The Clematis

Spring 2008 Issue No 77

BAIRNSDALE

POSTAGE

Victoria

3875 PAID

Quarterly Newsletter of theBairnsdale & District

Field Naturalists Club Inc A0006074C 24 1 BAIRNSDALE & DIST FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB INC. A0006074C List of Office Bearers for 2008 President: Pat McPherson ph. (03) 5152 2614 [email protected] Vice President: James Turner ph. (03) 51551258 Secretary: Pat McPherson ph. (03) 51522614 Assistant Secretary: Fran Bright ph. (03) 51522008 Treasurer: Margaret Regan ph. (03) 5156 2541 Correspondence to: The Secretary, P.O. Box 563, BAIRNSDALE 3875 Web Site: www.eastgippsland.com/bdfnc

General meetings take place at: Noweyung Centre, 84 Goold Street Bairnsdale 3rd. Friday of the month at 7.30pm sharp. No meeting June, July, August Committee meetings take place: Thursday of the previous week before the 3rd. Friday of the month at members homes except June, July, August when held on field excursions if required. . Group Co-ordinators: Botanic Group: James Turner Ph. (03) 5155 1258 Fauna Survey Group: Jenny Edwards Ph. (03) 5157 5556 Bushwalking Group: Noel Williamson Ph. (03) 5152 1737 Study Group: Heather Oke Ph. (03) 5156 3231 Newsletter Editor: Pauline Stewart Ph. (03) 5152 1606 80 Bengworden Rd. Bairnsdale.3875 email: [email protected]

All articles for SummerClematis must be in by September 1st.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 1. To further the study of natural history in all its branches, promoted by periodical meetings, field excursions and other activities. 2. To observe and strengthen the laws for the preservation & protection of indigenous flora and fauna and habitat and important geological features. 3. To promote the formation and preservation of National and State Parks and Reserves.

2 23 It also looks out of place in the Australian bush, being so green, not grey- RULES TO OBSERVE ON FIELD TRIPS: green. In its second year each plant flowers and then dies. The inflores- 1. Excursions are cancelled on days of TOTAL FIRE BAN. cences are tall with pendulous branches bearing many pink or red florets. 2. Participants to keep a visual on the car in front and behind. Along the creek was Kanooka or Water Gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), Sil- 3. When making a turn, give signal, and stay at intersection until ver Wattle, Forest Nightshade (Solanum prinophyllum), Golden Everlast- following car has also turned. ing (Xerochrysum bracteatum), Wait-a-while or Lawyer-vine (Smilax aus- 4. If separated from other cars, stop, and stay with your car. tralis) and Common ground-fern (Caloclaena dubia). Kanooka is found Other members will return to find you. throughout eastern Victoria along streams. It has glossy green leaves and 5. Car pool passengers should offer a donation to the driver for fuel costs. fragrant yellow flowers similar to those of eucalypts, but the are free and the stamens are united in 5 bundles. Silver Wattle has bipinnate (feathery) foliage and globular flower-heads in racemes. Forest Night- SUBSCRIPTION FEES shade is a low shrub with lobed leaves with hideous spines arising from the veins. It has the typical violet potato flowers. Wait-a-while is a vigor- Family membership $30 ous climber which often sprawls across the ground. It is armed with scat- Single membership $20 tered prickles which seem designed to hinder one’s progress, presumably Mid-year fee (new members only) $10 hence this common name. The common name Lawyer-vine may suggest that when it gets it’s hooks into you, it doesn’t let go!! Common ground- fern looks very like Bracken, but the fronds are more delicate and yellow- Responsibility for the accuracy of information and opinions expressed in this green. There was a lemon gilled fungus with a frilled edge; the cap was so newsletter rests with the author of the article. transparent that the gills below could be seen. It was possibly a Mycena. LIBRARY INFORMATION - Librarian - Dot Prout Phone: 5153 1303 The road followed a crest with overhead powerlines and the vegetation • Books are generally borrowed for one month - however you can write on below these had been kept slashed. There were many of bright pink the sign-out sheet if you wish to have it longer. Common Heath. There were two adjoining very interesting plants. One • Should any library materials need maintenance, please make me aware of had each of its flowers striped with pink and white down the length of the same. • If you wish to recommend a book, this can be done by writing a short flower. Each was pink with a white stripe down the centre. On the recommendation for the Clematis. This information could be from our li- other plant the flowers graded from pink at the top to white at the bottom, brary books or from other books that you believe our library could look at somewhat like Fuchsia Heath (Epacris longiflora) which is red and white, purchasing. and common in gardens and is native to NSW. A Quail was flushed from the undergrowth. Another plant in flower was yellow Clustered Everlast- CONTENTS ing (Chrysocephalum semipapposum). Further along Ash Range Road was Ploughshare Wattle (Acacia gunnii), a shrub to 1m with assymetric Program October to December 2008 5-6 pointed phyllodes (like ploughshares) and big round flower-heads. President’s Message 7-8 Summary of Report on Smoky Mouse Field Trips 2008 8-16 Thank you James for finding interesting plants, even on a cold windy day! Colquhoun Forest 17-19 Burnt Areas North of Bruthen 20-22 ☺

