Turn your property into habitat for woodland birds
Posted on 8 February, 2018 by Frances
Would you like your property to provide a home for threatened birds and marsupials? We’re looking for keen local landholders with at least three hectares of remnant vegetation to set aside for our local wildlife.
Only one week left to get involved in our Prickly Plants for Wildlife project!
Trees are great, but small native animals need shrubby habitat to find food, build nests and shelter from predators. Due to a long history of gold mining, timber cutting, grazing, and introduction of rabbits and weeds, many of our woodlands are missing these important prickly shrubs. We’ll work with you to develop a plan specific for your property and needs. As well as planting key understorey species to enhance existing native vegetation, actions can include watering, weed control, rabbit control and ongoing maintenance. We’ll also provide financial support and advice to implement the plan.
Requirements for eligibility:
- Local property: Your property must be located within the Shire of Mount Alexander, Victoria.
- An area of at least 3 ha of native vegetation: We need a project area of a minimum of three hectares containing some remnant vegetation, such as scattered eucalypt trees, or land that is in transition to native species after the removal of grazing. This project is not suited to revegetation of cleared paddocks.
- Commitment to project management: Eligible landholders will receive a site visit, management advice and a property habitat management plan. We’ll also provide some financial support for on-ground actions such as planting, watering, pest control and maintenance. On-ground work will be overseen by the landholder, with the help of local contractors. You will manage any contractors on your property. However, we’ll be available to offer advice and help with any questions.
How to apply:
Please fill in the expression of interest form (link below) and email it to bonnie@connectingcountry.org.au by Monday 19 February 2018. If you have any questions or would like to discuss, please call Bonnie at Connecting Country on 5472 1594.
Expression-Of-Interest-Form-Prickly-Plants
Bushy Needlewood – Hakea decurrens
A female eastern Spinebill, by Geoff Park
Spreading Wattle – Acacia genistifolia
Ecology artworks at Falkner Gallery until 25 March 2018
Posted on 5 February, 2018 by Tanya Loos
Two beautiful exhibitions by talented local artists are on now at the Falkner Gallery in Castlemaine: Margaret Cromb showing ‘Bushland’ and Greg Somerville showing ‘…stitched to everything…- musings of an errant ecologist.’
Margaret is one of Connecting Country’s most avid bird survey volunteers and we are really delighted that Margaret is generously donating 50% of the net proceeds of her exhibition sales to Connecting Country! Thanks Margaret – you are already so generous with your time!
Margaret’s ‘Bushland’ exhbition is a series of watercolours and woodcuts that describe the natural environment of Central Victoria. Margaret writes: ‘I consider myself to be especially blessed to live in an area surrounded by extensive forests and I continue to enjoy exploring them and becoming more familiar with the birds and animals which inhabit them. I have been involved over many years with Landcare especially in the Casey/ Cardinia area where I came from. More recently I have become involved with Connecting Country and its bird-monitoring program. Spending time in the bush looking for birds and being immersed in the environment is a great joy to me. I am impressed with Connecting Country and its focus on restoring natural habitat by educating and supporting landowners. So it is a pleasure to be able to donate to its activities through this exhibition.’
The works depict bushland scenes, individual trees and wildflowers, often including local birds. Margaret’s characteristic layering of colour washes can be seen in her representational portrayals of the local environment, about which she is so passionate.
Upstairs, Greg Somerville captures the local environment with different media – textiles and photography – but with similarly powerful effects. His training and early work as a biologist has led him to use the insights of science, especially ecology and Chaos Theory, in his artistic output. Greg writes:‘The imagery I utilise is grounded in the patterns, textures and minutiae of the bioregion in which I live. They are also informed by my knowledge of biological structures, the energies and relationships found in ecosystems, within the micro and macroscopic….The patterns of water drops on leaves, the way lichen spreads on sandstone or the manner in which trees co-inhabit the landscape is every bit as revelatory as the great texts, painting or musical composition.’
His abstracted quilted works and his photographs use detailed patterns, textures and layers to suggest the complexities and subtleties of nature.
Both exhibitions are on now and continue until 25 March 2018, with 50% of the net proceeds from Margaret’s work being donated to support Connecting Country.
Please note Falkner Gallery’s revised hours for 2018: Wed 1-5, Thurs–Sat 11-5 and Sunday by appointment. The gallery is at 35 Templeton St, Castlemaine.
Weed guides published thanks to the cactus warriors
Posted on 16 January, 2018 by Tanya Loos
Many congratulations to the The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group (TCCG) for the creation of an innovative series of weed brochures that are are specific to the five wards in Mount Alexander Shire. The brochures are available for download on the links below, and also as hard copies at the Mount Alexander Shire offices.
TCCG President Lee Mead writes about the project for our blog:
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group (TCCG) recently completed a project producing some new brochures about weed control. This project was funded and supported by the Mt. Alexander Shire Council. Five brochures were created, one specific for each of the five wards within our Shire. The brochures highlight the most problematic weeds in each ward and encourage landowners to manage their weeds by providing essential information.
