Bird of the month: Kestrel

Posted on 27 September, 2021 by Ivan

Welcome to our nineteenth 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 photos by Ash Vigus.

Australian Kestrel (Falco cenchroides)

A member of the Falco genus which includes Peregrines and Hobbies, Kestrels are widespread across the world, with 13 species recognised. A few overseas species migrate with the seasons, but most are non-migratory, although they will move about depending on food availability. Their diet includes small birds, mice, reptiles, locusts and grasshoppers along with some other insects, spiders and other terrestrial invertebrates. They will readily move to areas of abundance during mouse and locust plagues. Within Australia, many areas have resident pairs. Juveniles spread widely after fledging and may move long distances.

Kestrels often hover in one spot searching for a variety of prey including insects and rodents (photo: Ash Vigus)

Australia has one species – the Australian or Nankeen Kestrel. It can be found all over the Australian mainland and on some outlying islands including Tasmania, most Bass Straight islands as well as Christmas, Norfolk and Lord Howe islands. It has occasionally been recorded as a non-breeding visitor to Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait islands, New Zealand and Java. It is likely that they have expanded in both population and distribution with the clearing of forests for farmland, as they prefer open country. They have also readily adapted to taking the introduced House Mouse as well as the Common Starling, which often comprise a significant part of their diet.

It is the smallest Australian Falcon with a length of 30-35 cm and a weight range of 165 g for males to 185 g for females. They are great fliers, soaring and hovering with ease. Quite spectacular to watch.

Generally, breeding occurs between August to December. Australian Kestrels are quite adaptable and will utilise tree hollows, cliffs, old nests of other birds, nest boxes and even the broken tops of anthills. There are also records of them using sinkholes in the ground and mine shafts. They are known to use the nests of White-winged Chough, Australian Magpie, Whistling Kite, crows and ravens and even the top of Chestnut-crowned Babbler nests. Certainly very adaptable!

Clutches of eggs range from 1 to 6, but usually 2-3. Most of the incubation is done by the female with the male feeding her. Upon hatching the female generally feeds the young, often with food brought to the nest for her by the male.

There are some remarkable records of fostering, with young kestrels being reared by Black-breasted Buzzards and even a Black Falcon feeding young kestrels at the nest.

To hear the call of an Australian Kestrel, please – click here

Jane Rusden
BirdLife Castlemaine District

Leaky Landscapes symposium – 8 October 2021

Posted on 22 September, 2021 by Ivan

As members of the Biolinks Alliance, we are excited to be attending their ‘Leaky Landscapes’ 2021 symposium, to be held online on 8 October 2021. The topics and guest speakers look most interesting and relevant to climate-proofing our future landscapes, with a focus on soils and improving the productivity of degraded landscapes.

Congratulations to Biolinks Alliance for putting on this event, and gathering a wealth of knowledge on a most important topic for future generations and biodiversity gains.

Please read on for more details from Biolinks Alliance and visit the website – click here

Climate proofing our landscapes and biodiversity – Practical approaches to soil absorption and techniques for fixing desertified landscapes

About this event:

How to get help for injured native animals

Posted on 22 September, 2021 by Ivan

We love our wildlife and are very proud of the amazing work wildlife rescuers do every week across Victoria. It is a tireless and stressful job that provides an important service for our wildlife and community. We are often asked about how to report injured or sick wildlife and who is the best contact in our region. Please read on for further information courtesy of  Wildlife Victoria and a local wildlife rescuer, that covers the basics and some interesting facts.

Wildlife rescue deals with hundreds of calls each day during the busy periods over summer (photo: Wildlife Victoria)

Healthy Landscapes guide – get your copy now

Posted on 21 September, 2021 by Frances

We’re rather chuffed at the community response to our Healthy Landscapes guide so far. If you don’t have a copy yet, be sure to get your copy before the first print run sells out!

Here’s just some of the feedback:

• I was in Castlemaine today and suddenly remembered this item about the book being available at Stonemans. They had it at the front desk and we are reading it now back at home. It is really outstanding and very relevant. Thanks to Connecting Country for their dedication. (Welshmans Reef landholder)
• Sensational! A must-read for anyone with a property from 1 to 1,000 acres. (Yapeen landholder/farmer)
• I wish we’d had this guide when I first moved here 25 years ago. (Golden Point landholder)
• Wow, what a fabulous publication. It covers all bases and is an essential read for all landowners. It has particular relevance for anyone doing due diligence before purchasing rural acreage, however big or small.  (Walmer landholder)

For more information about the Healthy Landscapes guide – click here

Copies are now on sale – when COVID-19 related restrictions allow.

To get your copy ($15) head to:

Mount Alexander Animal Welfare (MAAW) Op Shop
12 Johnstone St, Castlemaine VIC
For shop information and opening hours – click here

Castlemaine Visitor Information Centre
44 Mostyn St, Castlemaine VIC
For centre information – click here

Stoneman’s Bookroom
101 Mostyn St, Castlemaine VIC
For shop information – click here

The Book Wolf
1/26 High St, Maldon VIC
For shop information – click here

A copy of the guide has been made available free of charge to each local Landcare and environmental volunteering group in the Mount Alexander region. This project is made possible through support from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, through funding from Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Wildlife of the Box-Ironbark Country – new edition

Posted on 8 September, 2021 by Ivan

One of our most treasured nature books by legendary nature enthusiast Chris Tzaros is about to get an update with the release of the second edition.  ‘Wildlife of the Box-Ironbark Country’ has been a bible to many living in and around box-ironbark country, with amazing imagery and detailed information on the fascinating animals that call our local forests and woodlands home.

