DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES Upper Hopkins Landcare Newsletter March 2009 Edited by Hayley Malloy DPI Ararat 5355 0523 Contact For info on DPI are planning to hold an information session on alternative forms of farm income. The event will cover topics such as Carbon Hayley Malloy Landmate Prison Crew Tender, carbon auditing and Bush Broker. I hope to run this DPI Ararat requests, steep hill man- session in late April in Ararat. 5355 0523 agement, Whole Farm Planning For further information please contact Hayley on 5355 0523 (Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday) Peter Forster Waterways, wetlands, Glenelg Hopkins erosion control, waterway In this edition CMA Ararat permits, revegetation, 5355 0530 CMA incentives Bird Notes……………………………………………..….........…..p2 Allistair Stephens Salinity management in- Ararat Hills Project, centives including steep Lake Burrumbeet………..………………..………………………..p3 DPI Ararat hill landclass fencing, and 5355 0540 perennial pasture estab- Water testing results from around the catchment ……..…..p4 lishment. Brian Howlett Pest Plants and Animals Your Say: GM Canola……………………... ………….…….…....p6 DPI Ararat 5355 0529 Landcare group page & Lucerne Info Session………………..p7 Una Allender Upper Hopkins Landcare Biological Farming Workshop.……….…...……………...…….p8 5350 4244 Group and SFS coordina- tor March photo board …………………..………...…………..…….p9 Daryl Scherger Ararat Rural City Council Una’s around the traps column..……………………….……..p10 Ararat Rural City natural resource manage- 5355 0231 ment issues Welcome to Allistair Stephens. He has begun working on the Ararat Debbie Shea CMA community repre- Hills Project. Allistair has previously worked with the pest plants and 5352 1357 sentatives animals and revegetation programs of DPI in the Upper Wimmera. Don Rowe 5354 7553 His role will include assessing and supporting incentives projects John Anderson such as steep hill and discharge area land class fencing and the es- 5354 1238 tablishment of perennial pastures within Sue Mudford Conservation agree- the priority salinity areas. It is great to Trust for Nature ments, grants, biodiver- have Allistair join the team. 5599 5223 sity technical advice We are unfortunate to have lost Berna- dette Cincotta who has resigned from her role as Community Services Facilitator with the Glenelg Hopkins CMA. Thank-you to Bernadette for her hard work over recent years. Bird Notes By Peter Forster Most bird species have been stressed by the extreme temperatures of late. Safe watering points such as bird baths in gardens and dams with native vegetation around them are in high demand. Farm dams are often very exposed and plant- ing a variety of trees and understorey close to exposed dams would greatly benefit a range of birds and animals. (See article last newsletter.) The shade provided would also be very useful for your stock and the fenced area can either filter water flowing into the dam or if you are worried about sheep camps the trees can be positioned so the manure from the camps washes away from the dam. The additional vegetation will reduce wind speed and help shade the water thus reducing evaporation rates, a major cause of stock water loss. On very hot days a garden hose set with a fine spray under a tree with low hanging Pardalote nest in an old school branches can be very useful. desk I was lucky to visit Peter Johnstone at Beaufort early on a very hot day in De- cember. He has a birdbath close to his kitchen window which attracts a com- pletely different set of birds to the ones we get at home. For me the highlights I saw were White-eared, Yellow-faced, White-naped and Fucous Honeyeaters, Eastern Spinebills and Mistletoe Birds. He has recorded 11 species of honey- eaters visiting the birdbath in one day. A pair of Striated pardalotes regularly nest in an old school desk on the veranda (see photo). Turquoise parrot found in Ararat The heat at home killed at least one immature Crimson Rosella and a few Euro- pean Blackbirds. Many birds were at the birdbath looking stressed with open beaks including a Crested Shrike-tit. Tiger snakes have come Green closer to the house searching for water and a cool spot and they are a Hill hazard if you are not wearing shoes and long trousers. A ground wa- tering point is handy for reptiles and other animals such as small mammals. Set it up away from your dog pens and where you regularly walk so you will know where you are more likely to have an encounter with a snake. Maurie Allgood discovered a Turquoise Parrot dead on Vincent Street, Ararat in early December (see photo), presumably an escapee from an aviary. The near- Swallow returning to her babies est place Bill Homburg has seen them is at the Warby Ranges near Wangaratta and near Chiltern. However they are classified as partly nomadic (as well as un- common) so the bird may have been exploring