22 3 CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS and email address’s for meetings melagramma) with a yellowish-green labellum and Granite Greenhood (P. and field trips. tunstallii) with a dark labellum. They are both plants that have no basal Andrew Bould 5156 6494 [email protected] rosette; Tall Greenhood grows to 80cm with up to 20 flowers and Granite Jenny Edwards 51575556 [email protected] Greenhood is up to 25cm with up to 8 flowers. The flowers are translu- Heather Oke 5156 3231 [email protected] cent and shiny. The lateral are joined for half their length and end Elden Marshall 5157 9134 with triangular, often brown, points. The labellum has a darker central Pat McPherson 5152 2614 [email protected] stripe. The Granite Greenhood is listed as vulnerable, but we found many Wendy Parker 5152 2615 [email protected] more of these than the Tall Greenhood. Nodding Greenhoods (P. nutans) Margaret Regan 5156 2541 were just coming into bloom. Spotted Pardalote and White-throated Jeremy & Nina Stewart 5153 0216 [email protected] Treecreeper were heard calling. Pauline Stewart 5152 1606 [email protected] James Turner 5155 1258 [email protected] We drove along Little Dick Road into an area burnt during the 2007 bush- Noel Williamson 5152 1737 [email protected] fires. At the corner of Beckers Road, the fire had obviously not been too intense. The overstorey trees were recovering and most of the shrub layer had been removed. Some of the trees were Yellow Box (Eucalyptus mel- DEGREE- OF DIFFICULTY FOR BUSH WALKS liodora), Red Ironbark (E. tricarpa) and Mountain Grey Gum (E. cypel-

Easy Flat, good firm track. locarpa). One of the small gums had its trunk heavily indented by a Moderately easy Mostly flat, track in good to fair condition creeper which had coiled all the way up. The creeper had presumably dis- Moderate May be undulating, track in good to fair condition appeared during the fires, but a nearby plant was Dusky Coral-pea Mod. difficult May be some steep sections, track may be rough in (Kennedia rubicunda), a very vigorous climber. The wattle here was Red places Wattle (Acacia silvestris) which has bipinnate leaves and looks very like Difficult May have long steep sections, track may be non Silver Wattle (A. dealbata). Differences?? Pinnules of the leaves of Red existent at times Wattle are mid-green, broadest below the centre, pointed and widely Walks vary in distance from 6 to 14 km. spaced; those of silver green Silver Wattle have straight sides, blunt tips Contact the leader of the walk for a rating if it’s not included in the and are closer together. A shrub in flower was Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria program. spinosa) which as the names suggest has spines on the stem, and fragrant

small white flowers. Another creeper was another pea, the brilliant Purple Coral-pea (Hardenbergia violacea). Again we found Granite Greenhood, Nodding Greenhood and Trim Greenhood. White-eared Honeyeaters were Please take note of safety procedures in your Bairnsdale & District calling. Field Naturalists Club Inc. ‘RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY’ booklet. Up to the top of Mount Little Dick where there is a good view to the ocean and an old disused wooden fire tower. It was too exposed to have lunch here on such a cold winter’s day, so along Pound Yard Road we stopped beside a creek where there was lots of Incense Bush (Calomeria amaran- thoides) growing. This plant grows vigorously, particularly after fire. It is a tall (to 3.5m) herbaceous biennial with bright green stem-clasping leaves. The leaves are thin and sticky, and the plant exudes a strong per- fume. It looks a little like tobacco, to which it is not related, being a daisy.

