The newsletter of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Fraser Coast Branch

THIS ISSUE:

COVID-19 Restrictions easing

•Presidential Ponderings •Branch Activity Report •Branch’s Annual Report 2019-2020 •Dougan Street Debacle •Nature Walks reports •Nature Watch snippets

SPRING 2020

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

I am thankful I live beyond the earthworks happening around Dougan St. Point Vernon. There is the occasional background hum of the WILDLIFE PRESERVATION machinery and we have more kangaroos here SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND than usual - otherwise we are protected. But known informally as close by large double dump trucks are hurtling WILDLIFE QUEENSLAND around suburban streets carrying massive amounts of soil into the Dougan St. residential FRASER COAST BRANCH development and machinery goes all day. PO Box 7396 Urangan, 4655 And why? Why are we filling in low lying areas for housing? How are our local authorities President: letting developers get away with destroying Vanessa Elwell-Gavins beautiful environments and displacing so much 0428 624 366 wildlife? How are the developers getting away Vice President: with providing ecological reports that downplay the environmental values of an area? As if the John Williams 0428 980 019 displacement of about 200 kangaroos (no plan Secretary: for their dispersal or relocation) wasn't bad Kerry Alston 41244194 enough the beautiful tidal creek which is such a Treasurer: haven for wildlife will be hugely compromised Bruce Dick 41248142 with this development. In the development application this natural creek was described as Ass’t - Jenni Watts a drainage line so as to dismiss any value it Facebook may have as habitat or recognise the Peter Duck 0432 250 213 importance of retaining vegetation as a natural Webpage filtering system for our runoff. And I thought Head Office (contact President) Mangroves were protected? Read Peter’s article on page 10 and 11. Wildlife Matters articles Carol Bussey: 41173483 On the plus side - Parraweena Park has its new signs designating it as a “Bushland Newsletter WAMBALIMAN Reserve”. I have seen Glossy-Blacks, a pair of Publisher: Bazas, a Shining Flycatcher and a Rose- WPSQ Fraser Coast crowned Fruit-dove among other beautiful birds Editor & Production: in the last week in the area. In my tiny garden Pale-headed Rosellas are feasting on the blue Jenni Watts 0481 289 521 berries of Dianella and the galahs and corellas Proofreading: are enjoying the wattle seeds. There are many Andrea Van Kampen more butterflies around. The wildflowers have Printing: Peter Duck put on their annual magnificent display in the Mailing: Jackie Henrion Wallum. Spring is here. ⚫ Wambaliman SPRING 2020 2 Notice Board Branch meetings Contents SPRING 2020 Usually held 3rd Sunday of month 2:00pm Presidential Ponderings 4 Halcro St Community Centre,

Quarterly Branch Activity Report 6 October 7 - Executive Meeting / no GM November 15 - General Meeting Turtle Cove, River heads 8 December 6 - Social Gathering

EAG report 9 Backyard BioBlitz Spring 2020 Dougan Street Debacle 10 Weekend - 10 and 11 October

Migratory Birds Workshop 12 Wildlife Talks in the Library

Turtles, Tiaro Landcare 13 cancelled until further notice

Wildlife Workshop 14 Nature Walks New plaque for bat warrior 15 Last for the year

Nature Walks reports 16 Sunday 8 November - River Heads NB. Bookings do not open until Marlene’s Walk on K’gari 19 information sheets are distributed.

Nature Watch 20 Thursday, 29 October Branch Annual Report 2019/20 22 2pm to 4pm Tavistock St Council Offices Jasmine Butler, Council’s Strategic Planner is hosting Branch members to a Wambaliman dedicated introduction to and workshop on e-copy in colour the discussion paper for the review of the hardcopy in black and white FCRC’s Planning Scheme

Let us know if you want the e-copy only. Branch end of year function Sunday, 6 December Contributions for Wambaliman Arkarra Tea Gardens—Time TBA. We welcome contributions from WPSQ members and supporters. Articles can FCRC—CEP take the form of reports, observations of For information nature, anecdotes, quotes, humour etc. [email protected] Send contributions to: FCRC - Land for Wildlife [email protected] For information

[email protected] Submissions for the next issue are due by Friday 15 JANUARY 2021 Don’t forget to LIKE us on Opinions expressed in Wambaliman are not neces- sarily those endorsed by the Wildlife Preservation www.facebook.com/WPSQFraserCoast Society Queensland, Fraser Coast Branch unless Check out our page on specifically attributed to them. https://wildlife.org.au/fraser-coast/ 3 Presidential Ponderings with Vanessa Elwell-Gavins

