Woodland Bird Brochure launch next Monday (8 Dec)

Posted on 2 December, 2014 by Tanya Loos

It has been a couple of years in the making…
Connecting Country are thrilled to announce that the “Woodland Birds of Central Victoria” brochure is printed and ready to be released into the world.

When: Monday, December 8th 2014 from 5.30pm until about 6.30pm
Where: In the Hub garden, on corner of Barker St and Templeton St (enter via gate on Templeton St)
RSVPs are preferred as we will be supplying drinks and nibbles. RSVP to me, Tanya Loos, on 5472 1594 or tanya@connectingcountry.org.au

The brochure was initially developed by past Connecting Country Woodland Bird Coordinator Kerryn Herman and a team of local naturalists and photographers.  As part of my role of Habitat for Bush Birds Coordinator – I re-ignited the project and added in information on our focal woodland bird species, the feathered five; Diamond Firetail, Hooded Robin, Painted Button-quail, Jacky Winter and Brown Treecreeper.  The subtitle of the brochure is “An identification and habitat management guide” because the birds are ordered into the particular kind of woodland bird habitat we might expect to see them in.

Geoff Park – well known for numerous local biodiversity activities, including his popular Natural Newstead website – is one who has generously contributed photographs to the brochure. He has also kindly agreed to speak at the launch about the brochure and its value – and of course, about our woodland birds!

We hope that landowners, landcare groups, schools and budding bird enthusiasts enjoy the Woodland Birds of Central Victoria brochure.  One free copy of the brochure will be available on the day for each attendee, with a gold coin donation for any additional copies.  All funds raised will go towards future reprints of the brochure.  And for those of you looking for nature-orientated Christmas gifts, copies of Friends of Box-Ironbark’s Mosses of dry forests of south eastern Australia and Tanya’s book Daylesford Nature Diary will be available for purchase.

Photographs and guidance for the brochure were provided by Nigel Harland, Damian Kelly, Greg and Jeanette License, Geoff Park, Chris Tzaros, Debbie Worland, Beth Mellick, Brendan Sydes and Ern Perkins.  Support for the brochure project came from the Victorian Government’s Communities for Nature program and from generous private donations to Connecting Country.

This photograph of a Weebill, a species often found within regenerating woodland habitat, was taken by Chris Tzaros.

The brochure on display next to a very old Wombat skull.

An internationally recognised IBA in our midst

Posted on 26 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are sites of global bird importance, and are considered to be critical for bird conservation.  A few years ago, BirdLife Australia identified approximately 300 IBAs across the Australian territories, each of which had to meet at least one of four strict criteria.

In Connecting Country’s area of interest, four local patches of habitat were included in 2009 as part of the Bendigo Box Ironbark IBA.  These are the Muckleford forest; forest within mostly privately owned land in Strangways (but also encompassing the Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve); the Sandon Forest; and the Pilchers Bridge Nature Conservation Reserve.  These locations also encompass 4 of the 11 local priority areas within Connecting Country’s Woodland Bird Action Plan.

This Bendigo Box Ironbark area was considered to be an IBA on the basis of it being an internationally important site for the Flame Robin, Diamond Firetail and Swift Parrot.  The Diamond Firetail is one of Connecting Country’s ‘feathered five’ bird species.

Click on the map to see the location of all Australia IBAs.

At the same time as the G20 meeting in Brisbane was recently being held, Sydney was hosting the World Parks Conference.  At this meeting, Samantha Vine from BirdLife Australia gave a presentation which identified five Australian IBAs that were ‘in danger’ and another 14  with ‘very high’ threat levels (click here and here for more information).  Thankfully, the Bendigo Box-Ironbark IBA was not one of these considered at imminent risk of major bird losses.

But, this doesn’t mean we should be complacent about our local bird habitat areas.  Over the coming months and years, Connecting Country will continue to support landholders and Landcare groups to undertake on-ground habitat improvement works and biodiversity monitoring within these and other locations across the greater Mount Alexander region.