Chris was a guest speaker at our 2020 sell-out event, ‘Tricky Birds’, and is one of the nation’s leading bird photographers and experts on the box-ironbark regions.

The second edition of ‘Wildlife of the Box-Ironbark Country’ is now available via pre-order and is due to be delivered in the coming weeks. No doubt the second edition will feature glorious imagery and a comprehensive overview of the ecologically significant Box–Ironbark habitats and their wildlife.

If you can’t wait for it to hit local bookshops, you can pre-order a copy now from CSIRO Publishing – click here

Overview (courtesy of CSIRO Publishing)

A comprehensive overview of the ecologically significant Box–Ironbark habitats and their wildlife. Victoria’s Box–Ironbark region is one of the most important areas of animal diversity and significance in southern Australia. The forests and woodlands of this region provide critical habitat for a diverse array of woodland-dependent animals, including many threatened and declining species such as the Squirrel Glider, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Regent Honeyeater, Swift Parrot, Pink-tailed Worm-Lizard, Woodland Blind Snake, Tree Goanna and Bibron’s Toadlet.

Wildlife of the Box–Ironbark Country gives a comprehensive overview of the ecology of the Box–Ironbark habitats and their wildlife, and how climate change is having a major influence. This extensively revised second edition covers all of the mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs that occur in the region, with a brief description of their distribution, status, ecology and identification, together with a detailed distribution map and superb colour photograph for each species.

The book includes a ‘Where to watch’ section, featuring a selection of national parks, state parks and nature conservation reserves where people can experience the ecosystem and its wildlife for themselves.

This book is intended for land managers, conservation and wildlife workers, fauna consultants, landholders, teachers, students, naturalists and all those interested in learning about and appreciating the wildlife of this fascinating and endangered ecosystem.

Features:
• Covers 267 species, each with a detailed description, high-quality colour photograph and updated distribution map
• Includes new species accounts for fauna that now reside permanently or regularly visit the Box–Ironbark region
• Provides a list of parks and reserves, including maps and descriptions of 16 locations to observe Box–Ironbark wildlife

About the author

Chris Tzaros is uniquely placed to write about the fauna of Victoria’s Box–Ironbark country. Brought up near Bendigo, he has had a passionate interest in wildlife since childhood. Chris has 25 years’experience working on wildlife research and conservation projects, largely focused on threatened woodland birds, for both government and nongovernment environmental and conservation organisations. He is an award-winning wildlife photographer and has produced the majority of the photos in this book. Chris is currently an independent wildlife ecologist and nature
photographer based in north-east Victoria but enjoys working among nature right around Australia.

New law gives council powers to enforce weed control

Posted on 7 September, 2021 by Asha

This article was written by local community member and volunteer Lee Mead. Lee has been an active community member and weed warrior for many years and her current roles include President of the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group, founding member of the Friends of Maldon Historic Reserve, and valued supporter of Connecting Country. Lee compiled this article with the aim of helping to raise awareness of a new Local Law in the Mount Alexander Shire.

The new laws will make it easier for the council to prosecute people who don’t control noxious weeds on their properties, as well as increasing the penalties for this infringement. 

Thank you Lee and keep up the great work! 

One of the positive highlights of 2020 was the endorsement of a new Local Law by the Mount Alexander Shire Council (MASC). The new Clause 19 has been created, which is specific to the control of declared noxious weeds. There is now significantly greater clarity and priority in our Shire’s Local Law given to the management of noxious weeds, which harm the environment and agriculture.

The new Clause 19, titled ‘Control of Noxious Weeds’, gives much greater definition, clarity and interpretation to the impacts and issues of weeds. It includes a definition of ‘noxious weeds’ and reference to the Victorian Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CaLP Act) and the Catchment and Land Protection Regulations 2012. In addition, the penalty for non-compliance has been doubled, from 5 to 10 penalty points.

The definition of noxious weeds (in the Local Law and the CaLP Act) refers to weeds that are a:

• State prohibited weed or
• Regionally prohibited weed or
• Regionally controlled weed or
• Restricted weed.

For more information on noxious weeds and their management – click here

These Local Law changes will raise the status and significance of noxious weed control in our Shire and reduce the ambiguity that the previous sub-clause created. The new clause will provide the Shire’s Bylaw Officers with a clearer definition of noxious weed management and hopefully result in increased enforcement action with non-compliant property owners. This new and specific ‘noxious weed’ clause will be more effective by making it easier for ratepayers to seek assistance from MASC Bylaw Officers to enforce weed control actions by absentee property owners, who are sometimes unaware of their legal weed control responsibilities.

We will be watching with a keen eye to see if any compliance infringements are issued under this local law over the coming year.

Lee Mead

Gorse is a declared noxious that can take over valued farmland and environmental assets (photo by Victorian Gorse Task Force)

Landcare Facilitator role – apply now

Posted on 2 September, 2021 by Frances

Don’t forget we are currently seeking a new person to join our team in the role of Landcare Facilitator for the Mount Alexander region, with applications closing soon.  Our region is home to around 30 Landcare and Friends groups, representing one of the highest levels of Landcare engagement in the country! If you or someone you know has relevant skills and experience, please read on.

Workshop with Friends of Campbells Creek Landcare Group (photo by Gen Kay)

Landcare Facilitator – Mount Alexander region

We have an exciting opportunity for a hardworking person with experience in natural resource management and community groups to join our established community-run organisation. Connecting Country works with landholders and community groups to restore landscapes across the Mount Alexander Region of central Victoria, on both public and private land. Further information about our work is available on our website (connectingcountry.org.au).

