MT ROGERS EARLY JULY 2013

Macgregor.    On Saturday 22nd June the Landcare Day at Macgregor was held beside Ginninderra Creek in such perfect weather that several of us peeled off layers of clothing to counter the ‘heat’ when working in the sun. We cleared weeds and the introduced grasses around the plants which were put in to replace mature poplars (removed after public consultation because they continuously send up suckers which alter the flow of the creek and make mowing time-consuming).

The young plants are doing really well and mulch was added around some furthest from the creek-line where mulch isn’t subject to being washed away during floods. Local eucalypts, wattles, bottlebrushes, Native blackthorn (Bursaria) and grasses have been restored to the creek zone.  They will add new habitat for small birds and a non-weedy vista for the many who walk along the nearby path. Passers-by called in for information and a “What’s Landcare all about” chat with Ginninderra Catchment Group providing publicity material, tools, a marquee and putting on a BBQ as Damon did for our Mt Rogers Explorer Day. With the linear Macgregor area (it follows the line of the creek) it’s more difficult to create a community of carers, but most of the Umbagong Landcare Group regulars turned up for whatever time they could spare, giving the young plants weed-free space for a while at least.

Mt Rogers working-bees.   Although all seems quite damp on Mt Rogers at the moment it is a very different Landcare site from Macgregor. Our community continues to support our landcaring by participating in a variety of activities. Flemming and Ivan scouted for Briar rose plants, collecting & bagging the hips to stop birds spreading the seeds, and dug the bushes out where possible. With Margaret and Chris, Flemming planted out some native grass plants. The little Sorghum leiocladum plants were propagated by Robert from Umbagong Landcare Group. There are two clusters of native Sorghum already on Mt Rogers. It’s a tall grass with spectacular, reddish flowers and seed heads when conditions promote flowering. We later scattered some grass thatch from a native Poa in a bare area near the ‘recent’ Hazard Reduction Burn behind Woodger Place. People can’t always be here to volunteer. Each working-bee has “apologies” as our members fulfil other obligations.


New seedlings.  Mt Rogers is largely doing its own revegetation. Let’s hope the soil stays damp as eucalypt, wattle and shrub seedlings lengthen their roots rather than rely on sporadic rain seeping through the topsoil. On 23rd June Ann, Flemming and Ivan again worked on Briar roses and on patches of Periwinkle behind the Bainton Crescent “Cactus gardens”. And today Ann and I did some preliminary work on Cotoneaster, readying the plants for cut and daub with herbicide once the sap’s flowing again. During each session we find there are tiny weed seedlings thriving under large trees’ branches: privet, Viburnum tinus, Ivy, Briar rose, Cotoneaster. This goes to show that plants with berries, whether useful in the garden or not, are causing problems in bush reserves.

Sleeper weeds.  A list of sleeper weeds has been drawn up for the Parks and Conservation Service. These species are causing problems in the ACT’s bush because their seeds are easily dispersed even though they are favourites for gardens. We can help Mt Rogers and other reserves and their landcaring volunteers by ensuring the plants’ seeds can’t be spread by birds, blown away by wind or slip-streams or carried on wheels. Californian poppy, Seaside Daisy, Gazanias, South African Daisy Gaura, Euphorbia and Nandina are sleeper weeds. Will birds eventually begin spreading Agapanthus seeds by deciding they’re edible. Will unharvested olives become a problem here as they have in the Adelaide Hills? On a positive, native dispersal-note we did find a young Kurrajong tree today, growing where its seed had been dropped, probably by a Currawong. Mt Rogers now has about ten of these fascinating native trees.

Kangaroos.  Thank you for reporting more sightings of the kangaroos. They are an attractive part of the Mt Rogers scene seeming to use nearly every part of the reserve whilst also being adept at hiding away and sheltering when they need to. For cross-country enthusiasts the tracks they have pounded are really useful and introduce walkers to the reserve’s range of habitats. It’s easy to see that the kangaroos favour Weeping grass because the tussocks are eaten down. Until they move or flick their ears the kangaroos are so well camouflaged amongst the winter-beige grass. The other afternoon a hunched, hopping shape with a black tail crossed the gully. I’m pretty sure it was a wallaby … so there’s another challenge for observers … what solo animals are we seeing?

Frogmouths.   It’s also worth keeping an eye out for the Frogmouths. Several times they’ve been in a roost tree near the nest-eucalypt but they’re not there everyday. The tree is one near the Flynn playground and their perch-branches are above the concrete drain with its galvanised railing. There’s also an old metal Orienteering sign as a marker. Expect a dark blob equalling two birds amongst or partly hidden by the foliage.

