Learning at Landcare

From the Awabakal calendar season:

Wunal on Awabakal Country (Summer)

“Wunal is the hot time on Awabakal Country. Many animals are active and breeding and it is a great time for hunting and fishing. The weather is hot and humid, with warm nights and mosquitoes biting. Often, afternoon thunderstorms bring heavy rain and lightning, but some years Wunal is dry with little rain and dry heat.

This time of year is wirokaliko (hot), humid and often wet with koyiwon (rain) typically increasing as the weather begins moyiyakowa (cooling) towards the end of Wunal. Sometimes however, Wunal can be dry and last much longer, with drought leaving Country parched.”

Bark at Its Best - Gum trees of Coal Point

This time of year reveals some stunning colours as our gum trees shed their old bark and reveal the salmon pink of the Smooth-barked Apple (Angophora costata), the creamy tones of the Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata), and the warm orange blotches of the Grey Gum (Eucalyptus punctata).

Our eleven local gums are big trees, many of them very old. While plenty grow in our local reserves, others stand quietly in backyards, where they play an important role. They provide shade, habitat for birds and animals, and vital links between gardens and surrounding bushland. More information is available on our website in the Our Bigger Backyard section:Common Gum Trees of Coal Point

When it comes to identifying gum trees, bark is a great place to start. Is the trunk completely rough, mostly rough with smooth bark at the top, or smooth with ribbons of rough bark hanging loose?

Another useful clue is the fruit, or gumnuts, which are often found on the ground beneath the tree:* images from PlantNET

• Angophora gumnuts are ribbed
  
• Corymbia gumnuts are urn-shaped
• Eucalyptus gumnuts come in many forms, but thinking of them as cup-shaped is a good starting point

You could even turn it into a game of gumnut bingo and see if you can find all three.

While you’re out noticing the trees of Coal Point, consider recording what you see on iNaturalist. Shedding bark, flowering plants, birds and insects can all be logged and added to the Coal Point Progress Landcare project. Over time, this builds a valuable record of what lives here and how it changes.

For example, this summer has seen plenty of King Parrots feeding on seeds and fruit around Carey Bay. If that pattern changes, we can look back and see when they were last recorded, perhaps in the summer of 2025–26. And what about the Powerful Owl? People say they’ve been seen in the past. These owls rely on hollows in big old trees to nest. Are we still seeing them, and are their food sources, possums and gliders, around?

If you spot something special, photos uploaded to iNaturalist are especially helpful. Every observation adds to the story of Coal Point’s bigger backyard.

Less poison, more protection for local wildlife

Last month, regulators failed to act on clear evidence about the dangers of long-lasting rat poisons, second-generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides known as SGARs. These poisons continue to harm local wildlife, including Powerful Owls, Tawny Frogmouths, Magpies, Kookaburras, White-bellied Sea-Eagles, Crested Pigeons and Ravens,and even family pets after they eat poisoned rodents or contaminated prey.

Our wildlife is already under pressure from the loss of large hollow-bearing trees and the fragmentation of the canopied corridors. Adding persistent poisons to the environment only worsens the problem.

Reducing poisons is one action we can all take. Wildlife can’t choose what it eats. Choosing non-toxic to wildlife rodent control helps protect the bush, our backyards and the species that still call our local bushland home.

There is lots of information on SGARs and a quick submission form to restrict SGAR availability on Birdlife Australia’s page