NATURE TERRITORY February 2021 Newsletter of the Northern Territory Field Naturalists’ Club Inc. In This Issue

Club Activities pp. 2 - 3

NT Twitchathon pp. 3 - 4

Spiky Sea Pen p. 6

Chitter Chatter pp. 7 - 8

Club notices p. 9 ' Club web-site: http://ntfieldnaturalists.org.au/

This remarkable photo of a Forest with a fishing/water spiderDolomedes ( facetus) was recently captured by Paul Thomsen while visiting Fogg Dam. Paul says the kingfisher swallowed the spider whole without even bothering to bash it on the branch. FOR THE DIARY

February Meeting:Wednesday 10, 7.00 pm Amazing stories environmental DNA can tell us February Field Trip: Sunday 14, 7.45 am Explore a Top End Bush Block • See pages 2 - 3 for more details •

Nature Disclaimer: Territory The -views February expressed 2021 in Nature Territory are not necessarily those of the NT Field Naturalists' Club Inc. or members of its Committee.Page 1

February Meeting A snapshot of some of the amazing stories environmental DNA can tell us: from human impact to monitoring Gouldian Finches presented by Karen Gibb Wednesday 10 February 7:00 pm - CDU Casuarina. Room BLUE 2A

DNA extracted from environmental samples can tell us some amazing stories. Microbiologists have been doing it for a long time but more recently scientists have started using environmental DNA or eDNA to measure aquatic biodiversity. Karen will share several stories about how DNA has provided insights into our foortprint in the environment using as a case study, treated effluent discharge into Darwin Harbour. She will also talk about how we use DNA to track how naturally occurring bacteria that are also opportunistic pathogens, survive in the environment. Some of these bacteria have implications for public health. Lastly she will talk about their work using eDNA to track a terrestrial species - the Gouldian Finch - which has opened up possibilities beyond aquatic wildlife monitoring. Professor Karen Gibb is an environmental microbiologist with 30 years research experience. She received her PhD at the University of Adelaide and then took a position at the University of Kentucky. She joined Charles Darwin University (CDU) in 1989 but then it was the Northern Territory University. She is Director of the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) and leads the Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Unit (ECMU), a research and commercial unit at CDU. Karen and her team use DNA and molecular approaches to investigate the source of contaminants and interpret changes in marine, estuarine and aquatic environments, and more recently wildlife monitoring. Karen has co-authored 148 journal articles, mostly in the field of environmental microbiology.

Terrestrial species like the Gouldian Finch can be detected using DNA shed by the Remnants of a local Mud Mussel harvest - DNA extracted from artisinal harvest like these as they drink from waterholes. can be used to determine if shellfish are safe to eat. Photo: Karen Gibb Photo: Alexander Watson

Upcoming Field Nats Events

March Meeting - Wednesday 10 - Ghost Bats March Field Trip - Saturday 13 - Nocturnal Walk at Lee Point

Page 2 Nature Territory - February 2021 February Field Trip Report Explore a Top End Bush Block - Sunday 14 February, 7.45 am 70 Affleck Road, Acacia Hills The purchase of a camera a few years ago and the relative abundance of wildlife in the Top End inspired Phil Smith to begin recording what he observed. He soon began posting his photographs on the Club’s Facebook page, often requesting IDs. Keen to learn more, he joined the Club about 18 months ago and is now a regular on our field trips. Phil’s photographs are now captured with a much keener and more knowledgeable eye. His images have since appeared on the front cover of the Club’s newsletter and often can be seen on its internal pages. His home is set on an eight hectare natural bush block which with his wife Kathy, he shares with an abundance of birds, reptiles, spiders and insects. For February’s field trip, Phil has generously invited us to explore his private piece of paradise. We hope you can join us. Location: 70 Affleck Road, Acacia Hills, approximately 50 km from Darwin CBD. Travel down the Stuart Highway, turn left on to Townend Road approximately 3 km past the Cox Peninsula Road. Please park off the side of the road at the front of the property where you will be greeted by Phil. Bring: Camera, binoculars and water. Wear enclosed shoes and be prepared for wet season conditions. Please RSVP to: [email protected]

