From the March AGM & Meeting · 2021. 4. 8. · today’s meeting. Unfortunately, I am unable be with you today due to some ongoing complications with my physical health. I was looking

CONSERVATION NEWS

April–May 2021

Meetings Third Wednesday of the month, 1.00 pm

Meeting: Caloundra Power Boat Club, 2 Lamerough Parade, Golden Beach

Executive President: Anne Wensley

Vice-Presidents: Paul Smith & Suzanne Aspland

Secretary: Jude Crighton (Ph: 5491 4153)

Treasurer: Judy Burns (Ph: 5441 3913)

Committee Member: John Roberts

Minutes: Jenny Gursanscky

Newsletter Editor: Helen Kershaw

Newsletter Distributor: Kirsten Blake

Contact PO Box 275, CALOUNDRA Q 4551

Email [email protected]

Faunawatch Coordinator: Dr Paul Smith Ph: 5443 8315: email: [email protected]

From the March AGM & Meeting Re-elected Secretary Jude presented the President’s report for the AGM as John Roberts was unfortunately unable to attend due to a recurring back injury. John has decided not to stand again for President and the meeting persuaded Anne Wensley to take on the role, with her long experience in environmental and social issues and recognition as a local historian. Anne also possesses the interesting credential of having taught our current Caloundra MP and previous Div 2 Councillor when a teacher at Caloundra SHS. Other positions were filled by the incumbents, with Suzanne Aspland replacing a retiring Jill Chamberlain as the second Vice-President, and John remaining as a contributing Committee Member. Jill kindly continues her sterling work as responder to submissions to Council. Judy’s excellent financial statements and the auditor’s report for 2020 were presented, with term deposits of Faunawatch grant monies ratified. We have received our portion of membership fees from Head Office. Here is John’s notice of his semi-retirement from WPSQ. We wish him all the best in up-coming surgery, and a speedy recovery. ‘It is with great regret that I gave my apologies for not attending today’s meeting. Unfortunately, I am unable be with you today due to some ongoing complications with my physical health. I was looking forward to addressing you in person because, as you know, I am standing down from the Presidency of our Society after three years in that office. My life’s situation is currently undergoing a change and for this reason I am stepping back from some of my current obligations. I have found that I am simply over committed, and I need to take a break for a while. I sincerely want to express my thanks to all of you for so warmly welcoming me into WPSQ Sunshine Coast and helping me to settle into the Society and into my role as President. The past three years have been most rewarding and gratifying though it has been a steep learning curve for me being new to the club and then taking over the Presidency. I want to give special thanks to Jude Crighton for giving me such wonderful assistance and encouragement in carrying out my role as

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Conservation News April/May 2021

Our thanks to Caloundra MP Jason Hunt and staff for their kind support in

the photocopying of Conservation News

Advance Dates

Next meeting: Wednesday 21 April, 1 pm at the Caloundra Power Boat Club, Golden Beach

Our USC prize recipient Matt Mooney is to do a presentation on his university work; more information will be emailed to members.

Wood Expo (May) cancelled for 2021

23 May: Protected Areas Matter Cancelled last year due to Covid, here is Wildlife Queensland’s 1-day seminar bringing together top wildlife and conservation experts. There are limited tickets, so book early via the Wildlife Qld website:

https://wildlife.org.au

President but there are so many others that I have worked with and that I admire so much. Jill Chamberlain, Helen Kershaw, Anne Wensley are just a few I would like to mention. And of course, I am in awe of our founder, Kathleen MacArthur and the things that she accomplished in her time. She was a truly inspirational woman. I want to confirm that I continue to fully support the primary WPSQ goals of preserving our local flora and fauna, providing education about our environment to the community, dissuading the destruction of our natural environment by unnecessary development and the management of our natural environment. These issues have been a large part of my life over the past ten years following my retirement, and my involvement with our Society and other organisations in pursuing these goals has been very fulfilling. In addition to these primary WPSQ goals our Sunshine Coast and Hinterland Branch has supported the wonderful Faunawatch program headed up by Paul Smith. It is one of our Society’s most unique and valuable contributions to preserving our environment. I have to say that, once I learned to be a little more patient, I came to really enjoy the monthly Faunawatch outings led by such knowledgeable people. Patience was a very useful learning. Finally, once I regain my fitness, it is my absolute intention to again participate in all of these constructive environmental activities and support our Society in every way I can. Thank you all sincerely, John.’

