17-18 May 2014 – Swift Parrot survey weekend
Posted on 14 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
We are fortunate to live in a part of central Victoria which is a hot-spot for the threatened Swift Parrot – although the numbers of birds seen during their migrations varies dramatically from year to year.
Over the past 20 years, Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club members and other local birding enthusiasts have conducted surveys for this species on the two annual survey weekends (always the 3rd weekend in May, and first weekend in August). Across south-eastern mainland Australia, these surveys have been coordinated by BirdLife Australia (and its predecessor Birds Australia). The surveys also focus on the Regent Honeyeater, although this species is now highly unlikely to be found in the Mount Alexander Shire. The last confirmed local Regent Honeyeater sighting was about ten years ago of a single bird near Newstead. A powerpoint presentation on the surveys and these species is available on the BirdLife website (click here).
A copy of the datasheet is available here (click here). Across the official survey weekend – and the weekends on either side – BirdLife Australia are interested in the results of all bird-watching surveys – irrespective of whether Swift Parrots are seen or not. Even unsuccessful surveys are of interest to the scientists studying this species. The datasheet can also be used to document observations of the Swift Parrot made at other times of the year.
There was a recent article published about the impact of Sugar Gliders in killing Swift Parrots and their fledglings and eggs at their nesting sites in Tasmania (click here).
New edition of ‘chat’
Posted on 14 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
The April edition of the North Central CMA publication, chat, is now available and can be viewed by clicking on the banner above. As well as news about awards, local events, courses and resources, this issue includes interesting night photos of a fox and a wallaby taken on Mount Alexander using a camera trap set up by Regional Landcare Facilitator, Max Schlachter. It also contains a beautiful image of Grey-crowned Babblers by Chris Tzaros.
Hawkweed Alert
Posted on 14 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
People who have recently purchased plants or flowers at markets in the region are being asked to check their purchases after a State Prohibited Weed, Orange Hawkweed, was being offered for sale.
This pretty looking flower has demonstrated itself to be a highly invasive species that thrives in cooler climates. It can be identified by its hairy leaves and stems. The flower has vibrant golden petals with orange tips.
It is illegal to trade, display, transport, or propagate any State Prohibited Weed.
If you do find this weed, do not dispose of it yourself, officers from the Department of Environment and Primary Industries must be contacted to conduct the removal.
This article first appeared in Macedon Ranges Environmental eNews.
April/June 2014 – FOBIF Photographers at TOGS
Posted on 25 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests is holding a photo exhibition at TOGS Cafe and Gallery, Castlemaine over the next 6 weeks. The title of the show, Small Wonders, reflects the surprising discoveries people often make when they take a close look at nature. All photos are taken in our local area.
Twelve photographers will take part. The photos in the box below gives an indication of the diversity and quality of the images.
The show will begin on 25 April and run until 5 June. Togs is open daily between 9 am and 5 pm. Photos are for sale.
4 May 2014 – Talk on Aboriginal Guides
Posted on 25 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
Dr Fred Cahir will be giving a talk on Aboriginal Guides during the Victorian goldrush period between 2 and 4.30 pm on Sunday 4 May. Dr Cahir is a Senior Lecturer at Ballarat University. The event is presented by the Mount Alexander Branch of the National Trust and will be held at the Chewton Community Centre. Afternoon tea will be served.
Click here to view flyer. (Please note that the flyer refers to the period relating to Aboriginal guides as the 1880s when it should be the 1850s.)
Mount Alexander Region Landcare E-news – April 2014
Posted on 24 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
The April 2014 edition of the Mount Alexander Landcare E-news is available. Click on the banner below to download the newsletter.
The Landcare E-news is short monthly update on Landcare-related news, information and events for the Mount Alexander Shire and surrounds. Previous editions of E-news are available from the Landcare page of the Connecting Country website (click here).
The newsletter is sent out by Connecting Country’s Local Landcare Facilitator, Max Schlachter. If you would like to be put on the recipient list, send Max an email: max@connectingcountry.org.au.
17 May 2014 – Training in Castlemaine for Landcare Volunteers
Posted on 24 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
Access to free training is one of the perks of being a volunteer.
White-breasted Woodswallows are very successful at forming groups – what’s their secret?
