Meet the Connecting Country office team of 2018

Posted on 11 January, 2018 by Tanya Loos

As we welcome in a new year, we thought it appropriate to re-introduce you to the team at the Connecting Country office. Although small in number, we make up for it in enthusiasm and commitment. And we are very modest! ; )

The Connecting Country staff are:

Frances Howe frances@connectingcountry.org.au
Director

As an environmental scientist, Frances has helped assess and manage the environmental and social impacts of large development projects, across Australia and around the world. She also worked as an environmental advisor for a non-government organisation in Lesotho (Africa). Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Environment from the University of Melbourne. Having travelled far and wide, including living in the Middle East, Africa and the United States, Frances recently returned to settle in Castlemaine.

Frances  lives with her husband and dog on a small bush block outside Castlemaine, surrounded by the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park. Frances is in the office from Monday to Thursday, overseeing Connecting Country’s projects, organisational management and administration.

Bonnie Humphreys (bonnie@connectingcountry.org.au)
Botanist, Landholder engagement and on-ground works program

Bonnie Humphreys  joined the Connecting Country team as Project Officer in 2011. She grew up in Bendigo and Castlemaine and has completed her Diploma in Conservation and Land Management at the Bendigo TAFE. Bonnie has a special interest in native flora and weed ecology. Her current work includes on ground site assessments of landscapes within the Mount Alexander Shire. These assessments will help determine the best ways to protect and manage remnant vegetation. Bonnie also coordinates all of our on ground works programs, working with landholders and the Dja Dja Wurrung  and Land Mate Works Crews. Bonnie lives in Barkers Creek with her partner and two dogs, Meya and Zeena.

Tanya Loos  (tanya@connectingcountry.org.au)
Woodland Birds Project Coordinator,
Community Engagement and Monitoring Program

Tanya is a keen field naturalist and ecologist with a particular interest in birds and bats. She has worked for state and local government in various biodiversity and native vegetation projects, and is thrilled to be working for Connecting Country as their Monitoring and Engagement coordinator. This role includes the citizen science program and the education program. Tanya lives on a bush block in Porcupine Ridge with her husband, dog Leela and rescue parrots, and she enjoys writing about wildlife watching and plant spotting.

Asha Bannon (asha@connectingcountry.org.au)
Landcare Facilitator

Asha is a local resident with a particular interest in wildlife conservation and community engagement. After completing a Bachelor of Environmental Science at Deakin she moved back to Mount Alexander Shire in order to study the local bird communities. Her Honours project focused on the relationships between birds and time-since-fire in Box-Ironbark ecosystems. Asha is a strong believer in the power of community groups when it comes to land management and conservation, and she is excited to be working with and supporting our local Landcare Groups. Asha lives in Campbells Creek with her family and dog, Max.

Other important people

In our office you may also find our amazing office volunteers, Jane and Naomi, our book keeper Bruce, and the occasional member of our management committee.  We also have visitors for all sorts of enquiries,  meetings with staff, our steering group meetings and more!

New office hours:

The Connecting Country office is open Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 4:30 pm.
Please note we are no longer open on Fridays.

We are very excited about working with our friends and supporters in 2018.

A batty visitor to a phascogale nest box

Posted on 4 January, 2018 by Tanya Loos

Elevated Plains landholder, Richard Pleasance sent us some fantastic video footage of a small bat or microbat visiting his nest box. I posted the footage online to the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria Facebook page and a bat expert identified the bat as a type of long-eared bat;  either a Lesser Long-eared or a Gould’s Long-eared bat, both of which are common in this area. Please click on the link below to view the bat movie – the bat arrives several seconds in…

Bat-video-RPleasance-01-2018

These two bat species live on insects, and use their incredible ears and skills in echolocation  help them locate crickets, moths, grasshoppers and other prey.  Both species roost in a range of locations, such as peeling bark, small hollows and, in the case of Lesser Long-eared bats, disused Fairy Martin nests, old coats or under piles of bricks in sheds!  Come breeding season, the females live in maternity colonies, which may be in hollow trees or sometimes in houses.

