NATURE TERRITORY June 2015 Newsletter of the Field Naturalists’ Club Inc. In This Issue Club activities. p2-3 Grahame Webb talk on Crocodile Research. p.4 May field trip Report – Crocodylus Park. p.5 Seeking Top End specials. p.6 Nature Territory Photographic Competition p.7 Interesting wildlife sightings p.7 Interesting birds. P.8 Club notices. P.9 Club web-site: http://ntfieldnaturalists.org.au/

Rufous Owl at East Point . Photo: Laurie Ross Laurie & his wife flushed out this Rufous Owl on the monsoonal vine forest walk at East Point late afternoon in early May. The owl was sitting at about 6 feet off the ground, hence the great shot. FOR THE DIARY June meeting: Wednesd ay 10 June, 7.45 pm Member Travels with Fiona Douglas & Mark Grubert June field trip: 12-14 June, overnight camp at Litchfield NP with Sean Webster • See page 2/3 for more details •

Disclaimer: The views expressed in Nature Territory are not necessarily those of the NT Field Naturalists Club Inc. or members of its Committee.

Club activities June Meeting – Members Travels to Namibia & Nepal Speakers: Fiona Douglas & Mark Grubert Wednesday 10 June, 7:45 PM. Function Room, level 3, Red 1, CDU Casuarina.

Fiona Douglas: Three NT Field Nats joined a Rockjumper Birding Tour to Namibia (plus a little of Botswana and Zambia) last August. The country we visited was very varied and the flora and fauna fascinating. These bugs could have modelled for Dr Dolittle’s “pushmi pulyu”, but their plant association is even stranger. We didn’t miss out on the usual African fauna, with night game viewing and an attention-seeking bittern complementing some very dramatic events. I’ll try and give a flavour of this fabulous part of the world, and encourage you all to go and see for yourselves.

Mark Grubert has visited Nepal three times in the last six years, most recently in late 2013. Mark will talk about trekking in the Annapurna and Everest regions and showcase some of the scenery and wildlife found in these areas.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● June Field Trip Outing –Litchfield NP Discovery Expedition Friday 12 to Sunday 14 June 2015.

Once again Parks and Wildlife Commission ranger Sean Webster has kindly organised the club access to the Special Interest Group (SIG) camping area near Buley Rockhole in Litchfield National Park and what a great time of the year to go camping. The gates will be open for us from Friday afternoon through to Sunday, so it's up to you if you wish to camp one night or two nights or just visit for the day. There is a range of proposed activities being considered. Birding, "insecting" and Sean is keen for us to assist in night time small mammal trapping. The mammal trapping gives members a rare opportunity to see some of our hidden and rare small mammals. Camping spaces are limited so please contact John Rawsthorne on 0412 899 051 or [email protected] to reserve your spot. We'll provide Sean Webster opening a specimen bag. Photo: Tissa Raytnayeke you with more information closer to the time and if required assist you with car-pooling and tent sharing.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Future Field Nats program July meeting, 10 June: 18 July (SATURDAY) Nationally known Environmentalist John Dengate July excursion, 19 July: Trip to Catalina Island led by Richard Willan August Meeting: 12 August: Mt Todd Gold Project: Project Overview & Ecological Surveys. Catherine Whitehead

**PLEASE NOTE: MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS ARE DUE NOW – SEE PAGE 9 FOR DETAILS**

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Celebrity Speaker - John Dengate

Ona Wing and a Prayer How Birds Fly

John Dengate* has been fascinated by flight ever since he jumped off the garage roof at a young age armed with a sheet and soared gracefully and more-or-less vertically onto the family lawn. He says the footmarks are still visible. Having failed in his own attempts, he set about studying how birds and other creatures manage to stay aloft, and he is happy to share his knowledge of this intriguing subject. He will explain how birds and bats fly, as well as how some snakes and lizards can glide impressively. And he will answer the questions on the tip of everyone’s tongue – including why goshawks have round wings and This FREE falcons pointy ones; why Airbusses have winglets and how pelicans can community event travel thousands of kms even thought they have virtually no fat stores. If you were ever wondering how the clap fling mechanism works or why presented by afrigatebird’sbonesweighlessthanitsfeathers,thenthisisthetalk for you!