Annual Report 2020 We have had a sad start to the year with the loss in February of Judy Nelson-Gracie. Judy was a founding and life-long member of the Caloundra Branch of WSPQ, assisting her sister Kathleen McArthur in the work of the branch as office-bearer, plant propagator and wildflower walk guide. She was also a generous donor, and last year at one of our outdoor meetings in Ben Bennett Park we were 'graced' by her presence, when she made a special trip to deliver some of her famous hand-sewn oven gloves for the branch to sell at fund-raisers. A well-attended memorial event was organised by her family at Caloundra's CCSA Hall on 6 March, when memories of her kindness, resilience and humour were shared. COVID restrictions at Caloundra Library cancelled our April and May 2020 meetings, but we were able to meet in lovely conditions in the outdoor 'amphitheatre' of Ben Bennett Park in June, July, and August, and since September we have been grateful to the Power Boat Club at Golden Beach for allowing the use of a meeting room. Shelly Beach Dune Vegetation Our concerns about threats to nesting habitat for the critically endangered loggerhead turtles of Shelly Beach continue. Following on from the expensive but inconclusive Cottonwood Tree Study and subsequent clearing and landscaping at Shelly Beach car park, WPSQ in March 2020 submitted a Right To Information request to Sunshine Coast Council, seeking background to the processes and communications involved in Council decision-making. The report took several months to be delivered, and consisted of 1053 pages, of which over 300 were redacted, due to ‘privacy issues’ outweighing ‘public interest’. We were advised that an internal review would not change the outcome. In November 2020 at the start of the current nesting season we welcomed the installation of low fencing and vegetation at the beach end of William Street to prevent light spill

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World Environment Day/June

Events on a theme of Ecosystem Renovation will be held across the Coast over the month of June, coordinated by the Sunshine Coast Environment Council.

5 June: Opening event: https://www.wed.org.au/ WPSQ events (more details closer to the time): Sunday 13 June: Our Shelly Beach Wildlife Information session will be great for children and adults. We hope to be joined by Council’s Coastal Information Caravan and Turtlecare. Saturday 12 or 19 June: Join us at Bancroft's Redgum Reserve for a walk in a re-vegetated area with the Currimundi Catchment Care Group. Saturday 26 June: We’ll assist Take Action for Pumicestone Passage (TAPP) at the Golden Beach TS Onslow mangrove planting site then go for a walk along the mangrove boardwalk.

from parked cars and coastal pathway cyclists that affects incoming nesting turtles. After strident protests to the new Division 2 Councillor from the same small group of residents who have been pushing for ‘vegetation management’ (removal), citing lack of consultation and ‘loss of amenity’, the shadecloth on the fence was removed, rendering it useless. We wrote a letter of protest to the CEO, and organised a meeting with her for concerned TurtleCare and DuneCare volunteers. A further meeting was held with Division 2 Councillor Terry Landsberg, also attended by Crs Suarez and Cox. A further study of ‘community values’ for Shelly and Moffat Beaches has been commenced. Member Jackie Steele has been indefatigable on this issue, and we continue to liaise with concerned residents. Wilful damage to the dunal vegetation is ongoing. Ben Bennett Bushland Park, Caloundra The proposed road through the southern sector of the Park received a promise of state funding in the run-up to the State election in October 2020, but awaits federal funding before detailed planning can commence. Our branch of WPSQ co-signed a letter with the Caloundra Residents Association to the Department of Transport and Main Roads asking that planning to ensure that damage to the delicate ecosystems of the Park be minimised during construction. A Facebook page for the Friends of Ben Bennett has been set up by member Jenny Gursanscky to feature the beauty and variety of flora and fauna in the Park and to raise public awareness. Additionally, member Prue Oswin, an Active Transport engineer, has drawn up alternative, less disruptive, plans and has set up a community survey. This information was presented to the new state member for Caloundra, Jason Hunt, at a meeting we held with him in the Park in February. Isabel Jordan Bushland Reserve Also prior to the October 2020 state election, with considerable publicity, the Caloundra Air Museum petitioned State parliament to advance their plans to expand into Isabel Jordan Bushland Reserve, named in honour of a past president of our branch. We set up a counter petition to protect the Reserve, which gained over 800 signatures in a short period, and met with candidates and the press. Thanks to Helen Kershaw and Suzanne Aspland for all their hard work in this regard. We have since had a meeting with the Division 1 Councillor, facilitated by Phil Smith of the Community Strategy Leadership Group. A new Caloundra Aerodrome Master Plan is being prepared, and we have been assured that we have been identified as a specific interest group that will be engaged with during the community consultation process that will occur in the coming months. We have also been invited to make a presentation to the next Community and Aviation Forum on the matter. Events were severely restricted in 2020, but before the health crisis we participated for the first time in the World Wetland Day at Aura on Leap Day, Saturday 29 February, organised by Healthy Land and Water. The Maleny Wood Expo was entirely cancelled, as was the Noosa Festival of Waters, and World Environment Day was celebrated as an online event, with an interview with Jill Chamberlain featured. However, we were happy when the Wildflower Festival could proceed, and held walks with small groups in Ben Bennett Bushland Park, Isabel Jordan Bushland Reserve, and Kathleen McArthur Conservation Park. Thanks to all members who helped, particularly Sue Aspland and Jenny Gursanscky.