A field of Wheel Cactus
The idea for these brochures was inspired by the need to reach the landowners who are not controlling Wheel Cactus on their properties. Most landowners that don’t control Wheel Cactus infestations are absentee owners or new owners who are unaware of their weed responsibilities.
These problems are not exclusive to Wheel Cactus, so to help overcome the lack of control with many different weeds, TCCG created the new brochures and have asked the Shire to include them in the ‘Welcome Kits’ sent out to all new ratepayers. This will hopefully educate new landowners as soon as they purchase a property and reach the ones that don’t live here.
The brochures provide information about the responsibilities of landowners to manage weeds, the best control methods to use and where to find more detailed information. They also stress that not only rural properties are involved in weed control, but urban properties also have the same legal responsibilities, pointing out that most noxious weeds are escapees from private gardens.
TCCG thanks the many local Landcare groups who collaborated on this project by contributing their votes on problematic weeds and photos of some of their local weed infestations. The brochures include the contact details for these groups and will hopefully lead to future new enquiries and members.
We hope there’ll be an official and fun launch in the near future, but please contact the TCCG via their website at www.cactuswarriors.org if you have any queries. Click on the links below to download the brochure specific to your ward. And if you are unsure of your ward here is a map to check.
🙂 Ward Map
CASTLEMAINE-Weed-Brochure-2018
TARRANGOWER-Weed-Brochure-2018
Meet the Connecting Country office team of 2018
Posted on 11 January, 2018 by Tanya Loos
As we welcome in a new year, we thought it appropriate to re-introduce you to the team at the Connecting Country office. Although small in number, we make up for it in enthusiasm and commitment. And we are very modest! ; )
The Connecting Country staff are:
Frances Howe frances@connectingcountry.org.au
Director
As an environmental scientist, Frances has helped assess and manage the environmental and social impacts of large development projects, across Australia and around the world. She also worked as an environmental advisor for a non-government organisation in Lesotho (Africa). Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Environment from the University of Melbourne. Having travelled far and wide, including living in the Middle East, Africa and the United States, Frances recently returned to settle in Castlemaine.
Frances lives with her husband and dog on a small bush block outside Castlemaine, surrounded by the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park. Frances is in the office from Monday to Thursday, overseeing Connecting Country’s projects, organisational management and administration.
Bonnie Humphreys (bonnie@connectingcountry.org.au)
Botanist, Landholder engagement and on-ground works program
Bonnie Humphreys joined the Connecting Country team as Project Officer in 2011. She grew up in Bendigo and Castlemaine and has completed her Diploma in Conservation and Land Management at the Bendigo TAFE. Bonnie has a special interest in native flora and weed ecology. Her current work includes on ground site assessments of landscapes within the Mount Alexander Shire. These assessments will help determine the best ways to protect and manage remnant vegetation. Bonnie also coordinates all of our on ground works programs, working with landholders and the Dja Dja Wurrung and Land Mate Works Crews. Bonnie lives in Barkers Creek with her partner and two dogs, Meya and Zeena.
Tanya Loos (tanya@connectingcountry.org.au)
Woodland Birds Project Coordinator,
Community Engagement and Monitoring Program
Tanya is a keen field naturalist and ecologist with a particular interest in birds and bats. She has worked for state and local government in various biodiversity and native vegetation projects, and is thrilled to be working for Connecting Country as their Monitoring and Engagement coordinator. This role includes the citizen science program and the education program. Tanya lives on a bush block in Porcupine Ridge with her husband, dog Leela and rescue parrots, and she enjoys writing about wildlife watching and plant spotting.
Asha Bannon (asha@connectingcountry.org.au)
Landcare Facilitator
Asha is a local resident with a particular interest in wildlife conservation and community engagement. After completing a Bachelor of Environmental Science at Deakin she moved back to Mount Alexander Shire in order to study the local bird communities. Her Honours project focused on the relationships between birds and time-since-fire in Box-Ironbark ecosystems. Asha is a strong believer in the power of community groups when it comes to land management and conservation, and she is excited to be working with and supporting our local Landcare Groups. Asha lives in Campbells Creek with her family and dog, Max.
Other important people
In our office you may also find our amazing office volunteers, Jane and Naomi, our book keeper Bruce, and the occasional member of our management committee. We also have visitors for all sorts of enquiries, meetings with staff, our steering group meetings and more!
New office hours:
The Connecting Country office is open Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 4:30 pm.
Please note we are no longer open on Fridays.
We are very excited about working with our friends and supporters in 2018.
