Neighbours Noticing Nature

Local bird enthusiast Graham shared his nestbox success story…

“I made a nestbox for the Eastern Rosellas, it was a bit special ‘cause I put it on a steel pole so the rats, cats and possums couldn’t get into it. The first year…nothing, the second year the mum fledged 5 out of 6, one left dead in the box. This year there are six birds that are half fledged as at 12/10/17.

The Noisy Miners make it hard for the parents though, whenever they come back to the nest to feed the young, they’re at ‘em, not just one but the whole mob.”

Landcare legend Robyn Gill has been keeping an eye of the flock of 7 wood ducklings

off Wippi Reserve.

“Mum and Dad are still in charge but the fledgelings are not swimming in a straight line anymore (rebellion?) & Dad is keeping an overview. We've only seen up to 5 ducklings survive to fledge before and usually rapidly dwindling to 2 or 1. I hope this year's success is a good sign about fewer predators”.

A local who backs on to the West Ridge made these observations on 6/10/17

“we have a few nests in my back yard – I spotted 4 possums on Friday night (2 together and 2 single ones in opposite corners of the garden!). I have also heard the odd baby ring tail call in the evening (around 9.30pm) and very early morning (I dropped my husband at the train at 5.40 this morning!) but I haven’t found them yet. To be honest, I wasn’t going to look too hard as I don’t want to frighten them, but it would still be good to know where the little ones are in case there are predators around. Thankfully, one of the neighbours’ intrepid cats passed away a few months ago, but my night cam picked up another cat that I had not seen before, together with a neat track of paw prints right over the full length of my car!.

Would you like a nestbox? The CPPA will be putting in a bulk order for a variety of wildlife nestboxes to be built in the new year. Email coalpointprogress@gmail.com or ring advising what wildlife you’d like to share your backyard with.

Nestbox orders- Habitat enhancement for Biodiversity month…September

As a Biodiversity month bonus The Toronto Men’s Shed will be building some nestboxes for local landholders for local wildlife and we need to know how many to build.

The storms over the past few years have resulted in many hollow bearing trees being lost. Installing a nestbox provides a safe and dry refuge for many local animals.

Spotted Pardalote

The animals that we’ll be giving a helping hand to are Pardalotes, microbats and Squirrel gliders.

Pardalotes (pic) are tiny birds that forage high in the eucalypt canopy and are also found in woodlands. They regularly are sighted in the Coal Point bird surveys. They forage for and eat insects, especially lerps which feed on tree sap and can cause dieback if their numbers get out of control. The Pardalotes play a key role in maintaining the health of the forest by controlling lerp numbers. Pardalotes naturally nest in tunnels they dig out of a bank but quite happily will nest in the right sized nestbox.

Microbats are tiny insect eating machines, with a body length of 11cm and wingspan of about 25cm some are so small they can fit in a matchbox. They live locally and if you watch the canopy of the gum trees on dusk you might see them flitting about in a rapid, jerky flight path, they’ve been seen around the streetlights at the top of Whitelocke St. Their favourite foods are moths, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, termites and they can polish off over 1200 mosquitoes in an hour. This makes them an asset around any home and for any garden.

Squirrel Glider nest boxes can also be built but are best for folk who live next to the West Ridge, Stansfield or Threlkeld Reserves

The Animals in our Bigger backyard page on the CPPA website has links to information sheets and booklets to help you build your own nest boxes if you feel the urge.

If you would like to order a nestbox please contact Suzanne from the Committee.

Let fallen logs lie

The April storms may be a distant memory but the log legacy will be lasting. Many trees and branches fell and were later felled, community and personal safety being paramount in the decision making. The Progress Association’s land was also affected with two trees shifting, leaning on an angle that made the Tower of Pisa look upright.  

The CPPA committee discussed the options. Multiple quotes raging from $10,000 to $2,500 were obtained, the insurance company was notified and an arborist’s report was commissioned. The report identified the sloping trees as low risk, but in the event of another storm or high winds extra precautions would be required. 

Proposed mitigation measures included notifying the neighbours, not using the hall, moving to the front of the building (away from the trees), pulling curtains and staying away from windows…standard practice in areas where high winds are frequent events. The CPPA discussions also involved the potential to retain the trees for habitat value.

It was ultimately decided to reduce the risk the trees posed if they fell but to retain the tree material on site and distribute it within the CPPA land to provide habitat value. This turned out to be quite an important decision and in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Threatened Species Last Stand project

The NSW Scientific Committee has listed removal of dead wood and dead trees as a key threatening process, something that threatens or may threaten the survival, abundance or evolutionary development of a native species or ecological community.

Logs are life, without them there’s a potential biodiversity loss that can ultimately change the very nature of the woodland or forest. The storm has created new horizontal habitat and the potential to replenish the forest floor.

Fallen logs are habitat for bugs and beetles and provide sustenance for fungi and microbes that depend on decaying wood for their survival. These animals and organisms are the great recyclers, turning the logs into nutrients that replenish the soils and stabilise the soil surfaces. 

Fallen and decaying logs also provide shelter for smaller animals in the event of fire. The Progress logs will hopefully provide additional cover for the wildlife in Stansfield Reserves when the asset protection burn eventuates.