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Faunawatch Outings Second Wednesday Walks (8 am) at Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens on 14 April, 12 May, 9 June.

Monday walks: Due to rain and Anzac Day, outings have been rescheduled:

19 April (third Monday, this month only), 8am Foote Sanctuary, Buderim Named in honour of WWI soldier and Military Medal recipient Eric Foote this 10ha sanctuary was donated to the people of the Sunshine Coast in 1963. It contains a great mix of soil and vegetation types as the reserve drops down Buderim Hill, resulting in a variety of fauna and flora.

Meeting Point: The end of Park Lane, Buderim

24 May, 8 am Koala Park, Rosemount In this great 16ha park on the eastern side of Nambour we missed out on sighting a koala at our last visit so let’s try our luck again.

Meeting point: 123 Panorama Drive, Rosemount

28 June, 8 am Cahills Scrub, Peachester This 18ha bushland reserve has a great mix of species, and we hope to get another look at a

We also inaugurated a Shelly Beach Wildlife information expo on Sunday 22 November to mark the beginning of the Loggerhead turtle nesting season. This was a success with passers-by and beach-going families responding to our local signs and social media postings.

The Pumicestone Passage Convergence was held over three days in February at the University of the Sunshine Coast, organised by Susie Chapman from Healthy Land and Water. WPSQ contributed a timeline of events in the Passage, and Helen Kershaw and Jude Crighton made a short presentation on the history of conservation groups fighting for the region. Jill Chamberlain's summary of her long years of surveying the resident and migratory birdlife, and Paul Smith's overview of fauna surveys on the Aura development site were well received.

An appeal against the WindanSea clubhouse approval by Council, and against its location at the rear of the dune at Ballinger Beach Park, Buderim Street in Caloundra resulted in a judgement in the Planning and Environment Court in January, allowing the building of the clubhouse to proceed: ‘The conditions proposed by the experts (and council) to be imposed on the development approval will, in my view, satisfactorily limit and ameliorate to an acceptable degree the environmental and amenity impacts of the proposed development.’ Sandstrom & Ors v Sunshine Coast Regional Council & Windansea Boardriders Club [2020] QPEC 62 Faunawatch, WPSQ’s major project, continues to receive funding from Sunshine Coast Council’s Community Partnerships Program to carry out surveys on Land for Wildlife properties and from Healthy Land and Water for surveys at Aura. The retirement of reptile expert Tony Bright this year has been more than compensated for by the recruitment of Dr Scott Burnet. Faunawatch public walks are led by Paul Smith the 2nd Wednesday of the month at Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens and on the 4th Monday of the month at various natural locations; many thanks to him and Rob Kernot and all participants.’

From the March Meeting The Pumicestone Passage Convergence proceedings are now available to stream on the TAPP website: https://takeactionpumicestonepassage.com.au and have been forwarded to Council, the Pumicestone Passage Committee Management Group and to other stakeholders for the development of action and management plans. In the Community Knowledge & Stewardship session on 16 February, WPSQ presented a brief history of environmental advocacy by community groups, including some pithy comments by our own Kathleen McArthur and Jill Chamberlain, (a pdf of the text is included in your newsletter email). We also prepared a Timeline of these groups, campaigns, government legislation, development proposals and cooperation, and TAPP created an illustrated wall-mounted version. Paul’s PowerPoint presentation on Faunawatch wildlife surveying in Aura is included in the 17 February proceedings online. Jill Chamberlain’s 28 years of Shorebird monitoring in the Passage and its catchment is also online, and separately Healthy Land & Water has posted Jill’s presentation

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Regent Bowerbird in the sun.

Meeting point: The end of Harold Lane, Peachester

Date to be advised: Bobbie Sattler Nature Reserve, Fred Chaplin Circuit, Bell’s Creek The Sattler name is famous on the Coast so we’ll look at the land that was left to the community by the family.