A Lesser Long-eared bat, by Matt Clancy

This bat was probably a single male, as they often roost alone. Richard built the box himself, using recycled materials, with the aim of attracting Brush-tailed Phascogales. Below is a photo of a phascogale inspecting the box. According to Richard ‘the box is on a stringy bark located in lovely bush close to a ridge but still a bit protected from weather’ and it faces south east.

A wildlife camera captures an evening visitor…

Richard doesn’t carry out any manual inspections of his nest boxes, preferring to set up wildlife cameras to monitor usage. This is a great option as it is safer than using a ladder to inspect, and minimises disturbance to the creatures within. And there is more! This nest box was also visited by a third species: a Sugar Glider (see below).

What a wonderful fluffy tail!

If you would like to monitor your nest boxes this summer, you could try wildlife cameras. We have a small number at the office to lend to landholders, or you could try another non-invasive technique known as stagwatching. A stag is an old dead tree with hollows, but the stagwatching process may be used to check nest boxes too. Stagwatching involves using the natural light at dusk to check the box usage, simply by waiting quietly by the box for some time. A very meditative experience, provided you cover up adequately against mosquitoes!

To found out more about nest boxes and how to stagwatch, see our website here and download the guide: NestboxFieldGuide

Many thanks to Richard for the wonderful footage and photos.

Junior Ranger program launched for the Castlemaine/Bendigo region

Posted on 4 January, 2018 by Tanya Loos

Parks Victoria Rangers Trudy Nelsson and Mike Hayes dropped into the Connecting Country office to promote their exciting Junior Ranger Program – the first ever Junior Ranger program in the Bendigo Region!

Parks Victoria’s Junior Ranger program encourages children aged 6 to 12 years and their families to explore, appreciate and protect Victoria’s parks. Junior Ranger is designed to get kids outdoors to have fun, get active and learn about Victoria’s wonderful parks, wildlife and amazing natural and cultural heritage.

Trudy and Mike are super excited about all the activities planned for Greater Bendigo National Park, Vaughan Springs, Castlemaine and Lake Boort throughout January 2018. They will be helping our junior rangers discover the secrets of Victoria’s National Parks and reserves.

Parents can book on the website www.juniorrangers.com.au

For more details click on the flier: JR_whatson_bush_Bendigocastlemaine

A Parks Victoria ranger leads a discovery walk at the Prom. From the Junior Ranger website.

A gallery of photos to say Merry Christmas from the Connecting Country team

Posted on 21 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos

It has been quite a year at Connecting Country! We would like to warmly thank all of our friends and supporters, our landholders and volunteers, the many groups we work with, and our funders for their ongoing involvement and support of Connecting Country.

We have some exciting on ground works and community engagement programs planned for 2018, and we very much look forward to announcing these early next year.

Bonnie and Tanya have compiled a gallery of flora and fauna pics from the year to scroll through. Many of these photos have been sent in to us by you, our subscribers (thank you!).  The beauty, colour and variety of these photos is a testament to the rich and abundant landscape we live in, and to our enthusiasm for capturing this beauty.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a peaceful holiday season, and a wonderful 2018…

Macrophotography exhibition at Dig Cafe Newstead Dec 20 2017

Posted on 21 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos

Newstead naturalist and photographer Patrick Kavanagh is well known for his incredible macro photography which is an occasional feature on Geoff Park’s blog, Natural Newstead. Patrick is holding an exhibition of his photographs at Dig Cafe Newstead entitled ‘Small World – Visions from Another Dimension’. An apt title!  Patrick sent us through some words and images to entice you to head to Newstead…

A long-nosed weevil, extremely small in size. By Patrick Kavanagh

There is another world hidden from our unaided senses. A world of strange and wonderful animals – some could be from another planet, some are insects but look like sea shells. The damage inflicted by a caterpillar on a eucalypt leaf looks like a Renaissance window. A piece of abstract art turns out to be the wing of a moth. A tiny world, on a scale of millimetres, best seen through a macrophotographer’s lens.

This remarkable world will be on show at an exhibition of macrophotography at Dig Café in Newstead.  Photographer Patrick Kavanagh is showing the images he has taken at his home at Strangways.

The exhibition ‘Small World – Visions from Another Dimension’ will be on at Dig Café, Newstead from Wednesday 20 December until late January.

