The newsletter of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland Fraser Coast Branch AUTUMN 2018 Wambaliman since 1967 In the language of the Butchulla people, who are custodians of land that includes the Fraser Coast, ‘wambaliman’ means ‘to carry’, and refers to the messages that the Newsletter is communicating. Editor's Note From where I write I can see a clear blue sky with just a few high clouds; the lengthy wet period that has been so welcomed by plants and WILDLIFE PRESERVATION people alike seems to be behind us. SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND What’s not behind us is the constant struggle to conserve wildlife and associated habitats. known informally as Fortunately, the people who submit articles to WILDLIFE QUEENSLAND this newsletter are among those with some awareness on the issue of conservation. FRASER COAST BRANCH Our President, Audrey, has been observing PO Box 7396 Urangan, 4655 wildlife behaviour for many decades, and gives us an example of that in her article on wildlife President: in her backyard. Audrey Sorensen Both the Activity Report and the EAG Report 4125 6891 [email protected] contain examples of the many activities that Vice President: Branch members are participating in, all of which demonstrate modest gains in the Rodney Jones 0423 812 881 Branch’s stated aims. Secretary: The wonderful Nature Walks continue to pro- Vanessa Elwell-Gavins vide networking and educational opportunities. 0428 624 366 Displays and workshops such as Diane Chris- Assistant Secretary: tensen’s library display and Carol Bussey’s but- terfly workshop offer a tremendous opportuni- Bruce Dick ty for the Branch to reach the general public Treasurer: with information on wildlife conservation. Jenni Watts 0400 656 325 Yet another avenue of reaching a wider audi- Assistant Treasurer: ence with our message is through the monthly Bruce Dick newspaper column called Wildlife Matters; now with six articles published. Newsletter WAMBALIMAN And more! Several members attended the Publisher: WPSQ Fraser Coast USC Awards ceremony to congratulate the re- cipient of the Branch’s Prize of $500 to a first Editor: Rodney Jones year student studying wildlife conservation. 0423 812 881 [email protected] The people involved in making these achieve- Production: Rodney Jones ments possible deserve a pat on the back. We Proofreading: Andrea Van Kampen are always looking for more people to lighten the load by becoming active members. All this, plus the usual interesting and educa- tional articles about local wildlife, await you. Enjoy the read. ● Rodney [email protected] Wambaliman AUTUMN 2018 2 NOTICE BOARD Contents AUTUMN 2018 Social gathering for members and friends President’s Report ···································4 Diane 4128 3992 Wildlife Fraser Coast — Activity Report ··· 4–6 Monthly talks on community radio Environmental Advisory Group — Report ...6, 7 Audrey 4125 6891 Nature Walk — Point Vernon ················· 8, 9 Branch meetings held each month Nature Walk — Walligan Rail Trail ········ 9, 10 Venue alternates between Maryborough and Hervey Bay. Frog display at Library ······················· 10, 11 Vanessa 0428 624 366 Bush Regeneration Workshop ············· 11, 12 Wildlife Qld Fraser Coast Prize — Award ···· 12 Nature in the Library talks Wildlife Qld Fraser Coast Prize — Recipient 13 Third Friday of the month at Hervey Butterfly Day at Tinana ··························· 14 Bay library. Sara 4129 5789 or the library 4197 4220 A box for the Coolamon ·························· 15 20 April Community Environment Program ······· 16, 17 Don & Lesley Bradley Wildlife in a suburban backyard ················ 18 Nest relocation of turtles The Birds and the Moths ························· 19 18 May Mangroves — 10 Locals ····················· 20, 21 Yvonne Miles Hazard Reduction Fires ·························· 22 Dugongs 15 June Cleaning up Australia ······························ 23 Tina Raveneau Last page cartoon ··································· 24 Native trees and National Tree Day Contributions Nature Walks We welcome contributions from WPSQ members and supporters. Articles can Saturday 5 May take the form of reports, observations of ‘The Wild’: member John Williams’ nature, anecdotes, quotes, humour etc. property near Gundiah Send contributions to: Peter Duck 0432 250 213 [email protected] Saturday 2 June OR Glenbar National Park The Editor, Wambaliman and Miva State Forest PO Box 7396 URANGAN 4655 Vanessa Elwell-Gavins 0428 624 366 Submissions for the next issue are due by Friday 6 July 2018 Saturday 7 July Opinions expressed in Wambaliman are not neces- Mt Bauple National Park sarily those endorsed by the Wildlife Preservation Society Queensland, Fraser Coast Branch unless Peter Duck 0432 250 213 specifically attributed to them. 3 President’s Report Everything we do has consequences. It can be a link in a chain reaction that can have an impact beyond expectation. How do we make choices that sustain the sur- vival of species in a fragile environment? Can people-power influence decisions made at three levels of government, local, state