Connecting Country fact sheets: revegetation, nest boxes and pests

Posted on 14 January, 2021 by Ivan

We developed the fact sheets courtesy of funding from the North Central Catchment Management Authority. The fact sheets formed part of our ‘Prickly plants for wildlife on small properties‘ project, which targeted landowners with smaller properties who were keen to manage their land as wildlife habitat, but were excluded from previous projects. Through this project, we’ve helped numerous local landholders with smaller areas of remnant vegetation to protect and improve habitat on their land. We’ve supported landholders with on-ground actions such as revegetation planting, weed and rabbit control, and nest box installation, as well as delivering three popular community education events.

Many people contact Connecting Country regarding how to revegetate their land using native tubestock plants. There are numerous aspects to consider when using this technique, such as when to plant, how to prepare the soil, what to plant, and how to protect your plantings. Our revegetation planting fact sheet covers all these topics and more, to help you give your precious native plants the best start in life.

Here is a brief outline of each of the four fact sheets:

• Weed control. Weeds, or invasive plants, are one of the main extinction threats to Australia’s native plants and animals. Some weeds were introduced initially as garden plants, and others accidentally introduced and spread through seeds or plant material. Some native species become weeds if they spread aggressively beyond their natural range. To download – click here
• Nest boxes for wildlife. A nest box is an artificial enclosure provided for hollow-dependent animals to live and nest in. Providing a well constructed and maintained nest box on your property can provide a supplementary home for native animals where natural tree hollows are missing. To download: click here
• Invasive pest animals. Invasive animals are a major threat to biodiversity and agriculture. They can cause long-term damage to ecosystems and have resulted in dramatic extinction rates of species across Australia. To download: click here
• Revegetation planting with tube stock. Planting within or next to existing bushland to provide habitat for native animals can be a satisfying endeavor. Taking time to plan and prepare your revegetation will give you the best chance of seeing your plants survive to maturity. To download: click here

Further information and fact sheets on a variety of restoration topics can be found on the Connecting Country website – click here

New guide for best practice weed hygiene

Posted on 7 January, 2021 by Ivan

Preventing the spread of weeds should be a high priority for landholders and provides one of the highest returns on investment. It is often the most cost-effective way of protecting and improving biodiversity and productivity on your property.

The Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party (VSTWP) recently completed an industry first: a best practice weed hygiene guide, aimed at preventing the spread of serrated tussock and other weeds due to land management practices such as slashing, movement of vehicles and machinery. The guide contains principles and management actions that apply to many weeds found in our region, including serrated tussock, Chilean needle-grass, St John’s wort, and the various grassy weeds. Please read the following summary below provided by the VSTWP regarding the new guide.

The new guide provides effective solutions to landholders and land managers in preventing weed spread (photo: VSTWP)

The best practice guide weed hygiene was developed through collaboration with stakeholders, including a survey of relevant stakeholders and land managers to understand the complex networks involved in weed management.

The survey established three-quarters of respondents employed contractors to work on their land, with a range of formal and informal weed hygiene control mechanisms in place. However, only a few admitted to auditing their contractors annually or more often, with many reporting they have never conducted an audit.

The aim of this guide is to improve the operations of staff and contractors, providing appropriate oversight and strategies to prevent the spread of weeds. The guide is a vital link in managing serrated tussock across Victoria.

The guide acknowledges that land managers spend millions of dollars each year controlling serrated tussock and other weed species in Victoria.

Of all the management activities for serrated tussock and other high threat weeds, reducing spread is the cheapest and most effective method of control.

VSTWP Chairperson Lance Jennison said ‘This guide is split into easy-to-use sections that provide practical guidance on identifying and controlling serrated tussock, weed hygiene practices in the field, along with contract management and oversight’. ‘The best practice guide will prove invaluable for landowners, land managers, contractors and large-scale projects, with plenty of strategies to minimise the spread of serrated tussock,’ Mr Jennison said.

Serrated tussock is a hardy and aggressive grassy weed that is found throughout temperate regions of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Serrated tussock has a devastating impact on the biodiversity of native grasslands and can drastically reduce the carrying capacity of farmland. Seed can be easily spread through civil construction works, land management activities, and via livestock and wildlife.

The newly published weed hygiene guide can be viewed online at the VSTWP website (click here) or downloaded as a pdf (click here). Hard copies of the guide are also available on request by contacting the VSTWP (email: info@serratedtussock.com).

Ugg boots to the rescue: Phascogale adventures

Posted on 7 January, 2021 by Ivan

How does one catch a Brush-tailed Phascogale on the run in your house? Easy – with an Ugg boot apparently!

We received a video from a local landholder, Brodi, who rescued this Brush-tailed Phascogale from their house in Sutton Grange using a sheepskin boot in late 2020. Doesn’t get much cuter than that!

The Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa tapoatafa), also known as the Tuan, is a small, nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial, a little larger than a domestic rat. In Victoria, the Brush-tailed Phascogale was once widespread, but now has a fragmented distribution. It’s found to the east and north-east of Melbourne, central Victoria (around Ballarat, Heathcote and Bendigo), north-eastern Victoria, and far western Victoria (from Mount Eccles to Apsley).