The Landcare Facilitator is responsible for supporting around 30 active Landcare and environmental volunteer groups within the Mount Alexander region to build their capacity and resilience. We are looking for someone who is approachable, organised, and passionate about helping Landcare groups and other volunteers to achieve their goals to protect, enhance and restore the land and natural environment.

This is a part-time role (three days per week) based in Castlemaine, Victoria. It is a 12-month contract position, with contract extension subject to performance and funding availability.

For details on how to apply – click here

A huge thank you

Posted on 1 September, 2021 by Frances

Now that the end of financial year is done and dusted, and our 2021 financial audit is in progress, it’s time to extend another huge thank you to our generous donors.

We received around 60 financial donations from community members during 2020-21, ranging from $10 to several thousand dollars!

Thank you for your wonderful donations to Connecting Country. With many funding opportunities in decline or diverted, your contribution is extremely valuable and much appreciated. We cannot thank you enough.

Your donation directly supports our practical on-ground work to restore the land, educate our community and monitor wildlife. But, there’s more. You also provide our hard-working team of staff and volunteers with a much-needed morale boost, especially when things are a bit tough.

It means a lot to know we have your support and value the work we do.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you ever want further information about how your donations can support landscape restoration in our region, or wish to become a regular donor.

Conservation starts with community

Posted on 30 August, 2021 by Frances

Our friends and supporters at Remember the Wild just published a marvellous article on Connecting Country, starring our terrific and much-loved founding member and supporter – Marie Jones. Marie is a passionate Chewton resident, member of Connecting Country’s committee of management, and recently featured in our Landcare Celebration video.

To read the article – click here

Conservation starts with community: Connecting Country and land restoration in Central Victoria

Remember the Wild

Remember the Wild is Australia’s first nature connection charity. Remember the Wild seeks to bring experiences of the natural world back into our lives, for the benefit of both the environment and ourselves. Dedicated to improving public access to nature, they reconnect communities with the local environment and help people remember why the wild matters.

For more information on Remember the Wild – click here

The wonderful team at Remember the Wild previously made an inspiring and informative short film about Connecting Country’s work.

To view the video – click here

Connecting Country: Safeguarding Woodland Birds

A huge thank you to Remember the Wild for your ongoing support of Connecting Country’s work.

Regenerative agriculture workshops for a healthy landscape

Posted on 30 August, 2021 by Frances

Interested in regenerative agriculture?

Our neighbours at Macedon Ranges Shire, Hepburn Shire and City of Greater Bendigo are running a ‘Practical Regenerative Agricultural Communities’ project.

Local farmer webinars 2021

Join one of these upcoming online webinars to hear about local farmers’ journeys in holistic farming:

• 31 August 2021 at 7 – 8 pm – Hear from Paul Righetti from Yandoit who farms sheep, cattle and pasture-raised hens
• 7 September 2021 at 7 – 8 pm – Join Aaron Demeo from Raywood who manages meat and wool sheep, crops as well as dairy heifers

To register – click here

For a webinar flyer – click here

Holistic grazing course 2021-22

For information on their upcoming short course – click here

For information on their farm advisory service – click here

Not to be confused with Connecting Country’s recent ‘Healthy Landscapes’ project!

There are excellent examples of healthy dams and healthy landscapes in our region (photo by Bonnie Humphreys)

Landcare Facilitator role with Connecting Country

Posted on 24 August, 2021 by Frances

We are incredibly sad to be saying farewell to our much-loved Landcare Facilitator, Asha Bannon, in a few weeks. At the same time, we’re excited that Asha is taking on a brand new role with North Central Catchment Management Authority, and will stay part of the Connecting Country family as a valued member, volunteer and supporter.

This means we’re now recruiting for a new Landcare Facilitator to join the Connecting Country staff team.

Landcare Facilitator – Mount Alexander region

We have an exciting opportunity for a hardworking person with experience in natural resource management and community groups to join our established community-run organisation. Connecting Country works with landholders and community groups to restore landscapes across the Mount Alexander Region of central Victoria, on both public and private land. Further information about our work is available on our website (connectingcountry.org.au).

The Landcare Facilitator is responsible for supporting around 30 active Landcare and environmental volunteer groups within the Mount Alexander region to build their capacity and resilience. We are looking for someone who is approachable, organised, and passionate about helping Landcare groups and other volunteers to achieve their goals to protect, enhance and restore the land and natural environment.

This is a part-time role (three days per week) based in Castlemaine, Victoria. It is a 12-month contract position, with contract extension subject to performance and funding availability.

We seek someone who can:

• Share a passion for supporting Landcare and community groups in the Mount Alexander region.
• Engage and communicate effectively with people from a range of backgrounds in an open and friendly way.
• Write clearly and concisely, and communicate complex concepts in simple language.
• Work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Plan and manage project activities, budgets and schedules.
• Manage time and workload, coordinating multiple tasks simultaneously to meet deadlines.
• Be responsible, self-motivated, reliable, adaptable and solution-focussed.
• Exercise good judgment, make ethical decisions and set priorities.
• Contribute as part of the Connecting Country team.
• Use Microsoft Office and other relevant software.
• Drive a manual four-wheel drive vehicle (with training if required).
• Be flexible as the situation demands, including working outside normal work hours on occasion.

How to apply

For further details about the role including full position description and preferred skills – click here

If you have any questions, please email Frances at info@connectingcountry.org.au (available Monday to Thursday).