Macrophotography exhibition at Dig Cafe Newstead Dec 20 2017
Posted on 21 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos
Newstead naturalist and photographer Patrick Kavanagh is well known for his incredible macro photography which is an occasional feature on Geoff Park’s blog, Natural Newstead. Patrick is holding an exhibition of his photographs at Dig Cafe Newstead entitled ‘Small World – Visions from Another Dimension’. An apt title! Patrick sent us through some words and images to entice you to head to Newstead…
A long-nosed weevil, extremely small in size. By Patrick Kavanagh
There is another world hidden from our unaided senses. A world of strange and wonderful animals – some could be from another planet, some are insects but look like sea shells. The damage inflicted by a caterpillar on a eucalypt leaf looks like a Renaissance window. A piece of abstract art turns out to be the wing of a moth. A tiny world, on a scale of millimetres, best seen through a macrophotographer’s lens.
This remarkable world will be on show at an exhibition of macrophotography at Dig Café in Newstead. Photographer Patrick Kavanagh is showing the images he has taken at his home at Strangways.
The exhibition ‘Small World – Visions from Another Dimension’ will be on at Dig Café, Newstead from Wednesday 20 December until late January.
An extreme close-up of a moth’s wing. By Patrick Kavanagh
What’s under that tile? – reptile and frog monitoring at Campbells Creek
Posted on 14 December, 2017 by Frances
You may think ceramic roof tiles belong on roofs, but we have another use for them. Ceramic roof tiles also make great shelters for reptiles and frogs.
On Friday 8 December 2017, we gathered at the Campbells Creek walking track to admire the beautiful creekline restoration work achieved by Friends of Campbells Creek. The aim of the workshop was to check the tiles previously set out as part of Connecting Country’s citizen science monitoring program for reptiles and frogs. This program involves arrays of ceramic tiles set out on both private and public land across the shire. For some more information on our reptile and frog monitoring program click here.
Peter Johnson (PJ) from Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) demonstrated how to safely check monitoring tiles, and helped us identify the creatures we found. At the first monitoring site we found several native garden skinks (Lampropholis guichenoti) sheltering under the tiles, along with numerous scorpions, centipedes, beetles, slugs and ants. Unfortunately we discovered the second monitoring site had been ‘tidied up’, with the tiles piled into a neat stack! Asha and the rest of the team reset the tiles and took this as a valuable lesson in the challenges of doing scientific research.
It was a perfect day for reptile and frog monitoring – not too hot or too cold. Although we didn’t find frogs or larger reptiles, Peter suggested that it takes time for the tiles to become suitable habitat for these animals. Experience suggests the tiles are first colonised by invertebrates, then increasing numbers of reptiles and frogs move in over several years. So we can expect tile monitoring to get more exciting as monitoring continues!
Over some morning tea, Peter shared more of his knowledge and experience about reptile and frog identification and conservation. We thank Peter and DELWP for their support in running this event.
If you would like some ceramic tiles and instructions on how to set up reptile and frog monitoring on your property, please contact Asha Bannon at Connecting Country.
The following images were captured on the day by our director, Frances Howe.
Bird Baths – tips for keeping birds cool and safe
Posted on 14 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos
Bird baths – there are mosaic ones, terracotta ones, deep ones, shallow ones. What makes a great bird bath, and how do we best care for them?
Types of baths – for a variety of bathing styles
Very small birds like thornbills stand in shallow water, crouch down and then flutter their wings at unbelievable speed to bathe. Honeyeaters and fairy-wrens seem to dip into to deeper baths and almost swim through the water. Larger birds like rosellas wade in to a deep bath and create a massive splashy mess to their great enjoyment!
White-throated treecreepers creep up the side of a nearby log or branch, and then back into the bath. You can almost hear the reversing beep!
I have three baths of differing depths and heights, and each are used by different birds. As the bird bath enthusiasts among us know, bird baths are also used as baths and a source of clean drinking water by animals such as echidnas, wallabies, kangaroos, and frogs and reptiles. Occasionally a bird bath is used as a clever lure for the hunters among us – see the stunning images from the Yellow-footed antechinus and Grey fantail story here.
Location of the bath(s)
The placement of the bath is important for a few reasons. If it is in full sun, it will get too hot, and the birds are too exposed to aerial predators such as goshawks. Birds also need a place to perch and preen their feathers after their bath.
Pardalotes are very cautious at my place. They wait until the bath is jam-packed with happy visitors and then come down to the bath, checking for danger at many different perch heights as they approach. They visit the bath that is located under a a tall fruit tree and protective shrub. The White-browed scrubwrens and fairy-wrens share the deep mosaic bath on the ground with the rosellas.
Another reason to have plenty of perching spots around the bath area is that queues form on very hot days! Birds will wait nearby until there is enough room to fly down and have their turn.
Safety for the bathers
Ensure the bath is beyond the reach of cats – hang it from a tree or use a pedestal bath if cats are around. If you have a pedestal bird bath, some dead branches placed across the bath may make it more attractive for smaller birds.
Keep the water cool, fresh and clean. It’s a good idea to locate bird baths near your plants that need watering on hot days, so you can water your plants and refill the bird baths easily at the same time. It’s best to keep the bath clean by giving it a regular scrub with a brush, to avoid the spread of diseases such as Beak and Feather disease, which affects parrots.
