Learning at Landcare - Citizen Science and The Good, The Bad ,The Ugly

From the Awabakal seasonal calendar, we’re now entering Wunal, the hot time on Awabakal Country. Days are humid, nights are warm, mosquitoes are biting, and many animals are breeding and active. Afternoon storms often sweep in with lightning and heavy rain, though in some years Wunal brings dry heat and drought instead.

Australia, including Awabakal Country, moves to the rhythm of El Niño and La Niña, global climate cycles that shape whether Wunal brings rain or dryness. Climate change now adds further complexity, with hot weather sometimes arriving earlier or lasting longer. Toward the end of Wunal, as koyiwon (rain) increases, the weather begins moyiyakowa, cooling again.

This awareness of seasonal change reminds us that Country is constantly shifting and that caring for land means observing its patterns closely.

Learning through Citizen Science

In September, Landcare members learned about the iNaturalist citizen-science platform. We’ve since launched a Coal Point project, where locals can log sightings of plants and animals. These observations build a record of the area’s biodiversity and changes over time, valuable data for the community and researchers alike. 

One of our most exciting finds came from a bundle of decaying weeds, a blackish blind snake (Anilios nigrescens). These fascinating, non-venomous snakes spend most of their lives underground, eating ants, termites and their larvae. With their smooth scales, small dark eyes and tapering snout, they look a bit like shiny earthworms. They “taste” the air with their tongue to follow insect trails and use their upper jaw to rake prey into their mouth.

Blind snakes are part of the intricate food web of our bushland, preyed upon by owls, feral cats and foxes. Keep an eye out, though you’ll more likely find signs of them than the snakes themselves.

The Good: Spring in Full Bloom

Coal Point has been showing off a spectacular spring. Gardens are glowing, pollinators are busy, and the bushland is full of life and colour. Our native plants have put on a dazzling display, providing food and shelter for birds, insects and small creatures.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone contributing to this beauty, our Landcare volunteers, hall users, citizen scientists and those simply caring for their patch of land. You all help keep the peninsula flourishing.

One local plant to watch for over summer is Bursaria spinosa, known variously as Whitethorn, Blackthorn, Sweet Bursaria or Christmas Bush, and by the Dharawal names geapga and kurwan. This hardy, prickly shrub provides safe nesting spots for small birds. Its mid-summer flowers are creamy and sweetly scented, attracting butterflies and many other insects. Later, they form coppery, purse-shaped seed pods, hence the Latin name Bursaria (purse) spinosa (spiny). It’s a great native for gardens, growing 3–4 metres tall in sun or light shade with moderate drainage. A light prune keeps it bushy.

You’ll see Bursaria flourishing in West Ridge and Stansfield reserves, two of many local bushland pockets lovingly tended by our volunteers.

The Bad: Spanish Moss on the Move

Another plant catching our attention is Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides), also known as Old Man’s Beard. While pretty hanging from trees, this air plant can smother and damage its hosts in humid conditions. Without roots, it grows in long, silvery chains that can block sunlight and weigh down branches until they snap.

Spanish Moss has been spotted growing wild on Coal Point. You can help track its spread by recording sightings on iNaturalist under the project Tracking Spanish Moss in Australia.

When recording, note the distance from cultivated sources, host species (if known), urban or bushland location and the number of clumps.

If you love Spanish Moss in your garden, please keep it contained. If you find it in bushland, record it, then carefully remove and bin it. Let’s stop this escapee before it shades out and smothers our native trees.

The Ugly: Bagged but Not Beautiful

Finally, a plea from the Threlkeld Reserve team. During a recent Landcare morning, volunteers found four plastic bags of dog poo dumped in the bush. These weren’t the compostable kind, just ordinary plastic, left behind.

Please, if you’re walking your dog, use the compostable green Council bags and dispose of them in the green-waste bin. Our volunteers already give their time to look after the land, let’s not detract from their joy. Most dog owners do the right thing. Be one of them.

