Hot off the press: 2021 woodland birds calendar

Posted on 17 September, 2020 by Ivan

We would like to introduce you to our much-awaited 2021 Connecting Country woodland birds calendar. It has taken much love and effort to develop 13 of the top competition-winning images into a full-blown printed calendar, but we think it has been well 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 A3 size and each month features a local bird species, with all images taken by local photographers within the Mount Alexander region of Central Victoria.

Calendars are $30 each, plus $15 postage if required.

We have 30 copies for sale, in a limited print run, for the first 30 people to email us with an order.

The front cover features a gorgeous photo from Albert Wright, of a Weebill photographed at Maldon.

Connecting Country would like to extend a huge thank you to our community for the fantastic entries into our 2020 woodland birds photography competition. We received a very high number of quality entries for this competition – far more than we expected. We would also like to thank the winning photographers, who generously donated their images to feature in the calendar.

The calendar theme is woodland birds and the competition was open to all Connecting Country members and the broader community. The aim of the competition was to highlight our special woodland bird community and share the passion and skills of our passionate local photographers, as well as produce this beautifully printed calendar for 2021.

A three person judging panel reviewed all the entries and awarded 13 winners to feature in Connecting Country’s 2021 woodland birds calendar – one for the front cover of the calendar, and one bird for each month of the year.

Please email us at ivan@connectingcountry.org.au if you’d like a copy put aside for you, and we will email you payment instructions and pickup details.

Biological controls as a weed management tool – 6 October 2020

Posted on 17 September, 2020 by Jacqui

Biological control is the practice of managing a weed or pest animal by the deliberate use of one or more natural enemies (biocontrol agents) that suppress it. Land managers, landholders and citizen scientists can each play a role in establishing and monitoring populations of identified biocontrols.  Once established, populations of biocontrol agents can build up to very high levels within a weed infestation. Eventually their numbers can build up to slow the spread or reproduction of a weed, allowing more time for other control methods to be used.

Connecting Country is pleased to support this free online workshop about weed biocontrols hosted by DELWP’s Weeds at the Early Stage of Invasion (WESI) project with Tarrengower Cactus Control Group and the Weed Society of Victoria.

The workshop will feature Dr Raelene Kwong and Greg Lefoe, Senior Research Scientists from Agriculture Victoria’s Research Division. They will explain the ins and outs of what is involved with biological controls as part of your weed management tool kit, and how you can be involved in your patch.

Special local guest presenter, Lee Mead, President of the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group, will provide an exciting local case study. Their community group has used biological controls to combat Wheel Cactus (Opuntia robusta) around Tarrengower and Maldon in Central Victoria.

Biocontrols can play an important role as part of an integrated weed management approach. For tips on getting started with weed control see Connecting Country’s fact sheet – click here

If you want to learn more about biocontrols and get a hands-on community perspective, register for the workshop via the link below. More information about biocontrols is also available via the Bio Control Hub website, a portal set up specifically for biocontrol projects within the Atlas of Living Australia – click here

Date: Tuesday 6 October 2020 from 10.00 – 11.30 am

Location: Online with link provided on registration

To register visit: click here

For more information contact: Rebecca James (rebecca.james@delwp.vic.gov.au)

After this event you have the option to also join the Weed Society of Victoria’s 2020 Annual General Meeting, from 11.30 am. All are welcome.

Last chance to book for AGM 2020

Posted on 17 September, 2020 by Ivan

Our first ever online Annual General Meeting (AGM) is fast approaching. We currently have 77 bookings, so get in fast for our remaining tickets to join what’s sure to be a great event and a fun afternoon.

Please join us for this free event on Saturday 26 September 2020 at 2.00 pm for a refreshingly brief AGM and two rather special guest presenters. We will even provide some virtual refreshments!

Our AGM 2020 speakers:

• Jess Lawton (Connecting Country) will present on ‘Connecting Country’s ten years of ecological monitoring‘. Jess is our treasured Monitoring Coordinator, PhD candidate and resident phascogale expert. Join Jess on a journey through Connecting Country’s long-term monitoring programs, with a focus on nest boxes and bird surveys.

• Jacinta Humphrey (La Trobe University) will present on ‘The impact of urbanisation on birds’. Jacinta is a PhD student at La Trobe University and member of the Research Centre for Future Landscapes. Join Jacinta to hear about her research into the impact of expanding urbanisation on wildlife, with a focus on birds – a key issue raised by the local community during our recent Habitat Health Check project. To view Jacinta’s engaging video summarising her project – click here

Everyone is welcome! This is a free event but please register with Trybooking so we can send you the online meeting link prior to the event. To register – click here

AGM formalities:

• Click here to download the AGM 2020 agenda
• Click here to download a committee nomination form
• Click here to download the proxy voting form
• Click here to complete a membership application
• Click here to download the 2019 AGM minutes
• Click here to download the 2020 financial audit report

Please note only current Connecting Country members can vote in the AGM.