Please provide your written application by email to info@connectingcountry.org.au, including a brief application letter summarising your suitability for the role and curricula vitae demonstrating your relevant skills and experience.

To learn more about Landcare in the Mount Alexander region, watch our new Landcare celebration video! – click here

Landcarers at work near Campbells Creek (photo by Gen Kay)

Healthy dams delivers healthy benefits

Posted on 23 August, 2021 by Ivan

Connecting Country was delighted to hold the third event for our Healthy Landscape project on Saturday 14 August 2021, after multiple COVID-related delays. We held the event live on-farm to a virtual audience by live streaming from a stunning property in Taradale VIC, on the Coliban River.

The event was kindly hosted by Chris Burgess and Martin Shaddick, who have worked tirelessly to control weeds and revegetate the property over the last 15 years. Chris is also the president of Taradale Landcare. The property features multiple dams and wetland areas, with plentiful birdlife enjoying the revegetation when we visited, and also signs of echidnas and a wombat!

Ecologist Karl Just, who has a fascination with aquatic plants and animals, gave an engaging and thoughtful presentation. He compared the two dams on the property, their water quality, vegetation, and the aquatic life you might expect to see within them.

Karl Just provided an excellent overview of how to improve farm dams for habitat and water quality (photo: Connecting Country)

For those who may have missed the live stream event on the day, it’s not too late. To watch online – click here

We have also provided the following summary of the information covered in the presentation.

Healthy dams

Actions for a healthy dam

For a healthy dam consider the following actions where possible:

• Exclude stock from the water and where possible create an off-dam stock watering point. Less access for stock reduces added nutrients and disturbance. Excessive nutrient levels can be bad for the water as they can lead to algal blooms which suck out dissolved oxygen, depleting this resource for plants and animals.
• Create buffering vegetation between nutrient sources and water – the wider the better. Adding a diversity of plants increases filtering capacity. The more plant diversity the more habitat value and animals will use the resource. If you have a choice about the direction of the buffering vegetation, choose the western side of the dam to block prevailing winds and reduce evaporation.
• Include as many different habitat elements as possible such as plants, logs and rocks. Even old roofing tiles can also be useful. Place logs both vertically and horizontally. Horizontally to trap sediments and seeds, and create micro climates for plants to grow and vertically to increase access to water for animals. Logs that have some branches emerging from the water that offers perches for birds too.
• If building a new dam, keep in mind that the flatter the gradient the more different plants and animals will be able to use it. There will be less variation in water depth for plants and it will create shallow nursery sites for animals. It is also useful to wait and observe a new dam for 12 months to see what natural regeneration happens. Fauna can bring in different plants, and you can get an idea of high and low water levels, helping to determine where the different zones are and where to plant.

Aquatic zones

The layers or zones of aquatic vegetation:

• Submerged aquatics (below 400 mm from normal top water level) – such as pond weed, eel grass.
• Deep marsh zone (250-500 mm below normal top water level) – such as water ribbons, milfoils, tall spike sedge, river club sedge.
• Shallow marsh zone (edge of water to 250 mm below normal top water level) – such as spike sedge, swamp crassula.
• Riparian edge zone (plants can handle inundation but also seasonal drying) – such as sedges, rushes.

The second dam on the host property was a useful case study, with Karl suggesting practical actions to improve its habitat value (photo: Connecting Country)

Revegetation considerations

If want to start dam revegetation, start with the riparian edge as this is the easiest and most diverse strata. Source tubestock from local indigenous nursery.

Be aware steep sides can be difficult to revegetate because they dry/flood more quickly. For this reason, the best time to plant around the riparian edge is late winter or spring, as dams are usually at full capacity, giving the plants some time to establish before drying, and less chance of getting flooded. Plants that grow quickly such as sedges and rushes filter water and create habitat more quickly.

Plant deeper aquatics when the dam is at a lower capacity. These can be a little harder to establish but worth a try.

Plant shrubs in winter. However, avoid putting woody trees and shrubs on the dam’s retaining banks as the roots can create pathways for water to flow, and this can undermine your dam. Where this is not an issue (on high side of dam) you could try planting Yellow Box, Candlebark, River Red-gums and Wattles, lots of wattles such as Blackwood, Black Wattle, Silver Wattle, Lightwood or other shrubs such as Prickly Tea-tree, River Tea-tree, River bottlebrush or Hop Bush. These provide landing sites and refuge for animals to get close to the water and have a drink.

Useful resources on plant identification

Flora of Victoria – click here
Flora of Castlemaine – click here

Answers to audience questions during the presentation 

How do you plant in the water?

You can push plants into the mud. In tough clay soils, it can be tricky to dig. Some plants such as water ribbons might need some protection for birds, such as ducks. You can use wire or netting, making sure that you check regularly to ensure no birds and other fauna become trapped.

Are yabbies and leeches bad?

Yabbies and leeches occupy a variable range of conditions of waterways and are not an indicator of poor or good health. Look for diversity of bugs to get a measure of water quality. There are lots of resources online or get involved in your local waterwatch – click here

How do a learn more about the little bugs in my dam?

Take a look at this resource from La Trobe University on macroinvertebrates – click here

Fish! Do you have any advice?

Make sure you don’t have European Carp! Try and remove if they are present as they will eat, animals and vegetation and stir up the water. Native fish that will grow to around 10 cm, have more chance of coexisting with tadpoles. Try small-bodied indigenous native fish such as Obscure/Mountain Galaxias or Southern Pygmy Perch. See the fish guide developed by the North Central Catchment Management Authority – click here

For more information on improving the water quality and habitat value for dams, as well as sustainable land management, please buy a copy of our Healthy Landscapes guide.