4 21 BURNT AREAS NORTH OF BRUTHEN - 20 July 2008 PROGRAM - OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2008 by Margaret Regan

From the car park for the Bruthen Walking Trails, we followed the Berry It is your responsibility to contact the co-ordinator of each field Farm Loop which is the yellow trail. This is a one hour, 4km walk, to the trip to notify them of your intention to participate. north. This area had not been burnt in the 2007 fires which came very The co-ordinator can then notify you if the trip has to be cancelled close to the township of Bruthen. It was not the best time of the year to due to adverse weather conditions or other unforeseen see plants in flower. In spring some of this area has large patches of or- circumstances. chids. There were, of course, Trim Greenhoods (Pterostylis concinna) in flower. These dainty neat little orchids seem to be blooming on so many excursions. Although each flower doesn’t exist for very long, Trims are in flower from May till September. One of the trees was Apple Box OCTOBER (Eucalyptus bridgesiana). It is a small to medium tree with tessellated Wed. 8th. Plant Study Group fibrous bark, long tapering adult leaves and stalked fruits with 3-4 exserted Thurs. 9th. Committee meeting 7.30pm at Pat McPherson’s home valves. The juvenile leaves are grey-green with no stalks and crinkly mar- Frid. 17th. General meeting 7.30pm Speaker from DSE Bairnsdale on gins. Apparently the wood is hopeless for burning. It seems that this tree ‘Koalas of Raymond Island’. (along with Black Wattles) is important for Sugar Gliders in the winter. Sun. 19th. Monthly excursion 9.00am Bridge Club to ‘Winkie Creek At that time of the year there are few insects about and the Gliders supple- Briagalong’ ment their insect and nectar diet with sap exuded from the trunks of these Contact: James Turner trees. Joan’s Dad used to call Apple Box Snotty Box. Perhaps that was Sun. 26th. Bushwalk: 9.00am Bridge Club to ‘Bruthen Walking Trail’. for the sap oozing down the trunk!! The rather sparsely distributed Gold- Rated: Moderate en Wattles (Acacia pycnantha) were showing their bright balls. Another Contact: Pauline Stewart Wattle was Spreading Wattle (A. genistifolia) whose phyllodes have de- NOVEMBER veloped into nasty spines and whose flowers are formed into balls. There Wed. 12th. Plant Study Group was one plant of a deep pink Common Heath (Epacris impressa). The Thurs. 13th. Planning meeting/Committee meeting 7.30pm at small shrub Hop Goodenia (Goodenia ovata) showed a few yellow flow- Pat McPherson’s home ers amongst the bright green toothed leaves. Hop Goodenia is often found Frid.21st. General meeting 7.30pm Speaker from East Gippsland along the disturbed edges of roads. Except for one in Malaysia, all Landcare Network to talk on their direction for the next the other 120 species of Goodenia are Australian endemics (i.e. they only 5 years. grow in ), of which 22 are Victorian. We also found the endan- Sun. 23rd. Monthly excusion 9.00am Bridge Club, 9.30am at Bruthen gered Bushy Hedgehog Grass (Echinopogon caespitosus) whose inflo- Bakery to ‘Gelentipy’. rescence is more open than that of the Common Hedgehog Grass (E. Contact: James Turner ovatus). We have seen this endangered Hedgehog Grass before at Swal- 28/29/30th. Camp Out to Limestone Creek, north of Benambra. low Lagoon. There were some tiny specimens of the bracket Rainbow Contact: James Turner Fungus (Trametes versicolor) along a fallen branch. These were velvet browns in concentric bands on the upper surface with a white edge and DECEMBER mushroom-coloured beneath. Another bracket was thin and layered or- Sat. 6th. Special excursion 9.00am Bridge Club, 9.30am Bruthen ange above, but with grey-green layering below. We saw quite a few Bakery to ‘Canni Creek’. specimens of two very similar greenhoods: Tall Greenhood (Pterostylis Contact: James Turner