The Brush-tailed Phascogale is a threatened species listed under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and considered Vulnerable in Victoria.

Thanks Brodi for sending us this video. Please enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/497100884

To learn more about Brush-tailed Phascogales and their conservation, check out our blog post below. To get involved in our monitoring program for Brush-tailed Phascogale, please email info@connectingcountry.org.au

Fun with Phascogales – Jess Lawton’s Talk

Bird walk at Eganstown: Saturday 9 January 2021

Posted on 7 January, 2021 by Ivan

BirdLife Castlemaine’s beloved bird walks are commencing again with a leisurely stroll down through the Deep Creek Streamside Reserve, Eganstown, ten minutes drive west of Daylesford in central Victoria. It is the first walk for 2021, with 2020’s walks being interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Deep Creek Streamside Reserve has some excellent stands of mature grassy woodlands and herb-rich foothill forests, and will no doubt provide some excellent bird watching opportunities. Please see the details below, kindly provided by Birdlife Castlemaine.

Steep gorges and volcanic outcrops are on offer at Deep Spring Reserve (photo: Birdlife Castlemaine)

Victorian Rabbit Action Network launches new website

Posted on 7 January, 2021 by Ivan

Run rabbit run! The Victorian Rabbit Action Network (VRAN) has launched its new website, to help support community action on rabbit management in Victoria. The new website is an excellent example of a modern communication tool, with a good assortment of videos and case studies to assist landholders.

VRAN is led by a steering group of community members, government representatives and industry leaders who, with the VRAN Executive Officer, facilitate community-led action on rabbit control.

Connecting Country has received many inquiries about increasing rabbit numbers in the past year, with many landholders noting an increase in juvenile rabbits in the landscape. We believe this is a timely reminder to start planning coordinated rabbit treatment, especially coordinating with neighbours to help address rabbits at a larger landscape scale.

VRAN has provided the following update on their new website and their grants scheme, which is available to landholders in our region.

The VRAN website was developed with ‘community’ front of mind and is aimed at helping people working in the rabbit management space, to increase their knowledge on best practice rabbit management and connect with others working in the industry. Rabbits have been in our landscape for over a century destroying natural habitats, agriculture, and cultural heritage, and are listed as one of Australia’s biggest threats.

Having a reliable contractor with the right skills and equipment is important for effective control (photo: VRAN)

The new website contains information on best practice rabbit management, training programs, videos, grant programs, research and so much more. VRAN are also inviting community groups and organisations to apply for their new grant program.

VRAN Chair, Gerald Leach, says ‘VRAN have grants up to $5,000 to help community groups and
organisations to raise awareness of the rabbit issue and best practice control methods’. The Community Action Grants program is open until 29 January 2021. More information on the grant program and can be found on the website – click here

This new digital resource and the grant program was developed through funding from the Australian Government Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper in collaboration with Agriculture Victoria.

Visit the VRAN site today to apply for a grant and help plan your summer rabbit program: www.vran.com.au

Bird of the month: Tawny Frogmouth

Posted on 24 December, 2020 by Ivan

Welcome to our tenth 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 lucky to have the talented and charismatic Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, with assistance from the brilliant Damian Kelly.

Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)

Before we delve into the secretive life of the Tawny Frogmouth, this ‘Bird of the Month’ blog is nearly one year old and I’d like to extend my deep gratitude to Damian Kelly and Ash Vigus. When I asked Damian if he’d be happy to help me with research, I had this rosy image in my head of the two of us spending blissful hours in his enviable library, buried in books. COVID-19 ensured this cozy vision of mine was not to be. Instead, Damian would email his research to me, along with his gorgeous photos. Ash Vigus has also been very generous with lending an ear and great ideas, as we did our socially-distanced walks, and his stunning photos. Without these two, Bird of the Month would not have been nearly as interesting nor pretty.

Some months ago the charismatic Owlet Nightjar was our feature bird. This month’s relative, the Tawny Frogmouth, is similar in that it is also nocturnal, NOT an owl and charismatic in its own cryptic way. Frogmouths are not restricted to Australia: Papua New Guinea and tropical Asia have their own species. In Australia, the Tawny Frogmouth is found all over the country where there are trees, but the Papuan Frogmouth is restricted to Cape York and the Marbled Frogmouth is found only in tiny areas on Cape York and around Brisbane. However, both species are found in Papua New Guinea. They all have characteristic wide mouths and are incredibly cryptic, being experts in looking like a broken off dead branch and therefore difficult to spot during the day.

By night, however, if your lucky you may see Tawny Frogmouths hawking flying insects in the car headlights. Sadly they are prone to getting squashed on the road because of this. At home I’ve watched one hawking Rain Moths attracted to the light from our windows at night. It must have eaten a dozen of them and I’m not quite sure how it fitted them all in – it must have been the Frogmouth equivalent of Christmas dinner with a third helping of pudding. They will also pounce on small vertebrates like lizards, which get a thorough pounding before being swallowed, and they enjoy insects on the ground.