Copies of the guide will be offered to Landcare and community groups, and available for general sale (around $15 per copy) in Castlemaine through the Castlemaine Visitor Information Centre, Stoneman’s Bookroom and Mount Alexander Animal Welfare (MAAW) Op Shop. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or would like further information.

Connecting Country extends a big thank you to Chris Burgess and Martin Shaddick for hosting this event, and to Karl Just for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for healthy wetlands. We also acknowledge the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, through funding from Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, for supporting this project.

Bird of the month: Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Posted on 19 August, 2021 by Ivan

Welcome to our eighententh 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 photos by Ash Vigus

Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)

More questions than answers are thrown up by this often secretive species. However, occasionally the Fan-tailed Cuckoo will show itself in plain view, as I had the opportunity to witness recently whilst doing bird surveys in the Whipstick (north of Bendigo in Victoria). The bird was hanging around, low to the ground, in a patch of Cassinia, which is good habitat for small birds. I’m sure of no coincidence…

In short, the Fan-tailed Cuckoo inhabits open woodland with dense, tall understory, preferably in a gully. Locally that means Golden Wattle and Silver Wattle, and occasionally mallee shrubs. As partial migrants, in winter it appears birds generally move north and return in spring. However, some birds remain all year.

Apparently, some birds stay close to where they hatched, others migrate and return to near where they hatched, and others move on. In short, their complicated movements are not well understood. Recapture in banding studies is low and the studies few, leaving us scratching our heads to some extent. What is obvious is that calling is heard in spring and generally not in winter. Is this due to winter migration or are they just keeping quiet?

The Fan-tailed Cuckoo enjoys hairy caterpillars in its diet, but will also take a variety of other insects and their larvae (photo by Ash Vigus)

The diet of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo consists mostly of insects, including Lepidoptera larvae (caterpillars), often foraged close to or on the ground, or in sallying flights. Interestingly, Fan-tailed Cuckoos can be found in mixed foraging flocks of the exact insectivorous bird species whose nests they parasitise. Wow, another question … why would a small woodland bird tolerate the presence of a larger bird who kills their eggs?

Talking of killing eggs, the whole point of cuckoos is that they lay eggs in other birds’ nests, who then raise the cuckoo chick to fledging. Let’s start at the beginning. Some cuckoo eggs mimic those of the host species, but Fan-tailed Cuckoo eggs do not. Their host species are Speckled Warbler, Gerygone, White-browed Scrubwren, heathwrens, fairy-wrens and thornbills. However, studies show that Brown Thornbill and White-browed Scrubwren are the most common victims. One thing in common with these species is their nests are domed or enclosed and close to the ground. At times Fan-tailed Cuckoos will also lay in cup-shaped nests built by robins and occasionally honeyeaters.

Fan-tailed Cuckoos are found throughout eastern Australia, south-western Western Australia and Tasmania (photo by Ash Vigus)

The Fan-tailed Cuckoo will lay one egg in a host’s nest. It has been suggested that the egg is placed via their bill or by holding in the foot, but there is little evidence of actual laying. How the host’s eggs are removed is unknown. There are records of Pallid Cuckoos removing a Fan-tailed Cuckoo egg, and visa versa, from the host’s nest. Now that’s a pickle! Generally, cuckoos leave the feeding and raising of their chicks to the poor overworked host parents. However, there are a few records of Cuckoo parents supplementing the feeding of their chicks, but not reducing the work for the host birds in any way. It just means a very well-fed Cuckoo chick.

Have you now got more questions about Fan-tailed Cuckoos, than answers? I know I do.

To hear Fan-tailed Cuckoo calls, please – click here

Jane Rusden
BirdLife Castlemaine District

The Great Southern Bioblitz: 22-25 October 2021

Posted on 19 August, 2021 by Ivan

For several years the iNaturalist citizen science platform has run the City Nature Challenge – a gentle competition between cities and regions around the world to see which location can collect and identify the most sightings of life-forms in their area over a week-long period each March.

In 2020 the Great Southern Bioblitz was born. This is a similar event to City Nature Challenge but held in October (southern hemisphere spring) when more plants are flowering, animals are more active and fungi are still plentiful. This year, the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club is hosting the Great Southern Bioblitz for our region of central Victoria, i.e., the Mount Alexander Shire and the eastern half of Hepburn Shire.

All are welcome and encouraged to contribute. You simply photograph as many plants and animals as you can within the region during the Bioblitz period, 22-25 October 2021, and load your sightings into iNaturalist via your phone or computer. Even if you are unable to record your own sightings you can still contribute by identifying the observations that others have uploaded.

Great Southern hemisphere bioblitz is a chance to engage with nature (photos: Euan Moore)

The Great Southern Bioblitz is not only fun, but an important way of recording the life-forms that are present in our area. Once you add a sighting to iNaturalist, others can help with or verify the identification. Data are then fed into repositories such as Atlas of Living Australia and state biodiversity databases such as Victorian Biodiversity Atlas.

To find out more:

• Visit the Great Southern Bioblitz website – click here
• Check out the 71 groups (10 in Victoria) taking part so far – click here

To download the iNaturalist app to your device or create an account on your computer – click here

The Great Southern Bioblitz is coming from 22-25 October 2021 (photo: Great Southern Bioblitz)

Training workshops

The Great Southern Bioblitz organising team has scheduled some training workshops to help people learn how to use iNaturalist and how to take part in the Bioblitz. This training will be useful beyond the Bioblitz as it will enable you to submit sightings from anywhere at any time.