20 5 Wed 10th. Plant Study Group shrub has very narrow leaves and the cones when mature are covered with bright orange-black hairpin styles. They were in magnificent condition Thurs. 11th. BBQ 6.00pm followed by Committee meeting 7.30pm with many fresh cones which the Crescent Honeyeaters were loudly enjoy- All members welcome to this Christmas Breakup social event ing. We searched and found the specific fungus which grows on the old BYO meat and drinks and a salad/dessert to share. shed cones of this banksia. This cup fungus Large Banksia Cup Frid. 19th. General meeting, Annual general meeting and Christmas (Banksiamyces macrocarpus) is blue and the cups grow out in between the Breakup 7.30pm - bring along your photos (can be seed follicles. There was also Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata), anoth- prints, slides or CDs) for a Members Photo Show. er shrub whose leaves may be entire or serrated and have cut-off or A plate of supper would be welcome. notched tips; Myrtle Wattle (Acacia myrtifolia) with phyllodes with thick- ened margins and flowers in balls in small racemes; and Juniper Wattle (Acacia ulicifolia) with needle-like phyllodes with stipules and single balls of flowers. There were two coral fungi, one a mushroom pink and the oth- er pale yellow.

We were distressed to drive along Prices Break and see the damage creat- ed by a bulldozer driver making enormous drains at very close intervals destroying vegetation. Surely a smaller drain would have been sufficient to control the run-off. This sort of damage appears to be very common this year. Apparently further east a patch of the rare Nowa Nowa Grevil- lea (Grevillea celata) had been removed by such rampant bulldozing!!

We went to marvel at the old disused Nowa Nowa rail trestle bridge over Stoney Creek. Built in the early 1900s it is 276m long and 19m high. Back to Corduroy Rd to see Pelicans or the Small Helmet-orchid unguiculatus). The flower is very enclosed with the dorsal hooded in the upper half and the labellum tubular with the margins incurved.

Thank you once again James.

☺

George Stewart, one of the contributing photographers with president Pat McPherson after the launch of the 2009 calendar.

6 19 istifolia) was in bud and most unpleasant it was too - poking one painfully PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE all the time. It has spiny phyllodes with the flowers in globular heads 2-4 per axil. They are both small, open shrubs. In 2007 our Club responded to the enthusiasm of members like Jen Down Quarry Road we took the path to the old Quarry. On the way we Wilkinson, Andrew Bould and Pauline Stewart to showcase the heard Bell Miners and Yellow Robin. Scarlet Bracket Fungus beauty and diversity of the flora and fauna of East Gippsland (Pycnoporus coccineus) was found on a small dead branch. The quarry which supplied stone for maintaining the entrance to the Gippsland Lakes through the medium of a quality full colour calendar. Having made has been given a tourist upgrade. At the site are information boards about the decision to proceed, the search was on for a seeding grant which the uses of the rock from the quarry. The granite was transported 13 km to we eventually obtained from the East Gippsland Catchment Man- North Arm on a tramway travelling beside Mississippi Creek. Part of the agement Authority under its Regional Catchment Investment Plan. display is a set of two wheels from a trolley set onto some 3’6’’ gauge The 2008 calendar was highly acclaimed and 424 copies were sold rails. The granite was then used either as rocks at the entrance or crushed which has enabled us to produce the 2009 calendar and thus far ful- to make concrete. The tramway was opened in 1910 and was used until fill our intention to make it an annual self funding calendar the mid 1930s. The original entrance to the lakes was partly constructed with timber and this was destroyed by toredo worm. The stone from the There are 2 separate functions associated with a calendar- first, de- quarry was used for repairs. The granite was also used for other projects veloping the calendar and second, marketing it. On both counts we in Lakes Entrance and in Melbourne. are very much on a learning curve.