Here’s a small selection of images photographed by Phil on his property

Nature Territory - February 2021 Page 3 Twitch the NT Twitchathon by Magen Pettit Twitch the NT Twitchathon was held on the weekend of 31 October. It isn’t the best time of year being the ‘build up’ with 34 deg heat, 87% relative humidity and UV index of 13! However, the event was a fundraiser for Birdlife Top End, who co- ordinate community activities centred around the conservation of birds and their habitats in the Top End. Despite the “sweat season” conditions, we weren’t deterred as we all enjoy birdwatching and the fun of competing to see how many birds we can identify in 12 hours! For those that don’t know what a Twitchathon is, it is a race to see how many species (alive, unrestrained and from free- living established populations) can be identified by sight or call by team members (amateur, intermediate and experienced) in a specific time period, and without the use of recorded bird calls or mechanical devices to attract birds. There was a two page list of rules for the event involving team information, countable species, ethics and safety, which is mostly followed by birdwatchers in their everyday birding. There were three teams from the Top End who recorded a total of 178 bird species in 12 hours. One team in Alice Springs, Batty Babblers (Pamela Keil, Michael LaFlamme & Donna Hildred) did a marathon 24 hours and recorded 76 bird species. With all teams combined, the total number of NT bird species recorded during the event was 206. The final results of the 12 hour Twitchathon were: 1st - DUMBirders (John Rawsthorne & Clive Garland) with 151 species. 2nd - Raven Lunatics (Magen Pettit, Peter Brown, Andrew Miller, Darryel (Biggles) Binns, Sarah McMaster & Matt Daw) with 141 species. 3rd - Mannikin Skywalkers (Lehi Archibald, Thorin Archibald, Lily O’Donoghue-scarce, Sam Smith & Amanda Lilleyman) with 121 species. Many Top End popular birding locations were visited including Fogg Dam, Mary River Gravel Pits, Tumbling Waters Holiday Park, McMinns Lagoon, Marlow Lagoon, Knuckeys Lagoons, Holmes Jungle, Leanyer Sewage Ponds, East Point, Nightcliff Rockshelf, Lee Point, Buffalo Creek and George Brown Botanical Gardens. The funniest thing that happened during the event were the antics played by Team DUMBirders, who secretly hid a speaker in the front garden and continuously played a Red-browed Pardalote call (which would have been a rare bird in the Darwin region!) as the Raven Lunatics Team walked the street in search for Tawny Grassbird, which had been unusually located in a suburban residential area two weeks prior. DUMBirders even left a message on the front gate reading “Hi Bird Racers, The Tawny Grassbird is real. This one – not so much!!!” DUMBirders best bird sightings included Little Eagle on Marrakai Rd floodplain, which is unusual for this time of year, Rufous Songlark along Anzac Parade, Fogg Dam and Broad-billed Sandpiper at Buffalo Creek. The Raven Lunatics Team kept a well-hidden secret and only revealed at the conclusion of the Twitchathon that they spotted an Eastern Yellow Wagtail at East DUMBirders funny antics, hidden Point, which was a very unexpected find. Team DUMBirders had sat close by the speaker playing bird calls. location during their lunch break the following day, unaware that the wagtail had been Photo: John Rawsthorne sighted. The Mannikin Skywalkers Team biggest blunder of the event was not being prepared to take photos of a White-browed Crake, which decided to beautifully pose in front of them. By the time a team member brought their camera up, turned it back OFF and struggled to get the lens cap off (that was already off), the bird ran away to be secretive again. Mannikin Skywalkers’ notable bird sightings included Yellow-tinted (these birds seem to have taken up residence at East Point, otherwise are normally found further south of the Greater ... continued next page

Some of Raven Lunatics Team (Matt Daw, Peter Brown, Magen Pettit & Andrew Miller). Photo by Magen Pettit