If you have any questions, please email info@connectingcountry.org.au or call (03) 5472 1594.

Reminder to book for AGM 2020 with speakers Jacinta Humphrey and Jess Lawton

Posted on 8 September, 2020 by Ivan

Our first ever online Annual General Meeting (AGM) is fast approaching. Please join us for this free event on Saturday 26 September 2020 at 2.00 pm for a refreshingly brief AGM and two rather special guest presenters. We will even provide some virtual refreshments!

Our AGM 2020 speakers:

• Jess Lawton (Connecting Country) will present on ‘Connecting Country’s ten years of ecological monitoring‘. Jess is our treasured Monitoring Coordinator, PhD candidate and resident phascogale expert. Join Jess on a journey through Connecting Country’s long-term monitoring programs, with a focus on nest boxes and bird surveys.

• Jacinta Humphrey (La Trobe University) will present on ‘The impact of urbanisation on birds’. Jacinta is a PhD student at La Trobe University and member of the Research Centre for Future Landscapes. Join Jacinta to hear about her research into the impact of expanding urbanisation on wildlife, with a focus on birds – a key issue raised by the local community during our recent Habitat Health Check project. To view Jacinta’s engaging video summarising her project – click here

Everyone is welcome! This is a free event but please register with Trybooking so we can send you the online meeting link prior to the event. To register – click here

AGM formalities:

• Click here to download the AGM 2020 agenda
• Click here to download a committee nomination form
• Click here to download the proxy voting form
• Click here to complete a membership application
• Click here to download the 2019 AGM minutes
• Click here to download the 2020 financial audit report

Please note only current Connecting Country members can vote in the AGM.

If you have any questions, please email info@connectingcountry.org.au or call (03) 5472 1594.

Economics of the Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program: a strong case for investment

Posted on 8 September, 2020 by Ivan

An economic analysis of the value of the Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program demonstrated that the $4 million program generates $31 million in value – a benefit cost ratio of more than 7:1.  The report was commissioned by Landcare Victoria Inc. and prepared by the global consulting firm RPS Group with the aim of quantifying return on investment.  It also demonstrated that the wider social cohesion created by Landcare Facilitators and their activities is valued at $87 million.

These results show that Landcare Facilitators play a crucial ‘leveraging’ role for Landcare in Victoria. While Landcare projects deliver net benefits in and of themselves, the facilitators amplify the scope and scale of Landcare activities across the state.  The report provides a powerful argument for continued government support of the Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program.

To view the ‘Landcare Victoria – return on investment’ report – click here

February 2020 Landcare Link-up (photo by Jacqui Slingo)

The Landcare movement in Australia brings together a diverse community of staff, landowners and volunteers. Landcarers support rural and regional communities by restoring Australia’s natural environment, improving the sustainability of agricultural activities and building resilience in communities. Landcare projects attract investment and in-kind support into these communities, provide opportunities for volunteering, and deliver substantial outcomes from relatively small investments.

The State Government Victoria invests in the Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program as part of it’s support for Landcare activities across the state. The program funds facilitators to support Landcarers around the state to deliver outcomes by building partnerships, securing grants and supporting project delivery. In 2019, Landcare Facilitators supported 689 groups across Victoria, playing a major role in initiating, securing funding for, delivering, and increasing the impact of Landcare projects.

How you can help

If you’d like to help secure future investment in Landcare in Victoria:

• Contact your local Member of Parliament.
• Tell them about how important the Landcare Facilitator Program is for your Landcare Group and community, and about the terrific return on public investment the program generates.
• Ask them to ensure they support continued funding for the Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program and Landcare Grants Program in the upcoming Victorian state budget.

Connecting Country Acacia workshop with Friends of Campbells Creek Landcare Group in 2019 (photo by Gen Kay)

Trees, farming and soil biodiversity webinar – 11 September 2020

Posted on 8 September, 2020 by Frances

We know that our efforts to restore native vegetation have multiple benefits to the environment and our social services. Soil Science Australia and the University of New England are presenting an online webinar about the benefits to soils associated with planting native vegetation. It will be a fascinating and informative event, delivered by an expert in the field, Associate Professor Brian Wilson.

Trees, Farming and Soil Biodiversity: the intersect between science and practice for sustainable soils
Friday 11 September 2020
2.00 pm to 3.15 pm AEST

The Environmental Trust Grant NSW funded work that began in 2018 to investigate the environmental benefits derived from mixed native tree and shrub plantings in Australian landscapes on soil biodiversity. The primary goal was to test if native trees and shrub establishment improves or restores soil biodiversity and their associated functions.

They measured changes in soil properties and soil biota for environmental plantings over time, and compared results with reference sites (agricultural paddocks, native vegetation remnants) established since mid-1990s across New South Wales to determine the optimum soil biodiversity outcomes of environmental plantings.