We strolled along the tramway track beside Mississippi Creek and found a For example, this time we have been much more rigorous in our large brown cup fungus about 10cm across, which may have been a Pezi- specifications to subscribing photographers and have reduced the za. The Small Rooting Shank is a gilled fungus with a long white stalk size. We have increased the print run from 500 to 750. and gills, and a mid-brown shiny cap. There was a fawn coral fungus just From a marketing perspective, we took the advice of retailers to re- erupting through the soil, and the gilled fungus we call Pizza Cap duce the price from $15 to $12. We have it ready for sale much ear- (Amanita xanthocephala) whose orange cap bears the remnants of the veil lier, and it is packaged more conveniently in lots of 20. We have which covered it in the button stage. We listened to a wonderful Superb placed them in commercial enterprises where they sold well last Lyrebird imitating Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo, Eastern Whipbird, Grey year. Shrike-thrush, Crimson Rosella, and Red and Little Wattlebird. There Now it is time to say thank you. were Fringed Helmet-orchids (Corybas fimbriatus) with laidback or re-  Thank you first and foremost to Jen Wilkinson who has car- clining flowers!! The circular labellum has deeply fringed margins. The surface of the ground was moist so that all the mosses, liverworts and li- ried most of the production effort this year and to Pauline chens were hydrated and bright, but the lyrebird scratchings showed us Stewart for her participation in the early part of production that just beneath was dry, dry!! We saw the common satiny Coltricia cin-  Thank you to the photographers who submitted photos and namomea woody pore-fungus which has a round brown upturned cap with to those whose excellence in photography has been rewarded a white rim. Along part of the track near the quarry the cutting revealed by inclusion in the calendar limestone with embedded shells.  Thank you to Andrew Bould and James Turner for their edit- ing and input in the latter stage of production On to Siberia Crossing Road to one of our favourite sites to see the small  Thank you to Pauline Stewart who is co-ordinating the mar- patch of isolated plants of Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa). This keting of the calendar

18 7  Thank you to Margaret Regan who juggles the many finan- COLQUHUON FOREST - 22 June 2008 cial transactions associated with the calendar by Margaret Regan  Thank you in anticipation to all members of the Club whom I am sure will buy up big again this year. We met near the corner of the Princes Highway and Bruces Track. On a wander close by we found in bloom, Nodding Greenhood (Pterostylis nu- tans), Trim Greenhood (P. concinna) and Mosquito Orchid (Acianthus It was my pleasant duty to launch the beautiful Bairnsdale and Dis- exsertus). Unfortunately there was also the odd flying relation of the last- trict Field Naturalists Club calendar for 2009 at a general meeting named, even though it was a very cold day. There was a tiny (3mm) pale th on 19 September. yellow gilled fungus with a long stalk growing in the midst of a clump of the bright green moss Thuidium. A little further north along Bruces Track Any reader wanting calendars can contact Pauline Stewart, in the bush we saw, beneath the overstorey of White Stringybark Tel: (03) 5152 1606 (Eucalyptus globoidea) and Blue Box (E. bauerana), Cranberry Heath (Astroloma humifusum) with bright red tubular flowers, and Common Pat McPherson Heath (Epacris impressa) whose tubular flowers ranged in colour from President pale to medium to deep pink. We also found Woolly Grevillea (Grevillea lanigera) with its cream and red flowers. There were again Trim Green- hoods and the stunning large-flowered Cobra Greenhoods (P. grandiflora) SUMMARY OF REPORT ON SMOKY MOUSE FIELD TRIPS where the petals making up the hood with the dorsal sepal, are brown and April 5-8 and April 10-12, 2008 flared out horizontally. Another orchid was Spurred Helmet-orchid by Jenny Edwards (Corybas aconitiflorus) which had a spur on the stem below the flower. The Helmet-orchids have a curved hooded dorsal sepal enclosing the flow- These field trips were conducted by Jenny Edwards of Gippsland High er. The Spurred Helmet-orchid has a heart-shaped leaf which is green Country Tours, Bruthen (Research permit No. 10004063) in conjunction above and purple beneath. The species name of this orchid arises from its with volunteers from Bairnsdale & District Field Naturalists Club. Both resemblance to Monkshood (), an introduced perennial garden field trips were funded by a Commonwealth Envirofund grant to conduct plant. On a dead branch were a number of the hairy cream fungus Split searches for Smoky Mouse colonies in the Cobberas area. This article is a Gill (Schizophyllum commune). It has a lateral stem and the gills are each summary only, the full report is available on request. divided into two. Growing in amongst another moss called Bryum was this time, a minute yellow disc-shaped cup fungus which may have been Aims for these two visits were primarily to- Yellow Earth Buttons (Discinella terrestris). Some puffball fungi were  Search for new Smoky Mouse colonies in the Cobberas area using Earth Stars. These have two layers, the outer of which splits open like a a variety of methods. star, and the inner thin papery layer has a tiny pore at the top through  Determine whether the existing colony near Native Dog Flat ex- which the spores are released. It is very difficult to resist puffing one!! tends beyond the perimeters already recorded. There was an large ants’ nest, about 60cm across and 20cm high made up  Investigate potential sites in the Cobberas area for future survey of tiny sticks. We heard a White-throated Treecreeper giving a variety of work, calls, and one was even tame enough to climb a tree quite close to two of  Record site characteristics and vegetation for all survey sites. us. They are a very striking bird, close up, with bold black and white scal-  Record all wildlife species encountered during the visits on the lops on their breasts below the white throat. Even further up the track Atlas of Victorian Wildlife Database. Sweet Wattle (Acacia suaveolens) made a very pretty sight. It has long If any Smoky Mice are captured - thin phyllodes and flowers in clusters of balls. Spreading Wattle (A. gen-