We have just had our 2020 AGM and have a 'new' Execu- tive. Bruce Dick is now our official Treasurer, but Jenni Watts will continue to maintain all the accounts and prepare the reports as our (non- Executive) Assistant Treasurer. Bruce will also continue to do the minutes for meetings. We would like to welcome Kerry Alston to the Executive team as our new Secretary. For those of you who may not know Ker- ry, she is wonderfully well or- ganised and oozes loads of common sense and experience 2020-21 Executive in dealing with people and groups. John, Bruce, Vanessa and Kerry She also has back-up, particularly in Linden, our youngest active member and some of her other children. John Williams is continuing as Vice-President. Many thanks in advance to them all. The Executive is the 'Management Committee' for our Branch. The Executive roles all relate to good governance and we are responsible for making sure the Branch can do our business properly. As with every organisation it is often hard yakka and sometimes we don't get to see any of the 'fun' or interesting stuff that is the Branch's core business. When Executive members do get involved with other Branch activities, such as fund-raising, or organising the now resumed na- ture walks program, we do not wear our Executive hats. The Branch has lots of other roles which can be filled by any interested member. Teams are encouraged, as we all benefit from sharing our ideas with others. Hopefully by the time you read this I will have circulated the list of current 'non- Executive positions', for you to say whether or not you would like to withdraw, continue or take something up. The biggest priority for me personally in the next 12 months, apart from on-going presidential responsibilities (which are largely hidden from view and are not al- ways 'easy' or 'fun'), will be the Branch's participation in Fraser Coast Regional Council's review of the planning scheme. This is profoundly important for our Branch's business. Council's decisions with regard to development are the single biggest influencer on our local environment and whether or not our wildlife have any future in the Fraser Coast. In the last couple of years, we have seen any Wambaliman SPRING 2020 4 number of horrible decisions and actions that have had a catastrophic impact on the local wildlife, with loss or reduction of patch after patch of remnant vegetation. Development applications are all considered under the planning scheme operat- ing when the development application was lodged. In some cases lodgement was last century!!! The review of the planning scheme will not change this, and nor will it consider how the objectives of the new planning scheme will be achieved with the applica- tion of now out-dated rules. This is a huge problem and one that will require on- going discussions with Council that are outside the review of the planning scheme itself. Lack of proper Council monitoring for compliance by developers, contractors and consultants appears to have been a serious flaw. Getting better outcomes in this space will require lots of on-going hard work on our part, with vigilance, tact and firmness. This will be an on-going challenge. If you become aware of a new development anywhere in the Fraser Coast, please keep a close eye on it. On the basis of current evidence, in all probability it is happening with no environmental protections. The good news is that we have had a couple of wins recently with the federal Minister for the Environment rejecting the Turtle Cove Haven development at River Heads, and the decision by Council to pursue fencing off of Esplanade veg- etation that has been illegally poisoned so that the area can regenerate. We have not achieved these wins on our own, of course. Supporting and working closely with other groups who share our aspirations is one of the most powerful things we can do as a group. And don't under-estimate the power of letters!

Nature Matters - a personal story

Today, 6 September, was to be the second nature walk for me but sadly, bad luck struck an unfortunate roo just before I passed a section of the highway not long out of and heading to Poona. The young male roo had been hit and injured but could not get up, only able to move head, shoulders and arms. I sat with the animal for two hours, on the edge of the road, waiting for a wildlife rescue, trying to sooth a very distressed animal (making two of us!)

Unfortunately, they had two to three other road incident calls that same morning, hence the very long delay. After more than two hours and at least four calls to a wildlife rescue group, the roo passed away.

Our local wildlife rescue group are volunteers and self-funded. They provide a very professional 24/7 service – but are overworked. We need to lobby for these rescuers to get support.

After two and a half hours of very traumatic time, that was the end of my intended Poona nature walk!  Jackie Henrion

5 Quarterly Branch Activity Report 10 July - 10 October 2020

The easing of some of the Covid-19 restrictions early this quarter gave us the opportunity to recommence some of our 'regular' Branch activities.

Meetings/ gatherings •We held a social (afternoon tea) at Arkarra Lagoons in July, attended by 20 people (members, the odd partner and one beautifully behaved grand-child). Being outside, Arkarra is a terrific venue for these troubled times. •The Executive met in July and again on 7 October. •We conducted some Branch business, successful- ly, out-of-session in August, with good participation by members including some who don't come to meetings. •Peter Duck attended Coun- cils EAG on 21 August . •We held our 2020 AGM on 20 September, followed by a general meeting.

Nature Walks Correspondence/Submissions Our nature walks program resumed in We had a flurry of correspondence, August, with a walk at Beelbi Creek including: Reserve. In September, we returned to •a letter to Council in July on the disas- the ever popular Poona, and in October trous handling of the kangaroos at Point we explored the lower parts of Vice- Vernon President John Williams' outstanding •a letter to Council commenting on the (and also very popular) bush block, The proposed Black Stump dog park in Wild, south-west of Gundiah. This time Point Vernon we explored some interesting deep •we wrote to Coles suggesting they rainforest gullies flowing into the Mary should not sell Orange Roughy fish River, as well as the steep river banks because the fishery is not sustainable. of the Mary River under a dense cano- (The response, sadly, was a standard py of flowering Melaleucas and Water- reply which could inspire no confidence housea floribunda. whatsoever.) Wambaliman SPRING 2020 6 •we commented on the proposed Plan- in Scarness to support the school stu- ning Initiatives to support economic dents seeking action on climate. recovery Communication •responded to the EPBC Act Review •Our Facebook Page is expanding its Interim Report via the Government's on reach. We have 556 followers which -line survey mechanism. gives us a powerful conduit to get mes- •we were advised that Council is devel- sages out there effectively. 454 people oping an Open Space and Environment viewed our September walk information Strategy which has potential to address and 466 people looked at our post of in part the concerns raised in our petition. the kangaroos plight at Dougan St. Wildlife Matters Peter is keen for members to feed ma- Wildlife Matters is back in action in the terial to him to keep issues running and free community newspapers, with publi- education happening. cation of an article on the Bush Stone- •The Branch’s webpage on the Wild- curlew in the Hervey Bay Advertiser. life Queensland website is constantly up dated and looks fabulous. We no Backyard BioBlitz longer have a Branch Blog and the page We held another Backyard Bioblitz over is now administered by Head Office. the weekend of 25-26 July, with 18 par- The page contains a link to each issue ticipants, 187 observations and 141 of Wambaliman. species. The next one is scheduled for •The Winter issue of Wambaliman 10-11 October. was circulated in July.