Learning from the Land

As Wunal’s warmth builds, Coal Point continues to hum with life, birds calling, cicadas buzzing and the scent of native flowers in the air. Each season brings lessons about resilience and renewal, and Landcare is one way we learn from Country while giving back.

Whether you’re a regular Thursday morning Landcarer, a hall helper, or simply someone who takes “one weed out each walk,” your care counts. Together we keep this place healthy, for people, wildlife and the next generation learning to love the land as we do.

It’s all about the birds in our bushland suburb

You can’t help being aware of the abundance of birds that call the Coal Point peninsula home. From the early morning kak of the kookaburras, the daytime chattering of lorikeets to the soothing hoots of the nocturnal owls, there’s hardly a time throughout the day when our bird-buddies are absent from our ears.

This ever-present connection to nature is good for our mental health and the bushland that they need to survive offers another layer of ambient wellbeing.

Neighbours Noticing Nature

“Just wanted you to know we’ve been visited lately by a juvenile Blue-faced Honeyeater but haven’t seen any adults as yet. The juvenile doesn’t have the blue area around the eyes.

Other locals may have seen this very striking bird, but we’ve never had the privilege of such a visit in the 39 years we’ve lived in Coal Point.

It’s such a treat to sit on our deck surrounded by beautiful big trees and greet our feathered friends every day”.

Want to know about the Birds in your Backyard?

The Autumn seasonal survey by BirdLife Australia is now on until the end of April. The citizen science survey tracks the health of our urban birds, and allows the urban bird team to monitor the impact of our gardens, outdoor spaces and even our own behaviours on bird populations. A lot can be learnt from Birds in Backyard surveys, such as how different types of gardens can attract different types of birds, and which features birds may be avoiding or are negatively affected by. The data were recently used in a study showing the decline of even some of our most common birds in major cities across Australia.

To participate in the survey spend 20 minutes somewhere you can view birds - your backyard, or other favourite space, record the bird species you see and count how many there are. A series of questions are also asked about your garden - like what sort of plants you have, if you have pets and if you feed birds.

If you are unsure where or how to start, then fear not! The Birdata web portal and app automatically gives you a list of 30 birds (including pictures!) from your region to choose from as a starting point.You can also win great prizes if you enter your surveys in Birdata.

A Paw Pledge

The Invasive Species Council (ISC) was formed in 2002 to seek stronger laws, policies and programs to keep Australian biodiversity safe from weeds, feral animals and other invaders. Their focus is on prevention and early action.

One of the key projects of the ISC is the Cats in Australia project. They are working to ensure that pet cats are kept safe at home, and that there is support through local, state and federal government for effective cat containment.

Whether you love them or not, cats are a catastrophe for our native animals.

An estimated 8 million animals die daily, killed by the 5 million feral and roaming pet cats in Australia – doing what comes naturally to them.

The ISC is advocating for a dramatic increase in government action to reduce this devastating death toll and prevent further extinctions caused by cats. And to win government action, governments need to see Australian cat owners, cat lovers or otherwise, publicly showing support for our wildlife. We need to show them that cat containment and effective action on feral cats is popular!

The ISC has done the research and knows the public choose our native animals – alive – over roaming cats. Australians support both cat containment and action on feral cats when they are shown the facts and understand what’s at stake. Cat owner or not, Aussies love nature and want to care for our Australian bush critters.

The ISC’s pledge asks if you are a cat owner (past or present) or if you simply support better protection for wildlife from cats. Many of us, love our furry feline friends, but we also know that they are purrfect indoors.

Please put up your paw to show your support for action on cats by taking the pledge today. https://invasives.org.au/how-to-help/take-action/extinction-emergency/

A fact sheet on the research findings on pet cats is an alarming read

The Coal Point CATaclysm.

Our local wildlife carer Catherine Wroe provided this insight into cats in our community.

“I’ve mainly only cared for birds and blue-tongued lizards attacked by cats, but I have rescued other species and passed them onto other carers. The birds include most species that are found around here, and young birds are particularly at risk because they aren’t able to fly so well and their fear response hasn’t fully developed.