Four speakers will have 10 minutes each with opportunities for questions after each speaker (about 5 minutes):

• Assoc Prof Brian Wilson – Soil organic matter and carbon across a chronosequence of environmental plantings in SE Australia
• Ms Apsara Amarasinghe – Response of soil microbial population to environmental plantings through time
• Assoc Prof Lisa Lobry de Bruyn  – Ant nest density and distribution – a potential response indicator of environmental tree planting for ecological restoration
• Dr Oliver Knox  – Measuring change in soil function for diverse stakeholders: matching soil science with on-ground practice

For further information and to register – click here

Stormwater: a great environmental dilemma – 15 September 2020

Posted on 8 September, 2020 by Ivan

The Victorian Environmental Friends Network has a free online event that might be of interest to our community, particularly those living around the waters of Campbells Creek and Forest Creek in Central Victoria. While there have been many improvements in approaches and technologies for filtering storm waters before they enter our waterways, they are often absent from older systems of water management.

Title: Stormwater: Australia’s great environmental dilemma
Date: Tuesday 15 September 2020 at 7 pm 
Presenter: Dr Dave Sharley

This webinar will focus on the impact of stormwater pollution on the health of our urban waterways. It will discuss industry solutions and provide guidance on simple things we can all implement to reduce stormwater pollution.

Topics may include:

• What is stormwater?
• Urban sprawl pressures impacting our local waterways
• Water Sensitive Urban Design
• Assessing storm-water pollution
• Finding major sources of pollution
• Linking scientific data to community education and awareness programs

Dr David Sharley is an environmental scientist with over twenty years of experience working in water and environmental services. Dave worked at the University of Melbourne for over 10 years researching how pollutants can stress and change aquatic population structures and decrease the resilience of aquatic ecosystems.
Building upon his 20 years of research experience, Dave founded Bio2Lab in 2017 with Steve Marshall to develop and offer novel water quality monitoring tools to the water industry. Dave enjoys developing new ways to communicate scientific outcomes to governments, industry and the community, and has published many articles on the ecological impact of urban development and land management.

Dave’s main areas of interest include aquatic pollution, real-time monitoring, pollution tracking, environmental assessment, urban wetland ecology, integrated catchment management and linking environmental research outcomes to policy.

Tickets are free but is booking required.
To book visit: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/117482119181

Forest Creek in Castlemaine during the floods of 2011 (photo: Connecting country archives)

Apply now to join Community Conservationists

Posted on 8 September, 2020 by Ivan

Remember The Wild is now seeking applications for involvement in their 2020-21 Community Conservationists initiative, which aims to raise the profile of the people in our community who are dedicated to conserving our natural world. Remember The Wild is a talented bunch of people who use storytelling to reconnect communities with the local environment and help people remember why the wild matters.

We know many readers are involved in the important work of protecting our local bush and are worthy of support for your years, in many cases decades, of dedicated hard work that has transformed our landscape for the better.

As a past participant of the Community Conservationists initiative, we can say that Remember the Wild brilliantly captured Connecting Country’s habitat restoration and woodland bird monitoring program in the short video below. This has been a helpful tool to promote our work and secure funding for further projects.

Successful applicants for the current round of Community Conservationists will receive a short film and support in digital communication and marketing. The application and participation are free.

Submissions close 21 September 2020

For more information visit the Remember the Wild website: https://www.rememberthewild.org.au/community-conservationists/

‘Tricky birds’ event delivered to a packed online audience

Posted on 3 September, 2020 by Ivan

Connecting Country set a new attendance record for our much-anticipated event, ‘Tricky Birds of central Victoria with Geoff Park and Chris Tzaros’ on Monday 24 August 2020. This online free event ‘sold out’ with 500 bookings recorded the day before the event. We were absolutely thrilled to host the all-star lineup of Box-Ironbark expert naturalists, Geoff Park and Chris Tzaros.

We were blown away by the level of interest in our event. Our Facebook event page reached 112,000 people. We had 500 individuals register, including people from across Victoria, as well as New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory, plus some enthusiastic registrants from the United States!

Jess Lawton (Connecting Country Monitoring Coordinator) kicked-off the workshop with a short history of Connecting Country’s woodland bird monitoring program and a big thank you to our hard-working bird monitoring volunteers. Geoff covered the topic of identifying raptors and Chris focused on identifying thornbills of central Victoria, followed by an hour of interactive panel discussion and a chance to ask the experts those tricky bird watching questions. Both of the presentations were delivered with the passion and precision you would expect from Australia’s leading bird experts and photographers, with many beautiful images and helpful tips about identifying these look-a-like birds that are so difficult to distinguish.