new territory. They prefer open forest and timbered grasslands which can be found locally. Three other Neo- phema parrots occur locally; Blue-winged (occasionally), Elegant (rarely) and Red Rumped Parrots (resident and very common). We had a pair of Elegant par- rots in a River She-oak at home this week. Local bird sightings include Grey Currawongs in Hayley’s fruit trees in Ararat, 50 plus brolgas at Beaty’s Parupa Park property east of Lake Bolac in December, lots of Dusky Wood swallows at Annette and Bill Taylor’s block west of Moyston around Dec/Jan, a Black Falcon, an immature Brown Falcon and Swamp and Spotted Harriers on Jack- sons Creek/Logans Road at Doug Robertson’s at Langi Logan (Drew and Forster sightings) and Martin Whatley noted Frogmouths and an Owlet Nightjar at Delany’s Gap north of Ararat. Dale Homburg spotted a Red capped Robin at home (5km South-east of Ararat) in October. LEFT: Impressive– this Superb Blue Wren was able to carry a beak full of hommus and sing while fly- ing back to feed her family. Lake Burrumbeet– a work in progress by Hayley Malloy The Lake Burrumbeet Advisory Group describe themselves as an ‘action’ group rather than advisory group and they are right (maybe they should change their name!). I agree with this comment after the visit I paid to the Lake to have a look at the work being undertaken and meet with some of the group’s active members. The Lake offers the group a mixed bag of challenges and issues- especially in the current climate. The 2600ha of Lake and Reserve provides environmental, aesthetic, recreational and historical values that all need to be thought- fully managed. Over many years, starting as the “Friends of Lake Burrumbeet”, these movers have worked with local government and DSE to undertake extensive tree planting, erosion control, and a range of works such as cleaning up rubbish and debris, the removal of weedy trees and plants, establishing native vegetation habitat strips, and protecting the existing remnant vegetation. Vin and Marg Moodie have been key players from the very early days, and use their talents, tireless interest and wide range of contacts to drive improvements. As we drove around the north-eastern shore of the Lake, just in from Remembrance Drive, there was evidence of work and challenges at each point along the way. There were many plantings of native trees and shrubs such as red gums, black wood, sweet bursaria and a range of wattles. The group has persistently continued to plant despite the difficulty of establishing the plants due to the rabbits, swamp wallabies and the extremely dry conditions. However this persistence has paid off as there are some well established plantations. Last year the group undertook some direct seeding and tree planting works. The results were mixed with some of the new seedlings looking fantastic and others quickly becoming ‘rabbit food’ as group member John Gregurke de- scribed the result. The range of improvements the group has been able to achieve has been due to their philosophy of working to achieve what they can with the resources and opportunities that have become available to them over time. Groups such as schools, international student volunteers, Young Farmers, clubs and community service groups have assisted with the planting and cleaning up projects. Funding is used by the group when it becomes available to tackle works. On the day I visited the Landmate Crew from the Langi Kal Kal Prison were hard at work cutting down the poplar trees that were quickly spreading down the slopes towards the lake. The trees were in patches around the shores and engulfing some of the mature red gum trees that, unlike the poplars, provide valuable habitat for wildlife. There are more interesting stories, such as the aboriginal legend of the Emu Spirit which inhabited the north cliffs, and sites around the Lake than I can mention in this article. It is pleasing to see how well the group promotes the Reserve, its history and geology. It is good to know that groups of motivated volunteers persistently work to achieve effective management and use of land and public areas such as Lake Burrumbeet. BELOW: Aboriginal artefacts can be found at the Lake. These pieces of quartz were carried to the lake. Quartz pieces were sharpened for cut- ting, spear ends and similar uses. Waterbirds use the small amount of water that remains Members of the group inspect the plant- in the Lake. On this pool were 2 Pelican, 2 Brolga, 2 ings from the previous season. Black Swan, 100 Masked Lapwing, 10 Red-capped Plover, Silver Gull, Straw-necked Ibis and White-faced Heron. Photo by John Gregurke Water Testing Results for Upper Hopkins River Upper Fiery Creek and Upper Mt Emu Creek This water run is carried out quarterly to provide local landholders with information about water quality in the catchment as well as to highlight salinity hotspots.