If the bath is bucket shaped or deep, always provide a sturdy stick or series of stepping stones for small animals to climb out. I have seen skinks and young rosellas drowned in water that was too deep with smooth sides.
Finally, if you are going away, ask your neighbour to refill your bird bath, so your birds and other creatures don’t lose their water supply.
Here is a series of images from our staff member Bonnie Humphreys. Bonnie has three baths at her property in Barkers Creek. Note how clean and fresh the water is! Click on the arrow on the right hand side to move through the images… Thanks Bonnie!
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A Fuscous Honeyeater, Silvereye and a Yellow-faced Honeyeater hang out at the pool.
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A beautiful female Rufous Whistler
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A White-browed scrubwren makes a splash!
Sociable Skinks – Nature News Midland Express – 5 December 2017
Posted on 5 December, 2017 by Tanya Loos
For this month’s Nature News, Tanya Loos from Connecting Country writes about the sociable skinks photographed by Nick Schulz on his property in Nuggetty. This article was featured in the Midland Express on 5 December 2017.
Earlier this year, landholder Nick Schulz sent us a series of stunning photographs from a granite outcrop on his property in Nuggetty. The pictures show a large group of plump, spiny and spotted skinks seemingly enjoying each other’s company near the safety of deep rock crevices. They are Cunningham’s skinks and they turn the idea of reptiles being cold loners on its head!
A family of skinks peers out from the safety of their rock crevice. Photo by Nick Schulz
The skinks live in long term family groupings, with a large breeding pair (around 25 cm long) and many immature siblings of various ages and sizes from previous years. This kind of social system is more commonly seen in birds and mammals. Researchers suggest that the family group represents safety in numbers, with more eyes to look out for predators such as birds of prey. Another advantage may be temperature-related, as the skinks huddle together to help keep warm during cold weather.
The breeding pair remains faithful to one another from season to season and sometimes over many years – similar to the Stumpy-tail lizard or Shingleback, who also have long monogamous relationships. Both the Stumpy-tail lizard and the Cunningham’s skink give birth to live young instead of laying eggs.
Cunningham’s skinks are only found around rocky outcrops. Each family group must have a rocky habitat with nice deep crevices to hide in. If threatened by predators, the whole group scuttles into the cracks to hide. If the bird of prey or fox is persistent and tries to remove a skink from a crevice, they will inflate their bodies and make their spines stick out, becoming incredibly hard to dislodge from cracks.
The very spiny tail is evident in this photo. Photo by Nick Schulz
Cunningham’s skinks are omnivorous, like other large skink species such as Stumpy-tails and Blue-tongue lizards. Most of their diet made up of plant matter such as flowers, fruits, soft leaves and shoots. They also eat insects, spiders and small lizards.
We have had reports of this species in Sutton Grange, Elphinstone and now Nuggetty. If you have granite outcrops on your property, you may be hosting a whole family!
Many thanks to Nick for sharing his wonderful photos with us. For more information or to report a Cunningham’s skink family, contact Tanya Loos at Connecting Country 5472 1594, or info@connectingcountry.org.au.
Connecting Country’s Birthday Picnic in the Gardens
Posted on 30 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos
On Tuesday 28 November 2017, members and staff of Connecting Country from past and present gathered to share delicious food and reflect on our tenth birthday!
The weather was kind to us, and we had a relaxed gathering in the shade of deciduous trees and the lee of the Castlemaine Tea Rooms. The food was ‘bring a plate’, enhanced by a generous donation of silky goats cheese from from the Holy Goat Farm. Thanks Ann-Marie and Carla!
After the lovely picnic, Bernard Slattery, Beth Mellick and Brendan provided some entertaining speeches about the formation of Connecting Country ten years ago. At this point, Brendan quite rightly acknowledged founding member Marie Jones for her past, present and ongoing kindness and stewardship of all of us at Connecting Country. Thank you, Marie!
Brendan gave Krista, our former Co-director, a gift to say thanks for her time at Connecting Country, and Marie presented new director Frances Howe with a gift too – a passing of the baton!
Jane Rusden created a wonderful tree for us to write little messages on each of the leaves – thank you Jane!
Many thanks to all who attended this relaxed and lovely celebration – and thanks also to the many people who sent in apologies or dropped in to wish us a happy birthday!
Krista and Brendan
It was lovely on the grass
Frances receives a hat from Marie
Higgo and Asha
Bernard and Brendan
Friends and food
The beautiful tree by Jane Rusden with memories and well wishes
Say Cheese! – New Reptile and Frog Photo Gallery
Posted on 23 November, 2017 by Asha
Large Striped Skink in Welshmans Reef (Photo by Linda Craig)
Jacky lizards, geckos, pobblebonks, and ‘Tuk’ the turtle are all stars of our new reptile and frog photo gallery. CLICK HERE to go to the page, where we share photos of reptiles and frogs sent in by community members. Most of these photos are from landholders involved in Connecting Country’s reptile and frog monitoring program (CLICK HERE to read more), which uses ceramic roof tiles as artificial habitat for reptiles and frogs. Tile monitoring is fantastic, but these photos also capture species that don’t use tiles as habitat, like goannas.