Birds include eastern rosellas, king parrots, grey and pied butcher birds, magpies, kookaburras, tawny frogmouths, noisy miners, wattlebirds, sacred kingfishers, dollarbirds, quail, scarlet honeyeaters, owlet nightjars, crested pigeons, rainbow and scaly-breasted lorikeets, plovers, figbirds and satin bowerbirds. Other animals I’ve rescued/picked up after being attacked by cats are ringtail and young brushtailed possums, sugar gliders, and feather-tailed gliders. And of course, there’s lots of little skinks, antechinus, and snakes that are attacked or killed that aren’t reported.

Animals don’t have to be injured to die from cat attacks. The bacteria in cats’ saliva is fatal to wildlife, so just being held in a cat’s mouth can cause an infection that will kill them. Therefore, whenever any wildlife is suspected of being attacked by a cat, they require antibiotics. Also, cats often don’t bring wildlife home, so many animals die without their owner’s knowledge.”

Catherine is a wonderful community asset. She is calm and with her non-judgemental manner she provides us with a lifeline for injured wildlife. Birds have a much better chance of surviving if they come to Catherine rather than going straight to the vets unless they need euthanising - it’s very stressful for wildlife at vet clinics, and they often don’t get examined for quite a while. Catherine can generally treat them at her place or take them to the vets if necessary. If you have injured wildlife please let Catherine Wroe know-0412 093 030.

Can we have a Community Cat Curfew?

There is mounting evidence of research about the impact of cats upon local wildlife, not just ferals, but roaming domestic pests. In our community, where we still have wildlife, cats as well as foxes are an extreme threat to the survival of the local populations of native animals including squirrel gliders, birds, lizards and recently discovered Feather-tailed gliders.

The Invasive Species Council is conducting a “Cats in Australia” campaign recognising that Australia has a cat problem. After being introduced in 1788, feral cats now number between 2.1 – 6.3 million depending on rainfall conditions, and there are another 3.8 million pet cats in our neighbourhoods.

Together, they kill over 2 billion animals every single year. Most of those are native. And no matter how much we adore them, we can’t escape the fact that our pet cats that are allowed to roam are responsible for over 500 million of those deaths.”

Our local wildlife carer is continually confronted by the impact of feline ferocity: “earlier this week I got a call, to ask if I cared for gliders... the cat brought it in, he thought it was a sugar glider, but it is actually a feathertail... this is the first one I've known to be found around here. I hate to think how many animals that cat is still killing. The glider is with an NATF carer and is apparently OK. It’s a female sub-adult weighing 8gm (adults are 12gm), and is buddied up with some others.“

The Invasive Species Council offers this advice to cat owners.

“Many of us believe our pet cats never kill animals because they are only get let out at certain times or are too passive, lazy or slow to catch anything.

But even if your pet cat hasn’t brought native wildlife home, any cat allowed free-roaming time is almost certainly killing native wildlife. Research using tracking collars and scat analysis has established that the vast majority of animals killed by pet cats are not brought home. We also know 4 in 10 pet cats that are brought in at night sneak back out again to roam and hunt.

There are many things that responsible cat owners can do to help keep our wildlife safe and our pets happy, but the most important one is to keep your cat securely contained at home or on a leash at all times just like a pet dog. This will keep them safe from injury and disease and protect native wildlife in your local neighbourhood.”

Our wildlife will never be safe until we all do something about it. Can we start by containing our cats?

Neighbours Noticing Nature

Powerful Owls (Ninox strenua) have been sighted and heard in our local area recently and there’s a good reason for that as the update from the The Powerful Owl project, run by Birdlife Australia explains.

What are the owls up to now?

At this time of year (April), singles are calling for a partner, and the established pairs are cementing their pair bonds, investigating tree hollows, and deciding whether to nest in the same tree as last year or move to a different one. The owls are also visiting the perimeters of their territories and calling to remind the neighbours where the boundaries are. Around the end of May/beginning of June, the females of this year’s breeding pairs will enter their hollows to lay their eggs and brood.