30 November 2014 – Final Cactus Field Day

Posted on 26 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

The final Cactus Field Day will take place this Sunday, 30 November, in Seers Road Welshmans Reef south of Maldon. The Tarrengower Cactus Control Group will also be holding its AGM at this field day.  All are welcome to attend. So come along and help the group finish a great year’s work with another successful day. Further details are in this flyer.

Connecting Country’s New Look Website

Posted on 24 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

Visit the Connecting Country website today (www.connectingcountry.org.au) and you’ll notice we’ve got a ‘new look’.

Connecting Country’s website has been relatively unchanged since the early days. Thanks to a grant from the Norman Wettenhall Foundation we’ve upgraded the site to make it more relevant and easier to navigate.

Our new home page now provides clear links to direct users to pages covering news and events, about, learning and resources, on ground works, monitoring, and landcare. Our blog posts and the useful calendar are now located on the ‘news and events’ page.  Links to recent blogs are also available along the right hand side of the home page.

In particular, a main focus of the upgrade is to provide a space where local landholders and community can learn more about their property and the local landscape, and ways in which it’s values can be managed and monitored. In our new ‘learning and resources’ pages we’ve gathered the latest information on landscape restoration. The resources are provided in a step-by-step process that can be followed and implemented at home. This section also includes our annual education program with summaries of past events and links to the resources used.

Our website and, in particular, the ‘learning and resources’ pages is a work in progress and will constantly be updated and reviewed. We welcome your feedback and suggestions on content, and please feel free to send any comments or useful resources you’d like to share to krista@connectingcountry.org.au.

9 Dec 2014 – Webinar about funding

Posted on 24 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) is holding a free ‘Webinar’ about where and how community organisations can successfully seek funding. (A webinar is a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations.) On the day there will be a number of expert speakers and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.

This is the second in a series of webinars developed by FRRR, with the support of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, as part of the Creating Inspiring Rural Community Leadership and Engagement (CIRCLE) program.

Click here to view a flyer which includes more information about the Webinar, registration details and links to introductory videos that are designed to help people applying for grants.

24 Nov 2014 – CSIRO Scientist in Campbells Creek

Posted on 17 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

Dr Linda Broadhurst, senior CSIRO plant geneticist

The Friends of Campbell’s Creek Landcare Group are sponsoring a presentation by Dr Linda Broadhurst, a senior C.S.I.R.O plant geneticist. Linda has spent many years researching genetic diversity in native vegetation to ensure the best seed is selected for revegetation.

Topics will include provenance, the genetic variation inside species, how local is local and why does this matter in revegetation, and the Silver Banksia seed production area project.

Linda is team leader for modelling the effects of climate change on native vegetation in the Murray Darling Basin. Preliminary results do not look good for several species including the honey producing Yellow Box tree.  You may remember that she was seeking Yellow Box genetic samples from the central Victorian area back in early 2012 (click here to see 2012 blog).

Dr. Broadhurst is an excellent communicator who makes complicated science accessible to all. Anyone with an interest in native vegetation, genetics or climate modelling is invited to attend what will be a fascinating and informative presentation.

Dr Broadhurst’s talk will be at Campbell’s Creek Community Centre on 24th November at 7.30pm. Contact Steve Ellis on 5472-3678 for more info.  

An AGM, a doco and a call for an EOI!

Posted on 14 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

Thank you to everyone that attended and contributed to Connecting Country’s AGM on Tuesday 14 October 2014.  It was a night to celebrate our achievements from the past 12 months, look to the future and also consider where our activities fit into the bigger picture.  Both the 2013-14 annual report and 2014-2024 strategic plan were launched on the night.  In his President’s report, Brendan Sydes spoke about the recent presentation that he and Max had made to the Senate committee on National Landcare.  As well as being interested in our perspectives on Landcare activities at the local level, the Senators were also quite intrigued by Connecting Country itself, with many questions about its activities, the community participation and its relationship to CMAs, Landcare groups and government agencies.

At the AGM, Brendan also spoke glowingly of two retiring committee members – Malcolm Fyffe and Maurie Dynon.  Both have been on the CC committee since the earliest days of the organisation and have made significant contributions over that time.  Artwork by local painter Ben Laycock were presented to each as a small token of our appreciation.  Thank you Maurie and Malcolm.