Thank you to everyone who shared their photos!
If you have any interesting photos of reptiles or frogs that you would like to share in our photo gallery, please send them to asha@connectingcountry.org.au
Pobblebonk in Elphinstone (Photo by Sylvia Reeves)
Baby Common Long-necked Tortoise in Strangways, dubbed “Tuk” (Photo by Leanne Crisp)
Victorian Landcare Magazine – Issue 70 – with our local winners
Posted on 23 November, 2017 by Asha
CLICK HERE to download Issue 70 of the Victorian Landcare Magazine. This issue features the Victorian Landcare Awards, with stories about local winners: Tarrangower Cactus Control Group (page 6), Ian Higgins (page 10) and Connecting Country (page 18).
There are also stories about Landcare Award winners from all over the state and a beautiful photo collage in the middle. Well worth a read.
Boosting Bulokes project helps a diamond shine
Posted on 15 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos
Thanks to Connecting Country’s Boosting Bulokes and Diamond Firetails project there are now 1,200 more young Buloke plants in the western parts of the Mount Alexander region. These slow growing trees will eventually set seed and provide a much-needed food source for seed-eating birds such as Diamond Firetails and Common Bronzewing pigeons.
Buloke trees belong to the Casuarinaceae or Sheoak family and were once abundant across the region. Bulokes are so rare nowadays that they are listed as ‘threatened’ under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. We wanted to help bring this threatened species back into our local area. The Boosting Bulokes and Diamond Firetails project involved 78 landholders on 23 properties, Muckleford Landcare group and the kids and teachers of the Castlemaine Steiner School and Kindergarten.
Project coordinator Bonnie Humphreys with Lisa Hall from Castlemaine Steiner School – you can see the large robust guards in the background, as well as a host of enthusiastic kids and landholders!
Bonnie prepared a comprehensive fact sheet on Bulokes, covering their ecology, threats and importantly – how to plant and care for Bulokes! The sheet can be downloaded by clicking this link: Buloke-Factsheet-CCountry.
Diamond Firetails are attractive little finches whose numbers are declining in the region. Recent studies by Grace Goddard (unpublished PhD, Adelaide University) have shown that the Diamond Firetail relies heavily on the seeds from Sheoaks as a winter food source. Diamond Firetails also eat the seeds of exotic and native grasses. However, it’s the native grass seeds that are a superior food source. The Firetails also use the long grass stems to build their nests.
We can help our declining Diamond Firetail population, by planting:
* Native grass species such as spear grasses (from the Austrostipa and Rytidosperma genera).
* Sheoak trees – the more commonly occurring Drooping Sheoak ( Allocasuarina verticillata) and of course the Buloke ( Allocasuarina leuhmenii).
For a detailed (and somewhat technical) fact sheet on Grace Goddard’s Diamond Firetail studies click this link Diamond-Firetail-Diet-fact-sheet
A Diamond Firetail strikes a pose at the edge of a bird bath, while two Red-browed Finches look on. Thanks to Nick Schulz from Nuggetty for the great pic!
Connecting Country turns ten: a picnic in the park 28 November 2017
Posted on 14 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos
Come one, come all for a picnic in the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens to celebrate our tenth birthday! This gathering aims to bring together supporters and friends from the beginning, middle and future of Connecting Country’s story.
It was 2007 when Beth Mellick of the Wettenhall Environment Trust approached the late and great Doug Ralph with an idea about landscape restoration in the region. Doug promptly called Marie Jones (who still stands on the committee today!) and a small team developed to nut out the first beginnings of what grew into Connecting Country.
Today it is 2017, and we would love you to join us in the park to reflect on the past and celebrate the future! We are keeping it casual – here are the details:
When: Tuesday November 28 at 6pm
Where: Castlemaine Botanic Gardens Tea rooms
BYO: Please bring:
* a plate of something savoury or sweet to share, and a little sign with a dietary description. Vegetarian preferred 🙂
* crockery – plate, cups, cutlery
* drinks of your choice
* A chair or two, or a picnic blanket
No need to RSVP – we will see you there!
A few familiar faces in this mob! An early planning meeting with Beth Mellick, Geoff Park, Maurie Dynon, Gib Wettenhall, and others
Fun with Phascogales – Jess Lawton’s Talk
Posted on 9 November, 2017 by Asha
At their recent AGM, Newstead Landcare invited Jess Lawton along to talk about her research on Brush-tailed phascogales (Phascogale tapoatafa). She shared some facts above about this special species, along with some interesting results from her PhD research with Andrew Bennett from La Trobe University. Jess used camera traps and habitat surveys to gather information on the habitat requirements for phascogales across central Victoria. Fifty of these sites were in the Mount Alexander region at some of Connecting Country’s nest box sites.