Other events Fundraising •Some of us participated in a migratory •We encourage you to contribute to our shorebirds workshop organised by container deposit fundraiser Skott Statt, Council's Land for Wildlife officer, and delivered by member Cecile Code: C10192159 Espigole and Will Price. Contact Phone: 0428980019 •A working bee was held at Woocoo Park in Maryborough in mid September. •John is also running a raffle at the This was the site of plantings a few Beach House Hotel (Scarness) for us years ago by Branch members with every second Sunday. You are wel- funding from BMRG. come to support him. This raises $100 •One member organised a beach event each time for our group. 

welcome to new members Timothy Duck and family, Mick Reibelt, Jacqueline Withy

Last night I watched what will probably be David Attenborough’s last documentary - A Life On Our Planet and seen on Netflix. He describes it as his witness statement. It is a poignant film with a very important message. I recommend it to everyone. Skott

7 Turtle Cove Haven, River Heads proposal

Along with the River Heads community, we were very relieved to have had a win on the proposed Turtle Cove Haven retirement village at River Heads. The federal Minister for the En- vironment determined that the development should not proceed because it would cause serious environmental harm to the Ramsar wetland. For those who have joined the Branch in recent times, we made a submission nearly three years ago on the draft environmental impact assess- ment report for this proposed development and the then president attended some community meetings in River Heads. The proposal was a real shocker - a completely inappropriate loca- Critically endangered tion, that did not stack up on social, environ- Eastern Curlew mental or economic grounds. Many in the River Heads community worked extremely hard to Photo: Craig Whittaker mount the case against it. Vanessa

“This is a decision that ranks up there with the refusal by the Federal Govern- ment to approve the Traveston Dam a decade ago. Congratulations to those hard -working River Heads residents who were relentless in their endeavours to stop this bizarre proposal. Sometimes sanity prevails and in this case our wonderful summer visitor the Eastern Curlew will be free to enjoy roosting unhindered in this superb claypan.” Peter, WQFC Facebook page “Protecting migratory birds like the critically endangered Eastern Curlew is a key priority. After a thorough assessment process and public consultation under the EPBC Act, I have ruled against the proposed Turtle Cove Retirement Village de- velopment at River Heads near the Great Sandy Straits Ramsar Wetland area in Queensland. The development would have caused significant ongoing disturbance to these birds, reducing their ability to survive migration and their breeding success. Find out more: https://bit.ly/2ExxCnf” Sussan Ley MP “So much angst and hard work by dedicated birders, environmentalists and local residents to achieve the bloody obvious.” Rod Jones, Wambi editor 2016-2018 “I’m not accustomed to agreeing with Sussan Ley!” Anne-Marie Wylie, member and Point Vernon activist.

Wambaliman SPRING 2020 8 FCRC Environment Advisory Group (EAG)

The EAG met on 21 August at the Brol- cue Fraser Coast raised the need to ga Theatre after a period of suspension install signage to identify the impact of due to COVID. The main points from discarded fishing line, hooks and rub- the meeting are précised here. bish at various piers and jetties of the Fraser Coast. The signage should in- •Council is working with stakeholder clude information for marine animal agencies to identify bushfire risks and rescue and contact details. The group hazard mitigation options. The appoint- was supportive and action should follow. ment of a Bushfire Management Of- ficer position by Council is pending. Council’s Environmental Coordinator Rod Buchanan spoke about the contin- •After some discussion detailing con- uing process of developing a Biodiversi- cerns of our Branch (and others) in re- ty Strategy, indicating that rather than lation to incomplete assessment by simply developing a set of guidelines Council’s Planning Department of plan- and policies, the strategy needed to ning applications by developers, and focus on community benefits. poor governance in relation to the com- pliance of developers with approval An invitation extended to the Butchulla conditions, the EAG unanimously Native Title Aboriginal Corporation passed a motion urging Council to es- (BNTAC) for a Butchulla representative tablish roles in the planning department for permanent inclusion on the EAG which can scrutinise the ecological as- panel.

pects of development applications and A full copy of the minutes can be pro- oversee the compliance of conditions at vided to any members once minutes all operational stages. are confirmed. •Natalie Richardson from Wildlife Res- Peter Duck, Branch’s Rep on EAG

Wildlife Queensland's Quoll Seekers Network

•Wildlife Queensland's Quoll Seekers Network has to- day launched a new guide that provides information and advice to landholders, natural resource managers and the public about the endangered spotted-tailed quoll. •Saving the Spotted-Tailed Quoll: A Landholder’s Guide aims to provide practical ideas that may contribute to saving this elusive species. •“It seems fitting that this guide is being launched on World Habitat Day; the loss of spotted-tailed quoll habi- tat is a critical factor in the ongoing decline of this spe- cies,” says Wildlife Queensland Projects Manager Matt Cecil. •“Taking time today to highlight and reflect on just how important conserving, improving and connecting wildlife habitat is may help to inspire people to do what they can for native Australian wildlife.”