Register for training at the following links:

• A beginners guide for using iNaturalist
  Tuesday 17 August 2021 from 8:30 – 9:30 pm AEST
  To register – click here
• Advanced tips for using iNaturalist
  Tuesday 7 September 2021 from 8:30 – 9:30 pm AEST
  To register – click here
• A beginners guide for using iNaturalist
  Tuesday 28 September 2021 from 8:30 – 9:30 pm AEST
  To register – click here

A big thank you Euan Moore from the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club for the text and photographs for this article. To learn more about Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club – click here

Hot off the press: Healthy Landscapes guide

Posted on 11 August, 2021 by Ivan

It has been nearly a year in the making, and we are super-happy to announce that Connecting Country’s Healthy Landscapes guide has arrived fresh from the printers! And, it looks amazing (in our humble opinion!). The 44-page guide has been developed to assist our local farmers and landholders to manage their land for multiple outcomes, benefiting wildlife, property and landscape health. It is targeted to the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria, which makes it unique to our special local area. It forms part of Connecting Country’s Healthy Landscapes project, a Smart Farms project that delivers a series of educational workshops and a land management guide for landholders.

The Healthy Landscapes guide provides background context on our region’s natural assets, as well as eight concise sections on actions landholders can take to protect and restore habitat on their properties in central Victoria.

Topics included in the guide are:

• Protecting remnant vegetation.
• Make a plan.
• Control weeds.
• Control rabbits.
• Revegetate your land.
• Help hollow-using wildlife.
• Manage your dam as habitat.
• Care for paddocks.

The guide features a variety of stunning images, such as these on the front cover from Bronwyn Silver (bush sunset), Jane Satchell (gnarly wood) and Geoff Park (Yellow-footed Antechinus).

‘Landholders often ask us about where they can find information relevant to our region on how to manage their land to benefit the environment and farming,’ said Jacqui Slingo (Landscape Restoration Coordinator at Connecting Country). ‘We are thrilled to have produced a guide that allows landholders, especially the many new property owners in our region, to get started with caring for their property by protecting native vegetation and wildlife habitat through actions like weed and rabbit control.’

We would like to send a huge thanks to the many wonderful contributors in our community, including photographers, volunteer reviewers and experts who generously contributed their time and talents to the guide. Thank you! Thanks also to Jane Satchell, who illustrated and designed visual aspects of the guide, and led us through the layout process through to printing.

Connecting Country would like to thank the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, through funding from Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, for supporting this project.

Copies of the guide will be offered to Landcare and community groups, and available for general sale (around $15 per copy) in Castlemaine through the Castlemaine Visitor Information Centre, Stoneman’s Bookroom and Mount Alexander Animal Welfare (MAAW) Op Shop. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or would like further information.

To read more about the Healthy Landscapes project – click here

Mysterious stockpiling frenzy hits the bush!

Posted on 5 August, 2021 by Ivan

We have all heard about the shortage of toilet paper across the nation, but it appears to have reached new levels in the bush blocks of Muckleford! We received a series of intriguing images from Connecting Country’s very own President and advocate, Brendan Sydes, showing some baffling theft of toilet paper courtesy of an unknown animal. We have a mystery to solve! Who took the roll of toilet paper from the outdoor toilet, to their home?  Let us play a game of ‘guess who stole the toilet paper’, revealing the clues in each image, and letting our audience guess the clever, resourceful and likely beautiful culprit.

A big thank you to Brendan for capturing this interesting mystery and sending us the photographs. Brendan noted that ‘The blue stuff in the box is a puppy chew toy which has also been commandeered by the occupant. The nest box has been there for about seven years and has been occupied by various native animals and bees before its present occupants’.

Let us know your thoughts and insights!

Landcare Week: 3-9 August 2021

Posted on 5 August, 2021 by Ivan

National Landcare Week

Throughout the first week of August, Landcare Week celebrates the tireless efforts and commitment of volunteers who help to maintain and restore our natural environment. In its 30-year anniversary this year, Landcare Week provides an opportunity for people to come together and learn more about Australia’s environment to help take care of our most precious resource. The annual Landcare Week campaign celebrates and acknowledges the thousands of Landcare networks and groups, facilitators, and other environmental care community groups, and volunteers across Australia working on conservation and sustainable land management activities in their local area.

Landcare is an important part of our community (photo: Jacqui Slingo)

From 3-9 August 2021, Landcare week will be aiming to raise awareness of all the vital environmental work being done across the country and to get people involved with taking care of our natural resources. It doesn’t take much to participate in Landcare Week and help make a positive difference. There are plenty of ways to contribute that don’t take up a lot of time.

Here are six ways to get involved with Landcare Week, courtesy of Landcare Victoria:

• Plant native trees, shrubs and grasses to create habitat for native animals to improve biodiversity.
• Put a birdhouse or nesting box for different species in your backyard. Every animal needs a home!
• Ensure your dog is kept on a leash when near bushland and keep your cat inside overnight as they often hunt birds and other small native mammals.
• Avoid chemical pesticides and herbicides in your garden to help protect bees and insects and use natural alternatives instead.
• If you can’t reuse or re-purpose an item, try to recycle it to reduce pollution. Many household groceries still come in soft plastic wrapping. Most supermarkets will recycle these for you if you bag them up and bring them with you the next time you go to the shops.
• Use public transport or riding a bike instead of driving to reduce your carbon footprint. Or if it’s necessary to drive to work, try to organise a carpool.