An extreme close-up of a moth’s wing. By Patrick Kavanagh

Landcare Adapting to Change – Site Visits

Posted on 19 December, 2017 by Asha

As part of Connecting Country’s ‘Landcare Adapting to Change’ project, our resident botanist Bonnie teamed up with Landcare Facilitator Asha to do ten site visits with local Landcare groups. The aim was to offer Landcare groups access to additional knowledge to help identify specific plants, and answer any questions about priority weed control actions, choosing plants for revegetation, and other areas of land management for conservation.

Here is a gallery of photos from the site visits – hover your mouse over the right hand side of the picture and click on the arrow to move through the gallery.

If any other Landcare or Friends groups are interested in a site visit with Bonnie in 2018, please contact asha@connectingcountry.org.au or call 5472 1594.

What’s under that tile? – reptile and frog monitoring at Campbells Creek

Posted on 14 December, 2017 by Frances

You may think ceramic roof tiles belong on roofs, but we have another use for them. Ceramic roof tiles also make great shelters for reptiles and frogs.

On Friday 8 December 2017,  we gathered at the Campbells Creek walking track to admire the beautiful creekline restoration work achieved by Friends of Campbells Creek. The aim of the workshop was to check the tiles previously set out as part of Connecting Country’s citizen science monitoring program for reptiles and frogs. This program involves arrays of ceramic tiles set out on both private and public land across the shire. For some more information on our  reptile and frog monitoring program click here. 

Peter Johnson (PJ) from Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) demonstrated how to safely check monitoring tiles, and helped us identify the creatures we found. At the first monitoring site we found several native garden skinks (Lampropholis guichenoti) sheltering under the tiles, along with numerous scorpions, centipedes, beetles, slugs and ants. Unfortunately we discovered the second monitoring site had been ‘tidied up’, with the tiles piled into a neat stack! Asha and the rest of the team reset the tiles and took this as a valuable lesson in the challenges of doing scientific research.

It was a perfect day for reptile and frog monitoring – not too hot or too cold. Although we didn’t find frogs or larger reptiles, Peter suggested that it takes time for the tiles to become suitable habitat for these animals. Experience suggests the tiles are first colonised by invertebrates, then increasing numbers of reptiles and frogs move in over several years. So we can expect tile monitoring to get more exciting as monitoring continues!

Over some morning tea, Peter shared more of his knowledge and experience about reptile and frog identification and conservation. We thank Peter and DELWP for their support in running this event.

If you would like some ceramic tiles and instructions on how to set up reptile and frog monitoring on your property, please contact Asha Bannon at Connecting Country.

The following images were captured on the day by our director, Frances Howe.

Natural History Photography Workshops with Alison Pouliot in 2018

Posted on 14 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos

Alison Pouliot is a photographer, nature writer and educator who has been involved in Connecting Country on and off for many years. Her fungi and photography workshops are always well attended and book out rather quickly! Alison has sent us through a list of a rich and varied natural history photography workshops and seminars for summer 2018.

Hygrocybe sp – a tiny specimen by Alison Pouliot

For further information about each of these workshops please see Alison’s website:   www.alisonpouliot.com 

31 January 2018 – Snake Valley – The science and art of nature photography

9 February 2018 – Otway Ranges – A murder of crows

18 March 2018 – Lockwood South – Focus on trees

24 March 2018 – Trentham – Through a forest wilderness

31 March 2018 – Trentham – Fungi in Focus

Bookings may be made at   www.alisonpouliot.com 

Bird Baths – tips for keeping birds cool and safe

Posted on 14 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos

Bird baths – there are mosaic ones, terracotta ones, deep ones, shallow ones. What makes a great bird bath, and how do we best care for them?

Types of baths – for a variety of  bathing styles 

Very small birds like thornbills stand in shallow water, crouch down and then flutter their wings at unbelievable speed to bathe. Honeyeaters and fairy-wrens seem to dip into to deeper baths and almost swim through the water. Larger birds like rosellas wade in to a deep bath and create a massive splashy mess to their great enjoyment!

White-throated treecreepers creep up the side of a nearby log or branch, and then back into the bath. You can almost hear the reversing beep!