The Scientific Committee states the removal of dead wood and dead trees is so significant that it could even cause species or populations that are not currently threatened to become threatened, such as the common Brushtail Possum. It is hard to imagine Coal Point as possum-less, but without logs there is no life.

Vertical habitat has now been transformed into horizontal habitat and as the ground dwelling bugs and critters multiply so too will the birds that feast on them. The logs that are now numerous throughout the local bushland are providing essential ecosystem services, recycling nutrients, providing a place for animals small and large to shelter and creating a food source that feeds everything from microbes to marsupials. After the storm there is a cloud with a silviculture lining. 

If you would like to install some additional habitat in form of nest boxes a Build your own Wildlife Nest Box guide has recently been released if you want to make your own, or if you want to put in an order for one as part of the Threatened Species project have a chat to Suzanne anytime or at the Greater Toronto Spring Fair.

Dates for the Diary

11 July Squirrel Spotlighting Soiree

• 2-4pm nest box survey
• 5-6:30pm Spotlighting 

Please RSVP 

Toronto Chamber Monthly Markets: Thursday 9am-3pm

• 2nd July Winter Holiday Market
• 6th August Taste of Winter Market
• October Greater Toronto Spring Fair Saturday 17th

Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group :

Wed 8th July The Hub, 97 The Boulevarde 5-6.30pm

Coal Point Progress Assoc.

Mon 13th July, Progress Hall,197 Skye Pt Rd 4-6pm

Squirrel Glider Surveying

Friday 22nd May was a wild and woolly one, as such not very good for the Squirrel Glider Spotlighting Soirée that was planned. The rescheduled event is looking bigger and better, will run on Saturday 11th July and involve checking nestboxes for occupation, soup and damper as well as a spotlight survey.

SG Surveying on Saturday 11th July

• 2-4 pm Activity 1 -Nestboxes will be checked along the West Ridge
• 4-5pm Informal talk and Q and A with Dr Chris McLean over soup and damper
• 5-6:30pm Activity 2 -Stag watch and spotlighting for Squirrel Gliders

Please RSVP by email or by phone TIN 4969 1500, mob 0438 596 741. There are limited numbers and the meeting point will be provided when RSVPing. You can attend either or both activities.

Local landholders who had nestboxes installed on their property will be contacted shortly to discuss monitoring of their boxes.

More Squirrel Glider good news…

Dr Chris McLean has been awarded a Lake Macquarie City Council research grant to study the Squirrel Glider (SG) population in western Lake Macquarie. An honours student will be investigating the distribution of the local SGs, trying to get an idea on the size of the local population and looking at how big a patch they need for their habitat. This information will help to understand the impact of fragmentation of bushland on the population density and the importance of local backyards not just native gardens but as habitat for threatened species.

Securing a future for the local Squirrel Gliders

The TSLS project aims to provide suitable habitat for the local Threatened Species, of which the Squirrel Glider is one.

Squirrel Gliders are hollow-dependent, they need tree hollows…or nest boxes to survive. In order to give them the best chance of survival around Coal Point the TSLS project is coordinating a mass installation of nest boxes on September 6^th to celebrate Threatened Species Day in conjunction with Lake Macquarie Landcare’s Super Saturday Session.

The Toronto Men’s Shed has developed a prototype nestbox and will be going into production over the next month. 

Do you want a nestbox on your block? 

Please contact Suzanne (Committee contact) with your location details.

A trial of the location and installation process will be conducted as part of the Hunter Region Landcare’s Network meeting on August 9^th at noon at Progress Hall.

Once the nest boxes are up they will be monitored each season to see if they are being used. This is an easy and cost effective way to determine the size and extent of the local Squirrel Glider population. It will make it possible to monitor individuals and hopefully track their movements. If you’re interested in being a part of the scientific monitoring of this local population, as part of your studies or for interest, please get in touch, it’s a great opportunity to contribute to a local project.

The recent spotlighting expedition was a wild and windy night in which the Squirrel Gliders were absent but the more robust Ringtail (4) and Brushtail (5) possums were about in the canopy.

Nesting boxes as home-hollows

Every animal needs a home and the majority of Australia’s tree dwelling mammals use tree hollows. Since European settlement, clearing of land and felling of old growth trees has left a shortage of home-hollows. It takes over 100 years for some habitat hollows to develop as fungi and termites take their toll on the tree trunk and this is where nest boxes can make a huge difference to the survival of the local species.

The Threatened Species Last Stand project is about supporting the local wildlife and this year the aim will be to increase the number of habitat options for the threatened Squirrel Glider by installing nest boxes. Nest boxes are a great way to share your bigger backyard, watch the local wildlife and get to know them.

On Saturday 9^th August as part of the Hunter Region Landcare Network’s meeting at Progress Hall there will be a workshop session on assessing the best location for nestboxes and installation techniques. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting or just the workshop session.

On Saturday 6^th September to celebrate Threatened Species Day there will be a local BioBlitz with a mass installation of nestboxes supported by Lake Macquarie Landcare’s Super Saturday Session. The aim is to install at least 30 nestboxes throughout our community. These home-hollows will then be monitored for occupants and will allow us to work out the extent of the Squirrel Glider population in the area.

Would like a nestbox at your place? If you would like a nestbox installed in your bigger backyard please contact Suzanne  to get the process in progress.