Tawny Frogmouths are between 34 cm (females) and 53 cm (males) long and can weigh up to 680 g (photo: Damian Kelly)

Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, but are actually more closely related to nightjars (photo: Damian Kelly)

Breeding is done in spring. Typically two eggs are laid in a messy collection of sticks which constitutes their nest, in a horizontal branch fork in a large mature tree. Despite populations slowly decreasing, these apparently insecure nests produce chicks fairly effectively. Equality of the sexes is a thing with Tawny Frogmouths, with the male sitting on the eggs during the day and both parents sitting at night.

These much loved and unusual birds can be found in urban areas, which perhaps endears them to us humans. Or maybe it’s their cute as cute fluffy chicks with their great wide eyes, snuggled up to their nest buddies.

Please enjoy the Tawny Frogmouth distinctive ‘Oom oom ooom call’, courtesy of Wild Ambience.

A big thank you to contributors to this edition of Bird of the Month – Jane Rusden and Damian Kelly – for their amazing knowledge and skills.

If you go out in the woodlands today: staff Christmas lunch 2020

Posted on 23 December, 2020 by Ivan

Connecting Country staff enjoyed a celebratory Christmas lunch this week, in the bush near Castlemaine VIC, hosted by our Director Frances and her lovely partner Duncan. The outdoor affair, in a COVID-safe environment, was privy to a stunning display of birdlife and the last of the colourful spring wildflowers and grasses. The grassy-woodlands were a beautiful example of landscape recovery and restoration, thanks to a wonderful season of rain and sustainable land management by Frances and Duncan.

Connecting Country staff and volunteers extraordinaire enjoying lunch (photo by Ivan Carter)

Our festive lunch visitor: Scarlet Robin (photo by Frances Howe)

It has been a challenging year to operate an organisation that values engaging with landholders and the community face to face, but we have found new ways to engage and continue our projects throughout the year. We have learnt and grown together, with the nature lunch a perfect way to send off the year.

The beginning of summer is often a time where our forests and woodlands begin to lose their bright colour and flowers, but there were two indigenous species still providing colour and bling in the leadup to Christmas: Sticky Everlasting Daisy (Xerochrysum viscosum) and Copper-awned Wallaby-grass (Rytidosperma fulvum). Our lunch was also interrupted by a very festive visit from a pair of Scarlet Robins.

Sticky Everlasting Daisy

An Australian native daisy indigenous to our region, which is a small narrow-leaved plant up to 50 cm high and 40 cm wide. It is often known as Shiny Everlasting. Sticky Everlasting likes a sunny position and will tolerate dry conditions and poor soils, like many in our region. The leaves are quite narrow so it is fairly inconspicuous when not in flower. They have a slightly sticky feel, hence the name. The flowers are bright gold, glossy, crispy daises about the size of large buttons, see photos below. The flowers stay on show for many months and add colour to our subtle bush tones. Like many of the native daisies, Sticky Everlasting will attract numerous butterflies and moths, as well as native bees.

Copper-awned Wallaby-grass

Wallaby grasses are native perennial grasses that are common in our region. The fluffy tops are distinctive, and they catch the sunlight perfectly in summer. Aside from the flowers, they are fairly inconspicuous and are often missed in our woodlands and paddocks. They are known for their drought tolerance and also are a avourite grazing plant for wallabies and kangaroos.

Below are a selection of photos taken in the Grassy-Woodlands around Castlemaine by Connecting Country staff. Please enjoy, and stay safe over the festive season.

Discovering ducks: which duck are you quiz?

Posted on 23 December, 2020 by Ivan

The RSPCA Victoria and BirdLife Australia have launched a new campaign called ‘Discover Ducks’, after recent research revealed five in six Victorians cannot name any native ducks, despite Australia being home to 15 unique species. We love our ducks, and locally, they appear to be having a great season, with plenty of water around during spring 2020. While this campaign is aimed at Victorians, anyone can access the online resource, and increase their knowledge of our native ducks. All Australians can answer that timeless question: Which Duck Are You?!

We have had fun, in the virtual Connecting Country office, exploring which duck we each are, and how accurate they all seem to be!

Please enjoy a summary below, courtesy of the Discover Ducks team, regarding the importance and aim of this campaign.

Dr Liz Walker, CEO of RSPCA Victoria said the campaign seeks to build a state of passionate duck lovers by improving Victorians’ knowledge and love for our diverse range of unique, native ducks.

‘We believe more people would appreciate ducks and care about their welfare if they could relate to them the way they relate to other wildlife, such as koalas or kangaroos. After last summer’s tragic bushfires, we know there is very strong public concern for native animals, and a desire to rescue, treat and protect those animals. Ducks need to be included,’ says Dr Walker. ‘They are fascinating creatures, and each native species has unique traits. Discover Ducks creates an opportunity for the community to learn and share information and celebrate our beautiful native ducks.’

BirdLife Australia’s National Public Affairs Manager Sean Dooley agrees that there has never been a better time to discover our wild duck populations. ‘Sometimes even birdwatchers can take ducks for granted. But when you take the time to get to know Victoria’s ducks, you soon realise what fascinating and beautiful birds they are. However, there are far fewer ducks out there in our wetlands than there used to be with the research showing drastic decline in their numbers, due to the changes we have made to their aquatic habitats.’