* John Dengate is a well-known environmentalist, media naturalist, author and TV personality. For more than two decades he presented a FIELD NATURALISTS wildlife talkback segment on ABC radio and also presented wildlife and CLUB Inc. environmental segments on the long-running Burke's Backyard TV show. Northern Territor y John began his career more than 35 years ago with NSW National Parks and later worked at the Australian Museum and the Environment Field Naturalists’ Club Protection Authority. In 2009 John retired as head of public affairs at the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, and in the same Imprint 08 8921 8226 http://ntfieldnaturalists.org.au year was recognised in the Queen's Birthday honours list with the Public 08 8999 8238 Service Medal of the Order of for his work. [email protected]

Brochure design by

Charles Darwin University 2pmSaturday18July2015 Casuarina Campus – Mal Nairn Auditorium Refreshments Provided

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May Club meeting: Four decades of Crocodile Research Presentation by Grahame Webb Notes by Emma Noonan

At the May meeting Professor Grahame Webb gave an interesting, entertaining and thought provoking talk on ‘Four decades of Crocodile Research’. I am very much aware that my notes of his talk will fail to give justice to the passion of the talk on the night embodied by Grahame’s original cartoons and personal photos.

Grahame began his career by studying agriculture in 1965 at the University of New England, not realising that he could in fact study his real interest, which was zoology. After switching his area of study to zoology, Grahame travelled widely including a 4‐‐‐month stint on Macquarie Island studying seals and penguins (he thought Macquarie Island was located in North Queensland when he applied for the job!)

His first foray into the Northern Territory and crocodile research was in 1973 when he joined Professor Harry Messel’s fledgling program on Saltwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) in . This was at a time when numbers of crocodiles were in decline due to decades of un‐‐‐regulated hunting and the focus of the research was all about conservation.

During this time, Grahame was also involved in the development of the harpoon to safely catch crocodiles and this is still used today by researchers and crocodile rangers. Grahame provided some personal photos from the 1970’s and it was obvious by his attire in the photos and tales of diving over the side of the boat to release crocodiles caught up in ropes at the bottom of the river, that OH&S regulations had not been invented!

Once protection of the Saltwater Crocodiles was introduced in the Northern Territory in 1971, the research had a strong conservation focus for the first ten years but after the density numbers increased the focus changed to management.

The research of crocodiles and their conservation has also been heavily impacted by the media manipulation of public education about conservation. The NT News is a great example of this and just this week, a crocodile attack on a kite surfer here in Darwin Harbour made headline news around the country.

The thought provoking part of Grahame’s talk was the idea of what wildlife conservation is all about and what does the future hold? Grahame talked about the idea of wild life conservation being about the argument that we strive to conserve something we place value on. However, the value we place on something will be different to others who also have a stake in the conservation of the animal or wild places. This in turn can impact on the outcome of research because it can become about individual versus vested interests in the outcome of the research. The vested interests can actively manipulate the research.

Grahame made the point that at conferences he attends on wildlife conservation, the scientific facts and research are often over ruled by the politics of the situation.

There was a strong message in the talk about the need to be flexible in how we approach the future of wildlife conservation. We need to admit it if the wildlife are protected we also need to investigate sustainable solutions to wildlife conservation that acknowledge not only research findings but also the cultural diversity of the people on the land involved in the conservation.

While the focus of crocodile research may have changed in the last four decades from conservation to management ‐‐‐ it is obvious that the groundbreaking discovery research conducted by Grahame and his colleagues in the 1970’s has had a lasting influence on the fascination we all have with crocodiles in the Northern Territory.

If you would like to read further about Grahame’s research on crocodiles and his thoughts on wildlife conservation then check out his latest book on the subject. Webb, Grahame (2014). Wildlife Conservation – In the Belly of the Beast. Published by CDU Press.