8 17 .  Collect Smoky Mouse hair samples for DNA study  Collect Smoky Mouse scats for diet study

The study area is located in the East Alps Unit of the Alpine National Park on the Suggan Buggan 1:50,000 Mapsheet 8524-S. The Alpine Fire 2003, burnt through this entire area although the burn intensity varies greatly from intense hot burns, through slower understorey burns to unburnt patches.

Summary of methods used The only site within the Cobberas area and in fact within the entire East Alps Unit of the Alpine National Park where live Smoky Mice have been trapped is the Native Dog Flat site. The only other record (Atlas of Victo- ria) is a record of a dead Smoky Mouse found near Native Cat Track in 1974.

Mixing the bait ↑ Although there has been much discussion about what constitutes ideal Smoky Mouse habitat and it is generally agreed that they do require a di- verse heathy understorey, there is little to help determine where are the best places to search for Smoky Mice. It appears that they may prefer a Checking a hair tube → habitat where fire has been excluded for many years. From records in oth- er areas, it seems that Smoky Mouse populations experience unexplained fluctuations possibly due to resource availability or predation

Collecting scats ↓ It was not possible to search the entire study area on these two short field trips, so the aim was to select the more likely sites for Smoky Mouse and to include them in the searches.

A habitat modelling exercise was conducted in which a list of the 11 most commonly recorded plant species found at the successful capture sites were used to represent the “ideal” Smoky Mouse habitat and fed into Flora Information System (FIS). The best match that occurred in the Study Area was one quadrat with 6 of the plant species present and one just outside Photos by the study area which was also included. Jenny Edwards

Given the size of the area to be searched large scale live trapping was considered unsuitable in terms of effort required as well as in terms of the large by-catch of non-target species that would be captured. The use of hair tubes requires less effort, but the success of gathering Smoky Mouse

16 9 hair samples with hair tubes, seems to vary considerably with the hair tube report for details. design. General wildlife observations Predator scat analysis was decided upon as the preferred large scale meth- In addition to the wildlife species recorded through trapping, hair tubes and preda- od to search for evidence of Smoky Mice across the study area. This tor scat collection, general observations added a couple of very significant threat- ened species to the list. At Square Flat, abundant scat of Broad-toothed Rat was method is totally non-invasive and the aim was to collect scats over a observed on runways in the heath and an animal was observed out basking. In number of vehicular or walking tracks in the study area.. addition a dead Alpine Water Skink was discovered.