Page 4 Nature Territory - February 2021 Twitch the NT Twitchathon - continued from previous page Darwin region), White-browed Crake at Fogg Dam and Rufus Owl at George Brown Botanic Gardens. Team Batty Babblers from Alice Springs reported they were pretty happy with their total, given the drought conditions the region has experienced the last three years. Despite the rain a month ago, it wasn’t quite enough and the duration not long enough to make a real difference to bird numbers. Their team highlights included finding an elusive Bourke’s Parrot during the day and a Little Eagle sunning itself, Black-tailed Godwit at Alice Springs Sewage Ponds, an Australian Owlet-nightjar foraging over a marshy area, and one owl, Mannikin Skywalkers (Amanda Lilleyman, Lily O’Donoghue- which annoyingly Scarce, Sam Smith, Thorin Archibald & Lehi Archibald). was out of reach Photo: Amanda Lilleyman of their spotlight, except for the glowing eyes which flew from one tree to another....It will forever remain a mystery owl species. The Twitchathon raised just over $1,000 for Birdlife NT. A big congratulations to the organisers for creating this wonderful event. We appreciated all your hard work and dedication. Well done to all the teams for participating and thank you to everyone who donated. Batty Battlers Team mascot.Photo: P. Keil Hopefully we can make it an annual event and look forward to the next NT Twitchathon.

The Twitchathon bird list of the three Darwin teams combined: Alice Springs bird list: Arafura Fantail Crested Tern Little Tern Sanderling Black Kite Australasian Pipit Australasian Darter Crimson Finch Long-tailed Finch Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Whistling Kite Australian Reed Warbler Curlew Sandpiper Magpie Goose Shining Flycatcher Little Eagle Little Grassbird Australasian Grebe Dollarbird Magpie-lark Silver Gull Wedge-tailed Eagle Zebra Finch Australasian Pipit Double-barred Finch Mangrove Gerygone Silver-backed Brown Falcon Whiskered Tern Australian Bushlark Dusky Honeyeater Mangrove Golden Whistler Silver-crowned Friarbird Australian Owlet-nightjar Black-tailed Native-hen Eastern Curlew Mangrove Robin Sooty Oystercatcher Diamond Dove Eurasian Coot Australian Owlet-nightjar Eastern Reef Egret Marsh Sandpiper Spangled Drongo Common Bronzewing Australasian Grebe Australian Pelican Eastern Yellow Wagtail Masked Finch Straw-necked Ibis Crested Pigeon Hoary-headed Grebe Australian Pied Oystercatcher Eurasian Coot Masked Lapwing Striated Heron Spotted Turtledove (feral) Hardhead Australian Reed-Warbler Striated Pardalote Galah Pink-eared Duck Australian White Ibis Galah Nankeen Night-Heron Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Little Corella Azure Kingfisher Glossy Ibis Northern Fantail Tawny Frogmouth Budgerigar Pacific Black Duck Bar-breasted Honeyeater Golden-headed Cisticola Orange-footed Scrubfowl Tawny Grassbird Australian Ringneck Australian Wood Duck Barking Owl Great Bowerbird Osprey Terek Sandpiper Mulga Parrot Black Swan Bar-shouldered Dove Great Egret Pacific Baza Bourke’s Parrot Little Pied Cormorant Bar-tailed Godwit Great Knot Pacific Black Duck Torresian Imperial-Pigeon Horsfield’s Bronze- (heard Little Black Cormorant Beach Stone-curlew Greater Sand Plover Pacific Golden-Plover Torresian Kingfisher only) White-faced Heron Black Butcherbird Green (Yellow) Oriole Pacific Varied Lorikeet Fairy Martin Great Egret Black Falcon Green Pygmy-Goose Paperbark Flycatcher Varied Triller Splendid Fairy-wren Red-kneed Dotterel Black Kite Green-backed Gerygone Peaceful Dove Wandering Whistling-Duck Purple-backed Fairy-wren Red-capped Plover Black-breasted Buzzard Grey Plover Pheasant Coucal Weebill White-winged Fairy-wren Black-fronted Dotterel Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Grey Shrike-thrush Pied Butcherbird Whimbrel Weebill Masked Lapwing Black-fronted Dotterel Grey Teal Pied Heron Whiskered Tern Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Pied Stilt Black-necked Stork Grey Whistler Pied Stilt Whistling Kite Southern Whiteface Red-necked Avocet Black-tailed Treecreeper Grey-crowned Babbler Pink-eared Duck White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Blue-winged Grey-tailed Tattler Plumed Whistling-Duck White-bellied Sea-eagle Singing Honeyeater Common Sandpiper Brahminy Kite Gull-billed Tern Radjah Shelduck White-breasted Whistler White-plumed Honeyeater Marsh Sandpiper Broad-billed Flycatcher Hardhead Rainbow Bee-eater White-breasted Brown Honeyeater Wood Sandpiper Broad-billed Sandpiper Helmeted Friarbird Rainbow Pitta White-browed Crake Yellow-throated Miner Common Greenshank Brolga Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo Red Knot White-gaped Honeyeater Black-tailed Godwit Brown Falcon Intermediate Egret Red-backed Fairywren White-necked Heron Rainbow Bee-eater Brown Goshawk Large-billed Gerygone Red-capped Plover White-quilled Honeyeater White-browed Babbler Brown Honeyeater Large-tailed Nightjar Red-collared Lorikeet White-throated Honeyeater Grey-crowned Babbler Brush Cuckoo Leaden Flycatcher Red-headed Honeyeater Grey Shrike-thrush Bush Stone-curlew Lemon-bellied Flyrobin Red-necked Stint Wood Sandpiper Rufous Whistler Caspian Tern Lesser Crested Tern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Yellow White-eye Crested Bellbird (heard only) Cattle Egret Lesser Sand Plover Red-winged Parrot Yellow-throated Miner Willie Wagtail Channel-billed Cuckoo Little Black Cormorant Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove Yellow-tinted Honeyeater Magpie-lark Chestnut Rail Little Bronze-Cuckoo Royal Spoonbill Zitting Cisticola Western Bowerbird Chestnut-breasted Button-quail Little Corella Ruddy Turnstone Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Little Eagle Rufous Owl Black-faced Woodswallow Collared Sparrowhawk Little Egret Rufous Songlark Pied Butcherbird Comb-crested Jacana Little Friarbird Rufous Whistler Common Greenshank Little Pied Cormorant Rufous-banded Honeyeater Little Crow Common Sandpiper Little Shrike-thrush Sacred Kingfisher Torresian Crow