Discover Ducks shows people how to recognise different ducks, where to spot them around Victoria and how to interact with them in a welfare-friendly way. Many of these lessons are valuable across the country, not just in Victoria, and wherever you are located, the ‘Which Duck Are You?’quiz is a great bit of fun, or you can test your knowledge with the Know Your Ducks Quiz.

Learn more about Discover Ducks at discoverducks.org.au and spread the word via social media using the hashtag #discoverducks

The Australian Shelduck: hard to find, easy to spot, with spectacular coloring (photo: Discovering Ducks)

South African Weed Orchid – having an invasive season

Posted on 23 December, 2020 by Ivan

South African Weed Orchid, Disa bracteata, has finished flowering but if you are quick you can still help stop the spread of this emerging and highly invasive weed in our area. It is worth havin

South African Weed Orchid – whole plant, roots and bulbs. Photo: Bonnie Humphreys

g a look for plants on your property and planning for next season’s treatment. We have had many reports from our community of larger infestations in bushlands and grasslands across our region during spring 2020, so we thought it timely to show some photographs of what to look out for, and when.

South African Weed Orchid is a perennial terrestrial orchid with underground tubers. Dormant for much of the year, it sprouts in early spring with a rosette of leaves, followed by flower spikes developing into seeds as the weather drys out during summer. Plants in the leafy, vegetative stage are susceptible to herbicides which during the growing phase also kills the tubers.  At later stages digging can be effective but requires care to remove all tubers.

This invasive plant often grows in association with other native orchids but can be distinguished from native species such as Glossodia and Caladenia by the lack of hairs and purple back to the leaf.  Sun orchids have smooth leaves but they are single, longer and more channelled.

How to identify South African Weed Orchid:

Treatment by digging out and carefully bagging plant matter helps contain this invasive weed. Photo: Bonnie Humphreys

• Stems – erect and fleshy usually 30–50 cm tall.
• Leaves – a rosette of green leaves with purple undersides, tapering from a broad base to an pointy tip, 5–15 cm long.  These weeds are distinct from indigenous Onion Orchids (Microtis spp.) as they have a rosette of leaves, while the native Onion Orchids have one round leaf, often extending above the flower spike. They also have purple undersides, unlike our Onion Orchids
• Flowers – depends on the season but usually around late October through to December in Victoria. 15– 30 flowers grow on a thick cylindrical spike 5–20 cm long, which resembles a greenish-brown asparagus spear. Flowers very dense and are mostly greenish, ripening to reddish-brown and yellow with a leafy bract.
• Seeds – black, minute and dust-like, contained within the capsular fruit. The species is autogamous (self-pollinating) and thus produces a large amount of seed per plant. The main form of dispersal is wind, but seed can also be spread on shoes, clothing and vehicles, as well as in water and through animal and soil movement. The seeds can remain viable for years, hence one seeding plant this year means many weeds for many, many years to come. Seed set and dispersal starts as the plants mature and as the weather dries out. The seeds continue to mature even if the flower head is picked, so it is very important to bag up and remove.
  

  The weed orchid has 1–3 tubers about 20 mm long. Photo: Bonnie Humphreys

• Tubers – produces new tubers each year it grows. These are similar  in appearance to a small potato, about 20 mm in size (depending on conditions). The plant will also have a small shrivelled tuber, which is the one the plant is using to grow from currently. The plant also has a mass of fleshy  roots and there is no main tap root.

Invasion of the Mount Alexander region

As of 2020, this weed has been recorded across the Mount Alexander Shire in Chewton, Redesdale, Elphinstone, Taradale, Walmer, Barkers Creek, Sutton Grange, Guildford, Ravenswood and Harcourt. The records on the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) suggest that this species has been recorded across many sites in Victoria and Western Australia, with a total of 1,400 records entered onto the ALA.

Treatment

Manual removal requires digging up and removing all parts of the plant, including the tuber, leaves and flowers. The plant material must be bagged securely (e.g., in a snap-lock bag) to prevent the fine dust-like seed from spreading further. It is also worth making sure that the soil around the plant is put back after removal, to reduce the risk of regrowth.

If you are interested in seeing some excellent photos at different stages of its lifeform across the year, local legends Euan Moore and Jenny Rolland have prepared the following collage of images. Many thanks to Euan and Jenny for their photos and information, and passion for controlling this invasive emerging weed.

To learn more about this emerging weed and see a map of its current distribution, please visit the ALA website by clicking on the image below (courtesy of ALA).

 

 

Celebrating our volunteer heroes at Connecting Country

Posted on 17 December, 2020 by Ivan

Connecting Country could not do what we do without our volunteers. Our management committee is run by volunteers, our monitoring programs rely on skilled citizen scientists, our landholders ensure landscape restoration is maintained, and others help with events, Landcare, engagement and in countless other ways. We love our volunteers and appreciate their dedication to our vision of increasing, enhancing, and restoring biodiversity across central Victoria.

This year, we were fortunate to receive a very generous donation from a local family to support our woodland bird monitoring, including providing a humble thank-you celebration for our volunteers on the evening of Monday 14 December 2020 at The Hub Plot, behind our office in Castlemaine, Victoria.