The newly elected committee of CC for the next year is as follows: Brendan Sydes (president), Marie Jones (vice president), April Merrick (treasurer), Paul Hampton (who also subsequently offered to fill the vacant secretary role), Malcolm Trainor, Ann-Marie Monda and Saide Gray.  As such, there is one vacant position on the committee, as an ‘Ordinary’ committee member.  If you are potentially interested in joining the committee, please feel free to contact Chris (Director – chris@connectingcountry.org.au) or Brendan (president@connectingcountry.org.au) for more information.

Another highlight of the evening was the showing of the documentary – “Rediscovering the Country – A Journey into Landscape Restoration”, which includs a section near the start about Connecting Country.  Three of the stars of the film (Geoff Park, Beth Mellick and Malcolm Fyffe), plus two of the film-makers (Ian Penna, Stephen Oakes), were available afterwards for a question and answer session.  Many thanks to Geoff Park for being the MC for this session.  For those of you who missed the film, it can now be viewed or downloaded from the film-makers website (link here) – which also has more background information and resources.

Connecting Country Into The Future

Posted on 13 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

At Connecting Country’s AGM on Tuesday 14 October 2014, re-elected president Brendan Sydes launched the new strategic plan for the organisation.  It was developed as an early draft by staff and the committee, with subsequent revisions made following feedback from members and specialist advisory groups comprising of local community and CC supporters.  The 10 year plan identifies four focus areas for the Connecting Country – Restoring Landscapes, Supporting Landcare, Engaging Community and Monitoring and Evaluation.  The plan also broadly identifies what Connecting Country should be doing to achieve the best outcomes possible for these focus areas.  The next step for the committee and staff is to start taking the guidelines and recommendations from the plan, and putting them into real actions.

An electronic copy of the plan is available (click here) or can be picked up as a hard copy from the office.

Thank you to everyone that contributed to its development.  And well done to Krista for coordinating the whole process and putting all the range of great ideas, suggestions and visions into a great final document.  Any further feedback or suggestions about the plan or its implementation would be welcomed.

Rewarding Feedback

Posted on 12 November, 2014 by Connecting Country

Workshop program participants Dr Malcolm Barnett, Liz Heath and Caroline Lovell have been rewarded for their contribution this year. The three were amongst those who provided some detailed and considered feedback on the 2014 workshop program. As a result, Malcolm will receive a visit from an ecologist for a two-hour property ‘wander’ and Q&A; Liz takes home a nest box to provide an instant home for a Brush-tailed Phascogale or Sugar Glider; and Caroline Lovell now has a copy of Leon Costerman’s excellent field guide to eucalypts of south-eastern Australia, ‘Trees of Victoria and Adjoining Areas’.

Thanks to all presenters, participants and steering group members for contributing to a successful program this year. The six workshop sessions involved 133 participants (45 individual participants) managing 1925 hectares or 4756 acres and 28 presenters. Plus around 130 people attended the opening launch with Ian Lunt.

If you missed out on this year’s sessions you can read up about them – and access resources – on the Education Program Pages.

The education steering group met recently and we are well on the way in planning for the 2015 program. Next year’s program will continue on the field-based activities, but we will run two separate series, in autumn and spring, with something indoors for winter … Stay tuned for more information later this year.

For more info on Connecting Country’s education program, contact janet@connectingcountry.org.au or 5472 1594.

The Birdwatcher’s Monitoring Kit is ready

Posted on 6 November, 2014 by Tanya Loos

Ever wondered whether that honeyeater is likely to be a White-plumed Honeyeater or a Yellow-plumed Honeyeater? Local checklists can go a long way in helping to reduce the need to flip through 20 pages of honeyeaters in your favourite field guide! Connecting Country has developed a Bird checklist for the Mount Alexander region. A quick check of this list will rule out birds such as Yellow-plumed  Honeyeater…  This list was created with assistance from references created by the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club and from discussions with local specialists.  Hopefully new species will be added to the list over time.