On Saturday 17th May the Mount Alexander Volunteer Network and Victorian Farm Tree & Landcare Association (FTLA) will be running ‘Secrets to Successful Groups‘ training in Castlemaine.
The training is free for Landcare (or ‘Friends of’) group members and $20 for non-members.
Topics covered by the training will include:
• How to recruit and retain volunteers
• Future proof your group by planning for succession
• Know the legal issues in managing volunteers
• Tips and techniques for effective decision making
To attend the training RSVP by 9th May: by email to ftla@vff.org.au, or phone
03 9207 5527
Date: Saturday 17th May 2014, 10am–4pm
Location: Continuing Education, Templeton Street, Castlemaine
Registrations and morning tea from 9.30a.m.
Lunch and Refreshments provided.
Click Here to download a flyer.
Taking the Big Picture
Posted on 16 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
The past informs the future. The natural and social history – and their interconnections – of this region have had an important, and often negative, impact on our natural environment.
Understanding where you and your property fit within these contexts means you can be more informed to make positive decisions and actions to address declining biodiversity. This was the background to our first workshop session, “The Big Picture” (Sunday April 6th), held at Welshmans Reef.
Thanks to property holders Brian and Robin Rebbechi for providing an ideal location to interpret and discuss the history and potential future for this site.
Guided by Deirdre Slattery and Ian Higgins, we moved between scales; from the broader landscape, down to the property level, and back, exploring the landuse history and vegetation changes over time at Welshmans Reef.
More information, photos and links from the session as well as Jules Walsh’s summary of the session can be found here.
Ian Higgins discusses vegetation classes for the property
Deirdre Slattery guides participants through the complex history of the property
For more information: janet@connectingcountry.or.au or 5472 1594.
Searching for the elusive Cymatoplex moth
Posted on 13 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
Recently a small group of us went out looking over two nights for the rare Cymatoplex sp. moth in a Walmer bushland reserve which has plenty of Drooping Cassinia (Cassinia arcuata). We were hopeful of seeing this moth because previously sightings of adults have only been in late March and early April, and as reported in a previous post, Cymatoplex lavae are known to exclusively feed on Drooping Cassinia.
Unfortunately, even with the aid of a mercury vapour light shining on a suspended white sheet, we didn’t find any examples of this moth. However we did find plenty of other moths.
And here’s some photos of what we found (click on image to enlarge). Can you can help us identify any of them? If so, add a note to the comments section below. We suspect the top middle one is from the Hednota genus, and that the top right one is from the Emerald group of moths (the Geometrinae sub-family).
Moths found in Walmer South Nature Conservations Reserve, 30 March & 4 April 2014
Unraveling the Mysterious Tuan
Posted on 10 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
Between mid-2009 and mid-2013, Connecting Country implemented a major project across the Mount Alexander Shire to increase the population of the endangered Brush-tailed Phascogale – also known as the Tuan. This was partially achieved through working with landholders to enhance the depleted Yellow Box Woodland habitat preferred by Tuans.
Four Sugar Gliders cosy and warm inside a nest box. This box was located in Sandon along a creek line (therefore a gully) and installed upon a very mature Yellow Box.
More than 400 nest boxes were also installed across the region (in clusters of three) to both provide additional Tuan nesting habitat, and to also allow long-term monitoring of their populations. These specially designed nest boxes were installed with landholders’ permission in both public and private land, and within large and small patches of native woodland and forest habitat.
In April and May of 2011 and 2012, Connecting Country staff undertook monitoring of a large sample of these boxes. April and May is the time of year that has the least disturbance upon the Tuan. We were supported in 2012 by an Honours student from Deakin University, Amy Monagle, who also analyzed the habitat features around each nest box location. Her findings were of considerable interest (click here for a summary). Connecting Country also prepared its own summary of the monitoring findings, which was published on its website (click here) and posted to the relevant landholders. Many Sugar Gliders were also found, in addition to the Tuans Continue Reading »
TCCG at Easter Fair & first 2014 Cactus Killing day
Posted on 10 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
The 2013 Easter Parade where TCCG members dressed in ‘warrior’ uniforms and marched as a united army against the ‘opposition’ weed.