Nature Territory - February 2021 Page 5 Rough seas reveal unusual marine creatures by Richard Willan Neil Wright found a freshly dead Spiky Sea Pen (Pteroeides sp., family Pennatulidae) washed ashore on Casuarina Beach on 6 January. It was amongst several unfamiliar that normally live offshore, notably feather stars (crinoids) and sea cucumbers (holothurians). They would normally live below extreme low tide level and must have got washed ashore during the spell of rough seas. Sea pens (Pennatulacea) are a group of fascinating animals related to soft corals. However they live in soft substrates and even more unusually they are colonies of different types of polyps. Some make up the central stalk (the section like a stubby orange finger at the bottom in this photo) and others the leaf‐like side branches (at the top in this photo). The entire colony is strengthened by tiny calcium carbonate ‘stars’ and ‘spines’ plus a central ‘rod’. The spines are particularly large in Spiky Sea Pens and they project from the edges of the side branches giving them a rough texture. Sea pens normally project above the sediment surface but some species can retract straight down into the sediment when disturbed. They are the favoured foods of two genera of nudibranchs – Armina in the tropics and Dendronotus in temperate waters.

Spiky Sea Pen (Pteroeides sp.), Casuarina Beach, length 100 mm. Photo: Neil Wright

Weed Management Plan For Gamba Grass

The weed management plan for Gamba Grass 2020‐2030 has Weed Management Plan been approved. The plan and a discussion document that includes Gamba Grass 2020-2030 information about submissions received during development of the plan are available at https://nt.gov.au/environment/weeds/weeds- in-the-nt/A-Z-list-of-weeds-in-the-NT/gamba

Thanks to NT Field Naturalists members who had input into development of the plan. Please let your members know that the new Gamba Grass plan is available.