Meeting Point: The north-west corner of Fred Chaplin Circuit

(along with current and future plans for shorebird protection) on their website: https://hlw.org.au/newsroom/20-years-of-commitment-and-effort-to-save-our-migratory-shorebirds/ Shelly Beach to Moffat Beach Coastline Consultation Subsequent to WPSQ, Dunecare and Turtlecare volunteers meeting the Sunshine Coast Council CEO and Chief Strategy Officer, and a follow-up meeting with Division 2 Councillor Terry Landsberg, also attended by Crs Suarez and Peter Cox as observers, Council is making an effort to balance community opinion on the William Street fence and related issues and has undertaken community consultation ‘to seek to better understand community perspectives on what is valued about this section of coastline [Shelly Beach to Moffat Beach] and the challenges and opportunities associated with its management. The findings of this investigation will help inform council management of the area’. Consultation has proceeded with Council asking interest groups to timetable ‘site walks’ in areas of concern. Several of these took place over 25, 26 and 27 March, with representatives from WPSQ, Bushcare weeding groups (Tooway, Watson Park, Shelly Beach), TurtleCare, Friends of Shelly & Moffat, and the Caloundra Residents Association walking and talking with Council’s Chief Strategy Officer Bill Haddrill and consultant Cathryn Chatburn (a landscape architect and planner) at sites from South Shelly Beach to Moffat Beach. Participation in groups overlapped, with WPSQ well represented. We felt that Bill and Cathryn listened to our points of view, explored these ideas with us, and recorded our opinions in preparation for their report and possible meetings involving these groups and other concerned parties. We provided access to a 1995 Caloundra City Council Management Plan for George Watson Park and a study on the functioning of ICOLLs (Intermittently Closing & Opening Lakes & Lagoons) in Australia, pertinent to Tooway Lake, and other groups spoke on optimising turtle nesting habitat, dune resilience and a better response from Council and the State re poisoning of vegetation, maintenance of Shelly as a ‘wild’ beach, as well as maintaining family-oriented infrastructure at Moffat Beach and ensuring Succession Planting in the park areas.

For updates, register on Council’s link: https://haveyoursay.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/shelly-beach-moffat-beach-coastal-study

Further information on how residents and visitors use and value coastal areas is being gathered for Council by Healthy Land and Water and QUT. Access their survey via a QR code on posters along Council’s coastal path, or via this link: https://qutc.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7VA3clQjG69CiBn Council’s CEO Emma Thomas responded re the review of our Right to Information re Shelly Beach. While no further

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An ICOLL near you Sunshine Coast Council recognises four ICOLLs (Intermittently Closed/Open Lakes and Lagoons) within its boundaries: Tooway Lake, Coondibah Creek (north of Dicky Beach), Currimundi Lake, and Stumer’s Creek north of Coolum. The four ICOLLs in our area represent the northern-most examples in Australia of these waterways, and should be valued.

A report by Australian researchers notes that ICOLLs

• constitute 3% of the world’s estuaries, with 21% of that proportion in Australia

• concentrate in the low latitudes (on the Australian east coast, the majority are in New South Wales and Victoria)

• occur in low tidal ranges

• occur predominantly on coasts receiving storm waves and east coast swells (in the case of eastern Australia)

• are small systems, with catchments less than 2000 sq km

The opening and closing pattern of an ICOLL mouth appears to be dominated more by coastal processes

information will be released, Emma is now aware of this information.

We hope that the fast-growing indigenous pioneer species Macaranga tanarius is not the next species of concern (after Cotton Trees); we endeavoured to persuade the consultants otherwise on our Shelly to Moffat walks.

CSIRO ‘Macaranga tanarius is favoured by disturbance…and is a typical regrowth species on the coastal lowlands.’ http://www.canbr.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/RFK7/key/RFK7/Media/Html/entities/Macaranga_tanarius.htm Isabel Jordan Bushland Reserve The new Airport Master Plan is due this year, with community consultation happening in the first half of the year. Narelle McCarthy from SCEC has forwarded the tender document for the Master Plan with the comment that it contains little reference to environmental values, and is not specific about QAM expansion into Isabel Jordan Reserve. Council’s Property Management has given some assurance that WPSQ will be consulted, and we have been asked to make a presentation to the next Community and Aviation Forum meeting in May. Ben Bennett Bushland Reserve Much politicking within three levels of government has occurred regarding funding for the Caloundra Transport Corridor Upgrade, and it may be that work will commence sooner than Council itself anticipated, as Federal member Andrew Wallace is now proposing to ask for Federal funding in the May budget. The 'capitulation' of the RSL sub-branch over the loss of its veterans' memorial garden is a mis-reporting (see the Sunshine Coast News link below), as they have merely negotiated a smaller loss of land as a fall-back position with Council, and are adamant that their first preference is for no road past their memorial space, or a much-reduced version. It is also unclear whether the RSL has an opportunity to reinstate its memorial in land that appears to be part of the Ben Bennett Reserve adjacent to the nursing home on West Terrace. Public consultation for the project has not yet commenced.