You may be wondering what the juveniles from last year are doing now? Some will have already dispersed, and over the coming weeks the rest will leave the territories where they were born, to find a territory of their own.

An article from the ABC describes the eating habits of Australia's largest and most powerful owl , the only owl in Australia that has an owly hoot.

Powerful Owls are capable hunters and include sugar gliders, greater gliders, ringtail possums and brushtail possums in their diet. According to Dr Raylene Cooke from Deakin University, Powerful Owls eat an astounding 250 to 350 possums a year. Dr Cooke analysed 2500 owl pellets to determine this fact.

Unseen and unheard, the winged hunter swoops onto an unwary possum, grasping it with its claws and breaking its neck. In one great bite the Powerful Owl can eat a possum's head. The male will then take the headless possum back to the roost and eat some more, as well as provide meat for the female and two chicks.

Powerful Owls will also eat mice, insects and a range of other birds, including quite large prey such as white cockatoos, magpies, and even ravens.

They specialise in their diet, but eat a broad range of animals over their habitat area. Coastal Powerful Owls will favour Ringtail Possums, while in the high country they prefer Greater Gliders.

We are very fortunate to have Powerful Owls in our area, they are listed as Vulnerable in NSW. There are some simple actions we can take to make sure the Powerful Owl will always have a home on our peninsula

• If you happen to know where a Powerful Owl is nesting please do not disturb it.
• If you have a cat keep it indoors, especially at night, for its safety as well as that of the owls.
• If you have a rodent problem consider using the less toxic first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as Warfarin, Coumateralyl (Ratblitz) because they break down more quickly than second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides which accumulate in the predator’s bodies and can result in their death.

Neighbours Noticing Nature

So much wonderful wildlife still exists within our bushland suburb. These neighbours have shared their ‘faunal finds’ from a festive summer and made some forthright comments about walking on the foreshore with your four-legged friend.

Birds by the lake

There are several very old Casuarina trees on the water’s edge in front of my place. 

An Australian Darter spends much of its time roosting on one of the Casuarina branches that overhangs the water on the Lake’s edge.

It “goes fishing” from this spot.

When it returns it rises out of the water to stand on a rock shelf immediately in front of the Casuarinas.

Here it spends quite some time, maybe up to an hour or more, preening itself and drying its feathers (it has a wingspan of approximately 95cm), before attempting to get to its roosting spot high up in the tree.

It then waddles over to the trunk of its tree and begins to climb/clamber up the tree using both its feet claws and its wings. Quite a feat for such a big bird and quite a sight to see!

Unfortunately when the darter is drying its feathers whilst sitting on the rock shelf it is susceptible to attack by dogs not on a leash, as recently was the case.

Another bird that has been in my yard numerous times during the last few weeks is a Buff-banded rail. A neighbour saw it and thought it was a quail, along with a couple of chicks. But it is too big to be a quail, this Bird is buff!

In response to ‘Waterfront Walking’- 
(Community Quirks Dec Chronicle)

We greatly appreciate receiving the regular yellow newsletter and understand the

work involved in its compilation. As owners of a waterfront property in Toronto, we enjoy meeting the people who walk along the foreshore past our house and we acknowledge the long-standing tradition. We only ask that people keep their dogs on leashes and clean up after them.- KR

Your paragraph re Waterfront Walking is welcome information but as one of those absolute waterfront property owners I would appreciate walkers of dogs picking up their dog poo they continually choose to ignore. Perhaps if their dogs were on leads they might notice when they are pooing. It is difficult to have my small grandchildren playing on our waterfront when so many dogs are roaming free.

Locally we are very fortunate to have two leash free areas in our community, Gurranba Reserve (308a Skye Point Rd) and Puntei Park (bounded by Hampton Street and Excelsior Parade), and there’s the substantial leash free area at Speers Pt Roundabout.