Read more and view the guide at https://wildlife.org.au/saving-the-spotted-tailed-quoll/ 9 Dougan Street Debacle

DO I NEED A CAPTION? Photos by local resident Glenda O’Brien

In May last year members of our Branch’s grazing area. Social media went into a Urban Development and Land Use frenzy, wildlife carers were inundated with Change (UDLUC) Committee met with calls for help and the police were required senior planners from the Council’s Plan- to euthanize animals struck on the sur- ning Department. One of the issues we rounding roads. specifically raised was the plight of the Our UDLUC Committee had not been mobs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos in Point established when the Stafford Develop- Vernon with the major subdivisions being ment group made their original planning approved and developed. In particular we application. When the Ecological Report mentioned the mob of up to 170 kanga- that accompanied the application was roos on the vacant land adjacent to checked there was single reference to the Dougan Street. The answer we got was a kangaroos, “A pod of Macropus giganteus rather chilling “we don’t know (what will (Eastern Grey Kangaroo) was observed happen)”. at the time of the survey consisting of On July 27 this year, work started on a approximately twelve (12) individuals … new 124 lot residential development, however when disturbed/interrupted, they “Lakes on Gatakers” (who comes up with utilised access along Dougan Street to these lame names – it follows “Pandanus the Dougan Street Drainage Reserve.” on the Point” in Murphy St?). Lakes on Overlooking the consultants reference to Gatakers is in the area west of Dougan the mob as a “pod” (you’ve got to won- Street through to the end of Oceanview der), how could a field survey return such Street. The immediate impact on kanga- a misleading finding and how could our roos was catastrophic. They dispersed local council’s Planning Department ac- frantically on the initial works, and when cept this when it is common knowledge they returned on nightfall a two metre high throughout Hervey Bay that there is a fence surrounding the property blocked huge mob (actually it was three separate their return. Residents observed distress- mobs) and tourists are directed there if ing scenes of kangaroos jumping into they want to see a kangaroo. weldmesh fencing to get back into their Wambaliman SPRING 2020 10 Further investigation into the Ecological wetland, which would have seriously im- Report leaves one appalled. pacted their ability to develop at the end of Oceanview. In this assessment they The estuaries on either side of the stated “this area is slightly higher in eleva- Dougan Street section of the develop- tion compared to the mangrove area and ment (see photo) are referred to as “tidal contains some regrowth specimens in- influenced drainage lines”. This enabled cluding Casuarina glauca (Swamp Oak), development right up to the banks as Acacia concurrens (Black Wattle) and there was no need for a wetland buffer. scattered Callitris columellaris (Bribie A vegetation assessment of an area west Island Pine)”. Well in that area there is no of the Oceanview Street section of the Callitris, no Acacia concurrens (in fact this development was necessary to rebuff hardly occurs in the ). Council mapping showing the area as Did they do an assessment?

beautiful estuary in the Dougan Street development

They did a flora list of 53 species. They the natural values and highlight any included two mangroves, Grey and Or- degradation in the area. ange. There is no Orange Mangrove Are we being picky, are we being obstruc- there. In fact, between Parraweena Park tionist? I don’t think so. We see this being and Eli Creek there are nine mangrove repeated over and over again. The species, including the Stilt and River Man- Girraween development at the end of groves which are common in these estu- Martin Street had a demonstrably poor aries, sorry, tidal influenced drainage mistake in its ground truthing that meant lines. Did they really do an assessment? that a proper assessment of the ecologi- They also referred to a high density of cal values could never be made. introduced species with “…western re- Jenni received a reply from a Senior Plan- growth vegetation dominated by intro- ner in response to a letter she wrote con- duced Lantana camara (Lantana)”. Jenni cerned about the Lakes on Gatakers de- Watts and myself walked through this velopment. In one part it says. “It would area and found only two, rather scungy, not be appropriate for planning staff to examples of Lantana. This is the thing disagree with the ecological subject ex- about these ecological reports. When I perts ……representing the developer.” read them it seems to me that the authors are trying to do their utmost to downgrade This response haunts me. Peter Duck 11 Migratory Shore Birds Workshop

Numbers were capped at 12 for this work- to SEQ. The birds will feed here and shop organised by Skott Statt, Council's when it’s time to leave they will fatten up Land for Wildlife Officer, and delivered by even reducing the size of their organs to member Cecile Espigole and Will Price. store more fat to have the reserves need- ed to fly long distances. Following a short talk and Q & A we went to the known roost site at O’Regans It is quite difficult to identify these birds. Creek, Dundowran Beach, a monitoring They are all a bit brown/grey in colour site of the Queensland Wader Study most of the time. You can’t get very close Group. Some of the species we saw were either so telescopes are best. Size and Whimbrels, Bar-tailed Godwits, Great shape of the bill are important identifiers. Knots, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Pacific Golden The Eastern Curlew is the largest bird, up Plovers and Red-capped Plovers. to 60cm, and has the longest bill (at 4x Most of the migratory birds had arrived length of the head) while the Red-capped from the higher latitudes of the Northern Plover has a tiny short bill and is similar in Hemisphere where they had bred. They size to a canary. Often birds will arrive leave the Tundra and fly thousands of with a residue of breeding plumage - and kilometres to overwinter in the Southern likewise at the end of their time here be- Hemisphere. Huge numbers of these fore they head back to breed they will birds arrive from August on to this area. start to get breeding plumage again. This 90% of the world’s Eastern Curlews come makes ID a little easier. Jenni

The first cargo of Liquified Natural Gas left for Japan in 1989 on a ship named the Northwest Sanderling, named after a small wading bird that makes an annual migration from the Arctic to the shores of Australia, transiting in Japan. Later ships were also named after migratory shorebirds: Snipe, Shearwater, and Sand- piper to symbolise the linking of an Australian resource with a reliable Japanese market.