Whistling Kite (photo by Geoff Park)

King Island Brown Thornbill (photo by Chris Tzaros)

The virtual Q and A panel worked effectively, despite the panel and hosts being up to 500 km apart, and the audience only having a text box to answer questions. Some of the topics covered were:

• Useful smartphone apps for bird watching
• Best binoculars for serious bird watchers
• Top spots in central Victoria for bird watching
• Tips on getting close to birds
• Migration of raptors and thornbills
• Differences in thornbill calls
• Thornbill interbreeding
• Where to find different thornbills in the forest/woodland structure
• Mantling behaviour in raptors
• Increase in Black Kite numbers in central Victoria
• Confusing and similar birds calls
• Mixed flocks composition

A copy of Geoff and Chris’s excellent presentations from the event are available for download:

• Geoff Park raptor presentation – click here
• Chris Tzaros thornbill presentation – click here

Geoff and Chris both used plates from the Australian Bird Guide, as well as their own photos from their presentations. If anyone wishes to reproduce or use any content from the presentations, we request they please contact Geoff or Chris first.

We apologise to anyone who wanted to attend the event but was unable to log in. We didn’t want to exclude anyone, but unfortunately our Zoom license only allowed a maximum of 500 attendees. We hope the presentations provide some good catch-up material.

Further information on our expert presenters

Geoff Park is a Newstead local legend, author of the highly popular ‘Natural Newstead’ blog, and Director of Natural Decisions Pty Ltd. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a Diploma of Education. His background is in landscape ecology, teaching and community education. He has a long standing interest and involvement with communities working to improve biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes.

To visit Geoff’s Natural Newstead blog on observations of flora, fauna and landscape in central Victoria – click here

Chris Tzaros  is author of the outstanding book ‘Wildlife of the Box-Ironbark Country’, a comprehensive guide to the mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians that live in this unique habitat. He holds a Masters degree in Conservation Ecology. His passionate interest in bird and wildlife photography has won him multiple ANZANG photography awards. Chris worked for Birdlife Australia for ten years and runs his own company, Birds Bush & Beyond, based in north-east Victoria.

For more information on Chris’s excellent ‘Wildlife of the Box-Ironbark Country’ book, with a new print edition on its way soon – click here

This event was part of our ‘Community for bush birds’ project supported by the Australian Government under the Communities Environment Program.

Birdata: Become a citizen science superhero

Posted on 1 September, 2020 by Jess

At Connecting Country, we love using the Birdata app, and we know that many of our friends and members love it too! It’s a simple way to make your bird observations count for science. We came across this event from Birdlife in Western Australia. However, they have opened it up to anyone who would like to learn to be a citizen science superhero. We think it may be of interest to our members. Here is what Birdlife Western Australia had to say about this event:

For more information: click here

Learn about soils and soil testing – spring 2020 webinars with Cath Botta

Posted on 1 September, 2020 by Jacqui

If you’re curious about soils, how to manage soils for productivity, and what’s going on under your feet, this is a prime opportunity to take the next step in your understanding of how soils function, their structure, biology and mineral make up.

Soil scientist and amazing educator Cath Botta will present the series through the Yea River Catchment Landcare Group with support from the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority. The Goulburn Broken catchment region lies directly to the east of our North Central catchment region in Victoria, and there is overlap in soil properties. Participants are welcome to register for one or all three webinar sessions. All three sessions will have general info about soils. There will be a Goulburn Broken soils component at the end of session 3, and if you find that is not relevant you’re most welcome to drop out when suits.

Your property’s soil is arguably your primary asset and you may well be allocating a good portion of your annual budget towards liming and/or some form of fertiliser. So, it makes sense to understand how your soil works – its biology, structure and minerals and how best to manage it productively and sustainably. This series of three webinars will cover soil health and soil testing basics through to the key components of your soil tests. Whether you are just starting out or have been taking soil tests for a while, one or all of these webinars will have something for you.

There is time scheduled between Sessions 1 and 2 to allow you to collect and send off soil samples and receive your results in preparation for Sessions 2 and 3.

During the webinars, we will be referring to the booklet ‘Understanding your soil test step-by-step’. You can request a free hard copy at registration.

To download a copy of ‘Understanding your soil test step-by-step’ – click here

All session times are 10 am to 12 pm:

• Session 1 – Monday 7 September 2020
• Session 2 – Monday 12 October 2020
• Session 3 – Thursday 15 October 2020

To register – click here 

For further information please contact Judy Brookes (juncball@bigpond.com).

This project is supported by Yea River Catchment Landcare Group and the Goulburn Broken CMA through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Operation Hollows targets illegal firewood collection

Posted on 27 August, 2020 by Frances

Dead trees and fallen logs play an essential role in our local Box-Ironbark forest ecosystems. They provide food and shelter for countless living organisms from fungi and plants to the invertebrates that sustain larger animals such as woodland birds and Brush-tailed Phascogales. Many of our local birds, reptiles and small marsupials also rely on tree hollows for nesting and shelter.