Looking in the Lake

Some stunning sightings- The Gloomy Octopus aka Common Sydney octopus hasbeen spotted in an octopus’s garden off Rofe Street by a keen snorkeler.

Image (Sylke Rohrlach from Sydney, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

A Spotted Eagle Ray was sighted splashing in the shallows around Carey Bay by some regular swimmers; it circled around a couple of times to investigate the non-ray shaped object, an exhilarating experience.

Return of the Squirrel Gliders! Ye ha.

I watch for squirrel gliders every sunset, and it has been a long wait, but over Christmas I have spotted glimpses of what I was sure were gliders, and yes, I have just witnessed a glider land on an iron bark, scamper up a few metres and then glide down to a macadamia tree. Our block is now quite forested, and I have let the grasses take over. I am honestly so excited by this sighting, and it confirms my concerns for the continued loss of our old mature trees throughout the peninsula.

Not sure if you know but I believe Lyn and I were responsible for the gazetting of Coal Point as a recognised squirrel glider location on the National register.

Hope you all get a similar thrill from this sighting. I'm very thrilled.

PS I have now seen two gliders gliding together towards the same trees. I haven’t quite worked out where they’re coming from, but we have a number of boxes they could be using. I also have a couple of boxes I need to replace, which must now be prioritised.

PPS I’ve been watching the gliders again this evening and think I have a handle on what they are feeding on. We have two groves of lady fingers bananas (big block plenty of room). The King parrots like the ripe bananas and it now appears that the gliders like the flowers.

The gliders also like Cocos palm flowers which we had previously recorded and which we also have growing. I’m concerned that these little possums are relying on introduced plants, or maybe it’s simply a case of them taking advantage of a good food source. Kind regards Darrell, Lyn & Jye.

The Squirrel Glider is listed as Vulnerable NSW due to habitat loss, degradation & fragmentation, along with loss of hollow bearing trees, food sources and predation by exotic predators. There is a lot we can do locally to assist our local population survive. Installing nestboxes, providing food sources and responsible pet ownership are key to their continued survival in our fragmented landscape.

Neighbours Noticing Nature - Enclosing cats

“I was disappointed to read the article in the Chronicle regarding cats and wildlife. Same tired article outlining how “bad” cats are. Why is it that the real problem is never or rarely addressed, pet owners?

People are 100% responsible for their pets and have the power to control the interactions of their cats with wildlife. Why not be part of the solution and do an article on the many enclosures, cat runs etc that are available and start to educate the real problem - people.

Unfortunately focusing on the “cat problem” just encourages haters and can, and has, resulted in “people” trapping, killing or poisoning neighbour’s pets.

Be part of the solution and educate rather than stir up the anti-cat brigade.

The benefits of enclosing a cat are many. Cats fighting can result in abscesses, feline AIDS and many other health complications which can cost a considerable amount of money to rectify if indeed they can be treated. Some like feline AIDS cannot be cured and will impact the cat for the rest of its life.

To the woman whose garden is a hunting ground for the neighbour’s cat, I would suggest hosing the cat at every opportunity to discourage it. I would also have a conversation with the owners suggesting an enclosure. Who knows, they might not be aware of the many options available for the “responsible cat owner”.

There are numerous enclosures available including portable enclosures suitable for travel or permanent relocation and prices are varied, but all are preferable to free range cats causing destruction and as a result of this reinforcing the negative views of the anti-cat brigade. https://www.sydneycatenclosures.com.au”

See also: 

Do you know where your cat is?

How to build a cat enclosure

Neighbours Noticing Nature

The Neighbour

"I’ve been creating a backyard habitat for the local wildlife for 30 years, I have quite a jungle now so possums frequent, Brush-tailed and ring-tailed, birds have regular stop overs, the King Parrots were feasting on my Lilly-pilly, the Kookaburra’s that wake me in the morning and announce night-time perch in my trees to cack their chorus. The wild animals are ‘my pets’ frequent visitors that I welcome.

