I know what you are thinking …
… but I didn’t do it. The blob of foam pictured hanging from the grass stem hides a spittlebug (Aphrophoridae). Spittlebugs are closely related to leafhoppers and feed by piercing plant walls and sucking out the sap. The foam is excreted by the insect and, mixed with air bubbles, creates a moist environment in which to live, and at the same time provides a place to hide from predators. Pictured is the spittlebug nymph that was hiding in the foam.
Whipbirds at Flowerdale
Eastern Whipbird
For some years now, Eastern Whipbirds have been heard regularly in the streamside reserve at Coonans Bridge on the King Parrot Creek at Flowerdale. They are quite shy and elusive, but are also curious, so with patience you may get a glimpse of these distinctive birds, and even a quick snap as we did recently. Its crest, white cheek/throat patch and long tail are features to look for.
The reserve, with its dense undergrowth and abundant leaf litter and fallen branches from the towering Manna Gums, is ideal habitat for the ground-foraging whipbirds. Despite having fire close on both sides, the reserve was fortunately spared in the Black Saturday fires, and quickly became a refuge for surviving wildlife.
The value of this reserve will be enhanced by the establishment of a continuous link to the Mt. Disappointment State Forest through a wide protected vegetation corridor proposed as part of the Strath Creek Biodiversity Project (click for a link to the project website.)
We’ve managed to record several calls of the whipbird. Click on the icon below to hear firstly the male’s resounding whip-crack call, then the male with the female’s immediate response, and lastly the strange clucking and scolding calls that the birds make at times.
More on bandicoots
Long-nosed Bandicoot
After an alarming spate of road-deaths of Long-nosed Bandicoots (Perameles nasuta) earlier this year (click on Look out for bandicoots! to see a previous post), the Murrindindi Shire Council Environment Officer issued an information package to landholders in the area to raise awareness of these native marsupials and to try to reduce clearing of bandicoot habitat. An article was also placed in local publications.
Yellow dots show locations of 15 Long-nosed Bandicoot records from 2011-12 (10 deceased, 5 living), within the UGLN’s Fire Recovery Project area.
Since then, Chris Cobern, the Landcare Fire Recovery Coordinator, has received a number of reports of bandicoot sightings or evidence of their foraging – conical holes dug by the bandicoot’s forelegs and investigated by its long snout. It’s encouraging that these reports cover quite a wide area, from Flowerdale to Kinglake Ranges, Toolangi and Glenburn – click on map for a closer look.
The bandicoots seem to have had a good breeding year. Their numbers can potentially build up rapidly since they have a very short gestation of about 12 days (one of the shortest gestations of any mammal), reach maturity at an early age, and can produce litters in quick succession.
Our remote cameras have recorded this elusive animal at Flowerdale in the video clip shown below.
Chough update
The White-winged Chough chicks featured in the post What’s for dinner? on 6th October left the nest more than a week ago and the three of them are alive and well and keeping at least 7 adults busy feeding and protecting them.
First day out of the nest
Still a bit clumsy!
Snappy hairstyle!
Youngster with protective adult
Bird Week coming up
Next week BirdLife Australia celebrates National Bird Week (click to see details) with the aim of inspiring people to get actively involved in bird conservation. This year the focus is on nesting birds, their requirements and their different nesting styles – an appropriate theme for this time of year.
A few examples from our property are shown here.
Tree hollows are particularly important for a range of birds, and farm sheds can make a secure weather-proof site for an opportunist!
Galah nesting in Yellow Box tree on roadside
Nankeen Kestrel checking out the suitability of a dead Red Stringybark paddock tree
Grey Shrike-thrush nestled snugly in the corner of the shed
Spring – footy finals, bird’s nests, spitfires!
You know spring is in the air when the footy finals have started, the birds are in a nesting frenzy and Spitfires make an appearance. Spitfires are the larvae of Sawflies (Perga sp.) a common but rarely seen relative of the wasp. The term sawfly relates to the saw-shaped egg laying device on the female wasp who lays eggs in eucalyptus leaves. When hatched the larvae congregate in large groups on the branches of trees and feed on the leaves. They store eucalyptus oil in their gut and regurgitate it if disturbed, hence the term spitfire. The larvae burrow into the ground to pupate in summer and the adults emerge in autumn to continue the cycle.
Pictured are the recently seen larvae of the Steel-blue Sawfly (Perga dorsalis).
Flora & Fauna of ‘Hidden Valley’
Sticky Everlasting (Xerochrysum viscosum)
‘Hidden Valley’ (not a proper name) is at the back of the Three Sisters, off Moore’s Rd in Flowerdale and is one of the project sites of the new Strath Creek Biodiversity Project. A short survey, visiting the properties of Hubbard and Watson, was organized to gain some understanding of the flora and fauna of the area.
The morning dawned cool and overcast, but the previous day’s rain had gone. Though six of us set out on the walk, two had other duties and only joined us for the first leg. Four of us then spent about three hours traipsing up and down rather steep slopes recording the plants and animals of the area, with some surprising results. Read more…
What’s for dinner?
A “chattering” of White-winged Choughs (pronounced “chuff”) has regularly nested in a small pine plantation on our Strath Creek property in recent years, with varying degrees of success. This is not surprising as they have had to cope with nest predators such as currawongs and kookaburras, not to mention foxes and cats after fledging, as well as fierce storms splintering trees around them.
All members of the group help build the mud nest and incubate and feed the nestlings. This year, there are about 10 in the group, so they may stand a better chance of successful breeding. We’ll be following with interest the progress of the three young shown in the slide show above, and will keep you posted.
To hear calls of the choughs, click on the sound icons below:
Adults
Chicks
Nest-box update 2
Curiosity got the better of us and we decided to carefully inspect the nest-box featured in previous posts on 14th August and 9th September. We suspected it was being used by a Brush-tailed Phascogale, although our remote camera had not managed to record it entering or leaving the box.
The photo at left shows what appears to be a typical phascogale nest of shredded bark and some leaves. There is a baffle across the top right-hand corner where the entrance hole is located. From a quick look after taking the photo the nest appeared to be empty, but the phascogale (and young?) could well be snuggled down in the base of the nest.
There has certainly been a lot of activity near the nest-box, with the remote camera recording Sugar Gliders, Ring-tailed Possums and a Black Duck in recent weeks, as well as a few more shots of the phascogale.
I hear you knocking but you can’t come in
Hello handsome!
Over the past fortnight we have been regularly visited by a Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla). Up to a dozen times a day it will hang on the flywire screens or cling to the rubber seals on the glass sliding doors, chirping loudly. These serenades can go on for up to five minutes.
Originally we thought it was searching the flywire for insects hidden there or maybe spider web with which to build its nest. However it often just hangs there singing to its own reflection. Whatever the reason, these visits do provide a rare opportunity to see up close what are referred to at our place as LBJs (little brown jobs).
Focus On Fauna 