Regards David Liddle Member of Gamba Grass Weed Advisory Committee 0406 445 727

Page 6 Nature Territory - February 2021 Chitter Chatter - excerpts from the Club’s Facebook group

Marie Hodsdon - 31 January Emerged from the soil when digging in the garden at Girraween, relocated to the back of the block. ID? Kate Triska - Looks like a female Mouse spider. Haidee Brown - Missulena pruinosa female. Not seen often, usually in a burrow.

Jim Oatley - 31 January Does anyone know what this little critter is please. Douglas Daly region Justin Credible - Hi Jim, it’s a Tailed Emperor caterpillar. Deb Taipale - This is seriously the coolest dragonpillar that I have ever seen.

Leigh Patterson - 29 January Mum with her 11 ducklings at Elizabeth Valley Road, Noonamah NT - Dad was close by. Radjah Shelducks.

Callum Lawrie - 28 January Can I get an ID please Kumana Yates - Oriole maybe Tissa Ratnayeke - Classic oriole nest, hanging from a fork and wrapped in paperbark. Nests can sometimes be built very close too the ground, I have seen them at 1.5 m.

Nature Territory - February 2021 Page 7 Chitter Chatter - continued from previous page Andrew Bell - 26 January Great Egret with full breeding colours and plumes at Fogg Dam. Great to see - they are “non-breeding” most of the time with a yellow bill, yellow gape, yellow skin around the eye, and dark legs. In “breeding” they have a black bill with unusual blue- green facial skin, and bright red legs. It also has well developed plumes and a marked ruff around the base of its neck.

Brian Thistleton - 25 January Green Emperor (Anax gibbosulus), male and female in tandem and ovipositing, Knuckey lagoon, January 2021.

Luke Enright - 19 January They’re kissing each other. Tissa Ratnayeke - Spider power. A Lynx Spider, an ambush predator with female Painted Grasshawk that landed in the wrong place.

Karunika Pemarathne - 18 January Any information about this fly? Tissa Ratnayeke - These are really big, beautiful flies (Amenia sp.), the larvae parasitise land snails. Love those polka dots.

Page 8 Nature Territory - February 2021 NT Field Naturalists’ Club Directory

President: Mark Grubert 0407 843 174 Secretary: Belinda Norris Treasurer: Mary Fathers Committee Members: Graham Brown 0417 804 036 Lyn Lowe 0411 269 216 Leona Sullivan 0423 951 874 Andrew Bell 0428 882 979 Etienne Littlefair Karunika Premaratne Carol Palmer BirdLife Liason Officer: Andrew Bell Newsletter Editor Tissa Ratnayeke NT Naturalist Editor Richard Willan Club web-site: http://ntfieldnaturalists.org.au/ Club notices

Thank you: The previous issue was despatched by Tissa Ratnayeke. ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Newsletter contributions welcome: Sigh�ngs, reports, travelogues, reviews, photographs, sketches, news, comments, opinions, theories ..... , anything relevant to natural history. Please forward material to news.n�ieldnatsnt�gmail.com Deadline for the March newsle�er: 25 �ebruary 2021

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Need a Club membership form? Go to: h�p://n�ieldnaturalists.org.au/membership/

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Northern Territory Naturalist: Chief Editor, Richard Willan, says that Number 30 will be published this month.

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Top End Native Plant Society General mee�ngs are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Marrara Chris�an College, corner �my �ohnson �ve. and McMillans Road, and commence at 7:30 pm (speaker at 8 pm). �isit h�p://www.topendna�veplants.org.au/index.php or contact Russell Dempster on 0459 440 665.

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�T �iel� �aturalists� �lu� �ee�n�s are generally held on the second Wednesday of every month, commencing at 7:00 PM, on the Casuarina Campus of Charles Darwin University. �u�s�rip��ns are on a financial-year basis and are: �amilies/�ns�tu�onal - $30; Singles - $25; Concessions - $15. Discounts are available for new members – please contact us.

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