One animal that is not welcome is a neighbour’s cat that now stalks in my yard, climbs on my veranda, and lays in wait. Whilst I have tried to discourage it with hissing and chasing, it erupts from my garden and skitters home…and now it has killed a kookaburra. The sanctuary that I have created has become a killing field for someone else’s ‘pet’."

The Research

Many cat owners don’t believe their cat kills, but research has shown “pet cats kill 30-50 times more animals per km2 around towns than feral cats do in the bush”.

A 2020 article from ‘The Conversation’ - ‘One cat, one year, 110 native animals: lock up your pet, it’s a killing machine’ elaborates on these findings, and what can be done to reduce the cat attack impact and concludes “Keeping your cat securely contained 24 hours a day is the only way to prevent it from killing wildlife.”

The Poem

Killer Kitties by Suzanne Pritchard

I have a killer kitty and it looks so very cute
It likes to kill most anything that moves or tweets or hoots
I saw it with a blue tongue just the other day
It patted and it petted it to try and make it play.

But the Bluey’s lungs were punctured, and its head was kind of mauled,
So off into the compost bin the lifeless lump was hauled.
Then kitty found a lorikeet, a tawny frogmouth too
But the birds no longer twittered, only feathers left, half chewed.

We haven’t lived here very long my killer cat and I,
And I wonder why the birds no longer chirp when I go by?
There used to be such wildlife, it’s why we got this place
But now the eerie silence is my killer cat’s disgrace.

Perhaps I’ll get a bell and keep kitty in at night,
We’ll cuddle up together and stop the murderous blight
It’s such a shame the birds have gone, not just for us, but all
I guess the time has come at last to be cat responsible.

What to do with your dog’s poo?

What goes in, must come out, but where it lands can cause some doubt.

Doggy doo upon the lawn can make an owner quite forlorn.

What to do one well might ask, to remove said droppings from said grass.

Hold your breath, don’t look around, don’t focus too hard on the brown.

Think of all the good you’ll do when you bend down to scoop that poo.

The lake and swim spots will be cleaner without gut-processed Fido dinner.

But how can all this come to be with just your dog and only thee?

A plastic bag can do the job of picking up your pooch’s log.

Make one bag fit you like a glove, and all that dog doo in it shove.

Another bag, or two or three, will help carry the load to a repository.

Once off the ground inside you’ll glow, cause doing the right thing costs less you know.

Two hundred bucks you could be shorter if caught without your pooch poo porter.

By Suzanne Pritchard

Christmas Bells + Kitty = Joy to the World

Roughly half of Australia’s cats are pets, and they also take a considerable toll on wildlife. Cat’s kill more than one million birds every day across Australia, roughly 3-4% of our birds each year.

While recognising the many benefits of pet ownership, we also need to work to reduce the detrimental impacts. Fortunately, there is increasing public awareness of the benefits of not letting pet cats roam freely. These include cats less likely to run away, get into fights or get injured and reduced territorial behaviour such as spraying or looking for

a mate.

By being responsible pet owners and using predator-deterrent tools such as such as bells and collars, cat owners can help to look after the birds in their own and neighbours backyards and local bushland, and hence contribute to conserving Australia’s unique wildlife.

The Progress Association has a remote camera that is easy to use and available for loan to members to photograph which animals are visiting your backyard. You may find some neighbourly possums or your neighbour’s cats. The first loan yielded some interesting images. “ I’ve spent 25 years creating habitat for the local wildlife in my backyard so it was great to see the possums at my place but really distressing to see the cats, one of which visits several times every day and night. The camera was really helpful in explaining the mystery growls, cat fights and death squeals ”

The images may help to identify a nuisance cat which is defined as one that

• makes persistent noise that occurs or continues to such a degree that it interferes with the peace and comfort of any person in any other premises 
• repeatedly damages property of others. 

