South East Queensland APRIL 2013 Volume 7 Number 2 Newsletter of the Land for Wildlife Program South East Queensland ISSN 1835-3851 CONTENTS 1 Geckos Alive! 2 Editorial and contacts 3 Fauna Vignettes 4-5 Flora Profile: Prickly Delights 6 Weed Profile: Weedy Solanums 7 Practicalities Dishwashing detergent is for washing dishes, not for spraying weeds! 8-9 Pest Profile: The Stone Gecko (top), Barking Gecko Asian House Gecko Geckos Alive! (above left) and the Leaf-tailed Gecko (above right) are three of the seven eckos are generally considered one of 10 Property Profile: species of native gecko found in SEQ. the cuter types of reptile. They don’t G Photos by Todd Burrows. Kenmore State High School suffer from the same stigma as do snakes and people are generally happy to have 11 My Little Corner: The Barking Gecko is aptly named due to them around their homes. Most residents Caring for orphaned ducks of SEQ would know the introduced Asian its habit of barking at perceived predators when threatened. It is the only gecko in House Gecko, but may not be as familiar 12 Property Profile: with the seven species of native gecko also SEQ that has thin front arms and holds found in SEQ. Four of these native species its body off the ground. The individuals The Burfords, Tallebudgera more readily occupy the house gecko niche pictured here all have regenerated tails and are arguably being outcompeted by which differ in appearance from the 13 Book Reviews the Asian House Gecko. The article on original tail. 14 Letter to the Editor pages 8-9 discusses this further. The impressive Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko Glossy Black Birding Day The other three species of native gecko (Saltuarius swaini) is heavily camouflaged Visioning the Outdoors that occur in SEQ are less commonly found and difficult to spot. It does occasionally around homes. Two of these species , live around houses, but only in areas that 15 Letter to the Editor the Stone Gecko (Diplodactylus vittatus) are immediately adjacent to its habitat of and the Barking or Thick-tailed Gecko cooler sub-tropical rainforests around the Is there such as thing as (Underwoodisaurus milii) occur in bushland Border Ranges north to Mt Tamborine. a good weed? areas with lots of fallen timber and rocky Native geckos are delightful to have outcrops. They shelter under rocks, in around. They help control unwelcome 16 Upcoming Membership burrows and in crevices. The Stone Gecko insects such as cockroaches and mosquitos Survey has more climbing ability than the Barking and will benefit from having fallen timber Gecko, but neither gecko will readily and rocks left on your property. occupy homes. Published by SEQ Catchments, through funding from Article by Todd Burrows the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country editorial few weeks ago I went to hear Bill It is my aim that the SEQ Land for Wildlife AGammage talk about his somewhat program is here to help facilitate this Land for Wildlife controversial book, The Biggest Estate on discussion. Land use in SEQ has changed Earth: How Aborigines made Australia. The very rapidly since European settlement Extension Officers quote that stuck with me the most was and it continues to change. Some of these South East Queensland “If we can’t look after animals like koalas changes are discussed in this newsletter, and kangaroos, how can we call ourselves for example, the landholders who have Brisbane City Council Australian?” seen the displacement of native geckos by All enquiries, 3403 8888 the introduced gecko and the emergence Peter Hayes Catherine Madden He was in part referring to Australia’s of new solanum weeds. Many properties horrid record of having the highest are also experiencing changes that Cody Hochen Scott Sumner rate of recent mammal extinctions in are favouring our wildlife, such as the Tony Mlynarik Fflur Collier the world, and in part referring to our transformation of a property from lantana seeming lack of contemporary knowledge Gold Coast City Council to rainforest and the involvement of school Darryl Larsen, 5582 8896 about how to manage this land for our students in planting koala feed trees. remaining wildlife. Wildlife, such as koalas Lexie Webster, 5582 8344 and kangaroos, which are only found in I think that Land for Wildlife members play Todd Burrows, 5582 9128 Australia. a critical role in helping our wildlife and, in Ipswich City Council turn, are helping define what it means to Stephani Grove, 3810 7173 Bill’s take home message for me was that be an Australian. it is surely our responsibility as Australians Lockyer Valley Regional Council to look after our country and its animals. I Please help us learn more about you and Kaori van Baalen, 5462 0376 couldn’t agree more, and I suspect many your property by filling in the survey