Source: Quarterly Essay. The Coal Curse: Resources, Climate and Australia's Future by Judith Brett. 2020 {submitted by Rodney Jones} Wambaliman SPRING 2020 12 The Weather, Turtles and Tiaro Landcare goes International

While society debates the how and when to respond to the effects of climate change, the interconnectedness between wildlife and weather conditions remains indisputa- ble. Now spring is here and with it a rise in the air and river temperatures. This rise in temperature will trigger behavioural change in many species including turtles. Male Mary River turtles are now seeking out females to engage in courtship and mat- ing activities. The females will hold the eggs in her body until sufficient rain has fallen so that when she digs her nesting chamber on the riverbank, it will hold its shape and not collapse while she deposits her eggs. Last spring and summer were so dry that the turtles nested on just two occasions, one in October and the other mid-December. This was quite unusual as most years we have enough rain events for at least 6 – 8 nesting events. The incubation of the eggs is affected by temperature, the hotter our summer the quicker the embryo develops and hatches. Last summer eggs laid in October took 55 – 60 days to hatch, whereas clutches laid in December only took 51 days to hatch. Interestingly, this difference in the number of incubation days affected the sizes of the hatchlings. The hatchlings that had the longer incubation period weighed between 6 - 9 grams, whereas those that had the shorter incubation period were lighter and weighed between 4 - 7 grams. This difference in size is likely to affect their survival in the river, as Dr Mariana Micheli-Campbell found the smaller Mary River turtles don’t dive as deeply and surface more frequently than the larger hatchlings. The frequency of moving to the surface increases their exposure to predators in the river.

Over the past couple of months, Tiaro ported new research which has just been Landcare and our turtle project has had published in a prestigious international international media coverage. The Nation- Science journal, Biological Conservation. al Geographic published an article in their This brings the number of published sci- September edition which you can read entific papers to 18 that Tiaro Landcare online www.nationalgeographic.com/ has supported in some way. Most can be magazine/2020/09/endangered-mary-river freely accessed via our website: http:// -turtle-boasts-a-mohawk-made-of-algae/ maryriverturtle.tiarolandcare.org.au/ The Guardian chose Tiaro Landcare for knowledge/links/ their Australian case study of conserva- Our achievements are only possible tion of a threatened species. They did an through co-operation and the good will of extensive interview with Marilyn which many landholders, our members and part- can be heard in the first section of their nerships with other organisations and Full Story podcast www.theguardian.com/ universities. We are grateful for the finan- australia-news/audio/2020/sep/08/ cial support from the Foundation for Aus- australias-environment-laws-are-they- tralia’s Most Endangered. You too can about-to-get-even-weaker help by buying our chocolate turtles from It is just astounding the profile our project either the Tiaro Craft Cottage or Tiaro has around the world, and the exposure Meats & Bacon. that it brings to our little district of Tiaro. Marilyn Connell, Mary River Turtle Tiaro Landcare is also proud to have sup- Project Leader, Tiaro Landcare 13 Wildlife Workshop Possum, Barn Owl, Masked Owl, Chan- nel-billed Cuckoo, Double-eyed Fig Parrot (pictured left) and two species of Goanna. A short description and habitat require- ments were outlined with time for ques- tions. Despite a restricted number of humans in attendance, Martin was flat strap to complete the total presentation with a repeat performance due that On 29 August FCRC Land For Wildlife same afternoon. program sponsored a workshop with Martin Fingland from Geckoes Wildlife Something I learned is that the Barn at the Tiaro Memorial Hall. Owl has very acute hearing and can hear a human heart beat from 10 me- Approximately 15 fauna species, most tres away! Imagine the cacophony in native to the Mary River catchment, the hall from more than 20 humans were introduced to a captive audience. plus outside traffic noises experienced The animals had travelled from Bris- by the owl when out of its box and sit- bane and / or local sanctuaries of some ting on Martin's arm! description and were either permanent- ly disabled and cared for, recovering to Due to time constraints, brief summar- be released, or in temporary captivity ies of habitat and necessary environ- for research and breeding possibilities. ment protection (such as caring for river Their cages and trunks were suited to banks) were given. day time travel accommodation as far Thanks to Skott for organising a very as possible. interesting session with a delicious Species presented included: the Pygmy morning tea. Hopefully the owls and Crocodile, six species of freshwater company were placated with mice and turtle, Sugar Glider, Black Mountain other tasty treats! Jackie Henrion

Plushie’s Protest to….. let this Federal Government know our cherished wildlife is far more important than their quest to clear an unscrutinised pathway for development approvals. Member Diane Christensen enlisted the help of some of her fluffy friends for our Branch's contribu- tion to Thursday 1 October’s #PlushieProtest www.facebook.com/hashtag/plushieprotest

Wambaliman SPRING 2020 14 New Plaque for bat warrior On 9 June several people met in the "Little Bat Shed" at the Tooan Tooan Creek re- serve (Esplanade, Pialba) to share a morning tea celebrating the 12th anniversary of the Moreton Bay Fig planting to honour the memory of Tony Bradbury. Tony was one of the extremely industrious Branch members who was instrumental in planting trees at the site to establish habitat for the Black, Grey-headed and Little Red Flying Foxes roosting at the Creek. Tony died prematurely from a brain tumour in 2008. The fig tree now has grown considerably. In 2013, with money donated by Head Office to mark WPSQ's 50th Anniversary, a small memorial was constructed at the base of the tree. Unfortunately, weather had deteriorated Tony's photo and so it was replaced in August with a new stainless-steel plaque. John Parsons from Fraser Coast Microbats generously donated the replace- ment. So, on August 15, the original "bat warriors" met again to christen the new plaque and toast Tony's memory. Carol Bussey has supplied photos of the original working bee and placed them in the noticeboard at the Shed. We are look- ing forward to the new signage Council will soon be erecting around Tooan Tooan Creek that will hopefully attract the public to this wonderful place on the Fraser Coast where bats can be viewed roosting and flying out at dusk. Diane Christensen

From Left: John Parsons, Dawn Williams, (front) Denise Young, Carol Bussey (back) Ross Bradbury and Donna.