Prospective survey sites was selected using the following criteria- Discussion  Historic Record The single capture of a tagged Smoky Mouse on the “lower West Bank” transect  Identified through habitat modelling at Native Dog Flat demonstrates an extension of a known site rather than the dis-  Proximity to known site covery of a new site. It clearly shows that the river is no barrier, with ample “steppingstone” providing access across the water. The vegetation in which this  Identified as unburnt in 2003 (or very lightly burnt) Smoky Mouse was trapped is hardly typical, consisting of a small patch of wet heathland vegetation right on the river bank. Consistently, however it has been Summary of site selection criteria for Smoky Mouse search sites, unburnt for a considerable time with very old heath plants. April 2008 While no Smoky Mouse hairs were found during trapping a new site, in hair tubes/funnels or in predator scats, it is early days post-fire and vegetation is still in fairly early stages. We did identify further potential habitat including some un- burnt/lightly burnt sites.

Site Historic Habitat Effects of Other Survey Captures of good numbers of Bush Rats and Agile Antechinus at the Rams Horn Modelling 2003 fire notes methods Track site show good post-fire recovery of these species in lightly burnt habitat Native Dog Yes No Unburnt Adjacent to •Elliott Trap and hair tube transect results show that they have also returned in habitat that was Flat/Buchan Existing •Predator burnt at high intensity over an extensive area 5 years previously. ** known pop- scat collec- ulation tion Further analysis of results are in the full report.

Native Cat Yes No High Inten- Historic site •Hair tube Recommendation Track sity burn within 3 km transect Although no new Smoky Mouse sites were recorded a lot of valuable data was Historic site of known •Predator collected on habitat and on other small mammal species. Potential future survey site scat collec- sites were identified and it would be very productive to consider applying for an- tion other grant to conduct a similar exercise in future years. Rams Horn No No Patches of Within 5km •Elliott Track very light of known Traps burn site •Predator scat collec- tion

Sugarloaf No Yes Medi- Approx 4.5 •Predator Photos → Track 6 species umhigh km outside scat collec- present intensity study area tion

10 15 Twelve were collected from approx 6km of Forlorn Hope Track from the Black Forlorn No Yes High inten- Within 10 •Predator Mountain Road to the Buchan River (passing the site identified during habitat Hope Track 6 species sity burn km of scat collec- modelling). Eight were dog scats, 3 were fox and one a possible fox. Prey in- present known site tion cluded Rabbit, Common Wombat, Brushtail Possum, Bush Rat, and Eastern Pyg- my Possum.

Fifteen were collected along approx 3km Sugarloaf Track from Wombargo Track Rocky No No Medium Potentially •Site de- to just north of a site identified through Smoky Mouse habitat modelling. Twelve Plains intensity suitable scription were dog scats and three were fox. Prey included Rabbit, Brush-tail possum spe- Creek Falls burn habitat and vegeta- cies, Common Wombat, Black Wallaby, Common Ringtail Possum, and Agile tion for fu- Antechinus. ture survey

In addition to confirming the presence of Dog and Fox, the predator scat analysis confirmed the presence of eleven other mammal species and although the sample Little River No No Unburnt Potentially •Site de- size is small, provides an interesting snapshot of preferred/available prey for each Cascades suitable scription predator. habitat and vegeta- tion for fu- Summary of Prey species found in each type of predator scat ture survey Prey species Dog Fox Quoll?

Wombat 12 Limestone No No Burnt Potentially •Not visited Creek up- suitable or surveyed Brushtail possum sp 8 5 2 stream of habitat Rabbit 6 3 Bridge Dog 3 Black Wallaby 3 Limestone No No Lightly Potentially •Not visited Common Ringtail possum 2 2 Creek Trk burnt ?? suitable or surveyed near Stony habitat Grey Kangaroo 1 1 Creek House Mouse 1 Eastern Pygmy Possum 2 1

Agile Antechinus 1 1 ** Elliot traps were set adjacent to the current known colony of Smoky Mice Dusky Antechinus 1 (Native Dog Flat site) to satisfy the aim of determining whether this site extends beyond the current known perimeters. Bush Rat 1 1 Total scats analysed 37 19 5 Elliott Trapping Elliott Traps were used in two trap transects (20 traps each) over each of the two Site Description and vegetation Surveys visits. One transect along Rams Horn Track and one along the west bank of the A site description including a vegetation list was compiled for the Elliott trap Buchan River opposite the known Smoky Mouse site. Clean traps were baited sites, Hair tube site and two other sites being considered for future surveys. See with peanut butter, rolled oats and honey bait plus freshly broken pieces of