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group (TCCG) is entering the Maldon Easter Fair procession this year on Easter Monday, 21 April 2014. The theme will be “Pests of our Neighbourhood”.
They would like to invite everyone to come along. You can come along dressed as your favourite (or least favourite) pest, e.g. rabbit, feral cat or fox. Otherwise come in your “Cactus Killing” gear.
The group will meet in Hospital Street near the corner with Chapel Street North, (near the swimming pool) from 9.15 am. Entry will be judged from 10 am.
They hope to see you there. It will be a bit of fun.
Also the first of the 2014 TCCG Community Field Days will be on the last Sunday of this month, 27 April. These regular events focus on killing wheel cactus at a particular location. The site for the opening of the new season is a property in Watersons Road near the Tarrengower School Road corner. As usual the mornings activities will start at 10.30am.
11 April – Stories (and pictures) of Ice and Fire
Posted on 6 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
It seems like only a couple of weeks ago we were boiling through long arduous central Victorian heatwaves. When considering moving to cool places to escape the swelter, a country made of ice and snow seemed enticing. And now you can start considering that next trip in more detail, for the topic of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club’s April talk is Vikings, Volcanoes & Ice – the making of Iceland.
Carol Hall is the guest speaker at the general meeting of the CFNC on Friday 11 April 2014 (Uniting Church Hall, Lyttleton St, Castlemaine – from 7.30pm. No charge. All welcome.). After studying Geography at the University of Sheffield, UK, a sense of adventure brought Carol to Australia, teaching Field Studies to secondary students in the Snowy Mountains, and eventually moving to Ballarat Grammar School where she taught for 14 years. Her own photographs were always an integral part of her teaching material, and an interest in the glaciated regions of the world has been maintained since studying a specialist course as an undergraduate.
Carol writes, “In 2010 I was able to tour Iceland, much of it off the beaten track thanks to the adventurous driver of the mini-bus! We saw many of the special geological features in this young (only 20 million years old) country and gained an insight into its Viking heritage, as well as seeing how the population lives today. So the talk will be a mix of physical and human geography.”
Carol is a member of Ballarat Camera Club, The Field Naturalists’ Club of Ballarat and is currently President of The Victorian Nature Photography Group. She has given many illustrated talks to community groups.
April 2014: Going with the flow: Ecological photography by Damien Cook
Posted on 1 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
There will be an exhibition of Damien Cook’s photographs from 5 April till the end of the month at the CASPA art space in Castlemaine.
Damien is a local ecologist whose work includes monitoring environment health and the revegetation and restoration of degraded landscapes. He is also on Connecting Country’s Expert Advisory Panel. He writes that his series of photographs ‘celebrates the thread that draws the Australian landscape, its flora, fauna and people and the preciousness of water together’.
You can find out more about the Damien’s thoughts on ecology, gallery opening hours and the location of CASPA in this flyer.
Lowland Wetland Ecology Course 2014
Posted on 1 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
This five day course is being run by Rakali Ecological Consulting and will be held in Kilcunda, South Gippsland from Monday 17th to Friday 21st November 2014.
The course is aimed at people working in the conservation and natural resource management industry and will include presentations and field trips. Three of the seven course presenters, Damien Cook, Chris Tzaros and Elaine Baynes, are on Connecting Country’s Expert Advisory Group. If you would like more information on the course, download this flyer.
New edition of ‘chat’
Posted on 1 April, 2014 by Connecting Country
The March 2014 edition of the North Central CMA publication ‘North Central chat‘ is now available and can be downloaded here. This issue has an interesting article on a new free app from the Museum Victoria, Field Guide to Victorian Fauna. The app lets you explore information about a vast array of Victorian animal species including information on their identification, biology, distribution, diet, habitat, scientific classification and conservation status. The issue of the North Central chat also has information on events, courses and funding opportunities in the region.
Have you seen this secretive moth of central Victoria?
Posted on 21 March, 2014 by Connecting Country
The unusual green and white patterned Cymatoplex sp. moth is known from only a dozen sightings – EVER. It has not yet been scientifically described or even formally named. Half of the known observations are from the Eppalock bushland property of Steve Williams. Another one is from Fryerstown. Last year (2013) at a Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club meeting, Steve presented a fascinating talk on his hobby to document the life history cycles of hundreds of moth species of central Victoria. Yet this little known charismatic species has held a special fascination for him.