The Bird Checklist is just one of the tools now available as part of the ‘Birdwatcher’s Monitoring Kit’, now available on the Monitoring page of the Connecting Country website.

The Birdwatchers Monitoring Kit aims to help everyone, from beginners to experienced, get involved in birdwatching for both fun and conservation.  The kit has the checklist, a hard copy data sheet, an Excel spreadsheet datasheet, a sightings sheet for the feathered five and most importantly a five page fact sheet on the hows and whys of bird monitoring to get you started.

The Brown Treecreeper pictured here was photographed by Greg License on a recent Connecting Country Bird Monitoring outing to the Clydesdale region, on Sunday 26 October 2014. A great outing was had by all – with the highlights being Crested Shrike-tits, amorous Peaceful Doves and the Diamond Firetail foraging quietly on the ground for grasses at the end . Our group saw or heard thirty-eight species in three hours. Many thanks to all for attending, and we hope to have more outings like this in the future.

Brown treecreeper by Greg License

14 Nov 2014 – Wildlife Watching in India

Posted on 31 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

The guest speaker at the Castlemaine Field Naturalist Club’s November general meeting is club president Nigel Harland.  The title of Nigel’s talk is Wildlife Watching in India.

Nigel writes. “In February this year my wife and I spent three weeks in India, the main objective was to look at the animals and birds of the country, but we saw many other things, ranging from the utmost poverty to the magnificent historical buildings. Starting in Delhi, which is the same size as Australia, we headed south to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. No matter how many pictures you have seen of it, nothing compares with the reality. We then spent the rest of the holiday in three National Parks to the south of Agra.

These were Baratpur, Bandhavgarh and Khana. Baratpur is a birdwatcher’s paradise, whereas the latter two have many birds but a larger number of mammals. We spent much time in unseasonal rain, but it made little difference to our enjoyment of the trip.”

The meeting is on Friday 14 November, and commences from 7.30pm in the Fellowship Room behind the Uniting Church (on Lyttleton St, next to the Art Gallery and Museum).

16 Nov 2014 – Wetland Ecosystems Field Day

Posted on 31 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

A field day beginning at Melville Caves picnic area will take place on 16 November. (Melville Caves are a little under one and a half hours north-west of Castlemaine.)  The event is being hosted by the Wedderburn Conservation Management Network and others, and will examine the often overlooked and threatened wetland ecosystems of Mt Kooyoora and Mt Korong. Local ecologist Paul Foreman will be leading an educational tour on the day. This is a free event with lunch provided. Further details are in this flyer.

October issue of ‘chat’

Posted on 31 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

The October 2014 edition of the North Central CMA publication, Chat, is now available and can be accessed on the NCCMA website. This issue includes articles on the upcoming Elmore Field Day, The Rural Women’s Award winner, a Chemfree Weeding Field day, and a new study on Indian Myna birds.

22 & 23 Nov 2014 – Farming & Conservation symposium

Posted on 31 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

Slide Show – Well Organised Children Defeat Pines

Posted on 24 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

The Mount Alexander Regional Park got a big helping hand on Saturday 4^th October 2014 when a group of over 150 adults and children took part in the second Landcare Camp Out on The Mount.

Bronwyn Silver from the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests has made a great slideshow with photos taken at the event which captures the action.

Armed with saws, loppers, drills and Glyphosate, the group was bused from the Leanganook Camp ground to a site just north of Dog Rocks Saddle to dispatch invasive Radiata Pine trees growing in the Park. The pine trees are a threat to the native forests found on Mount Alexander and participants in the Camp Out are helping to protect important habitat for native plants and animals.

It was hard to tell exactly how many pines were removed amidst claims of ‘hundreds’ by some individuals who were still in early primary school, but a conservative estimate would be 600 trees.

The Camp Out is a project is jointly organised by the Harcourt Valley Landcare Group, Parks Victoria & Connecting Country with support from the Mount Alexander Shire Council and Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests.  This year the Camp Out also received help from Big Tree T-shirts, the Harcourt Lions Club and Hancocks Victorian Plantations.

Well done to everyone involved!