 When people collect firewood from our native forests, and remove standing dead trees and woody debris on the ground, they can contribute to a serious loss of biodiversity and affect the long-term viability of wildlife habitat. Therefore firewood collection requires careful management. While many of us rely on firewood to keep us warm over winter, we can make sure our firewood is from a sustainable source. The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Parks Victoria have launched a statewide operation to address the destruction of wildlife habitat caused by illegal firewood collection in Victoria’s forests, parks and reserves. Here are some details from DELWP.

Operation Hollows is targeting the unlawful removal of commercial quantities of firewood from public land, and suppliers of illegal firewood.

Australian owlet-nightjar uses a hollow in a dead tree (photo by Peter Turner)

Uncontrolled firewood collection can lead to the loss of important habitat such as hollow logs and dead trees. Habitat loss has a serious impact on iconic native species that rely on our forests to survive, such as the Powerful Owl, South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Greater Glider, Pygmy Possum and many others.

New IUCN Guidelines for connectivity conservation – webinar

Posted on 27 August, 2020 by Frances

Connecting Country exists to connect landscapes across the Mount Alexander region of Central Victoria. In ecology, landscape connectivity is often defined as ‘the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes movement among resource patches’. Landscape connectivity allows plants, animals and other organisms to disperse across the land and move between patches of habitat, affecting gene flow, local adaptation, extinction risk, colonisation, and the potential for plants and animals to cope with climate change.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has developed new Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors. Published in July 2020, the guidelines are based on the best available science and practice for maintaining, enhancing and restoring ecological connectivity among and between protected areas, other effective areas based conservation measures (OECMs) and other intact ecosystems.

The IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) includes the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG) based at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation in the beautiful Rocky Mountains at Bozeman, Montana (USA). This Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group is presenting a webinar about the new guidelines.

Session speakers will include lead author and Y2Y president and chief scientist, Jodi Hilty, as well as Stephen Woodley, Gary Tabor and Annika Keeley. Y2Y is the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation working to connect the wildlands and waters stretching from Yellowstone (USA) to Yukon (Canada).

An initial presentation will introduce the genesis of this work, discuss the main messages, and emphasise the recommendation for formal recognition of ecological corridors to serve as critical building blocks of ecological networks in conjunction with protected areas and other conservation measures.

Additional short presentations will highlight some of the featured 25 case studies demonstrating current approaches to connectivity conservation for different ecosystems and species, and at different spatial and temporal scales. Time will be reserved at the end of the session for questions and discussion.

This event is free and open to the public.

The Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group is holding the webinar is on Wednesday 2 September 2020 from 8 to 9:30 am USA Mountain Time. Unfortunately, the timing is not ideal for us in Central Victoria! This equates to 12 am midnight on the early morning of Thursday 3 September 2020 in Victoria, Australia.

To register for the webinar – click here

To download the IUCN Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors – click here

To learn more about the guidelines and why connectivity is important – click here

https://y2y.net/events/iucn-guidelines-for-connectivity-conservation-webinar/

Bird of the month: Red-browed Finch

Posted on 27 August, 2020 by Ivan

Welcome to our sixth 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 and a splendid image from Martin Tatton.

The small but charismatic Red-browed Finch

A fairly common sight in Castlemaine gardens is the small and beautiful Red-browed Finch. At first glance they may appear as a flock of small brown birds, but as they fly away you’ll see a flash of their red rumps. On closer inspection their red bill, with that distinctive finch shape for foraging seeds, and the red stripe through the eye, become apparent. They can be quite bold, which is how Martin got some lovely photos on his phone, at a friend’s place in Castlemaine (pre-COVID-19).

Martin’s photo of a Red-browed Finch, taken with his phone (photo by Martin Tatton)

Damian Kelly writes about this distinctive finch with its red flash of colour:

‘Chances are that any birds you see around your house are locals. They are largely a sedentary species with only local movements outside the main breeding season. In mountainous areas there is some evidence of altitudinal movement, with birds moving to lower elevations in winter. Several banding studies have shown 99.9% of birds are found less than 10 km from nesting sites. Some studies have shown that birds rarely move more than 400 m from their main territory, often near water.

Red-browed Finch with nesting material in its bill (photo by Damian Kelly)

If you watch them feeding you will notice that they break up seeds to get the main contents and discard the husks. They normally do not eat seeds whole. Although mainly seed eaters, they will also take insects if available.

They are monogamous, and both birds incubate and feed the young. Pair bonding remains constant throughout the year, even when moving in flocks outside the breeding season. Sometimes groups nest communally with several nests in a tree. In Victoria, the breeding usually occurs from August to April and a single pair may have up to three clutches in a season.