If a nuisance cat affects you, Lake Mac recommends the following actions:

• talk to the neighbour, they may not realise their angel is creating a bother 
• drop them a polite letter if you can’t have a conversation 
• contact the Community Justice Centre to get mediation 
• apply for a nuisance order 

More information on LakeMac’s web www.lakemac.com.au/council/report-an-issue/nuisance-dogs-and-cats

Dig In & Celebrate National Gardening Week 8-14 October 2017

The Inaugural National Gardening Week celebrates the simple joys of gardening and the environmental, social and health benefits it brings. Whether it be maintaining a few pots on a balcony, a suburban or a bushland backyard, the enjoyment, the improved mental and physical wellbeing and the satisfaction gardeners gain from ‘getting their hands dirty’ is universal.

• Would you like to join a garden club? Toronto and Districts Garden Club Inc meet 3rd Thu 9.30am (Feb-Nov) Contact Doug Treloar 02 4959 1826 
• Want to get involved with planning the local community garden? Visit the Scout Hall on Excelsior Parade. 
• Feel like learning about gardening in the bush? Catch up with the landcare crew on Thursday any time from 8:30 till 1pm 
  
• Plan your next garden makeover with a locally inspired landscape plan for slopes or to create a fire retardant garden from the resources on the CPPA website
• Purchase a native plant. They for sale from $4.35 from the Landcare Resource Centre, 80 Toronto Rd, Booragul any Tuesdays, 8am-1pm. 
• Add another dimension to your garden and create a habitat haven. 

The are some great ideas on the Backyard Buddies website such as

• Add mulch - to encourage bugs which make great food for birds 
• Add rocks and logs - to give skinks and frogs somewhere to hide 
• Add a bird bath - as clean, fresh water will attract many buddies 
• Add a nest box - to give a great home to a bird or mammal family 
• Add locally native plants - as this provides excellent food, shelter, and nest sites 
• Add an understory - to give small birds somewhere to hide in the shrubs and plants that grow under trees but above your groundcovers 
• Add a frog pond - as frogs will love it, and other buddies will love a drink and a splash 
• Add a cat run, or keep your cat indoors - to keep your backyard buddies safe 

And you don't have to do it all at once!

Your backyard buddies will appreciate any improvements you make, and it's awesome to watch your backyard evolving over time.

But one thing is for sure - if you build it, they will come.

Do you have an eye on the sky or binoculars on the bush?

The Aussie Backyard Bird count is being held during Birdweek, 19-25 October. Putting your observational skills to use for the Aussie Backyard Bird count is a way to help understand the changing nature of nature and contribute to a very impressive national database of bird distribution and abundance. The information helps to understand the trends in bird communities, which birds are doing well and which are not.

Last year in the 2283 postcode 24 species were sighted, with four checklists submitted and 108 birds sighted. In this state Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Miners and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos topped the count.

Nationally the top 10 birds were Rainbow Lorikeet, Noisy Miner, Australian Magpie, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, House Sparrow, Common Myna, Silver Gull, Red Wattlebird and Welcome Sparrow.  

Sooty Oystercatcher at Coal Point-Image Rod Mackay

If you get out and about for the recommended 20 minutes of surveying you might see a Sooty Oystercatcher foraging on the tip of Coal Point, you’d have to be very lucky though, one of our local enthusiasts has only ever seen one. You might even get a glimpse of the Powerful Owl pair and their progeny…yes they’ve had babies. 

More likely you’ll see the more common species and they’ll be easy to identify because there’s a built in field guide in the Aussie Backyard Bird app and on the birdsinbackyards website.

If you’d like to see how the professionals do it Tom Clarke & co will conduct the local Spring Bird Survey on Monday 12th October. There are four spots available for community folk to participate in the bird surveys along the peninsula. Contact Suzanne for meeting details.

Everyone can indirectly support the bird survey team by keeping dogs on leashes on that Monday morning (12/10/15), or perhaps trying out the leash free areas at Hampton St Reserve (Pony Club) or Gurranba Reserve.