I have three baths of differing depths and heights, and each are used by different birds. As the bird bath enthusiasts among us know, bird baths are also used as baths and a source of clean drinking water by animals such as echidnas, wallabies, kangaroos, and frogs and reptiles.  Occasionally a bird bath is used as a clever lure for the hunters among us – see the stunning images from the Yellow-footed antechinus and Grey fantail story here.

Location of the bath(s)

The placement of the bath is important for a few reasons. If it is in full sun, it will get too hot, and the birds are too exposed to aerial predators such as goshawks. Birds also need a place to perch and preen their feathers after their bath.

Pardalotes are very cautious at my place. They wait until the bath is jam-packed with happy visitors and then come down to the bath, checking for danger at many different perch heights as they approach. They visit the bath that is located under a a tall fruit tree and protective shrub.  The White-browed scrubwrens and fairy-wrens share the deep mosaic bath on the ground with the rosellas.

Another reason to have plenty of perching spots around the bath area is that queues form on very hot days! Birds will wait nearby until there is enough room to fly down and have their turn.

Safety for the bathers

Ensure the bath is beyond the reach of cats – hang it from a tree or use a pedestal bath if cats are around. If you have a pedestal bird bath, some dead branches placed across the bath may make it more attractive for smaller birds.

Keep the water cool, fresh and clean. It’s a good idea to locate bird baths near your plants that need watering on hot days, so you can water your plants and refill the bird baths easily at the same time.  It’s best to keep the bath clean by giving it a regular scrub with a brush, to avoid the spread of diseases such as Beak and Feather disease, which affects parrots.

If the bath is bucket shaped or deep, always provide a sturdy stick or series of stepping stones for small animals to climb out. I have seen skinks and young rosellas drowned in water that was too deep with smooth sides.

Finally, if you are going away,  ask your neighbour to refill your bird bath, so your birds and other creatures don’t lose their water supply.

Here is a series of images from our staff member Bonnie Humphreys. Bonnie has three baths at her property in Barkers Creek. Note how clean and fresh the water is! Click on the arrow on the right hand side to move through the images…  Thanks Bonnie!

Getting to know our local weeds

Posted on 7 December, 2017 by Asha

Christine Brooke from the CC Committee welcoming everyone to the ‘Get to know your local weeds – Sutton Grange & surrounds’ workshop

Getting to know our local weeds was the focus of three workshops run by Connecting Country as part of our recent Landcare Network Grant. Bonnie and Asha partnered with 17 local Landcare and Friends groups to organise the workshops in Sutton Grange, Newstead and Chewton. A fourth workshop in Maldon focused on both native and invasive plants (you can read about the Maldon workshop HERE). The workshops were a great opportunity for Landcare and community members to learn more about their local weeds, and share their work, experiences and existing knowledge.

Following an opening by members of Connecting Country’s Committee of Management, we asked each participant to share where they were from and what they hoped to learn. Representatives of local Landcare groups also introduced their group and the work they do to manage weeds. This was personally one of my favourite parts of each workshop, hearing everyone’s weed stories and everyone chatting about their shared experiences. It was fantastic to see some members of neighbouring Landcare groups meeting for the first time.

Bonnie led an interactive talk covering ‘what is a weed?’, legislation governing invasive plants in Victoria, different lifeforms of plants, methods of weed control, and other things to consider when conducting weed control.

Bonnie helping a team with the ‘Who am I?’ weed matching activity at the workshop in Newstead

Based on feedback from Landcare groups,  12 noxious weeds were selected for our ‘Who am I? game. Each team received a set of cards with a ‘Who am I?’ description of a weed, and their job was to match it with a corresponding card with the name and picture of the weed. Everyone also received a template to record how and when to treat a few choice weeds, and take home to stick on their fridge.

We finished up with some quiz questions to test what everyone had learned during the workshop. Over a cuppa and some snacks, Bonnie helped identify weeds and other plants from samples or photos that people had brought. Feedback from the workshops was overall very positive: ‘I really enjoyed meeting others and learning new stuff ‘,  ‘It is a truly informative learning experience and introduced me to a number of local natives which I thought were weeds’, ‘I came away with renewed vigour and new resources ideas’.

