit the Castlemaine Flora website – click here

Euan, Jenny and Peter with a large old tree (photo by Beth Mellick)

We are most grateful for our generous project support from the Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation. The foundation aims ‘To encourage and support organisations that are capable of responding to social and ecological opportunities and challenges.’ To learn more about Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation – click here

FOBIF exhibition opening this Saturday: Newstead Arts Hub

Posted on 21 February, 2023 by Ivan

Jane Rusden. Crested Shrike-tit

Choughs. Patrick Kavanagh

Phil Ingamells. Bluebell

Barking Owls. Geoff Park