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than the waterway hydrology itself. An ICOLL can be closed for a long period at a time, opening up to the sea in response to heavy weather, then closing over again as sand is deposited at the mouth. El-Nino-Southern Oscillation is a critical driver of entrance functioning in ICOLLs with implications as global temperatures rise.

Mcsweeney, Sarah & Kennedy, D.M. & Rutherfurd, Ian & Stout, Justin. (2017). Intermittently Closed/Open Lakes and Lagoons: Their global distribution and boundary conditions. Geomorphology. 292. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.04.022.

https://www.sunshinecoastnews.com.au/2021/03/10/caloundra-memorial-garden-transport-corridor/ Jude and interested community member Emma Rees have provided a press release to ABC and other media outlets and were interviewed by ABC Sunshine Coast radio commentator Sheridan Stewart on Wednesday 30 March. Emma has worked with Prue Oswin on the community survey (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfTnjO0Bu3Xe7fp43qzhVPWtCls9ejxaIvEXhs_hly_4czAGQ/viewform) and in her brief interview advocated for a smaller-scale solution as well as the need for all levels of government to come together with concerned parties, including WPSQ and Friends of Ben Bennett. Emma has set up a ‘Value Caloundra’ Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/valuecaloundra. Jude spoke eloquently to the ABC on the threat to forest that has never been cleared, and the value of these old-growth trees for their nesting hollows for squirrel gliders and birds. The diverse plant communities in the lowland rainforest are particularly endangered at this southern end of the Reserve as the road size will inevitably affect drainage patterns, massively increasing flood run-off. Jude characterised this edge of Ben Bennett as a peaceful entry to pathways for walking and cycling in bushland full of birds — such as Fairy Wrens — no longer seen in backyard gardens, as well as Springtime wildflowers.

On the Easter Monday WIN Sunshine Coast TV interviewed Caloundra community members, RSL veterans, local businesses and WPSQ at West Terrace near the southern entrance of the Reserve. Points of view reflected the concern for the over-scale of the road link and its negative impact on the environment and local business.

To demonstrate the value of the Park to groups from all over the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast Birdlife Australia members conducted a survey earlier in the year; the Queensland Mycological Society will undertake a foray on 10 April; and WPSQ members are assisting with a guided walk for Mooloolah River Landcare on 17 April.

Here’s a Change.org petition raised on the Friends of Ben Bennett Facebook page by another concerned young person:

https://www.change.org/p/terry-landsberg-save-ben-bennett-park?recruiter=45283154&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=tap_basic_share&utm_term=G%3ESearch%3ESAP%3EW-EN%3ENonBrand%3EHow-To%3EAll-Match-Types Clean Up Australia Day Once again Jenny organised our Clean Up Australia Day, with a turn-up of twelve collecting small rubbish and recyclables in Ben Bennett Bushland Park; Envirocom was notified about large

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items to be collected, including a bicycle and abandoned camping and household gear. Caloundra Chamber of Commerce At the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce volunteers’ business breakfast Federal MP Andrew Wallace spoke on CAMCOS (the heavy rail corridor from Beerwah to Maroochydore proposed more than 20 years ago). Brady Sullivan is currently acting CEO of the Chamber and gave Jude the opportunity to attend and add an environmental perspective in informal discussions with other attendees. Grant applications Grant monies are in the wind, and we have completed an application for a Council Cultural Heritage Grant to publish WPSQ member Elaine Green’s comprehensive manuscript The Sunshine Coast: conservation and development 1960-2020, requesting around $15,000 for indexing, design and typesetting, and printing of 500 copies from local suppliers. Other work such as editing and volunteer time to coordinate were proposed as in-kind, with photograph compilation and other author costs to be covered by a $500 contribution from our funds, approved by the Executive and Membership present at the March meeting. Notification of success (of course!) will be in early May. We honour the contribution to WPSQ of Judy Nelson-Gracie, sister of WPSQ’s founder Kathleen McArthur, and her wonderful memorial in Caloundra brought together friends, family and community. It gave us an opportunity to seek support from both Kathleen’s and Judy’s family members for a grant proposal by Sunshine Coast Libraries Heritage Library to transform priceless Lunch Hour Theatre manuscripts (largely authored by Kathleen and now in the library’s collection) into professionally acted podcasts with music, to preserve and disseminate their social and environmental value. We have provided the Heritage Library with a letter of support for their proposal. We have also supported a RADF grant proposal by Dr Sue Davis and artist Hiromi Tango for a Healing Gardens exhibition, with the possibility that we offer wildflower walks prior to the Wildflower Festival season.