A big thank you to everyone involved in the success of these workshops, especially to our presenters, helpers, and partnering Landcare groups.

This workshop is part of a Landcare Network project funded through the Victorian Landcare Program.

“Who am I?” weed matching activity in Newstead

Weeds quiz in Chewton

Plant ID activity in Maldon

Sociable Skinks – Nature News Midland Express – 5 December 2017

Posted on 5 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos

For this month’s Nature News, Tanya Loos from Connecting Country writes about the sociable skinks photographed by Nick Schulz on his property in Nuggetty.  This article was featured in the Midland Express on 5 December 2017.

Earlier this year, landholder Nick Schulz sent us a series of stunning photographs from a granite outcrop on his property in Nuggetty. The pictures show a large group of plump, spiny and spotted skinks seemingly enjoying each other’s company near the safety of deep rock crevices. They are Cunningham’s skinks and they turn the idea of reptiles being cold loners on its head!

A family of skinks peers out from the safety of their rock crevice. Photo by Nick Schulz

The skinks live in long term family groupings, with a large breeding pair (around 25 cm long) and many immature siblings of various ages and sizes from previous years. This kind of social system is more commonly seen in birds and mammals. Researchers suggest that the family group represents safety in numbers, with more eyes to look out for predators such as birds of prey. Another advantage may be temperature-related, as the skinks huddle together to help keep warm during cold weather.

The breeding pair remains faithful to one another from season to season and sometimes over many years – similar to the Stumpy-tail lizard or Shingleback, who also have long monogamous relationships. Both the Stumpy-tail lizard and the Cunningham’s skink give birth to live young instead of laying eggs.

Cunningham’s skinks are only found around rocky outcrops. Each family group must have a rocky habitat with nice deep crevices to hide in.  If threatened by predators, the whole group scuttles into the cracks to hide. If the bird of prey or fox is persistent and tries to remove a skink from a crevice, they will inflate their bodies and make their spines stick out, becoming incredibly hard to dislodge from cracks.

The very spiny tail is evident in this photo. Photo by Nick Schulz

Cunningham’s skinks are omnivorous, like other large skink species such as Stumpy-tails and Blue-tongue lizards. Most of their diet made up of plant matter such as flowers, fruits, soft leaves and shoots. They also eat insects, spiders and small lizards.

We have had reports of this species in Sutton Grange, Elphinstone and now Nuggetty. If you have granite outcrops on your property, you may be hosting a whole family!

Many thanks to Nick for sharing his wonderful photos with us. For more information or to report a Cunningham’s skink family, contact Tanya Loos at Connecting Country 5472 1594, or info@connectingcountry.org.au.

Connecting Country’s Birthday Picnic in the Gardens

Posted on 30 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos

On Tuesday 28 November 2017, members and staff of Connecting Country from past and present gathered to share delicious food and reflect on our tenth birthday!

The weather was kind to us, and we had a relaxed gathering in the shade of deciduous trees and the lee of the Castlemaine Tea Rooms. The food was ‘bring a plate’, enhanced by a generous donation of silky goats cheese from from the Holy Goat Farm. Thanks Ann-Marie and Carla!

After the lovely picnic, Bernard Slattery, Beth Mellick and Brendan provided some entertaining speeches about the formation of Connecting Country ten years ago. At this point, Brendan quite rightly acknowledged founding member Marie Jones for her past, present and ongoing kindness and stewardship of all of us at Connecting Country. Thank you, Marie!

Brendan gave Krista, our former Co-director, a gift to say thanks for her time at Connecting Country, and Marie presented new director Frances Howe with a gift too – a passing of the baton!

Jane Rusden created a wonderful tree for us to write little messages on each of the leaves – thank you Jane!

Many thanks to all who attended this relaxed and lovely celebration – and thanks also to the many people who sent in apologies or dropped in to wish us a happy birthday!