Red-browed Finch nest (photo by Damian Kelly)

Nests are an untidy collection of grass, twigs, feathers, wool and bits of string, with a tunnel entrance. Parents and young continue to roost in the nest for several weeks after hatching. Outside breeding season they also utilise roosting nests that look like breeding nests but are unlined. Up to six birds have been recorded roosting in these nests.

Around Castlemaine they are common and widespread and can be found in gardens and along the creeks (including the Forest Creek Trail). They are adaptable and can be found nesting in non-native plants as well as natives.’

A big thank you to contributors to this edition of Bird of the Month – Jane Rusden and Damian Kelly – for their amazing knowledge, and to Martin Tatton for his photo.

For more information about these birds and to listen to the call – click here

Red-browed Finch nest. Ph

oto by Damian Kelly

Indigenous plant use: a new resource

Posted on 27 August, 2020 by Ivan

We recently discovered a very comprehensive and useful booklet specifically designed for anyone interested in Indigenous plant use, including Landcare and community groups, schools, revegetation practitioners and gardeners. If you don’t have a property or garden, this booklet is still of value, as it aims to illuminate Indigenous perspectives of indigenous plants.

‘Indigenous plant use – A booklet on the medicinal, nutritional and technological use of indigenous plants’ was produced by Zena Cumpston at the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) Hub in Melbourne, which is funded by the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program. The guide is based on plants from Kulin Country, which incorporates five different aboriginal groups from southern Victoria, and includes many plants that are found in Central Victoria and valued by Dja Dja Wurrung people. By choosing plants specifically from the Country you are on, you will not only increase the plants’ chances of survival but help reintroduce these plants to the landscape and add to the biodiversity of your area.

To download a copy of the booklet – click here

Read on for more information on how the booklet came about.

In 2019, the University of Melbourne was transformed by the breathtaking influx of 40,000 plants native to Kulin Country that literally breathed new (ancient) life into the site. These plants took centre stage at The Living Pavilion, an arts/science event that aspired to forefront the University’s Parkville campus as an Aboriginal place: a place of belonging. The Parkville campus is built on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri peoples of the Woi Wurrung language group who have belonged to and been custodians of these lands for 65,000+ years.

As part of the plant exhibition, The Living Pavilion’s lead researcher, Barkandji woman Zena Cumpston, used signage to educate people about the different plant species’ cultural and ecological significance. This plant research was so popular that many participants asked how they could access this information after the event and if there was a resource available that synthesised this work. Further, greening practitioners, schools and community groups have been contacting Zena to ask for more information and to discuss their educational aspirations to embed understandings of Indigenous ecological knowledge into their gardens and activities.

This booklet contains edited and abridged versions of the information that accompanied the indigenous plants at The Living Pavilion. We share information about indigenous plant use, including the medicinal, nutritional and technological use of plants (such as traps, nets and weapons) developed over many, many millennia by Australia’s First Peoples. Mostly, we cover widely available eastern Kulin Nation plants, and some edible plants from further afield that can be grown successfully in multiple Australian climates.

All of the plant information has been edited to fit onto labels that you can print, laminate and use in your garden. These labels provide an ongoing opportunity to learn on Country: gardeners and visitors will be able to interact with plants, smell, touch and taste, whilst they learn. This is an Indigenous way of knowing and learning, it is experiential learning: learning through doing, smelling, tasting, seeing, feeling, sharing and talking. The plants are presented from an Indigenous perspective; Latin names are second not first. Where possible we have also included information about the animals the plants benefit, in line with the holistic approaches to the environment so important to Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

Yam-daisy or Microseris walteri (photo by Robert Macrae)

Get ready for AGM 2020

Posted on 20 August, 2020 by Frances

For the first time ever Connecting Country is holding our Annual General Meeting (AGM) online. Please join us for this free event on Saturday 26 September 2020 at 2.00 pm for a refreshingly brief AGM and two rather special guest presenters.

Brush-tailed Phascogale (photo: Jess Lawton)

Jess Lawton (Connecting Country) will present on ‘Connecting Country’s ten years of ecological monitoring‘. Jess is our treasured Monitoring Coordinator, PhD candidate and resident phascogale expert. Join Jess on a journey through Connecting Country’s long-term monitoring programs, with a focus on nest boxes and bird surveys.

Birds at bath (photo: Frances Howe)

Jacinta Humphrey (La Trobe University) will present on ‘The impact of urbanisation on birds’. Jacinta is a PhD student at La Trobe University and member of the Research Centre for Future Landscapes. Join Jacinta to hear about her research into the impact of expanding urbanisation on wildlife, with a focus on birds – a key issue raised by the local community during our recent Habitat Health Check project. To view Jacinta’s engaging video summarising her project – click here

Everyone is welcome! Please register via trybooking here so that we can send you the link to the meeting as the event approaches. 