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May Field Trip Report – Crocodylus Park Notes by Julia Collingwood

About thirty of us attended the outing to Crocodylus Park. Grahame Webb warmly greeted of us and gave a forty- minute talk on the history of crocodile conservation and management in the Top End. It was most informative. Up until the Second World War crocodile numbers it would appear were fairly stable, although there had never been a proper census taken. However, after the War the salt water crocodile was seriously hunted.

The skins of the saltie are ideal for the fashion industry, and, as a result, after the war the price of skins skyrocketed. Between 1946 and 1958, 80,000 crocodiles were killed, and between 1958 and 1971, a further 16,000 were taken. This heavy hunting brought the saltie close to extinction and it wasn’t until 1971 that they were eventually protected. Freshwater crocodiles had been protected since 1964. By 1994, the numbers, however, had substantially bounced back to the point where for landholders they were becoming a nuisance.

Grahame Webb explaining why saltwater crocodiles are highly desirable on the international market because of their small belly scales. Photo: Neil Wright

It was now a question of not conserving the saltie but of managing it. As a result a ranching program was introduced where eggs could be collected from properties and the landholders – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – would be paid, as long as the harvesting was not detrimental to the wild population.

Today, many think that something further needs to be done about the numbers of saltwater crocodiles. One of the ideas that Grahame has put forward is that there should be controlled recreational hunting of the salties. This would be a big economic boost for Indigenous people and would help to keep the numbers under control. However, not all share Grahame’s idea and many have misgivings about the scheme.

After this interesting talk, we dispersed and visited the Park’s enclosures.

Beauty & the Beast: A delicate damselfly (Pseudagrion microcephalum) The meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are popular addition to perched atop an American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) at Crocodylus Park. There are currently 2 males and 1 female at the Crocodylus Park. Photo: Neil Wright park. Photo: Kerrie Anderson

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Seeking Top End specials By Duan Biggs

From 19-27 April 2015 I visited Darwin for the first time to see friends now working at CDU. I, of course, also wanted to use the opportunity to get to grips with seeing some of the Top End specials. Peter Kyne kindly provided very useful advice on where to search for what, and he also put me in touch with Marc Gardner who helped me search for the Chestnut-backed Buttonquail (unsuccessfully unfortunately) near Katherine. Stephen Garnett also gave me some valuable pointers. Two species really stood out in terms of my search for them:

Banded Fruit Dove: I had been pointed me to Nourlangie Rock as the site for this beauty. The taxonomy internationally is confusing on this species, relative to other Ptilinopus Fruit Doves in the region. The Handbook of the Birds of the World calls the Top End version the Grey-rumped Fruit Dove. Taxonomy aside, I arrived at Nourlangie Rock at dawn on the 23rd April. Despite much searching around the rock trails itself, I heard a distant Fruit Dove calling but no more. By 9am the heat was kicking in and I felt that horrible dipping feeling. I decided to embark on the long trail up the plateau down the other side (13km). Bandied Fruit Dove, Nourlangie Rock. Photo: Marc Gardner

I thought that if I did the start just to the top of the plateau and returned, a different vista onto the forest patches may help. It worked! Five minutes up the trail along an incised creek line I spotted a Banded Fruit Dove perched out in the open in a tree with some Silver-crowned Friarbirds. It did not move for 30 minutes while I watched it. I decided to walk up to the top of plateau anyway to look at the view – it was another 20 minutes of brisk walking. Whilst admiring the view from the top another Banded Fruit Dove flew by and landed on a nearby dead branch. More stellar views. Wow!

Chestnut Rail: The Buffalo Creek boat ramp is THE site for this bird and Peter suggested that visiting while the tide is retreating will give me the best chance. As I had many days in Darwin, I visited this site many times and at many different times of day. I walked the little fishing track into the mangroves for a better view of the opposite bank. I visited at dawn. I visited at dusk. I visited while the tide was coming in and while it was retreating. Finally, after about 7 visits to Buffalo Creek I heard one Chestnut Rail calling on the far bank from deep in the mangrove. Of course I could not see it. I also tried every other accessible site the Rail had been recorded at on eBird since January 2014: CDU campus, the Mangroves Chestnut Rail, Buffalo Creek. Photo: Mat Gilfedder near the city centre…

Finally at a hot 3pm on Sunday 26th April I decided to stop on Tiger Brennan Drive and walk into some mangroves there. I was sceptical about my chances but had to try. Luck was on my side and a Chestnut Rail was calling nearby. After some waiting it finally came into view in front of me. A brief but good sighting. I finally got my eyes to feast on what had become my Top End nemesis bird!

