It’s back!
Australian Owlet-nightjar
By now you are probably all sick and tired of reading about the rosella nest box in the tree next to our deck. Recent posts have described the departure of Chubster the Common Brushtail Possum (click HERE) simply because it became too large to fit through the entrance hole of the nest box. Chubster’s departure was followed by the arrival of two Common Ringtail Possums (click HERE to view post). Their tenancy was also short-lived as the box proved to be too hot for both of them together over the summer. It did however provide hours of endless fascination as we watched the tossings and turnings of the two possums within the box trying to keep cool. About a month ago they too moved out.
This week we noticed a familiar face peering out of the nest box opening…that of an Australian Owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus). One had been the resident of the box 2 years ago. When it left we placed two smaller Owlet-nightjar-specific nest boxes in the nearby trees with the hope of attracting it back, but to no avail. These nocturnal birds have been around as we have heard their distinctive call (click on the arrowhead in the audio bar below to hear one example of its call). Now it’s back, obviously preferring the more spacious abode offered by the rosella box. This bird is a little smaller and a little browner than the previous incarnation.
So if this continuing saga is not boring you and you want a piece of the excitement, install a nest box around your place where you can view it easily. You never know who your neighbours will be.
That’s not at all what we expected
Rakali
We returned home from a two-week trip last night and decided to wander around the property in the forlorn hope that the Powerful Owls had returned for another season. Alas, not…yet!
My approach to one of our dams precipitated a sudden splash followed by a trail of bubbles across the water surface. Even though I have seen Common (Eastern) Long-necked Turtles in the dam before (click HERE to view previous post) their method of retreat is usually to silently slip below the surface, no splash nor bubbles, until the perceived danger has passed.
Thinking nothing more about it I continued walking but then noticed a flurry of activity on one of the branches of a submerged tree. And there it was, totally unexpected: a Native Water Rat or Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster). Being mainly a carnivorous eater feeding on frogs, crustaceans, fish, aquatic insects and sometimes birds, I am surprised that our small dam could support such a creature.
In my haste to get a better photo I fell in the dam (saved the camera), which of course caused the Rakali to head for cover. I did manage to see its distinctive white tail as it crawled up the opposite bank and into a hole in the wall.
And to think, I spent many summer twilights sitting on the banks of the King Parrot Creek hoping to photograph a Rakali. It was probably waiting for me back at home.
Rare footage of endangered possum
Leadbeater’s Possum
Common Ringtail Possum
Trent was able to record this rare sighting in the video below. [This is quite a large file, but is well worth a look – you may need to stop the video and let it it load before playing right through.]
This amazing little possum shares the role of Victoria’s faunal emblem with the critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater and is the State’s only endemic mammal. Its numbers have declined drastically in recent years, particularly after the Black Saturday fires. Conservationists and wildlife researchers warn that the Leadbeater’s Possum is being pushed towards extinction by the loss of suitable habitat containing large hollow-bearing trees vital for nesting – a situation exacerbated by fire and by logging within its limited range in the Central Highlands. Being unable to glide, the Leadbeater’s Possum needs a dense interwoven understorey to facilitate travel by running, leaping and climbing, as seen in the video.
Gone fishing !
Macquarie Perch
This week the Department of Sustainability and Environment has again been conducting its annual fish monitoring survey in the King Parrot Creek, funded this year by the Goulburn Broken CMA. We were fortunate to spend a morning with Jo and Renae, freshwater ecologists from the Arthur Rylah Institute, who are carrying out the survey, as they have for a number of years. They showed us all the various techniques they are using to capture and identify the fish. They are using both electro-fishing and Fyke nets at 5 locations between Flowerdale and Kerrisdale, with a particular focus on the Macquarie Perch (Macquaria australasica), a threatened species which is protected in all streams in Victoria except the Yarra River, which has an introduced population of the fish.
Electro-fishing involves applying a current through the creek water via a backpack generator. Fish are temporarily stunned, identified and recorded, and recover quickly after release. This technique has limitations, such as not being suitable for monitoring deep pools.
The Fyke nets are cylindrical with a series of supporting hoops, and internal partitions with access holes of decreasing size along the net away from the winged entrance. The other end is tied off and fixed above water so any platypus that is inadvertently trapped can breathe. These nets are left overnight and early in the morning the trapped fish are identified, measured and weighed. The Macquarie Perch, if large enough, are also tagged, and have a small piece of tail clipped for DNA analysis, before all the fish are released unharmed.
Two separate tags are used. A ‘T-bar’ tag, with a readable external flag showing its identification number, is inserted in the dorsal flesh. This tag also has a DSE phone number for anglers to report its capture (and claim a reward!). A second small ‘pit’ tag with a universally unique identifying number is inserted into the fish’s stomach. This tag can be electronically detected. Both tags can provide valuable information on fish movement up and down the creek.
When we left Jo and Renae, they were delighted with the results so far. It looks like being the highest tally of Macquarie Perch of any of their King Parrot Creek surveys, with sizes ranging from tiny ‘young-of-year’ up to almost 40cm long. We will let you know the final tally in a future post.
For a previous post on last year’s survey of Macquarie Perch (also known as ‘Macca’), click HERE.