Brush-tailed Phascogale cartoon by Jess Lawton
Jess set up two cameras at each site, pointing towards the ground where she set up a small bait station. She collected these again after 40 days, and found she had a total of 69,611 photos to go through! These included 488 phascogale records in the Mount Alexander region. One brown treecreeper also had some fun with a camera and took 952 selfies (CLICK HERE for GIF)!
Taking into account site factors such as the amount of native forest in an area, elevation, productivity, predators, tree species, number of large trees, structural complexity, logs, and leaf litter, Jess found that phascogales were present at 82% of sites. Interestingly, she found that the amount of native forest in an area was not a big influence over whether phascogales were present at a site or not. However, this could have been due to the time of year data was collected, when males may have been using sub-optimal habitat during breeding season.
The two biggest habitat factors that Jess found influenced phascogale detection were tree species (box versus gum) and leaf litter. Sites with more box species and/or more leaf litter had more phascogale records. This is probably because these provide habitat for invertebrates, which are a critical food source for phascogales.
Jess finished with some tips for landholders who wish to help with phascogale conservation:
- Protect existing hollows and put up nest boxes.
- Keep it messy – leaf litter, logs, and tree stumps and all important for phascogales.
- Help reduce predator pressure by keeping pets inside at night and walking them on a lead.
- Care for your local bush by getting involved with your local Landcare or Friends group.
Thank you Jess and Newstead Landcare for an interesting and engaging talk. Here are some pictures Jess provided from her camera traps – well worth a look!
Brush-tailed Possum
Bat (possibly Lesser Long-eared?)
Brush-tailed Phascogale
Brush-tailed Phascogale
Brush-tailed Phascogale
Eastern Pygmy Possum
Fox
Goat
Koala
Tree Goanna
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Phascogale Facts!
I am a small nocturnal marsupial.
I am threatened species.
My range in Victoria has contracted.
My home range area is 40-100 hectares (40-50 hectares for females and 100 hectares for males).
I rely on large tree hollows with small entrances for nesting and breeding, and will use several hollows within my range.
Females of my species give birth to eight young each year. Once weaned, the litter will weigh three times the weight of the mother.
I belong to the Dasyurid family and feed mainly on invertebrates, such as insects, spiders and centipedes.
Caring for our Key Biodiversity Areas: new on ground works program
Posted on 1 November, 2017 by Tanya Loos
A Diamond Firetail, photo by Geoff Park
Connecting Country has been granted funding for a new on ground works project called ‘Caring for Key Biodiversity Areas in Central Victoria’. The special bird habitats of Clydesdale and Sandon are designated as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) by BirdLife International and BirdLife Australia. The trigger species for these areas are the Diamond Firetail, Swift Parrot and Flame Robin.
The project is funded by the Victorian Government – Community and Volunteer Action Grants. In a nutshell, the project has three main components:
- Care and protection of native vegetation on private land, including actions such as supplementary revegetation, weed control and rabbit control. These actions will help enhance habitat for the trigger species for the Diamond Firetail, Swift Parrot and Flame Robin.
- Creation and installation of two attractive interpretative signs at popular parts of the Key Biodiversity areas, such as Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve, and Muckleford Nature Conservation Reserve.
- Two community events in 2018, such as a bird walk and sign launch!
The participating landholders have been contacted, and site visits will begin in early 2018.
Earlier this year, Connecting Country held a workshop in partnership with BirdLife Australia, to recruit bird survey volunteers known as ‘KBA guardians’ and provide training in how to complete an annual ‘Easter Heath Check’ form. You can read about that workshop here.
Diamond Firetails are declining in our region. Photo by Geoff Park
We are thrilled that this workshop generated the interest and the impetus for this grant.
There is also a very keen new group, coordinated by Friends of Muckleford Forest, which involves volunteers surveying 15 sites across the Muckleford KBA. These surveys are in preparation for the 2018 Easter Health Check. To read about Friends’ project, or volunteer, see the Friends website here.
- Learn about Key Biodiversity Areas by visiting the BirdLife Australia website: birdlife.org.au/KBA
Welcome Frances – our new director
Posted on 31 October, 2017 by Tanya Loos
It is with much pleasure that the staff and committee of Connecting Country welcome our new director, Frances Howe. Frances started at the Connecting Country offices last week in a handover with past directors Chris Timewell and Krista Patterson-Majoor. Welcome Frances, we are thrilled to have you on board!
Frances grew up in Melbourne but fell for central Victoria during numerous childhood visits. She became a part-time Castlemaine resident in 2000, when she bought a run-down old church.
As an environmental scientist, for many years Frances helped assess and manage the environmental and social impacts of large development projects, across Australia and around the world. Frances has led numerous teams of environmental professionals to deliver projects spanning environmental and social baseline studies, impact assessment and management.