Observer’s reward.  A report on 22nd on the Canberra Ornithologists’ email-line mentioned finding Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters feeding on Mt Rogers with other canopy birds a few days ago. Visiting, Roger W emailed a photo of the bird with its spectacular deep yellow chin and black mask. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/rroger880/9089357937/   Kevin D has also sent a photo to capture his moment of triumph and he said he’d also seen a Crescent Honeyeater. Both are new species for my list of Mt Rogers sightings.

Birding.  Last Saturday began as forecast: “showers”. I left the myna trap baited and walked up to see what Mt Rogers could offer. Quiet small birds in a Mixed Feeding Flock (MFF) were busy in the trees and shrubs uphill from the notice-box, busily gleaning but giving each other confidence during Ravens’ and Currawongs’ calls. A larger bird moved, proving to be a male Golden Whistler and its mate was nearby. A Striated Thornbill flew so close I felt I could almost reach up and touch it. Others hovered beyond clusters of eucalypt leaves where they can see and peck at tiny insects with their thorn-shaped beaks. A Weebill had grabbed a 2 cm-long caterpillar, reinforcing how vital these insectivorous birds are to the health of plants whether in the bush, on farms and in our gardens. There was a cacophony of “Miss Piggy” Spotted Pardalote calls above us.

A coup.  A canopy-search revealed Yellow-faced and White-eared Honeyeaters and, for a long instant a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater amongst the copious buds of a Eucalypt. Wow! To think that the birds had remained here for a week after that first sighting.

Is the excitement of bird-watching a benign form of hunting where nothing is killed and the trophies are memories … and photographs if one can carry the necessary gear?

Wrens’ calls signalled their arrival and there were Yellow-rumped Thornbills on the ground. Red-browed Finches alternated between shrubs’ safety and the grasses. In an open area where the CVA crew felled Chinese pistachio for us, another Wow! Two Speckled Warblers foraged in short grass near a long-fallen trunk. They’re a vulnerable species in the ACT, delightful un-afraid little ground-nesting birds. Steve joyfully reported seeing three of them later that day. Can we claim they have bred successfully in spite of foxes and suburbia’s cats?

Undergrowth.   I then went on through the trees and along the roos’ tracks, finding forests of mosses, lichens and liverworts with sporangia giving height to their ground-hugging diversity. Recent rain has enlivened these essential plants and stimulated fungi to raise their spores into breeze-catching spaces. See some photographs here.


Musings.  You will know from these newsletters and our conversations that Mt Rogers is an obsession for me. It’s part of the natural scruffiness of the Australian bush but a miniature example of all the beauty, complexity and interconnectedness that daily enlivens our curiosity and restores our sense of wonder at life’s and Australia’s uniqueness.


As members of our caring and observant community you’ll also know that Mt Rogers is occasionally under threat from a range of forces and processes. The reserve we share reflects situations elsewhere in Australia where natural habitats, uniqueness and icons such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Kimberley and our “food bowl” are threatened.

Shooting and grazing in national parks, logging native forests, fracking, drilling and mining on agricultural land, mining in wilderness and native forests and industrial-farming and over-fishing are being allowed by the powerful … those who have not have not yet moved beyond exploitation and domination in favour of respect for other species and, as we do, living more simply so others may, simply, live.

We are not alone.   Although feeling a sense of despair is common amongst long-term landcarers, threatened land-loving farmers and landowners and all those with a love of the outdoors, habitats and species, surely we mustn’t give up? Communities around the world are uniting in action against the destruction of their heritage by the powerful. They observe and question what is happening, question and refute the accompanying “spin” and adopt whatever form of activism each situation requires. Thousands of organisations are involved involving millions of individuals and yet their activism is rarely reported in the mainstream media. Google wiser.org, to Discover, Connect and Share what’s happening.

Even if we’re time-poor the Places You Love Campaign is concentrating on saving Australia’s special places, national parks, nature and marine reserves by asking that we phone/write to our MPs saying environmental protection laws must remain under the control of Federal Parliament and not be devolved to the states. The campaign’s website lists, with links, all the organisations who are partners.
The importance of activist-numbers to amplify everyday Australians’ voices is paramount.
Change has to come and is coming from the grassroots, from people like us.

Rosemary, Mt Rogers Landcare Group. 01.07.13 - 08.07.13.   6258 4724