More Furry Friends by Robyn Gill – Landcare Group

Pic. John Gould [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons,

 John Gould, F.R.S., Mammals of Australia, Vol. III Plate 25, London, 1863

In the past year, while working at Carey Bay Wetland with its quite large tidal creek, landcarers have found dead three Native Water Rats (think of Rat in The Wind In The Willows). These are Australia’s largest rodent with scientific name Hydromys chrysogaster which refers to its golden belly fur, and were known as Rakali by Aboriginal people.

Native Water Rats are elusive and shy, semi-aquatic with partially webbed feet and very prominent whiskers. They are thought to fill the same niche in the environment as the Otter in the northern hemisphere. 

It’s lucky we have any left as during the depression of the 1930’s they were hunted for their water repellent fur when a ban was placed on imported fur. Earlier, during the Bubonic Plague, a bounty was put on rats and many of the locals were killed although the imported Black Rat was the culprit (as shown in some photos of the time). 

There is now a study underway in Sydney Harbour to observe them as it is thought they might be able to play a part in control of the Black Rat because of the larger size of the Rakali and its ability to defend territory if the invader can be reduced in numbers.

Feral cats and foxes are major predators but there is a also concern that they are being put at risk by coming into contact with baits aimed at the Black Rat, so care should be taken with placing of these baits. 

Do you know where your Feline Friend is?

As the holidays approach caring for our pets goes hand in hand in caring for the local wildlife. 

Bushland blocks can be a killer kitties fast-food service so if you’re filling a birdbath make sure you’re not filling your felines tummy as well.

According to the Australia Wildlife Conservancy a cat can take 5-30 animals a night. Keeping your cat in at night can reduce the number of kills it makes by half. 

The LT Creek Sustainable Neighbourhood Group was concerned about the impact of carousing kitties on the local wildlife and has created a brochure to encourage residents to protect our fauna and responsibly care for their feline friends.

The brochure outlines the many benefits to keeping kitty under control; they avoid being road-kill, or stolen, getting into fights and remain healthier.

Also covered are general care tips, legal responsibilities, cat and wildlife management and desexing advice the brochure can be downloaded from the Sustainable Neighbourhoods website. 

Landcare Update- Robyn Gill

Hampton St Link, Carey Bay Wetlands and Burnage Reserve have had a good late winter spruce up and should be ready for spring, which seems to be here already. The Rails, Finches, Plovers and many other birds are making the most of the landcaring efforts and are often very close and busy feeding when we're working. 

Carey Bay Wetlands benefitted from National Tree Day with 550 new plants installed in record time by 24 locals. They are settling in to make the most of the great conditions. 

Gurranba Reserve is the focus reserve for September and nature is providing a surprising array of welcome additions being helped along by some weed removal, which is especially satisfying.

One addition we hope not to discover are the `barker nests’ that have sprung up since the change of the leash free area from Birriban. 

The relocation of the leash free area freed the children’s playground from incursion by dogs of varying forms. Unfortunately now the local wildlife in the bushland remnants play hide & seek with the dogs straying from the large mown areas as they leave reminders of their presence. 

Please owners ..spare us this stinky problem by keeping your dogs in the mown areas and picking up after them  as required by council.

Doggies Do Good

4th July thanks to all the local walkers and pet owners. The July bird survey was very successful. New birds were recorded and not a person or a dog sighted.
The Bird Survey report can be read here.

Doggy Do Gooders

Having a wander with your best friend is one of the simple joys in life... fresh air in the face, soft soil underfoot and spectacular scenery to sooth the soul.

But have you noticed the birdlife abounding? 

Probably not, because as your fleet footed friend bounds through the bush the birdcalls are silenced, a natural response to the threat of danger.

On the morning of Thursday 4^th July a Winter bird survey will be undertaken as part of

the TSLS project to gather information on what local wildlife we are blessed to share Coal Point with. The bird survey team have previously noticed the silence of the birdcall as they encounter dogs enjoying their morning stroll. 

In an attempt to get a clear picture of the birds present could an afternoon walk or a non bushland location be the dog walking destination on Thursday 4^th July? 

Thank you in advance for doing your bit to support the TSLS project.