Revegetation of degraded woodlands is a common theme of our local Landcare projects over the past decade (photo: Gen Kay)

National Landcare Conference and Awards: Virtual event (courtesy of Landcare Australia)

The feature of this year’s Landcare Week celebration is the gathering of thousands of landcarers from across the nation, joining together at the virtual 2021 National Landcare Conference and Awards events to share the latest innovations, technologies and tangible ideas to take action on.

From Australia’s biggest cities or the most rural locations, anyone can participate as a free online delegate on Thurs and Fri, 5-6 August 2021.

The program comprises a diverse range of over 60 speakers from the landcare community, government representatives and academics in 40 sessions across the four conference streams: Sustainable Agriculture; Environment and Climate Change; Community Partnerships in Action; and Landcare Impact. Delegates will also have the opportunity to attend the following panel discussions:

• Landcare Farming: Landcare and farming, is the connection still valued?
  Bushfire Recovery and Resilience: Landcare’s role in recovery of communities, natural assets and farms after bushfire events.
• Wellbeing and Mental Health Panel: Landcare Is ALL about trees right?
• Cultural Land Management Panel: Integrating Indigenous Perspectives for better land management.

The conference will be live streamed and recorded, so attendees can dip in out and catch-up later. Free registration provides access to the National Landcare Awards presentation, educational resources and more.

Landscape architect, environmental educator and television presenter with an all-consuming passion for plants and people, Costa Georgiadis is the MC for the events. Costa is a long-time champion of landcare and also a Junior Landcare Amabassador.

Author, filmmaker and Indigenous fire practitioner, Victor Steffensen will be a special guest speaker along with Barry Hunter, for an engaging talk on Country, sharing the advantages and benefits that embracing cultural burn methods can bring to help the Landcare community tackle climate change. The panel will include a conversation on how farmers and landowners can get started and have conversations with Traditional Owners. The Cultural Land Management panel has been scheduled at a very special time of Friday afternoon to close the conference along with young landcare leader and Kalari Wiradjjuri woman, Dhani Gilbert.

A highlight of the conference program is the 2021 National Landcare Awards to celebrate the 69 finalists from the 2019 State & Territory Landcare Awards, where winners of the nine National Landcare Awards categories will be announced. The winners of the Bob Hawke Landcare Award and the General Jeffery Soil Health Award will also be announced.

A lonely tree makes plenty of friends

Posted on 29 July, 2021 by Ivan

Connecting Country has long advocated for raising awareness of paddock trees and their importance in providing habitat in a disconnected landscape.  To the credit of many local farmers and landholders, we often see paddock trees spared from cropping and clearing, allowing them to support many species of birds, insects and arboreal mammals. You can find a number of blogs we’ve published over the years on how to manage paddock and lonely trees – click here and here. 

We recently discovered a great article published on The Conversation, which highlights why and how lone trees can be managed in the landscape to support wildlife to move through agricultural landscapes. The article covers examples and research in a number of countries and concludes that lone trees are vital to provide wildlife stepping stones between healthy patches of habitat. Please see the published article below courtesy of The Conversation. We would love to see some photos of your favourite lone trees in the landscape!

A lone tree in a paddock in Guildford, providing important refuge for travelling wildlife. Photo: Ivan Carter

A lone tree makes it easier for birds and bees to navigate farmland, like a stepping stone between habitats

Vast, treeless paddocks and fields can be dangerous for wildlife, who encounter them as “roadblocks” between natural areas nearby. But our new research found even one lone tree in an otherwise empty paddock can make a huge difference to an animal’s movement.

We focused on the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, a biodiversity hotspot with 1,361 different known species of wildlife, such as jaguars, sloths, tamarins and toucans. Habitat loss from expanding and intensifying farmland, however, increasingly threatens the forest’s rich diversity of species and ecosystems. We researched the value of paddock trees and hedges for birds and bees, and found small habitat features like these can double how easily they find their way through farmland.

This is important because enabling wildlife to journey across farmlands not only benefits the conservation of species, but also people. It means bees can improve crop pollination, and seed-dispersing birds can help restore ecosystems.

Connecting habitats

Lone trees in paddocks, hedges and tree-lined fences are common features of farmlands across the world, from Brazil to Australia.

They may be few and far between, but this scattered vegetation makes important areas of refuge for birds and bees, acting like roads or stepping stones to larger natural habitats nearby. Scattered paddock trees, for instance, offer shelter, food, and places to land. They’ve also been found to create cooler areas within their canopy and right beneath it, providing some relief on scorching summer days.

Hedges and tree-lined fences are also important, as they provide a safe pathway by providing hiding places from predators. For our research, we used satellite images of the Atlantic Forest and randomly selected 20 landscapes containing different amounts of forest cover.

We then used mathematical models to calculate the habitat connectivity of these landscapes for three groups of species — bees, small birds such as the rufous-bellied thrush, and large birds such as toucans — based on how far they can travel. And we found in areas with low forest cover, wildlife is twice as likely to move from one natural habitat to another if paddock trees and hedges can be used as stepping stones.

We also found vegetation around creeks and waterways are the most prevalent and important type of on-farm habitat for wildlife movement. In Brazil, there are legal protections for these areas preventing them from being cleared, which means vegetation along waterways has become relatively common compared to lone trees and hedges, in places with lower forest cover.