and federal? Can we change the atti- tudes of a self-indulgent society that be- lieves a sea-view is more important than retaining a natural area? Have we lost our connection with nature in our quest for financial security and greed? Are we caught up in the rat-race and blind to the wonder around us? Can we make time to step outside in the rain to find the diamonds in a spider’s web? We cannot appreciate what we haven’t experienced. How blessed are those who have had close encounters with wildlife, be it flora or fauna! Our Nature Walks, our Nature in the Library talks, our Wildlife-friendly Gardens Workshops and other pro- jects, our submissions on various legislation, our provision of a university prize, our monthly newspaper column, and our membership of other conservation groups — hopefully public awareness is increasing due to the efforts of our Branch. Sustainability starts in our own backyards. The Indian mynahs are checking out the trap in my backyard. The feral cat has been trapped. I think I can live without using single-use plastic bags: I’ve been practising for years! And I’m going camping again soon. Care to join me? ● Audrey Sorensen, President Wildlife Queensland Fraser Coast – Activity Report 6 January - 31 March 2018 Walks, Talks, Workshops and other events • Our Nature Walks program kicked off for 2018 in March with a walk from Gatakers Bay through the mangroves at the mouth of Eli Creek, then return via Parraweena Park. This excellent walk was attended by 35 people. • We held two Nature in the Library talks at the Hervey Bay Library in this quarter: Alan Peebles showed another of his wildlife videos to a packed audience in February. Don and Lesley Bradley spoke about turtles and satellite tracking in March, also to a large audience. • Diane Christensen mounted a display on frogs at the Hervey Bay Library, during the school holidays, to drum up interest for MRCCC's Find a Frog in February. Wambaliman AUTUMN 2018 4 Wildlife Queensland Fraser Coast – Activity Report cont. • Quite a few of our members participated in Find a Frog in February, and had great fun learning about the frogs we saw or heard. • Carol Bussey organised a Butterfly Identification and Butterfly Plants afternoon at Tinana State School on Sunday 11 March, with Kelvin Nielsen as the guest speaker. Seventy three people participated in this, including 6 children. Many thanks to organiser, speaker and helpers. • Six of our members spent a morning with seven visiting Gympie Field Naturalists at Arkarra Lagoons and Mungomery Vine Forest. This excellent 'networking op- portunity' was organised by Cécile Espigolé. A highlight was the two juvenile magpie geese who accompanied us on foot for half the morning, including down a small track going right through to Chiquita Court, and whose quiet chattering confused some of the bird-watchers when they were trying to identify other bird- calls. Communications • Wambaliman SUMMER 2018 issue was released in January. • President Audrey Sorensen has continued to make excellent use of our 10- minute slot on local community radio FM 107.5, at 10 am on the second Tues- day of each month. • Since the Summer break, Rod Jones and Roland Schuller, two of the inaugural Facebook page administrators, have stepped down. Thanks to them both for their input in establishing the page. The arrival of Peter Duck as one of the administrators, with support from Vicki Perrin, has seen a re-energising of the Branch's Facebook page. Meetings and planning • The Executive met on 4 February. • General meetings were held on 18 February and 18 March at the Halcro St Community Centre. Working Groups, Advisory Groups and other groups • Rodney Jones attended meetings of the FCRC Environmental Advisory Group on 7 February and 4 April. Fund-raising • Peter Duck and Carol Bussey are organising the Bunnings sausage sizzles in 2018 and will be organising the rosters. No sizzling occurred in this quarter, but two sizzles are planned for the next quarter. Wildlife Qld Fraser Coast Prize • Branch representatives attended the presentation on 28 March of the first of three annual prizes awarded by our Branch to a student undertaking Cont. on p. 6 5 Wildlife Queensland Fraser Coast – Activity Report cont. studies in Endangered Animals and their Conservation at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The recipient of the inaugural $500 Prize was Ms Zerra Eger- ton. Submissions • We made submissions to two important government inquiries, on: the Federal Government's draft Strategy for Nature; and the Queensland Government's draft amendments to the Vegetation Man- agement legislation. ● Vanessa Elwell-Gavins, Secretary Environmental Advisory Group – Report Summary from Minutes of the meeting on 7 February 2018 Lauren Payler (Manager, Strategic Landuse Planning) provided an update on new staff positions, including a Sustainability Planner. The Offset Policy within the Plan- ning Scheme is being reviewed; Nigel Greenup to provide Policy to EAG members. Council will soon be appointing an Open-space Planning Officer who will assist in identifying potential sites for koala protection.