Woocoo Park, Tinana - 5 years on It’s five years since our Branch undertook a project planting and salvaging emerging native vegetation at Woocoo Park, Tinana. Member and local resident Pat Robinson has continued to care for the plantings. Five years on and the area is thick with vegetation, has a healthy water body and is habitat to a huge array of birds including this young Photos by Pat Robinson fairywren 15 September Nature Walk - Poona

The weather was beautiful. Mostly glorious blue sky with occasional cloud to give a little contrast. The walk was in two parts, the first being along the power line easement (photo above). Conospermum taxifolium (Devil’s While this description does not sound enticing, Rice), Boronia rosmarinifolia. in fact the wild flowers were all asserting them- Rainbow Bee-eater, and (male) selves against a background of wild grasses. Scarlet Honeyeater photos by Craig Whittaker The fine sand paths on either side of the wild flower displays evoked another fascinating interest, that is, so many tiny animal tracks. While we did not see any animals nor reptiles they clearly abound in this area. This part of the walk veers off into three very different habitats: wallum, sclerophyll forest and wet- land. A fourth element was the mangroves and mud flats. Scott Gavins had some very attentive walkers questioning him as he opened for them an unknown field of interest, botany. John Wil- liams led interesting discussions on the vari- ous tree species and forest types. The group had a brief break at the boat ramp facilities and then went to the Poona Park. The walking was easier. But again, the general vegetation was looking very healthy and luxu- riant. Some walkers spent time bird spotting. Such diverse habitats encourage quite a diver- sity of bird species. Frank Ekin Wambaliman SPRING 2020 16 August Nature Walk - Beelbi Creek

The enjoyment level was high as judged by the high score on the gig- gle and chattering scale. John was excellent at leading having had to extemporize on the plans because of mud. Tina had the official bits all sewn up. Scott was as enthusiastic as ever. Frank

Our first post lockdown walk was early August on a foggy, drizzly day that looked unpromising but was quite an ethereal experience. We were lucky that the rain held off at Beelbi Creek until we finished the walk. The day was grey sky with mist and a very slight misty drizzle that painted the bush and wetland in a magical light. Many trees and shrubs were blossoming, some of them early. The walk was eerily peaceful with few birds and surpris- ingly, I did hear a whip bird. We skirted the mud flats and with clay clogged boots finally arrived at the creek. On the down side, sheep were running on the other side as the creek bordered a farm. This is not good for the creek banks and vegetation. Also various bits of plastic, fishing lines and other rubbish was evident along the trail and this was a big problem along the edge of the highway bordering the reserve. I am pleased to have made the effort to attend the walk. I honestly thought we would be drenched with rain but the rain did not start in earnest until we were back on the road driving home. Jackie Henrion

Mangrove, Grevillea banksii and spider web photos by Helen Cory 17 October Nature Walk - The Wild

Starting with a slightly philosophical idea, that is, the more one looks the more one finds. The more one looks and explores into a subject the deeper and more interesting it is. This is the case for The Wild. On previous visits to John Williams’ property we have clambered up a strenuous hill and then down over a rocky slope to look and explore. However, on our trip on 3rd October we looked and explored a different part of John’s property. This, at times, was physically difficult but for different reasons. The area was the littoral of the Mary River. There were deep gullies and many lesser channels as well as areas of land subsid- ence, all being evidence of past erosion due to normal John Williams rain-water runoff over the centuries. This highlights the vulnerability of the landscape to erosion. It was quite fascinating to hear John’s observations on the property, particularly that the vegetation was all regrowth over the previous 4-5 decades. John pointed out the wide spectrum of vegetation species. The regrowth at times was very dense and even impenetrable and the banks quite steep, however John had prepared tracks and even installed security ropes on the more precipitous paths. John had examples of indigenous fire burn off to show us. He explained how an indigenous team did quite a bit of review of the area before deciding where, when and how extensive the burn off should be. Other than using a ciga- rette lighter, the team did not have recourse to any other aid to light the fires, unlike a recent burn off effort by non- aboriginals which required 60 litres of oil. At The Wild there was quite a lot of post burn-off regrowth already de- spite the general dryness. From the birding point of view, there were several superb habitats to host the birds. The most interesting phenome- na was the cacophony of song amongst a dense flock of Fairy Gerygones and later, by the Mary, a similar raucous chorus of Silvereyes. Frank Ekin The white ones at John’s - from top - Clerodendrum floribundum (Lolly Bush), Capparis sarmentosa (Climbing Caper) Tabernae- montana pandacaqui (Banana Bush) photos by Jenni Watts