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Nature Territory Photographic Competition

The NT Field Naturalists will be hosting the first Nature Territory Photographic Competition to be displayed for the whole of October in the NT Library at Parliament House in Darwin.

There will be four categories, Flora, Fauna, Landscape and Human Impact. Each category can be won by anyone and separate prizes will be offered for both adults and kids under 16. Overall winners across all categories can be from any entrant. Photo: Ilona Barrand

The objective of the competition is to showcase the Northern Territory and the wonderful visions we have around us. Each photograph must be taken in the NT and can be taken in the past and by anyone.

Three professional photographers will be judges for the competition. Entries will start being accepted in late June until late August. Judging will take place over September and all entries we hope will be on display the NT Library in October.

Applications forms, competition rules and details on each category will be available in June. For further details please contact Laurie Barrand on 0407 863 574 or [email protected].

Interesting Wildlife Sightings

Graham Brown and Tamara Andersen came across this water python (Liasis fuscus) in May at Charles Darwin National Park. It is a nocturnal python and adults average 2 metres in length. Luckily for Tamara who is safely perched on a stone wall, they are non venomous and do not normally attempt to bite.

In April, Ross Trevena sent the following photo of a barking spider (or bird eating spider) on his rear screen door. Ross says “Seen in the shadows I at first thought it was a small bat! Then decided it looks like a mouse with 8 legs. I'd pulled out a few clumping palms that afternoon just before some heavy rain so most likely was disturbed out of its burrow in the garden, or possibly a male scouting for a mate? Only a moderate sized specimen but these are seriously big spiders “. Richard Willan says the scientific name is Solenocosmia crassipes and agrees that it is possibly a male based on the large size of its pedipalps.

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Interesting bird sightings Compiled by Peter Kyne & Micha Jackson Reporting period: 23 April to 22 May 2015 Sightings are as reported (unvetted, unconfirmed) and have been compiled from emails sent to the NT Birds forum (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ntbirds) moderated by Niven McCrie, postings on Birdline Northern Territory (http://www.eremaea.com/ ) and from correspondences with birdwatchers. Bird names follow the IOC world checklist. Species Date Location Observer/s Numbers/comments Waterbirds, Seabirds & Shorebirds

Dusky Moorhen 20/05/2015 Yellow Waters, Kakadu Luke Paterson 1 Birds Of Prey & Owls Little Eagle 10/05/2015 Marrakai Rd Laurie Ross 1 Rufous Owl 10/05/2015 East Point monsoon forest, Darwin Laurie Ross 1 Square-tailed Kite 3/05/2015 Glenluckie Ck, Stuart Hwy Marc Gardner 1 Swamp Harrier 24/04/2015 Corroboree Billabong John Rawsthorne Juvenile Other Non-Passerines Flock Bronzewing 18/05/2015 Darwin Airport Glen Ewers 1 juvenile or female Hooded Parrot 29/04/2015 Barunga Sewage Ponds Marc Gardner 4 Hooded Parrot 3/05/2015 Stuart Hwy, ~5 km S of Pine Ck Marc Gardner 1 Partridge Pigeon 6-9/05/2015 Melville Island Magen Pettit 10+ Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo 10/05/2015 Marrakai Rd Laurie Ross 500+ White-quilled Rock-Pigeon 3/05/2015 Victoria River Escarpment Walk Laurie Ross 3 Passerines Australian Magpie 29/04/2015 Road to Barunga Marc Gardner 4 Banded Honeyeater 6/05/2015 Charles Darwin NP, Darwin Luke Paterson 6+ Black-chinned Honeyeater 22/05/2015 Marrakai Rd Mike Jarvis 2 Gouldian Finch 10/05/2015 Marrakai Rd Laurie Ross 8 adults Gouldian Finch 14/05/2015 Southern Kakadu NP Luke Paterson Gouldian Finch 20/05/2015 Marrakai Rd Luke Paterson 50+ Gouldian Finch 22/05/2015 Marrakai Rd Mike Jarvis 2 Grey Fantail 12/05/2015 Southern Kakadu NP Luke Paterson 1 Masked Woodswallow 24/04/2015 Stuart Hwy, near Katherine Marc Gardner 10+30 Purple-crowned Fairy-wren 3/05/2015 Victoria River Roadhouse Laurie Ross 10+ groups; Also 04/05 Rufous Songlark 26/04/2015 Crab Claw Island turnoff John Rawsthorne 5+ White-browed 10/05/2015 Marrakai Rd Laurie Ross Woodswallow White-browed 16/05/2015 East Point, Darwin John Rawsthorne 1 juvenile Woodswallow Willie-wagtail 9/05/2015 Dripstone Cliffs, Darwin Micha Jackson & 1 Peter Kyne Yellow-rumped Mannikin 3/05/2015 Victoria River Roadhouse Laurie Ross Also 04/05