Photo: Steve Williams
Steve has discovered that the larvae feed exclusively on the native Drooping Cassinia (Cassinia arcuata). Yes, the common local plant also known as Coffee Bush or Chinese Scrub. The eggs are laid on the plant, and over the next 11 ½ months, that individuals goes from egg to larvae to pupa all on the same plant specimen.
The adults emerge and fly for only a few days, during which time they mate and lay their eggs. Adult moths have only ever been recorded during the last week of March and the first week of April, and the other life stages have never been seen in the wild. If you have Drooping Cassinia on or near your property, now is the time to be on the look-out for this colourful moth! If you see one flying about at night, or resting on a window, please let us know as it would provide valuable scientific and conservation knowledge (with a photo if possible, and also the date and location).
With the permission of the Entomological Society of Victoria, we are fortunate to be able to provide access to an easy-to-read paper that Steve recently wrote for the Victorian Entomologist journal (click here), which gives more information about the life history of this species and some good identifying photos.
(Blog reproduced with permission from the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club).
23 and 30 March 2014 – Youth and Family Forest Walks
Posted on 20 March, 2014 by Connecting Country
For over a decade FOBIF has organised monthly bush walks in our local area. This year the program has been expanded to include 2 family walks and 2 youth walks. Everyone is welcome on these walks, not just young people and children.
The first of the family walks will take place on 23 March in Kalimna Park. To find out more, click on the green box below.
The first youth walk will be on 30 March. To find out more, click on the image below.
This consent authority form must be completed by the parents/carers of unaccompanied young people before the youth walk. If you would like to volunteer to help on the day with this walk, contact 54724609.
Ian Lunt Wrap
Posted on 18 March, 2014 by Connecting Country
Or should that be rapt? A large and attentive audience attended Ian’s presentation and the launch of the 2014 Connecting Country Workshop Program. Connecting Country Workshop Steering Group member Jules Walsh has put together a summary of Ian’s talk here, along with some more photos, and Bernard Slattery has posted his version on the FOBIF website which you can also read. No doubt there were many more interpretations amongst the audience and this provided a great catalyst for discussion over the BBQ afterwards.
We thank Ian, Rebecca Phillips from the Dja Dja Warrung Clans, the Newstead Mens’ Shed for barbeque prowess, the Newstead Community Centre, Community Garden and Landcare Group and all those who helped to set up, pitch in and pack up for the event. A great start to the Workshop Program.
- Ecologist Ian Lunt ‘mapping’ the state of local regeneration, using … the locals
- Ian Lunt with Max, Brendan and Marie
2014 Communities for Nature Small Grants Funding
Posted on 16 March, 2014 by Connecting Country
The Victorian Government has launched the 2014 Communities for Nature Small Grants Funding Opportunity.
These grants aim to support practical action by community groups, schools, and volunteer organisations to deliver measurable environmental outcomes through on-ground works.
The funding is for community groups seeking one year grants for small grants up to $10,000 (GST inclusive). Projects that will be completed by 30 June 2015 are eligible for funding.
Applications can now be submitted online. The closing date is 4.00pm Friday 11th April 2014.
More information including Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions and the application form can be found here. You can also contact the Grants Information Line on 1300 366 356 between 8.30am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday.
20 March 2014 – Talk on Indigenous fish traps
Posted on 14 March, 2014 by Connecting Country
Every year Newstead Landcare is fortunate to have some remarkable people present on an amazing array of topics and 2014 promises to be another such year. Their first presentation will be “Combining Ecology and Archaeology – researching Indigenous fish traps to learn more about river changes over time” by Castlemaine archaeologist Damian Kelly. Damian’s research on fish traps along the Murray is truly fascinating, with very local implications for those of us on the Loddon. For those familiar with the road between Strangways and Guildford, do you know where the name “Bough Yards” may have come from?
The presentation will be on Thursday 20th March at Newstead Community Centre, starting at 8pm. It will be followed by a light supper and Newstead Landcare’s first business meeting for 2014. All are welcome to come along for either the presentation or the meeting or both of course. Gold coin donations would be appreciated.