Frances also worked as an environmental advisor for a non-government organisation in Lesotho (Africa) and is currently a member of the management committee for The Growing Abundance Project (Castlemaine). Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Environment from the University of Melbourne, majoring in ecology and conservation biology.
Having travelled far and wide, including living in the Middle East, Africa and the United States, Frances recently returned to settle in Castlemaine. She lives with her husband and dog, on a small bush block just out of town, surrounded by the Castlemaine National Heritage Park.
Frances is in the office from Monday to Thursday, leading the staff team and overseeing Connecting Country’s projects, organisational management and administration.
Nuggetty & beyond: an invitation to their 2018 calendars launch
Posted on 26 October, 2017 by Tanya Loos
Nuggetty Land Protection Group
Invites you to an afternoon tea to celebrate the launch by author and historian Peter Cuffley
of their two 2018 calendars
Nuggetty & Beyond – A patchwork of people & place
and
Nuggetty & Beyond – A glimpse of contemporary rural life
Saturday 28 October 2017, 2.30-4.30 pm
Nuggetty Winery – 5/280 Maldon Shelbourne Rd Nuggetty 3463.
Enquiries: Jane Mitchell on 0457 729 132 or janee@impulse.net.au
or
Christine Fitzgerald on 0419 347 408 or ckfitz5@bigpond.com
Those attending will have the opportunity to purchase, at a discounted price, archival quality calendars. These illustrate part of the story of settlement and agriculture in the Nuggetty area, and some of those contributing to the continuing farming community. The calendars are an initiative of the Nuggetty Landcare Protection Group. They are an outcome of the Nuggetty Landscape History project, which was originally funded by the Foundation for Regional & Rural Renewal (FRRR), the Shire of Mount Alexander and Maldon & District Community Bank.
Our 2017 Annual General Meeting: science, art and good company!
Posted on 19 October, 2017 by Tanya Loos
On Tuesday 17 October, Connecting Country staff, committee, members and friends joined together in Newstead for our 2017 Annual General Meeting.
Thanks to Brendan and Bernard for coordinating the AGM formalities. Over the next 12 months, Connecting Country remains as ably led as ever, with some new additions and shuffling of roles within the Committee of Management. In short, congratulations to Brendan Sydes (president), Saide Gray (vice president), Max Kay (treasurer) and Marie Jones (secretary) as the executive office bearers, and to Karoline Klein, Christine Brooke, Malcolm Trainor and Deborah Wardle as general committee members. We would also like to thank retiring committee member Jen Irlam for her contributions, support and insights over the past 2-3 years.
As a community-based, grass-roots incorporated organisation, Connecting Country is driven by our committee. Committee members provide their time and experience on a voluntary basis, and their participation is much appreciated! Connecting Country’s members and supporters are always able to ask questions and make suggestions to committee members – their elected represenatatives – about the organisation and its activities.
The 2017 Annual Report was also launched at the AGM, and the front cover is graced by the artwork of an Eastern Yellow Robin by Jane Rusden. Jane gave a short talk about the printmaking process, and how her beautiful Campbells Creek property and its robins inspired the artwork. The Annual Report will be available on our website soon.
Our new film was also launched! The five minute film was well received, and a great suggestion was made to get the film played in the Castlemaine and Maldon Visitor Centres. The Wild Melbourne team are doing some final technical touches and we will post it on a blog post very soon. The film featured Connecting Country staff, committee members and supporters in our quest to preserve habitat for woodland birds.
Georgia Garrard, RMIT University, and Brendan Sydes, Connecting Country President.
Following the film, we heard from Dr Georgia Garrard. Georgia is a Senior Research Fellow in RMIT University’s Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group. Georgia’s presentation had three parts – 1) structured decision-making processes for conservation, 2) biodiversity sensitive urban design and 3) framing conservation messages for different audiences. A detailed blog post will follow – but in the meantime you can read some of Georgia’s past and present work on her blog here. Many thanks to Georgia for sharing her fascinating research with us!
After Georgia’s presentation, supper and drinks were served, with much chatting and camaraderie.
Many thanks to to Connecting Country staff and our volunteers – Sarah Edwards, Deb Shaw, Jane Rusden, Jen Pryce and Fritz Hammersley – for their assistance on the night.
Max Schlachter and Krista Patterson-Majoor – beloved past staff of Connecting Country.
Connecting Country Director Chris Timewell and Penny Roberts from Newham and District Landcare.
Landcare facilitator Asha Bannon with new Connecting Country Committee member Christine Brooke, and Sutton Grange Landcare President Grant Workman.
A pow -wow – with Frances Cincotta, Bernard and Deirdre Slattery and Max Schlachter.
Tuan Talk by Jess Lawton – Newstead Landcare AGM
Posted on 17 October, 2017 by Asha
This Thursday evening, 19th October 2017, Newstead Landcare Group is hosting a presentation by PhD candidate Jess Lawton. Jess is studying the Tuan or Brush-tailed Phascogale, a threatened and declining species of the Box-Ironbark country. The presentation will start at 8pm at Newstead Community Centre and all are welcome. A gold coin donation would be appreciated. Afterwards there will be supper and a brief AGM.