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NT Field Naturalists’ Club Directory President: Richard Willan 08 8999 8238 (w)

Secretary: John Zammit

Treasurer: Laurie Barrand 0407 863 574

Committee Members: Graham Brown 8945 4745 (h/w) Mark Grubert 0407 367 585 Peter Ebsworth 0448 278 001 Natalie Davis Owen Gale Ilona Barrand

Julia Collingwood

Newsletter Editor: Emma Noonan

Club web-site: http://ntfieldnaturalists.org.au/

Club notices Thank you: The previous issue was despatched by Laurie & Ilona Barrand. It was printed using equipment kindly made available by Palmerston Telstra Shop. Newsletter contributions welcome: Sightings, reports, travelogues, reviews, photographs, sketches, news, comments, opinions, theories ..... , anything relevant to natural history. Please forward material to Emma Noonan at [email protected] or the Club's postal address, or contact her on 0417 321 130. Deadline for the June newsletter: Wednesday 24 June 2015 ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Membership subscription renewal notice: Annual subscriptions are due at the end of June. However, if you joined the club during 2015 your subscription will be valid until the end Membershipof June 2016 so does not need to be rene subscription renewal notice:wed at this time. If you receive your newsletter by post, your subscription expiry date will appear beneath the panel containing your name and address on this newsletter. A membership form is on the same page. If you receive your newsletter by email you will find your subscription expiry date in the email to which this newsletter was attached. If your subscription is due, you should also find attached to the email a membership form that you can complete and forward to N TFNC with your subscription. For convenience we recommend EFT payments, details of which are included on the membership forms.

Need a Club membership form? Go to: http://sites.google.com/site/ntfieldnaturalists/downloads

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Northern Territory Naturalist: The Northern Territory Naturalist number 26 is with UniPrint now and will be available for members to collect at the June meeting. It will be mailed out to members who can’t make that meeting.

The winner of the inaugural ‘President’s Prize’ for the best article will be announced at the June Meeting.

Just a reminder that Chief Editor, Richard Willan, is now calling for submissions for next year’s issue. He said he would particularly like to have some articles on birds – perhaps we can elicit something out of the talks in June through August or the field trip (to ) in October as they are all bird-themed. The Instructions for Authors are on the Club’s website, and Richard is happy to discuss contributions with prospective authors before they submit manuscripts. ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Top End Native Plant Society General meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Marrara Christian College, corner Amy Johnson Ave. and McMillans Road, and commence at 7:30 PM (speaker at 8 PM). Visit http://www.topendnativeplants.org.au/index.php or contact Russell Dempster on 8983 2131. ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● NT Field Naturalists’ Club Meetings are generally held on the second Wednesday of every month, commencing at 7:45 PM, on the Casuarina Campus of Charles Darwin University. Subscriptions are on a financial-year basis and are: Families/Institutional - $30; Singles - $25; Concessions - $15. Discounts are available for new members – please contact us.

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