If you have any questions, please email info@connectingcountry.org.au or call (03) 5472 1594.

AGM formalities:

• Click here to download the AGM 2020 agenda
• Click here to download a committee nomination form
• Click here to download the proxy voting form
• Click here to complete a membership application
• Click here to download the 2019 AGM minutes
• Click here to download the 2020 financial audit report

Please note only current Connecting Country members can vote in the AGM.

Treasure-hunting in the Goldfields

Posted on 20 August, 2020 by Asha

Yam-daisy (Microseris lanceolata) by Robert Macrae

We’re delighted to present a very special guest blogger: Asha Bannon. Asha will be known to many from her role as Landcare Facilitator for the Mount Alexander Region with Connecting Country. She is currently on extended leave, but took out time to prepare this for us.

What is special to you about the land around us? We have many treasures in our local bushland, often hiding in plain sight.

Next time you go for a walk, focus on tuning in to something new around you. I know I am usually on the lookout for birds, searching for signs of movement and bird calls, so it takes a shift in awareness for me to stop and take a closer look at the tiny plants and fungi near my feet. Perhaps you could take a magnifying glass out to look at mosses and insects, or take a few moments to close your eyes and purely listen to what’s around you. In these times when we need to shelter in place for a while, there are always new adventures to be had by discovering the different dimensions all around us.

The name of our bioregion, ‘Goldfields’, comes from the gold-mining in our history that drastically changed our landscapes. But it is important to remember that we also have an abundance of special plants, animals, and fungi which we should value like treasure, many of which share that golden colour. Trace Balla captured this sentiment in her book, ‘Landing with wings’ (picture shared here with permission).

Page from ‘Landing with wings’ by Trace Balla (shared here with permission)

Examples include common species, such as Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) which is flowering in abundance right now, as well as threatened and rare species like Murnong (Microseris lanceolata) and Eltham Copper Butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida). And the list goes on!

Tell us in the comments some of your favourite golden plants, animals, fungi, etc., and have a chat about them with your friends too to share the love for these treasures.

We have put together a simple worksheet with some easy-to-spot golden treasures to kick start your own checklist. Click here to download a copy, or you can make your own, either with golden treasures or another dimension of nature you’d like to explore. If you can’t get out into nature at the moment, click here to explore some Natural Newstead blog posts as the next best thing.

Asha Bannon

Climate science webinar: download now available

Posted on 20 August, 2020 by Ivan

In June 2020, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) hosted two online webinars regarding climate change projections in Victoria. These proved to be very popular and we received several inquiries from community members who were keen to obtain a recording of the webinars, so they could show others or catch up on the latest climate change projections. The Climate Science and Communications team at DELWP subsequently provided the following information on how to access the webinars.

Thanks to those of you who were able to listen in to the webinars held by DELWP’s climate change area in late June 2020. We’re pleased to be able to send you a package of materials from the two webinars. Apologies for the delay in getting these materials out.

Here are the recordings of both webinars:

Webinar 1 – Climate change in Victoria – past, present and future (24 June): https://publish.viostream.com/play/ny1ykcsn7fz45n

Webinar 2 – Victorian Climate Projections 2019 – findings and tips for interpreting (26 June): https://publish.viostream.com/play/ny1ykcsn7fafhp

Climate Science and Communications team

Environment and Climate Change | Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Level 1, 8 Nicholson St, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002
PO Box 500, East Melbourne, 8002
E: climate.science@delwp.vic.gov.au

What is a climate future plot?

Posted on 13 August, 2020 by Ivan

You may have heard the terms ‘climate future plot‘, ‘climate-resilient landscapes‘ or ‘climate-ready revegetation‘, but what do they actually mean? Well, in simple terms, they refer to the use of climate change modelling to plan for revegetation, by using suitable indigenous plants sourced from places with climates similar to that predicted at the revegetation site in decades to come (usually hotter and drier places). Obviously there is a lot of science behind this new and emerging revegetation technique, but we are starting to see working examples in Tasmania and Victoria, which is heartening.

We’ve found Landcarers and landholders in the Mount Alexander region are increasingly concerned about the future viability of their revegetation work, given recent weather patterns and future climate predictions. Many have seen their revegetation plantings die in recent years due to heat and water stress, and some have even stopped planting.

Connecting Country is seeking to address this issue. We’re looking for  funding to establish some climate future plots right here in the Mount Alexander region. These specially designed areas of ‘climate-ready’ revegetation would incorporate plants grown from seed both collected locally and from other regions (typically hotter, drier regions to our north). This increases the likelihood that plants will survive as climate impacts intensify. We would carefully design the project, obtain appropriate seed, grow tubestock and find suitable plot locations. Once planted, we would collaborate with citizen scientists to establish an ongoing monitoring program to measure the long-term survival and growth of the plants. This would provide valuable information to guide future revegetation planting.