We enjoyed COVID-safe celebratory drinks and snack packs in the leafy Hub Plot garden. Our Monitoring Coordinator, Jess Lawton, provided a short summary of our monitoring achievements over the last year, followed by plenty of chatting and Connecting Country’s second annual ‘Klop’ game championship. Thank you to everyone who came and made it a wonderful evening with great company. Special thanks to Lou, Jane R, and Duncan for setting up and helping the evening run smoothly, and to Heather and Neil for the lovely venue.

These days our projects run off very tight budgets, with funding opportunities extremely few and far between. Community has always been at the core of what we do at Connecting Country. In this new phase, we’ve had to rely on our community even more.

Because we’re surrounded by an engaged and enthusiastic community, we’re still able to check in on our local biodiversity, and deliver monitoring, engagement, Landcare support and landscape restoration across our region. If it wasn’t for your hard work, we simply would not be able to continue our valuable long-term biodiversity monitoring, engage our community in caring for our local landscapes, or empower landowners to manage their land as wildlife habitat.

To everyone who has helped Connecting Country in 2020: a big thank you! We are so grateful for your support.

To find out more about volunteer opportunities at Connecting Country, please visit our website – click here

Please enjoy the following photos by Lou Citroen and Ivan Carter, capturing the beauty of our volunteer celebration on a balmy summer’s evening in Castlemaine.

Festive greetings 2020

Posted on 17 December, 2020 by Frances

It’s Sweet Bursaria season! (photo by Frances Howe)

On behalf of the Connecting Country team, we wish every one of you the very best over the festive season, with special greetings to our wonderful volunteers, members, landholders, donors and supporters.

Whichever way you choose to celebrate, we hope you enjoy a well-deserved rest, and take time to connect with loved ones and our special local environment.

Connecting Country’s physical office at the Hub in Castlemaine remains closed to the public, in line with government health guidelines. Our virtual office will also close from 24 December 2020 to 4 January 2021 while our hardworking staff take a short break.

We look forward to seeing you (hopefully in person) in 2021!

People power! Victoria Gully Group working bee

Posted on 14 December, 2020 by Asha

Landcarers are often a humble bunch, so the amazing volunteer work they do can fly under the radar. Victoria Gully Group’s recent working bee was just one example of over 100 Landcare and Friends group working bees that take place in the Mount Alexander region every year to care for our local environment. Let us acknowledge and celebrate this achievement.

Cape Broom seedling (photo by Asha Bannon)

Clinkers Hill Bushland Reserve (photo by Asha Bannon)

Some of the Cape Broom pulled out by volunteers (photo by Asha Bannon) seedlings pulled out by volunteers

Sweet Bursaria flowering at Clinkers Hill Bushland Reserve (photo by Asha Bannon)

2021 Woodland bird calendars – available now!

Posted on 10 December, 2020 by Frances

Our gorgeous cover features a Weebill by Albert Wright

Treat yourself or your loved-ones to a delightful Christmas gift, while supporting habitat restoration in the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria.

Connecting Country’s 2021 woodland bird calendar is high-quality full-colour, A3-size and spiral-bound. Each month features one of the 13 beautiful images that won our woodland birds photography competition. All photos showcase local bird species and were taken by talented local photographers in the Mount Alexander region of Central Victoria.

Calendars are $30 each and make an excellent gift.

Where to buy:
Mount Alexander Animal Welfare Opportunity Shop
12 Johnstone St, Castlemaine VIC

Shop opening hours:

• Tuesday 10 am – 3 pm
• Thursday 10 am – 3 pm
• Friday 10 am – 3 pm
• Saturday 10 am – 1 pm

For more information on the MAAW shop – click here
For more information on MAAW’s work – click here

Scarlet Robin by Ash Vigus features in our 2021 woodland birds calendar

 

Connecting Country again extends a special thank you to our talented volunteer graphic designer, Jane Satchell, and our 13 winning photographers, who generously donated their images to feature in the calendar. Many thanks also to MAAW op shop for their support in stocking our calendar.

Before and after the 2019-20 fires: ALA data showcase

Posted on 10 December, 2020 by Jacqui

The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is a collaborative, shared, digital infrastructure that pulls together Australian biodiversity data from multiple sources, making it accessible and usable. Connecting Country’s biodiversity monitoring programs deliver data to the ALA, via the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA). We use the ALA to keep and identify records of key native species in our region. The ALA helps create a detailed picture of Australia’s biodiversity for scientists, policy makers, environmental planners, land managers, industry and the general public.

The ALA has been busy building an impressive national dataset for all areas of Australia affected by the 2019-20 bushfire season. This dataset is now accessible. You can use the ALA to search for animal and plant species that may have been affected by the 2019-20 bushfires by mapping occurrence records logged in those areas, both before and after the fires.

The 2019-20 bushfires were some of the largest and most intense in living memory (photo: University of New South Wales Environment Recovery Project)

We have provided the following overview of this dataset, courtesy of the ALA website.