Krista and Brendan

It was lovely on the grass

Frances receives a hat from Marie

Higgo and Asha

Bernard and Brendan

Friends and food

The beautiful tree by Jane Rusden with memories and well wishes

Say Cheese! – New Reptile and Frog Photo Gallery

Posted on 23 November, 2017 by Asha

Large Striped Skink in Welshmans Reef (Photo by Linda Craig)

Jacky lizards, geckos, pobblebonks, and ‘Tuk’ the turtle are all stars of our new reptile and frog photo gallery. CLICK HERE to go to the page, where we share photos of reptiles and frogs sent in by community members. Most of these photos are from landholders involved in Connecting Country’s reptile and frog monitoring program (CLICK HERE to read more), which uses ceramic roof tiles as artificial habitat for reptiles and frogs. Tile monitoring is fantastic, but these photos also capture species that don’t use tiles as habitat, like goannas.

Thank you to everyone who shared their photos!

If you have any interesting photos of reptiles or frogs that you would like to share in our photo gallery, please send them to asha@connectingcountry.org.au

Pobblebonk in Elphinstone (Photo by Sylvia Reeves)

Baby Common Long-necked Tortoise in Strangways, dubbed “Tuk” (Photo by Leanne Crisp)

Victorian Landcare Magazine – Issue 70 – with our local winners

Posted on 23 November, 2017 by Asha

CLICK HERE to download Issue 70 of the Victorian Landcare Magazine. This issue features the Victorian Landcare Awards, with stories about local winners: Tarrangower Cactus Control Group (page 6), Ian Higgins (page 10) and Connecting Country (page 18).

There are also stories about Landcare Award winners from all over the state and a beautiful photo collage in the middle. Well worth a read.

Summer’s feathered migrants – Nature News November 7 2017

Posted on 20 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos

For this month’s Nature News, Newstead naturalist and photographer Geoff Park writes about the feathered migrants that are characteristic of our region in the summer months. This article was featured in the Midland Express on November 7, 2017.

Sacred Kingfishers are one of my favourite spring migrants, their loud ‘kek kek’ call may be heard anytime from late August around Newstead. The kingfishers return faithfully to favourite nesting sites along the Loddon River and in the surrounding forests. This species nests in earthen tunnels and tree hollows, with the first fledglings appearing around Christmas most years. Observers can delight in watching the kingfishers as they first stake out territories, refurbish nests and then commence feeding youngsters from late November onwards. The sight of Sacred Kingfishers bringing a selection of cicadas, yabbies, fish and reptiles to their hungry brood is one of the ‘sights of summer’.

My absolute favourite though is the Rainbow Bee-eater. This extraordinarily beautiful bird can be seen year round in northern Australia – but they are not the same individuals. Small flocks of Rainbow Bee-eaters make a twice yearly migration up and down the east coast, with some birds moving as far north as Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia. The birds we see around Newstead may well spend their winter on Cape York where they are replaced by international travellers during the northern summer, as the ‘Newstead’ individuals migrate south.

Rainbow Bee-eaters nest in small colonies, perhaps most notably near the Newstead Cemetery, but also at various locations along the Loddon River. The sound of the first trills of this species can be heard anytime from early October as they gather above their breeding grounds and make spectacular display flights. As spring progresses they descend to their tunnels, usually in a vertical bank of an eroded gully or riverbank and clean their nests in preparation for egg-laying. Not all nests sites are used each year, but some of these special spots must have been used for centuries by successive generations of magnificent ‘rainbowbirds’.

Other summer migrant specialties, such as the Square-tailed Kite, appear to be increasing in numbers.  Flocks of woodswallows (Masked and White-browed Woodswallows) arrived on the first warm northerlies in October. We can also expect to see waders arrive from the northern Hemisphere, such as Red-necked Stints and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. These tiny birds use Cairn Curran Reservoir (most years) and the Moolort Plains wetlands (if they are wet!) to fuel up before flying 10,000 kilometres back to their Siberian breeding grounds!

Look out too for the rarities that may visit each summer. Last year we had a Common Koel in Newstead and this year a spectacular small red honeyeater known as a Scarlet Honeyeater has been visiting the region in unprecedented numbers.

For more information contact Geoff Park at Natural Newstead www.geoffpark.wordpress.com

A Rainbow Bee-eater. Photo by Geoff Park

Connecting Country turns ten: a picnic in the park 28 November 2017

Posted on 14 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos

Come one, come all for a picnic in the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens to celebrate our tenth birthday! This gathering aims to bring together supporters and friends from the beginning, middle and future of Connecting Country’s story.