World Environment Day WED this year will be a series of devolved events over a few weeks in June, to support the UN’s Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. See Advance Dates for details of WPSQ’s contribution. Climate Emergency Declaration Member Rob Taylor addressed the March meeting requesting that we lobby Council to declare a climate emergency and

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further reduce Council emissions. A local lobby group on this issue has requested organisations such as ours to declare a climate emergency and inform Council. We supported a motion to make our declaration and publicise this with a media release. An example is Barung Land Care, which in making the declaration referred to the impact climate change is having on biodiversity. Junior Art Prize Further to Anne Wensley’s discussions with the Friends of Caloundra Regional Gallery about new sponsors for a realistic wildlife artwork prize for junior artists, the Friends are keen to run the competition this year, then review continuation — the capacity of the Friends to fund-raise has been limited by Covid. Our branch will contribute $500 towards a $2000 prize for this year, and personal donations from members are welcome to make up our contribution to $1000. Please contact Secretary Jude at [email protected] should you be interested. The display venue will be at the Mary Cairncross Reserve or the Maroochy Botanical Bushland Gardens, with a date set for September.

More petitions & feedback Bribie Island needs our help to protect turtle hatchlings from getting caught in deep tyre ruts on the eastern beach. By limiting the hours vehicles can travel on the beach from 6 am to 6 pm, the hatchlings will have less vehicular interference and improved chances in reaching the water. Surely this is a fair compromise between recreational activities and caring for the environment? Please consider signing and sharing the petition: http://chng.it/nzJQ2HWVfh Sunshine Coast Mass Transit: Here’s Council’s planning process for mass-transit options, and registration for updates to find out when to have your say: https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Council/Planning-and-Projects/Major-Regional-Projects/Sunshine-Coast-Mass-Transit-Project Roma Street Parklands petition: Have you ever spent a quiet hour in the gardens at Roma Street while visiting the big city? There’s a proposal to build high-rise apartments on nearly a third of the established parkland, and a petition with lots of sound reasons why this shouldn’t happen. https://www.change.org/p/save-roma-st-parklands?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_27843289_en-AU%3A0&recruiter=266435996&recruited_by_id=b57537f0-d5e6-11e4-861e-b3fb62007cb8&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi

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Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus) The Drongo is a fairly common bird in the summer months. Its loud rollicking, cackling calls often incorporate mimicry of other birds to the point that you think you’re hearing a Figbird — except the singer has a forked tail. Drongos put their powerful beak to good use hunting for cicadas, grasshoppers, large phasmids, beetles and even those horrid orange stinkbugs on the citrus trees. The photo shows the red eye, large beak and the spangles. The forked tail is an unmistakable field identification feature, best seen in silhouette.

Faunawatch with Paul Smith The new Healthy Land and Water funding is expected shortly to complete the agreement for further surveys in Aura. Land-for-Wildlife property surveys continue. Due to rain in March and the cancellation of the walk to Foote Sanctuary at Buderim, the Faunawatch Monday walks will be re-scheduled so that we can do our survey at Buderim and then continue with the planned walks, working around public holidays. See the side panel for new dates.

Off to the rocks with the kids? With the sun re-emerging and families visiting, here’s a link to Council’s printable leaflet (or view on your phone) for Rocky Shore Species ID. It’s the leaflet we distributed last year at the WPSQ Information Morning at Shelly Beach, and is largely the work of our member Sue when working for Council prior to retirement: https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Environment/Education-Resources-and-Events/Environment-Resources-and-Publications/Coast-and-Marine/Rocky-shore-species-identification

Birds with Phil Bender

Documents

From the March AGM & Meeting · 2021. 4. 8. · today’s meeting. Unfortunately, I am unable be with you today due to some ongoing complications with my physical health. I was looking