Now you see ‘em …
When walking anywhere on our property in summer we are accompanied by grasshoppers that suddenly appear, fly out in front, maybe flash a bit of colour, and then just as quickly, they disappear. Grasshoppers are of the same order as crickets and katydids, Orthoptera (from the Greek, ortho meaning straight and ptera meaning wing). One of the distinguishing features among them is that grasshoppers generally have antennae that are shorter than their bodies, and therefore have fewer segments in them than the others. (But this is not a rule…)
Bark-mimicking Grasshopper
Most grasshoppers are omnivorous. This means they eat plant matter, but will also dine on dead animals and catch insects. In turn they are the food source for reptiles, birds, mice and other insects. In many countries grasshoppers are a high-protein part of the human diet. Grasshoppers are eaten raw or boiled, dried, fried, with soy-sauce: you name it.
Gumleaf Grasshopper
The main defence mechanism of the grasshopper is to use camouflage to hide from predators. Pictured (above) is the Bark-mimicking Grasshopper (Coryphistes ruricola), which even at close range is difficult to distinguish from its surroundings. This Gumleaf Grasshopper (Goniaea australasiae) (right) has been photographed away from its preferred dried gumleaf backdrop, and therefore is easily seen.
Tempting as this juicy, crunchy little morsel looked, I had a vegemite sandwich for lunch instead.
It’s time to show our footy colours
Alternative name: Hirdii fanaticus
During the start of the footy season on the Easter long weekend we noticed this moth clinging to some vegetation on our property, proudly displaying its colours. It is known as a Red Footman (Scoliacma bicolora) and is clearly a Bombers supporter, all the way down to the red and black footy socks on the back legs. The caterpillars feed on liverwort, lichen and moss.
I was going to crush it but thought it deserved to see its team suffer the same fate in the 2013 season.
Go Eagles….wedge-tailed, of course.
Don’t worry if you missed Kite Day…
Whistling Kite
February 8 is International Day of the Kites. If you missed the wonderful, coloured cloth creations scooting about the sky, don’t worry – a number of kites have been seen in the Flowerdale district in the past week. Just a different sort of kite.
My attention was drawn to a bird sitting in the very top of a Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) on our property by the persistent raucous screeching of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita). The cockies were obviously objecting to the bird being there. From a great distance it looked like a dirty cocky itself, but as I crept closer it resolved into a Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) (pictured left). Although named for its distinct shrill whistling call, it wasn’t whistling at the time, seeming more intent on keeping a low profile.
Driving down the road the next day, we saw a Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) perched on a power line – no prizes for
Black-shouldered Kite
guessing how it got its name. The Black-shouldered Kite looks very much like the Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus), with the major difference that the latter has a black ‘W’ marking that can be seen under its wings when it hovers. Eventually tiring of being photographed the bird flew off – no W under its wings.
So next year in late March we should run our own Week of the Kites in Flowerdale. Entry will be free and you can observe these kites as much as you like, no strings attached.
Cover bird
The Strath Creek Landcare Group’s booklet “Birds of the lower King Parrot Valley” featured on its front cover an image of the Crested Shrike-tit. This striking bird can occasionally be found in Coonans Bridge Reserve and other bushland remnants in our area, and a small flock was recently seen on a Flowerdale bush block (see photo below). It is mainly an insect eater, foraging in the bark on tree trunks and branches. Its powerful bill can tear bark, open hard galls and dismember larger prey.
It can be unobtrusive and we have been trying to record its distinctive call for some time. Yesterday we tracked one down near Seymour and, although we didn’t get a photograph, we managed to get a good recording of its call – a rather mournful descending whistle (somewhat like a speeded-up version of the Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo call), interspersed with stuttering chuckles. To hear the calls, click on the arrowhead below.
The Crested Shrike-tit is one of a number of woodland birds known to be declining due to fragmentation and degradation of its habitat. Without such birds our trees suffer from excessive insect predation. Renewal of habitat through projects such as the Strath Creek Biodiversity Project is essential for the survival of our woodland birds.
The photo at right is from the booklet mentioned above and was taken by Stuart Harris from the Canberra Ornithologists Group.
Crested Shrike-tits at Flowerdale
Where have all the blokes gone?
Male Common Brown – R.I.P.
The Common Brown Butterfly (Heteronympha merope) is a common sight in our district at various times of the year. We usually see them on the ground regulating their body temperatures by angling their wings to the sun. In late spring and early autumn the air is thick with males (left) frantically searching the bush for elusive females with which to mate. The females (pictured below) remain hidden in the grass and cool shady areas. And then over summer the Common Browns disappear.
Female Common Brown – Kicking on
Recently we noticed that the Common Browns have again appeared in large numbers. The difference is that now they all appear to be female. Further investigation revealed that after mating in early summer the male butterflies die and the females go into aestivation (the summer equivalent of hibernation in winter). Then from late summer to early autumn the females again become active and begin laying their eggs. Unlike some other butterflies the eggs are not carefully laid on plant leaves but rather are dropped randomly on the future caterpillar food plants (mainly native grasses, Poaceae family).
So if you see a flurry of butterfly activity in the bush it’s just the Common Browns having a “girls’ day out”.
P.S. The Common Browns like most butterflies of the same family have only four legs. There goes my Rule 513 – All insects have six legs (see previous post).
Dam birds
Purple Swamphen up close
As a follow-up to the recent post on improving the biodiversity of farm dams [see Dam right!], we thought we would put together some pictures of water-birds that we have seen on our dams/wetland near Strath Creek, and which may be found in and around a fenced-off and well-vegetated farm dam, attracted by the rich diversity of freshwater macroinvertebrates.
Some of the photos are not great quality, but are sufficient for identification – a few were taken with a remote camera and some were photographed at other locations. Birds like the Australian Reed-Warbler and Little Grassbird have proved too quick and elusive among the rushes for our limited photographic skills. Other birds such as Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Great Cormorant have only made sporadic appearances and have also eluded the camera.
Focus On Fauna 