Wambaliman SPRING 2020 18 Marlene does the K’gari () Great Walk

across the trunk. Lake Garawongera is tannin stained by the surrounding pa- perback trees. Thrilled the next morn to find dingo and pup prints in the sand. Then civilisation at last with some de- cent tucker at Happy Valley before catching the taxi to Dili Village. At Dili Village we were all so happy to see a friendly female dingo. A sniff of my pack and she was on her way. Can't understand why she wouldn't be over- joyed to tuck into dehydrated food like us humans. Walked through so many wildflowers in patches. Some areas in varieties of colours then others held varying spe- cies but nevertheless all white blooms. Marlene, front centre The tracks were strewn with fallen So who hasn't been to Fraser Island? I trees. Constantly we were climbing un- have. From 12- 19 Sept I undertook the der or over trunks and limbs. Massive Fraser Island Great Walk with buddies trees would force us off the track look- Tracey Christoffel and Tammy Hewson. ing for a path to lead us back to the Seven nights of camping and eight safety of Fraser Island Great Walk. days of trudging laden down with all our Central Station had a welcome feel with necessities of life on our backs. a shower, the only one for a week, then Walked from Kingfisher Bay resort and more school kids joined us. back to Kingfisher Bay resort. First We had rain, soggy tent, an exploding night was Lake McKenzie, the absolute gas bottle, cold dinner and breakfast most beautiful lake on the island. Then and drop toilets with no toilet paper, onto Lake Wabby with big fish gliding leeches and ticks. Mostly though we by and the very popular Hammerstone had a fantastic time getting hot and Sandblow. Met up with four more walk- sweaty out enjoying the birdcalls, floral ers then off we scrambled to a way scents and the eucalypt forests, rainfor- overcrowded Valley of the Giants walk- ests, tall open forests and cold lakes ers camp. Two school groups and sev- that my toes had trouble going into. en walkers and one very overworked Given the chance I would do it all again. toilet. Towering Tallowwoods and Sati- nay and Brushbox. The forest holds Marlene Luce ancient ferns and trees more than 1200 years old and greater than four metres

19 Nature Watch - Black-faced Monarch

A Black-faced Monarch (Monarcha melanopsis) arrived in the Fay Smith Wetlands last week. I spotted it high up in the treetops and somehow (determination!) managed to get a couple of photos.

It turns out that the last time I saw one in the wetlands was at the same time of year two years ago. Members of our intrepid bird watching party also saw a few flying around in Imbil State Photo by Ruby Rosenfield Forest a couple of weeks ago.

This bird is listed in the EPBC Migratory Species List and has left its wintering ground in Southern New Guinea and flown over the Torres Strait to its preferred breeding areas in eastern Australia. It is a flycatcher and is strictly arboreal, and is found in wetter forested areas, mangroves and woodlands where it forages for insects amongst the leaves or catches them on the wing.

The female will build a nest in the fork of a tree three to six metres above the ground but both sexes will incubate the egg and feed the young.

Some in their migration to eastern Australia get a bit lost and have also been occasionally seen in Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand.Ruby Rosenfield

Nature Watch - Nature’s Resilience Helen Cory took these beautiful photos at Rainbow Beach in July following the fires. Many plants including the corymbias and xanthorrhoeas (pictured below) are quick to sprout with vigour after fire. Other species, notably the hakeas and banksias in our local bush, while the individual plant may die, need the intense heat produced by a fire to open their seed capsules (pictured right). Fire indeed plays a part in shaping our natural landscape.⚫

Wambaliman SPRING 2020 20 Nature Watch - Is it dioecious or monoecious? These sound like very delicious terms, but they have nothing to do with taste or smell – rather terms that refer to the reproductive aspect of plant species. A monoecious species has both male and female reproductive units on the same plant, it comes from Greek for "one household". There are two possibilities - individual plants can bear both male and female (unisex) flowers or they can bear bisexual flowers. A dioecious species has the male and female flowers on different plants. That is, they have male plants (with only male flowers) and female plants (with only female flowers). Many of our common garden exotics, such as roses, lilies and hibiscus are monoecious and have bisexual flowers where the female pistil is characteristically surrounded by the male stamens. This is also true of many native species such as Eucalyptus, Leptospermum, Melaleuca, and native peas and lilies. Also monoecious, but with separate male and female flowers (or in the case of gymnosperms – cones) on the one plant are bananas, corn and pumpkins. Local native monoecious plants with separate male and female flowers include Casuarina equisetifolia (Coastal She-oak), Ricinocarpos pinifolius (Wedding Bush) and Araucaria cunninghamii (Hoop Pine). In the vegie garden we are very aware of needing male and female paw paw plants so we get fruit. But this dioeciousness is not something that one really thinks of with our native vegetation until flowering season when you notice the different flowers on different plants of the same species. Photos: male (top) and female flowers of the Burny Vine. The female flowers are hardly recognisable as flowers. They cluster together in tiny (4mm) green globules, with red whisker-like styles hanging out in the hope of catching some wind-blown pollen from a nearby male plant.

Plants in our local bush which are dioecious, and therefore have separate male and female plants, include Macrozamia species, Lomandra species, Casuarina glauca (Swamp She-oak), Diospyros geminata (Grey Ebony), Mallotus discolour (Yellow Kamala), Pipturus argenteus (Native Mulberry) and Excoecaria agallocha (Milky Mangrove). Just to muddy the waters, as nothing is ever simple, the very common Trophis scandens, (Burny Vine), is dioecious most of the time; but sometimes monoe- cious (and likewise for some other species). Regardless, they have very obvious separate male and female flowers. Jenni Watts 21 FRASER COAST BRANCH ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20