For ALA’s fact sheet on how to use the dataset – click here
To access the data via an interactive map – click here

Lizards loving warmer weather

Posted on 10 December, 2020 by Frances

If you think Australia has a national language, consider this lizard. Victorians commonly call it the stumpy-tail or shingleback. However it’s also known as the sleepy lizard (South Australia), bobtail (Western Australia), blue-tongue, bogeye, two-headed lizard and pinecone lizard. Naturally there are also Indigenous names such as Yoorn in the Nyungar language of south-west Western Australia. Some herpetologists (reptile scientists) claim this species has more common names than any other lizard!

Tiliqua rugosa is a short-tailed, slow-moving species of blue-tongued skink found across the arid to semiarid regions of southern and western Australia, including here in central Victoria. Its heavily armoured body can display various colours and patterns, ranging from dark brown to cream. It has a short, wide, stumpy tail that resembles its head, which may confuse predators. The tail also contains fat reserves, which it can draw on during lean times. This big skink is omnivorous. It eats snails and plants, spending much of its time browsing through vegetation for food. It is often seen sunning on roadsides, rocks or paved areas.

There are four subspecies. Tiliqua rugosa asper is the subspecies we find in central Victoria. They pair for life and over the course of their long life (20-30 years), a couple will annually come together to mate and rear their young.

With the weather warming up, you may notice the odd stumpy-tail lizard or other reptile in your neighbourhood. The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) recently published an excellent article describing some practical things you can do to help them:

To read the ABC article – click here

Stumpy-tailed lizard enjoying a snack in Barkers Creek (photo by Bonnie Humphreys)

North Central CMA seeking local landholders for carbon projects

Posted on 10 December, 2020 by Ivan

Connecting Country has partnered with the North Central Catchment Management Authority (North Central CMA) on many projects, including our Prickly Plants for Wildlife project over the past few years. We hope to deliver further projects in partnership with the North Central CMA over the coming years, as they begin to implement their renewed Regional Catchment Strategy 2021-2027

We received a request from the North Central CMA, seeking landholders across our region who are interested in supporting large-scale carbon projects on their properties. Please read on for more information. To view the original article published in the North Central Chat newsletter – click here

Expression of Interest – Carbon landholder register in the north central region

The North Central CMA is actively looking to support large scale carbon projects across our catchment as we recognise the potential contribution of the carbon market to support our Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS) objectives, such as climate change mitigation, retention and protection of on farm biodiversity, biodiversity links, stewardship and increasing soil health.

It is our intention to set up an interested landholder register to allow us to facilitate and enable large scale projects with our NRM partners in the region. We would like to hear from any landholders that would be interested in participating in the carbon market – soil or revegetation. As a guide we have provided the following criteria, but we encourage anyone with an interest to register their details with us as opportunities may exist for smaller sites. Keep in mind that a longer-term commitment would be required on these projects.

Criteria for land:

• The preference would be for 50 hectares or more but 20+ hectares would be acceptable OR
• Long stretch of riparian zones
• Ideally area should provide opportunity for biodiversity, biolinks and indigenous outcomes
• Looking for ecosystems that hold carbon

Once we have an established list of interested landholders, we will be in contact in early 2021 with next steps. We will not share any personal information without your permission. The intention of this exercise will be to create project scale – if we get enough of you onboard then we are more likely to have a viable project. 

Please contact: info@nccma.vic.gov.au

North Central CMA

The Kooyoora Connections project is supported by the North Central CMA and is a good example of a carbon positive project (photo by Kirsten Hutchison of Trust for Nature)

Eltham Copper Butterfly update: 2019-20 surveys

Posted on 3 December, 2020 by Frances

The Eltham Copper Butterfly is one of our most treasured and interesting threatened species, and we are fortunate enough to have the largest population in the world right here in the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria. This special little butterfly has recently recieved some much-needed attention, attracting funding for three separate projects in our region.

During 2019, Connecting Country obtained funding from the Mount Alexander Shire Council to increase community awareness and education regarding the butterfly, and to support citizen science monitoring in key locations to learn more about the local populations. We worked closely with local ecologists Elaine Bayes and Karl Just who, with support from Wettenhall Environment Trust, continued their vital work on mapping local Eltham Copper Butterfly habitat and distribution. We also joined in the excellent Butterfly Celebration Day held in Castlemaine Botanical Gardens in November 2019.

A citizen science event in 2019 attracted a strong crowd and interest in the Eltham Copper Butterfly (photo: Frances Howe)

The Eltham Copper Butterfly is a small and attractive butterfly with bright copper coloring on the tops of its wings visible during the summer flight season (photo: Elaine Bayes)

We have recently received an update from our expert Eltham Copper Butterfly (ECB) enthusisast, Elaine Bayes, regarding the 2020-21 ECB monitoring program. We admire Elaine, and her colleague Karl Just, for their extensive work on this threatened species. Without such dedicated individuals in our community, this special little butterfly might be more trouble that it already is.

Please enjoy the following update by Elaine Bayes

Due to Coronavirus we are not running any group ECB monitoring this season, however we would really appreciate it if anyone wants to get out and carry on searching for ECB habitat and/or ECB flying.