Jess says,
“The Brush-tailed Phascogale is a rare, threatened species, and is declining in Victoria. Our understanding of its conservation biology is limited because it is sparsely distributed, ‘trap-shy’, and has been difficult to survey using traditional techniques. We know that this species has a rapid reproductive cycle, whereby all males die of stress and exhaustion after their first breeding season. We also know that this species often has a large home range of up to 100 ha. Therefore, the current thinking is that it requires large areas of intact forest for a population to persist. However, this species still occurs in modified habitats, such as paddock trees, roadsides, and isolated remnant patches. The aim of my study is to see if the occurrence of the Brush-tailed Phascogale in a modified landscape relates to patch size and patch connectedness.
Connecting Country set 150 nest box sites in 2010 to provide habitat for this species through the Mount Alexander Shire. They have since monitored many of these nest box sites every two years, and now have a number of years of data on this species occurrence in the region. I selected 50 of these 150 sites, stratified according to landscape context (ie. the amount of tree cover surrounding each nest box site). Between April and June 2016, while Connecting Country conducted their nest-box checks, I set two cameras at each of these 50 sites.
In this study, I model the occurrence of Brush-tailed Phascogales in the Mount Alexander Shire with landscape attributes, such as the size of a forest patch, and a number of habitat attributes collected in the field, including forest productivity, forest structure, logs and leaf litter, and tree size and species.
One property near Axe Creek was home to a particularly active population of Brush-tailed Phascogales, and you can watch a video of the sort of footage we detected” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTklMGskLyYc
Birds get a boost in the Goldfields region
Posted on 16 October, 2017 by Tanya Loos
All smiles beneath the rainbow outside the beautiful Chewton Town Hall.
By Tanya Loos, Connecting Country Monitoring and Engagement Coordinator
On Friday September 30, 2017, Connecting Country hosted an afternoon tea and planning meeting for the birders of the Castlemaine region. I presented some of the findings of the last six years of bird monitoring, and then the group had a discussion on the future of bird monitoring in the region. Last but not least, Fiona Blandford from BirdLife Australia gave a presentation on the merits of becoming a BirdLife Branch. It was a jam-packed afternoon, filled with energy and enthusiasm!
Preliminary findings and report
Connecting Country has been counting woodland birds since 2010 as part of our long term monitoring program. This has been undertaken by a staff member (such as myself or my predecessors) and has helped build a picture of bird species distribution across the landscape, especially in different habitats. This in-house monitoring has been quite comprehensive, but gaps still existed – so in 2014, we started a citizen science program to enlist the help of birders across the region. A whopping 20,000 bird records have been submitted to BirdLife Australia to date! The preliminary findings of the results of both programs may be found in this short report: Bird-Monitoring_Summary_Sept_2017
A more comprehensive update on this report to follow soon…
Bird monitoring in the region: banding together
We love our woodland birds in this region – there is the Connecting Country-led bird monitoring, and other initiatives as well. Lesley and Anne Perkins are continuing the bird monitoring that Ern and Lesley started some twenty years ago, with help from local birders: there are 15 sites in all. More recently, the Muckleford Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) monitoring group commenced monitoring their sites in the Muckleford forest. This group is ably coordinated by Geoff Nevill, and also has 15 sites.
We also wanted to discuss the other programs to ensure there was no double-up of sites and see if we could share methodology. After removing the double-up and including group sites – we calculated there are 84 sites being regularly monitored for birds across the region!
A follow-up blog post on the sites, survey methodology and other aspects of bird monitoring in our region coming soon…
A BirdLife Goldfields branch
Fiona Blandford, Birdlife Australia, and Tanya Loos, Connecting Country
Connecting Country has been an affiliate of BirdLife Australia since 2015, and we love our relationship – supporting each other’s events, and sharing data and expertise. Our nearest BirdLife Branches are in Ballarat, and to the north, in Echuca.
The Field Naturalist Clubs of Bendigo and Castlemaine, and more recently Connecting Country have filled the gap of bird activities in the region, such as the Annual Bird Count, and Swift Parrot Counts. But after discussions with key birders in the region, and with Fiona Blandford the Network Manager, we all feel it is time for a local branch!
Fiona has suggested BirdLife Goldfields – as the area covered will be Castlemaine and surrounds, including east to Baynton, south to Daylesford, up to just south of Bendigo, and to Maryborough in the west. Fiona gave us all an insight into the BirdLife model, and how branches work – and how they really can cater for the needs of the birders and communities they live in. And I am thrilled to say we already have enough interested people for a committee!
Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to be involved in our growing bird monitoring project.
Call Tanya Loos, Monitoring and Engagement Coordinator, on 5472 1594 during work hours, or email tanya@connectingcountry.org.au