2019-20 was an 'interesting' and chal- Our Facebook page to date has 427 fol- lenging year for Fraser Coast Branch. In lowers and a significantly greater reach the midst of the drought, climate change through sharing of posts. It is a powerful and increased frequency and intensity of conduit to publicise key messages. fires, our wildlife appears to be under We held monthly general meetings in increasing natural threat. The condition July, August and November 2019, and in of local bushland appears to have de- February 2020. Our end-of-year break- clined markedly over recent years, with fast/morning tea function (in lieu of a De- feral plants and animals, and large-scale cember meeting) was well attended. The dieback, increasingly evident. On-going AGM took place in October 2019 while industrial-scale land clearing for develop- the March 2020 meeting was a 'special' ment is a major concern. meeting, held just four days before Covid- Our program continued relatively un- 19 restrictions were introduced. changed in 2019-20, until Covid-19 re- A highlight was the Central Branches Get strictions terminated 'group' activities. -Together hosted in Theodore by the Up- Activities that could be done in isolation per Dawson Branch in September 2019. dominated the rest of the time until the This was an outstanding success, and present. included a particularly enjoyable tag- There were five nature walks from July to along tour component through the nearby November 2019. The new organising sandstone landscape. Many thanks to team had intended to start the 2020 walks Melanie, Ann and others for making this a program in May but this had to be de- very special event. ferred. We introduced a new Backyard Bioblitz The Library talks program in the Hervey program once the Covid-19 restrictions Bay and Maryborough Libraries came to were introduced. Three were held over an abrupt halt from March 2020, with at- weekends in May and June 2020, with tempts to continue it on-line proving to be about 17 participants in each. too hard. Our Schools program has also Our Development and Land Use Change had to go into what we hope will be a working group monitored several new temporary recess after significant activity developments and made submissions on in the first part of the year several development applications. We We conducted a petition in late 2019- have also been in touch with the Environ- early 2020, asking Fraser Coast Regional mental Defenders Office about weak- Council to provide green space in new nesses in State planning legislation. sub-divisions. I presented the petition with Our Branch was successful in obtaining a its 550 signatures to Council. grant of $2000 under Council’s Communi- We continued with our successful month- ty Environment Grants 2018-19 program ly Wildlife Matters column in the free Her- for a 800m circuit walk and new signage vey Bay and Maryborough newspapers. in Parraweena Park Point Vernon. The This came to an end in July 2020, with project has recently been completed with Newscorp's closure of both papers. an estimated $1,500 of in-kind contribu-

Wambaliman SPRING 2020 22 FRASER COAST BRANCH ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20 continued tion by members of our Branch and missions to the review of the Environment Friends of Parraweena Park. The Pro- Protection and Biodiversity Conservation ject’s Outcome report and financial acquit- Act and the Senate Enquiry into the Fau- tal were accepted in May 2020. Final nal Extinction Crisis. monies were also expended for the Myna Our journal, Wambaliman, was published Bird project which has run over the last quarterly. Many thanks to all contributors three years with a grant from Burnett and our editor extraordinaire. Mary Regional Group for Natural Re- source Management (BMRG). There were a few ad hoc activities, includ- ing a presentation by the President to 40 We are grateful to have a good relation- members of the local VIEW Club about ship with Fraser Coast Regional Council. wildlife conservation, the Branch and our We continued to be represented on Coun- programs. cil's Environmental Advisory Group and are participating in stakeholder consulta- Fraser Coast Branch ended 2019-2020 in tion for Council's important Coastal Fu- a healthy financial position, mainly be- tures project. cause of an unexpected bequest and strong fund-raising activities. These in- Letter and submission-writing continued cluded a Bunnings sausage sizzle, a cou- to be a priority. Letters were mostly initi- ple of pub meat-tray raffles, proceeds of ated through our Development and Land the Branch's Container Deposit Scheme Use Change Working Group, raising con- and donations from non-members partici- cerns about a number of development pating in the nature walks program. applications and associated environmen- tal impact assessments, illegal poisoning I am very grateful that Fraser Coast of native vegetation on the foreshore, and Branch has a high proportion of active the need to retain some native vegetation members who participate in our activities in new developments. We wrote to the and contribute to the Branch in diverse Premier about the need to have a koala ways. Very many thanks to you all! conservation strategy in our region and to Vanessa Elwell-Gavins, President register our concern about the decision to defer the conversion of selected State Nature walks in Vernon Conservation Forests to national parks. We made sub- Park (left) and Wongi State Forest.

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The objectives of Wildlife Queensland are to:

(1) preserve the fauna and flora of Australia by all lawful means; (2) educate by all means possible all sections of the community, particularly the young, in understanding the principles of conservation and preservation of the natu- ral environment; (3) discourage by all legal means possible the destruction, exploitation or unneces- sary development of any part of the natural environment; (4) encourage rational land use and proper planning of development and use of the natural environment and management thereof.

Want to join Wildlife Queensland? https://wildlife.org.au/shop/membership/membership-3/ $30 Individual $45 Family / non-profit group $20 Concession $12.50 Youth Once you have joined Wildlife Queensland you may elect to be assigned a Branch such as Fraser Coast.

Wildlife Queensland and its branches are not wildlife rescue or care organizations. However, we thank you for caring for our wildlife and if you wish to report sick, injured or orphaned wildlife contact: RSPCA Qld on 1300 ANIMAL or preferably contact our local rescue service. Our local service has the expertise and will eliminate delays in taking action. WILDLIFE RESCUE FRASER COAST for all species of native wildlife Phone 4121 3146 (backup number 0419988240)

WRFC rescue and care for all species of native fauna - such as injured or unwell koalas, kangaroos and wallabies, micro bats, flying foxes, birds and reptiles.

For marine strandings ring the QLD Government Wildlife Hotline 1300 130 372

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