form readers would also nod their heads. that will be sent to you in July. This will help Logan City Council us adapt the Land for Wildlife program Lyndall Rosevear, 3412 4860 My view is that non-indigenous Australia to better support you to manage your Nicole Walters, 3412 4859 is a very young country and we still have property for our wildlife. Rachel Booth, 3412 5321 a lot to learn. We need to share stories Rebecca Condon, 3412 4979 about what has worked and what hasn’t. Thank you to everyone who contributed We need to share stories about our land to this edition. Feel free to contribute Moreton Bay Regional Council management and our wildlife. If we have your story about your property to this Andrew Greenwood, 5433 2240 access to traditional land management newsletter anytime. Happy reading! Clinton Heyworth, 5433 2351 stories, we should listen carefully and share. You can almost guarantee that what Redland City Council you are seeing on your property will be of Deborah Metters Maree Manby, 3820 1106 Land for Wildlife great interest to someone else. Scenic Rim Regional Council Regional Coordinator Keith McCosh, 5540 5436 SEQ Catchments Somerset Region Trevor Page, 5424 4000 Landholder Registrations, Land for Wildlife SEQ - 1/3/2013 Michelle Ledwith, 5422 0516 Registered Working Towards Total Area under Sunshine Coast Council Total Area Retained Alan Wynn, 5439 6477 Properties Registration Restoration Dave Burrows, 5485 0229 3005 737 54,600 ha 4,616 ha Ed Surman, 5475 7358 Marc Russell, 5475 7345 Nick Clancy, 5439 6433 Stephanie Reif, 5475 7395 Forward all Letters to the Editor, Land for Wildlife South East Queensland is Fauna Vignettes and My Little Corner a quarterly publication distributed free of Toowoomba Regional Council charge to members of the Land for Wildlife contributions to: All enquiries, 4688 6611 program in South East Queensland. The Editor Print run - 4895 Land for Wildlife Newsletter Back copies from 2007 - 2013 SEQ Catchments available for download from PO Box 13204 www.seqcatchments.com.au/LFW.html George Street QLD 4003 Back copies from 1998 - 2006 Burnett Mary Region 07 3211 4404 available upon request to the Editor. [email protected] ISSN 1835-3851 Gympie, Fraser Coast, Land for Wildlife is a voluntary program North & South Burnett, that encourages and assists landholders Bundaberg and to provide habitat for wildlife on their Baffle Creek Regions properties. For all regions contact the Burnett Mary Regional Group, 4181 2999 www.seqcatchments.com.au/LFW.html 2 Land for Wildlife South East Queensland April 2013 FREE BOOKS SEQ Catchments is giving away free copies of Field Guide to the Frogs of Queensland (released November 2012) RRP $45 to selected Land for Wildlife members who contribute published articles in 2013. Limit of three free books per newsletter edition. Please fauna send your article and/or photographs vignettes to the Editor (details pg. 2) It’s amazing what you find hile walking on our property the Reply from Rachel Booth, Land for Wildlife Wother day, we were excited to come Officer, Logan City Council: across a couple of what we believe to Yes, it is a Pink Nodding Orchid be ‘Pink Nodding Orchids’. We’d noticed (Geodorum densiflorum) and is the plant previously and thought they uncommon in the Jimboomba area. were probably baby palm trees until Native orchids can remain dormant for we spotted the beautiful flower on the years until the right conditions (such as weekend. We had not seen or even heard the recent rains) when they can put on of these until we looked them up in the a beautiful display of flowers that are Mangroves to Mountains book and were often fragrant but short lived. wondering if they are common in our area? It’s amazing that after 8 years we Matt and Connie Clune are still finding new plants and just goes Land for Wildlife members to show that when you get out there and Jimboomba, Logan walk around regularly, you never know what you might discover. The losing battle against invading geckos t would be good to see a little article few left and I’m keen to safeguard each one Ito raise the profile of the Australian as I love their silence and their ‘Aboriginal’ Gecko. The image here is a photo of one markings. [native Robust Velvet Gecko] that used to appear each summer evening in one The other photo is a shot of a dumpy little of our bedrooms. We fought a (losing) bird that I surprised while it was eating battle against the invading Asian geckos. fallen pears. Initially I thought it was either We checked every box when we brought deaf or blind (because it let me get up anything into the house in the hope of quite close to it before scuttling into the keeping the little beasts at bay, but now lantana forest), then I realised it was very have at least one chuck-chuck-chuck in young, but fending for itself.