14 11 walnut. Dacron was placed in every trap for warmth and each trap was inserted Transect Definite Probable Other material into a plastic cover to offer protection from cold and rain. Traps which captured an animal were replaced with clean traps for the next night. April 5-8 they were Line 1 Antechinus sp (1) No hairs (2) set for 3 nights and April 10-12, just 2 nights. Thank you to Parks Victoria at (scat) Omeo and Heyfield for the use of Elliott traps for this survey. Rattus sp (1) One Smoky Mouse (P. fumeus) was captured in the last trap checked on the last day of the second field trip on the lower West Bank trap line at Native Dog Flat. This was a tagged animal, number 955 which is a mature male first captured in Line 2 R. fuscipes (4) Rattus sp (7) Plant fibres (1) the main trapping grid as a mature male in December 2007 approx 60m from this Invertebrate larvae scat (1) trap and at a higher altitude (approx 30m higher) on the opposite side of the river. Caterpillar hairs (2) Human hairs (1) Smoky Mouse scats were collected from the trap after processing and stored in a No hairs (1) sealed container then dried and frozen prior to being sent to Dr Fred Ford Line 3 R. fuscipes (5) Antechinus sp (2) No hairs (1) (CSIRO). The analysis of these scats will help to determine the identity of plant (scats) Human hair (1) and seed remains in the scats and therefore important food plants. Whisker (1) Rattus sp (5) Non-target species captured in traps at the two West Bank, Native Dog Flat tran- sects were 3 sub-adult Agile Antechinus (Antechinus agilis). Non-target species captured in traps at the two Rams Horn transects were 11 juvenile & sub-adult Bush Rats (R. fuscipes) 4 of which were subsequently recaptured and 5 sub-adult Predator Scat Collection Agile Antechinus (Antechinus agilis), 2 of which were subsequently re-captured. Predator scats were collected in the vicinity of the Native Dog Flat trapping sites Hair Tubes and Funnels and along 4 vehicular and walking tracks which were systematically searched during the field trips. Sixty-one predator scats were collected in total. All were The hair tube transect along Native Cat Track extended (north and south) along sent to Barbara Triggs for analysis of both predator and prey. the track from a point close to the historic Smoky Mouse site. Although intensely burnt in the 2003 fire, the post fire regeneration is quite dense. Five were collected from Native Dog Flat camping area and the vicinity of the

Native Dog Flat Smoky Mouse site. Four of these were consistent with Quoll scat, Two different designs of hair tubes (home made poly hair tubes and commercial but no groom hairs were present, the other was possibly a dog scat. Prey were Fauna Tech hair funnels) were used alternatively in each transect along Native Common Wombat, Agile Antechinus, Bush Rat, Brushtail possum sp. and Eastern Cat Track. Hair tubes were baited with the same bait as Elliott traps and mostly Pygmy Possum. placed alongside logs or stumps.

Seventeen scats were collected along approx 2.5km of Native Cat Track from Three 220m transects of hair tubes and funnels were set out over the two field Black Mountain Road south to just south of the historic Smoky Mouse site. trips consisting of 40 hair tubes/funnels. The two different designs were set alter- Twelve were dog scats and 4 were fox, plus one probably fox. Prey included natively in parallel lines on each side of Native Cat Track. In total these were set common Wombat, Dog (as prey), Common Ringtail Possum, Eastern Pygmy pos- for 360 hair tube/funnel nights covering both sides of 660m of track. sum, Common ringtail Possum, Black Wallaby, Brushtail Possum sp. and Rabbit.

A total of 34 hair tubes/funnels had hair or hair-like material adhering to the Twelve scats were collected from along the full length (approx 4km) of Rams tapes/wafers or scats within the hair tube or funnel. These were all sent to Barba- Horn Track including two from a gully just off the track and one from the rocks at ra Triggs for analysis. the summit. Seven were fox scats, four were dog and one possibly quoll. Prey included House Mouse, Rabbit, Common Wombat, Grey Kangaroo, Dusky Ante- chinus and Brushtail Possum sp.

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