Priorities this year are:

• Continue to search for ECB in the red and pink sections of Kalimna Park using the map we collated last year – see attached geo-referenced kalimna map with grids and yellow dots for last years ECB records and blue dots for past records) and ADULT method sheets.
• And/OR replicate overall method we did at kalimna park re mapping ECB HABITAT at the 2 other ECB populations in Campbells Creek and Chewton – see dingo park map which has both sites on it and ECB habitat method.

Contact me if you have any questions or need me to explain the methods better.

Below is an update on the amazing success we had with this methodology last year at Kalimna and how it protected ECB from the planned burns that occurred there last autumn.

Eltham Copper Butterfly update from 2019 to 2020 surveys – Elaine Bayes 

Last summer we were very lucky to receive support to carry out Eltham Copper Butterfly (ECB) surveys in Kalimna Park as well as many educational initiatives to promote this species locally.

During the October 2019 – January 2020 ECB flying period, the ECB at Kalimna park were surveyed by ecologists Elaine Bayes and Karl Just as part of a flora and fauna assessment for the Dja Dja Wurrung. In addition to this work the ECB Monitoring Group which now has 45 members, carried out additional surveys searching for ECB throughout this period.  Collectively Karl, the group and I found: 113 flying adults, located 5 new ECB sub-populations and extended the area of known ECB occupancy from 3 ha (based on past data from 2005-2015) to 8 ha in 2019-2020 (this area is a polygon around ECB seen during this period, with 10m buffer).

In order to ensure that our efforts were focussed we only searched areas that supported the Sweet Bursaria host plant. To do this we developed a 50m grid across the park and carried out a rapid assessment of numbers of Bursaria plants within each grid and colour coded them (time spent was 48 hours). Overall, we assessed all 225 ha of Kalimna Park of which 73.25 ha was ranked prime potential ECB habitat. Using this map we focussed our ECB searches only in areas with medium to high density of Bursaria. The total survey effort or time spent searching for ECB in this period was 187 hours.

Our ECB habitat mapping and adult ECB records were all shared with DELWP, and a few members of the monitoring group met with Fire Operations Staff of DELWP, Bendigo prior to their Autumn 2020 burn in the hope that they could carry out the burn without burning the 8 ha of ECB habitat.  A large area of Kalimna Park was burnt, including patchy burns where some of the larger ECB colonies occur.

ECB at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens update 

Mount Alexander Shire Council have funded for the second year in a row, a survey of Eltham Copper Butterflies that in the northern section of the Botanic Gardens. Seven transects were established in this area in 2010 and were surveyed by DELWP from 2010-2012.  MASC then resurveyed these transects in 2019 and again this year.  Historically the botanic gardens ECB population provided evidence that ECB populations may move up to several hundred metres depending on local environmental conditions.  Previous studies of the gardens ECB indicated that they occurred on one of two ridges and that they moved from one ridge to the other.  I was always dubious as from my three years of surveys they were only ever seen on the western ridge.  So I was shocked last week to find that the only ECB I saw were on the eastern ridge!  However given that there has been a large number of years where the site was not surveyed, more consistent observations over time will support this.  This is more evidence that we need to protect not only where ECB occur but surrounding habitat that can support them so they can shift when conditions no longer support them.

Getting involved this summer 

If you would like to join the ECB monitoring group to help survey for the butterflies and their host Bursaria plants, please contact Elaine: rakali@outlook.com.au.

For information about the Eltham Copper Butterfly and its identification, see: https://connectingcountry.org.au/education-resources/eltham-copper-butterfly-in-central-victoria/

To learn more about this fascinating little butterfly, including ecology, distribution and information on how to identify this species from similar look-alike butterflies – click here. Please enjoy the following video , courtesy of the N-danger-D Youtube Channel, that has some excellent footage of this wonderful butterfly and symbiotic ant species.

2021 woodland bird calendars are back – in time for Christmas!

Posted on 3 December, 2020 by Frances

We are delighted to announce, due to popular demand, we have done a reprint of our 2021 Connecting Country woodland bird calendar. Our first print run quickly sold out and the feedback has been fantastic.

Better still, our friends at Mount Alexander Animal Welfare (MAAW) have kindly offered to sell the calendars via their excellent op shop in Castlemaine.

It took much love and effort to develop the 2021 calendar, but we think it was worth it. It looks stunning, thanks to the incredible talents of volunteer graphic designer Jane Satchell, and photographers who captured 13 excellent images that won our woodland birds photography competition.

The calendar is high-quality full-colour, A3-size and spiral-bound. Each month features a local bird species, with all images taken by local photographers in the Mount Alexander region of Central Victoria.

Here are some comments from our happy customers:

• ‘Thanks so much for the calendars. The photos are really wonderful.’ – Heather
• ‘It’s beautiful. Thank you so much’ – Marita

Calendars are $30 each. We think these calendars make ideal Christmas gifts!

We have just 40 copies available, so get in quick!

Where to buy:
Mount Alexander Animal Welfare Opportunity Shop
12 Johnstone St, Castlemaine VIC

Shop opening hours:

Calendar front cover featuring a gorgeous image of a Weebill spotted in Maldon by talented local photographer, Albert Wright

 

Connecting Country would again like to extend a special thank you to our winning photographers, who generously donated their images to feature in the calendar.