Insights for Australia

For example, in Australia, many koala populations depend on scattered trees for movement and habitat. In 2018, CSIRO researchers in Queensland tracked koalas using GPS, and found koalas used roadside vegetation and scattered trees for feeding and resting significantly more than they expected. Likewise, lone trees, hedges and tree-lined fences can also facilitate the movement of Australian fruit-eating birds such as the Olive-backed Oriole and the Rose-crowned Fruit Dove. Improving habitat connectivity can help these birds travel across landscapes, feeding and dispersing seeds as they go.

In fragmented landscapes, where larger patches of vegetation are hard to find, dispersing the seeds of native plants encourages natural regeneration of ecosystems. This is a key strategy to help achieve environmental restoration and conservation targets.

To read the full article, please click here.

Help with identifying local frogs

Posted on 29 July, 2021 by Jacqui

With some better rainfall in our region over the past few months, you may be noticing frogs calling in our local creeks, dams and wetter areas.

If you hear a frog call that you can’t identify, the FrogID App can be handy with identifying tricky frog calls of our region.

FrogID is Australia’s first national citizen science frog identification initiative – a project led by the Australian Museum in partnership with Australia’s leading natural history museums and IBM. It is free but you do need to create a profile to record frog calls which then uploads the records to the Australian Museum frog experts for species verification.

One of the reasons to use the FrogID app is to ensure that all frog records are verified prior to entering records into the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), the largest database of flora and fauna records in Australia. Records entered directly in the ALA are not verified, and it was recently discovered that there were some incorrect records of frog species entered in the Mount Alexander region. The ALA contains a number of sightings in our area of Striped Marsh Frog, which was previously rare in this region. However, upon closer assessment by frog experts, they suspect the frog recordings are actually the Spotted Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis), not the Striped Marsh Frog (Limndoynastes peroni). The two calls are similar and easily confused.

This is an important case study of how incorrect identification can potentially affect distribution datasets. This is not the case with the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, as every record submitted by users is verified for possible errors or mistaken identification.

The frog recordings submitted via the FrogID app are often verified in less than 24 hours, and it is a great resource to improve your skills and learn a lot more about frogs along the journey.

In just one year, FrogID generated the equivalent of 13% of all frog records collected in Australia over the last 240 years – an amazing effort! The submitted recordings have resulted in over 66,000 validated calls and detected 175 of Australia’s 240 known native frogs.

The data has provided information about:

• Impacts of climate change and pollution on Australia’s frogs including the first evidence of the decline in Sydney of the Australian Green Tree Frog.
• Spread of the invasive Cane Toad.
• Breeding populations of 28 globally threatened and 13 nationally threatened frog species.

The FrogID science blog has some interesting articles on frog ID and what happens for frogs in urbanised environments.

To download the FrogID App – click here

Location of all frog records for the first year of FrogID in Australia (image: ALA)

Bird of the month: Powerful Owl

Posted on 29 July, 2021 by Ivan

Welcome to our sevententh 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 and photos from the brilliant Damian Kelly.

Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)

These guys are huge, Powerful Owls are enormous, amazing and BIG! However, for such a massive bird they can be extremely difficult to find, even when you know their location. My partner has excellent bird spotting eyes (that’s why he’s a ‘keeper’ and I really hope he doesn’t read this) and he describes them as looking like a dark basket ball very high in the canopy, in the biggest tree around. If you’re really lucky, have the patience and magic like Damian Kelly does, and a very long camera lens, you can see Powerful Owls as clearly as Damian’s stunning photos.

I tell you, Bird of the Month would be pathetic if it weren’t for Damian Kelly, but regular readers have probably guessed that.

Back to Powerful Owls and a closer look at their magnificence.

I’ve said they are big and they are in fact Australia’s largest owl, with a body length of 60cm and wingspans of 110cm to 140cm. It appears pairs mate for life and may be together for up to 30 years. Males are generally larger than females, she will do all the 35-38 days of egg sitting through winter, while the male feeds her. If you see a Powerful Owl through winter, it should be the male snoozing with the food he has hunted for the female, in his talons. Usually a possum such as a Ringtail, or Glider, as well as some bird species including cockatoos, ravens, magpies and choughs, which would have been snatched from their roost during the night. Looking at the species Powerful Owls eat, it’s evident they are all arboreal, in fact 95% arboreal. The remaining 5% is not preferred food and is made up of rabbits and larger insects when obtainable, like longicorn and scarab beetles. Pellets of partially digested bones and fur that are brought up can sometimes be found on the ground under roosts, along with whitewash, which is their poo.

Cryptic adult on the higher branch, and juvenile Powerful Owl with pale breast. Photo: Damian Kelly

Data shows Powerful Owl populations have fallen to around 30 breeding pairs in what remains of Box-Ironbark Forests, and they are listed as “threatened” as populations continue to struggle. Pressures include lack of large old trees with suitably sized hollows, as well as declines in arboreal mammal populations. Additionally, with a home range of 300ha to 1500ha, suitable habitat for these huge owls is not be easy to find. Having said that, they will roost in non-native trees as well as natives, and can be found in a variety of habitats from moister to dryer forests, but have also been found in urban areas of Melbourne and Sydney. Clearly an adaptable bird, but with limits, perhaps due to its large size.

As a note, the whereabouts of Powerful Owls is kept a bit of a secret, this is due to their rarity and susceptibility for disturbance by humans. If you wish to go looking for them, expect long hours in the cold and wet, a sore neck by the end of it and a high chance of failure, however rewards are huge if you manage to spot a Powerful Owl, and please make sure it is not disturbed in any way.

To listen to the Powerful Owl distinctive call and for more information about local Owls, see our previous blog here.

A Powerful Owl with its dinner, probably a magpie. Photo: Damian Kelly