If you have any problems viewing this video, try pausing it and waiting for 15 seconds or so before starting again, closing any other opened browser tabs and windows or viewing it at another time of day when your internet connection could be faster.

2 Nov 2014 – The Natural Soundscape: Birdsong, Music, Evolution and Listening

Posted on 23 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

Click to enlarge.

Andrew Skeoch will be giving a presentation, The Natural Soundscape, at the Newstead Community Hall on Sunday 2 November beginning at 7.30pm. This is a Birdlife Australia event.

Andrew writes: ‘There is a wonderful acoustic diversity to be heard in the natural soundscape – birdsong, frog choruses, seasonal insect choirs… But how have all these varied animal repertoires evolved? What can we learn from studying, or simply listening, to acoustic ecosystems? How may the noise of our modern world be impacting upon this delicate sonic balance, and conversely, how have the songs of nature influenced our own species?’

Andrew explores these questions and presents intriguing conclusions, supported by audio recordings he has made over twenty years, in wild places both locally and around the world.

26 October 2014 – Cactus Control Field Day

Posted on 23 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

The next Cactus Field Day will be on Sunday 26th October at a property at the northern end of Tarrengower School Road.  You can get there via Watersons Road.  Look for the signs from the intersection of the Maldon-Bridgewater and Watersons Roads. Tarrandower Cactus Control Group (TCCG) has had a great year so far and would like people to come along and help make this a record year in the War on Cactus. The morning’s activities will begin at 10:30 am and end at 12:30 pm with an enjoyable BBQ and friendly chat. If you have any queries please contact Ian on 0412 015 807. Click here to see the flyer which includes a map.

Time to Evaluate

Posted on 21 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

We’ve just finished the 2014 workshop program and it’s time to evaluate!

If you attended any of our sessions during the year (including the public talk by Ian Lunt) we are keen to find out what you thought. And here is an incentive to fill in the short survey: besides helping us to improve the program for next year, you’ll also have the chance for some great rewards, including one lucky person who will receive a two-hour session with an ecologist – who will visit your property for a one-on-one session. Perhaps you need help with identification and developing a plant or bird list, planning a restoration project, or have specific property management questions. Also on offer to randomly selected respondents include a nest box to provide an instant hollow on your property for a Brush-tailed Possum or Sugar Glider and a copy of Leon Costerman’s excellent field guide to eucalypts of south-eastern Australia, ‘Trees of Victoria and Adjoining Areas’.

Go directly to the link here: connecting-country-2014-workshop-program-evaluation. If there are two of you in the same household, you can fill out a second survey from the same computer, just return to the link. Respond before 27 October 2014 to be in the running for one of the incentives.

If you missed out on this year’s workshops, you can still catch up on the summaries here. We’ll be running a similar program in 2015.

10 Nov 2014 – Native Grass Direct Seeding Forum

Posted on 21 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

In the discussion at the recent Connecting Country AGM about the screened Landscape Restoration film one of the film makers, Ian Penna, told the audience of an upcoming direct seeding forum. We now have the details of this forum. It has been organised by Flora Victoria and will take place on 10 November in Keilor which is just over an hours drive from Castlemaine.  There will be a range of speakers including Dr Paul Gibson-Roy, head of the Grassy Groundcover Research Project.

The invitation and program for the forum can be found here.

19th Oct – Campbells Creek Landcare Community Day

Posted on 17 October, 2014 by Connecting Country

The Friends of Campbells Creek Landcare Group have invited the local community to their annual Community Day at Campbells Creek Park, opposite Campbells Creek Primary school, Midland Highway. This event is a good opportunity to meet new residents and local families and get to know the secrets of the creek.

Activities on the day (Sunday 19th Oct) include a free fully catered BBQ lunch with delicious salads and their famous fruit punch. Children will be entertained with numerous activities and surprises.

You can join one of the free bus tours which will run through the day, discover interesting locations along the creek and see the results of 14 years of environmental work conducted by the Friends.

The day starts at 10.00am and concludes at 2.00pm. Free BBQ from 12 noon.
They have invited you to bring your family, bring your friends and don’t forget to bring a hat and walking shoes.