Prickly plants for wildlife and community: McKenzie’s Hill Action & Landcare Group

Posted on 3 December, 2020 by Asha

Our ‘Prickly plants for wildlife and community’ project was coordinated by Connecting Country during 2020, in partnership with four local Landcare groups from across the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria. The project was made possible by generous support from the Albert and Barbara Tucker Foundation.

McKenzie’s Hill Action and Landcare Group is one of groups that collaborated with Connecting Country on this project. We supported groups with specialist botanical advice, developing local planting lists and planting hundreds of local-to-the-area (indigenous) understorey plants.

These understorey plants will help provide valuable food, nesting sites, and shelter for local woodland birds (photo: Connecting Country)

McKenzie’s Hill Action and Landcare Group planted 200 tubestock plants at two of the sites they regularly work on: Adelaide Gully and 70 foot Hill Reserve, near Castlemaine VIC. As a group, they have been working at these sites for many years to remove weeds and replace them with indigenous plants.

The sites have an established eucalypt canopy, so the group has been primarily focusing on planting shrubs and smaller understorey plants to increase diversity within the sites. Plants such as Hedge Wattle (Acacia paradoxa), Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa), Rosemary Grevillea (Grevillea rosmarinifolia), Bushy Needlewood (Hakea decurrens) and Tree Violet (Melicytus dentatus) are great dense species which provide protection and nesting sites for small birds and insects. Common Fringe-myrtle (Calytrix tetragona), Matted Bush-pea (Pultenaea pedunculata), Flax lilies (Dianella spp.) and Rice flowers (Pimelea spp.) provide a diversity of both flowering and lifeforms, valuable for a variety of different animals.

The groups have also installed nest boxes and provide resources for woodland birds and other animals through their planting.  They have spent hundreds of hours on these sites over many years. The plants added this year required around 30 hours of volunteering to do site preparation, planting, installing guards, and watering. Luckily, they managed to get most of the work done before COVID-19 restrictions began.

Since COVID-19 emerged, members have not been getting together to share a meal at their meetings, but the executive still meets online via Zoom when necessary. COVID-19 has limited the community engagement side of their work, by restricting numbers at their working bees to keep people safe, and participants bringing their own tools and morning tea.

The group have managed to continue to do their volunteer work despite the challenges. President of the McKenzie’s Hill Action and Landcare Group,  Jan Hall, said, ‘Our work helps keep the reserves healthy and supports the bird life in the area, an area which is fast becoming urbanised. As there aren’t public green spaces being provided as part of the developments, these reserves give people a chance to get out and walk in the bush and be closer to nature.’

McKenzie’s Hill Action and Landcare Group encourage interested community members to get in touch with them about care of the local reserves and future activities. To find their contact details – click here

McKenzie’s Hill Action & Landcare Group volunteers busy planting 100 prickly plants for habitat (photo: Sylvia Phillips)

Good news for Coliban Platypus population

Posted on 3 December, 2020 by Frances

A platypus survey recently conducted by the Australian Platypus Conservancy (APC), in partnership with Malmsbury Landcare Group, succeeded in capturing 8 animals (6 males, 2 females) in a 3-kilometre segment of the Coliban River in and near Malmsbury township in central Victoria. APC’s latest newsletter provided the following update on their work.

The survey’s main objective was to replicate APC surveys previously carried out in 2001 (near the start of the millennium drought, when 10 animals were recorded in the study area) and again in 2010 (shortly after the drought ended, when only two animals were recorded). Given that only a fraction of the animals found in an area is expected to enter nets on any given night, the recent results are consistent with platypus abundance having now recovered to pre-drought levels.

This is not particularly surprising given that a female platypus matures at the age of two years and average fertility in reasonably productive habitats is 1.9 babies per litter. The low number of females encountered in the most recent survey probably reflects the fact that it was carried out in October, when many breeding females will be spending a lot of their time in a nesting burrow – either incubating eggs or caring for recently hatched young.

Compelling evidence indicates that platypus numbers have declined or disappeared in many waterways across the species’ range. Photo: APC

Both the 2001 and 2020 surveys found:

• At least one platypus was captured at every site where nets were set.
• Two males and two females were recorded at Malmsbury township.
• There was evidence that a healthy rakali population coexists with platypus in the study area.

Viewed at the catchment scale, the Malmsbury platypus sub-population is part of a much larger group of animals occupying around 50 kilometres of river channel between Malmsbury Reservoir and Lake Eppalock. Although not all of this area will necessarily be characterised by platypus densities that are as high as those at Malmsbury, recent eDNA evidence indicates that animals occur widely, with the pattern of recent platypus sightings also helping to confirm that this part of the Coliban system holds a regionally important platypus population that should be managed with care to ensure its long-term survival.

Considered at a more local scale, the substantial pools located in Malmsbury township are likely to support successful platypus reproduction in both wet and dry years, with two females captured there in both 2001 and 2020. The high quality of this habitat reflects not only the pools’ size but also the provision of reliable outflows from Malmsbury Reservoir and many years of hard work by Malmsbury Landcare members to protect and improve adjoining riparian vegetation.

To visit the Australian Platypus Conservancy’s website – click here
To read all their latest platypus news – click here