It was 2007 when Beth Mellick of the Wettenhall Environment Trust approached the late and great Doug Ralph with  an idea about landscape restoration in the region. Doug promptly called Marie Jones (who still stands on the committee today!) and a small team developed to nut out the first beginnings of what grew into Connecting Country.

Today it is 2017, and we would love you to join us in the park to reflect on the past and celebrate the future! We are keeping it casual – here are the details:

When: Tuesday November 28 at 6pm

Where: Castlemaine Botanic Gardens Tea rooms

BYO: Please bring:
*  a plate of something savoury or sweet to share, and a little sign with a  dietary description. Vegetarian preferred 🙂
* crockery – plate, cups, cutlery
* drinks of your choice
*  A chair or two, or a picnic blanket

No need to RSVP – we will see you there!

A few familiar faces in this mob! An early planning meeting with Beth Mellick, Geoff Park, Maurie Dynon, Gib Wettenhall, and others

Fun with Phascogales – Jess Lawton’s Talk

Posted on 9 November, 2017 by Asha

 At their recent AGM, Newstead Landcare invited Jess Lawton along to talk about her research on Brush-tailed phascogales (Phascogale tapoatafa). She shared some facts above about this special species, along with some interesting results from her PhD research with Andrew Bennett from La Trobe University. Jess used camera traps and habitat surveys to gather information on the habitat requirements for phascogales across central Victoria. Fifty of these sites were in the Mount Alexander region at some of Connecting Country’s nest box sites.

Brush-tailed Phascogale cartoon by Jess Lawton

Jess set up two cameras at each site, pointing towards the ground where she set up a small bait station. She collected these again after 40 days, and found she had a total of 69,611 photos to go through! These included 488 phascogale records in the Mount Alexander region. One brown treecreeper also had some fun with a camera and took 952 selfies (CLICK HERE for GIF)!

Taking into account site factors such as the amount of native forest in an area, elevation, productivity, predators, tree species, number of large trees, structural complexity, logs, and leaf litter, Jess found that phascogales were present at 82% of sites. Interestingly, she found that the amount of native forest in an area was not a big influence over whether phascogales were present at a site or not. However, this could have been due to the time of year data was collected, when males may have been using sub-optimal habitat during breeding season.

The two biggest habitat factors that Jess found influenced phascogale detection were tree species (box versus gum) and leaf litter. Sites with more box species and/or more leaf litter had more phascogale records. This is probably because these provide habitat for invertebrates, which are a critical food source for phascogales.

Jess finished with some tips for landholders who wish to help with phascogale conservation:

• Protect existing hollows and put up nest boxes.
• Keep it messy – leaf litter, logs, and tree stumps and all important for phascogales.
• Help reduce predator pressure by keeping pets inside at night and walking them on a lead.
• Care for your local bush by getting involved with your local Landcare or Friends group.

Thank you Jess and Newstead Landcare for an interesting and engaging talk. Here are some pictures Jess provided from her camera traps – well worth a look!

Brush-tailed Possum

Bat (possibly Lesser Long-eared?)

Brush-tailed Phascogale

Brush-tailed Phascogale

Brush-tailed Phascogale

Eastern Pygmy Possum

Fox

Goat

Koala

Tree Goanna

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Phascogale Facts!

I am a small nocturnal marsupial.

I am threatened species.

My range in Victoria has contracted.

My home range area is 40-100 hectares (40-50 hectares for females and 100 hectares for males).

I rely on large tree hollows with small entrances for nesting and breeding, and will use several hollows within my range.

Females of my species give birth to eight young each year. Once weaned, the litter will weigh three times the weight of the mother.

I belong to the Dasyurid family and feed mainly on invertebrates, such as insects, spiders and centipedes.

10 Nov 2017 – The Americans are coming! A talk on invasive grasses from the USA

Posted on 6 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos

Ian Higgins is the guest speaker for the November Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club meeting.  Ian is a renowned local botanist, and was recently recognised as the 2017 Victorian Landcarer of the Year for his work with the Friends of Campbells Creek Landcare group.