An excellent working example of a climate-ready revegetation project is at Bush Heritage’s Nardoo Hills Reserve near Wedderburn, Victoria, where climate change is causing extensive dieback of Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) and Yellow Box (E. melliodora) trees. To address this dieback, the revegetation research project has been designed to provide long-term guidance on viable, climate-ready eucalypt revegetation options for the reserve and this region using a strategy called ‘climate-adjusted provenancing’. The research trial will run over many decades but they should gain valuable results and insights each year.

Traditional revegetation programs use locally sourced seed, based on the expectation that they’re the most suited to the local environment. For long-lived species like eucalypts this approach is now considered high risk due to the changing climate.

Nardoo Hills Reserve die-back of eucalyptus species (Photo: Bush Heritage)

To read more about Bush Heritage’s climate-ready revegetation project – click here

Please enjoy the following video below, courtesy of Bush Heritage Australia, that highlights the challenges and achievements at Nardoo Hills.

All aboard the love train: echidna playdate

Posted on 13 August, 2020 by Ivan

We all know and love Tanya Loos, former Connecting Country employee, bird watching superstar, science writer and committed naturalist. We are lucky enough to have Tanya as a guest blogger this week, presenting her wisdom on the rarely encountered echidna train. Tanya is now working with Birdlife Australia, coordinating communications and engagement at a national scale. She has also written the much loved Daylesford Nature Diary, which was published a few years ago. Please enjoy her article below highlighting one of the most visually pleasurable phenomena in our region. 

In the higher altitude foothill forests, the local wattles usually flower in late August and September. The silver wattles are blooming in the Wombat Forest and surrounds:  a few weeks early this year. One reliable sign of early spring is right on cue – the appearance of amorous echidnas!

On that lovely warm day at the end of July – just before this cold snap, we were delighted to host a pair of echidnas mating in the garden bed!

The echidna is usually a solitary animal, with a large home range of between 30 to even 100 hectares. The echidna wanders around his or her territory using extraordinary muscular strength to move rocks and logs to get to tasty termites and ant nests in the ground, and if another echidna is encountered, they usually ignore each other.

This indifference turns into the complete opposite in mating season – 100% commitment and attention! A female of breeding age, around five years old, suddenly becomes hot property in the bushland, and randy males follow the female around, shadowing her every move. This behaviour forms what is known as an echidna train. An echidna train is composed of a female in front, with three or four males following head to tail behind, forming an echidna conga line. An echidna train may have as many as 11 males!

Echidna trains last for about six weeks. I have heard three reports in the past week so we are right in the thick of echidna breeding season now. Isn’t it lovely that nature keeps on with these lovely seasonal cycles, whilst our human world is dealing with so much strife right now. Such comfort!

Rarely seen but much loved, the Echidna train (Photo: Stuart King)

When it is mating time, another unusual behaviour occurs; the creation of a mating trench. The female decides she is ready to mate and partially buries her front legs and head into the soft dirt at the base of a tree or bush. The males get very excited at this point and start digging a trench around the female. If there is only one male the mating trench will be a simple straight trench, if there are several males, the trench becomes a large doughnut shaped ring that can be 20 cm deep. The males push and jostle each other in the trench until eventually only one male is in position to mate with the female. They mate on their side, with their openings (cloacas) pushed together.

Dogs find echidnas fascinating creatures! Please ensure that your dogs do not have the opportunity to disturb echidnas during this special time.

I am pretty good with recording my bird sightings on my Birdata app – but the others – not so good! But this sighting has prompted me to fire-up my Echidna CSI app and take the time to record this sighting!

Echidna CSI is a fantastic research project led by Tahlia Perry, a University of Adelaide PhD student. They are on Facebook here – the photos are just wonderful! Echidna trains aplenty, and it is so great to see the variation in echidna colour and amount of fur – the Tasmanian echidnas are very large and fluffy! The Echidna CSI project is also online here.

The Echidna CSI app is pretty easy to use with a smartphone – you can either record a sighting as you see it, or add a photo from your camera roll for older sightings. As my pics are not geo-tagged, I was directed to the Atlas of Living Australia website to upload my sighting/photo. It took about 15 minutes but now it is done!

The project is also collecting echidna scats for analysis. I have an echidna scat – I used to show it as part of my scats and bush detective displays to school kids, and I have to admit I would be sad to part with it! They are surprisingly big – a cylinder of tightly compressed sand/dirt with tiny fragments of insect exoskeleton throughout. But it is for a good cause!

As the team explain on their website: ‘We can get a lot of information about echidnas through the molecules in their scats. We can get out DNA and hormones to tell us who that echidna is, if it’s healthy, stressed or reproductively active. And so we can learn more about these wild populations without having to track or capture any of these animals.’

To the post office! : ) : )

Tanya Loos
https://tanyaloos.com/