Ian’s talk, titled ‘The Americans are coming’, is an overview of the invasive stipoid needle grasses that are spreading across many parts of Australia, including the local area.   His talk will cover:

What are they? The seven species currently known (or prohibited in the case of Mexican Feather-grass) from Victoria
Where are they? Where they are known to exist in Victoria and in our district
Why are they a problem? Behaviour and the threat posed to natural values
How can I identify them? Identification characteristics, especially how to distinguish them from native grasses
How are they spreading?  Dispersion strategies and human involvement.
How to manage them?  Duration of seed viability in soil, herbicides, etc.

Ian has also offered to help members and visitors to identify different grass species on the night.  If you have a specimen that you suspect is a weed, bring it along (preferably in a sealed plastic bag to prevent the spread of seeds).

When:  7.30pm on the second Friday in November (10th Nov). Members and visitors all welcome.

Where:  Uniting Church on Lyttleton St, Castlemaine – next door to the Art Gallery.  Due to exams being held in hall, this talk will be held in the chapel at the rear of the main church building.

There will be an excursion on the following day (Sat 11th Nov) to view some stipoid grasses in the field with a specialist.

If you have questions, please contact the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club.

Caring for our Key Biodiversity Areas: new on ground works program

Posted on 1 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos

A Diamond Firetail, photo by Geoff Park

Connecting Country has been granted funding for a new on ground works project called ‘Caring for Key Biodiversity Areas in Central Victoria’. The special bird habitats of Clydesdale and Sandon are designated as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) by BirdLife International and BirdLife Australia. The trigger species for these areas are the Diamond Firetail, Swift Parrot and Flame Robin.

The project is funded by the Victorian Government – Community and Volunteer Action Grants. In a nutshell, the project has three main components:

1. Care and protection of native vegetation on private land, including actions such as supplementary revegetation, weed control and rabbit control. These actions will help enhance habitat for the trigger species for the Diamond Firetail, Swift Parrot and Flame Robin.
2. Creation and installation of two attractive interpretative signs at popular parts of the Key Biodiversity areas, such as Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve, and Muckleford Nature Conservation Reserve.
3. Two community events in 2018, such as a bird walk and sign launch!

The participating landholders have been contacted, and site visits will begin in early 2018.

Earlier this year, Connecting Country held a workshop in partnership with BirdLife Australia, to recruit bird survey volunteers known as ‘KBA guardians’ and provide training in how to complete an annual ‘Easter Heath Check’ form. You can read about that workshop here.

Diamond Firetails are declining in our region. Photo by Geoff Park

We are thrilled that this workshop generated the interest and the impetus for this grant.

There is also a very keen new group, coordinated by Friends of Muckleford Forest, which involves volunteers surveying 15 sites across the Muckleford KBA. These surveys are in preparation for the 2018 Easter Health Check. To read about Friends’ project, or volunteer,  see the Friends website here. 

• Learn about Key Biodiversity Areas by visiting the BirdLife Australia website: birdlife.org.au/KBA

Welcome Frances – our new director

Posted on 31 October, 2017 by Tanya Loos

It is with much pleasure that the staff and committee of Connecting Country welcome our new director, Frances Howe. Frances started at the Connecting Country offices last week in a handover with past directors Chris Timewell and Krista Patterson-Majoor. Welcome Frances, we are thrilled to have you on board!

Frances grew up in Melbourne but fell for central Victoria during numerous childhood visits. She became a part-time Castlemaine resident in 2000, when she bought a run-down old church.

As an environmental scientist, for many years Frances helped assess and manage the environmental and social impacts of large development projects, across Australia and around the world. Frances has led numerous teams of environmental professionals to deliver projects spanning environmental and social baseline studies, impact assessment and management.

Frances also worked as an environmental advisor for a non-government organisation in Lesotho (Africa) and is currently a member of the management committee for The Growing Abundance Project (Castlemaine). Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Environment from the University of Melbourne, majoring in ecology and conservation biology.

Having travelled far and wide, including living in the Middle East, Africa and the United States, Frances recently returned to settle in Castlemaine. She lives with her husband and dog, on a small bush block just out of town, surrounded by the Castlemaine National Heritage Park.

Frances is in the office from Monday to Thursday, leading the staff team and overseeing Connecting Country’s projects, organisational management and administration.