Spring Bird Survey

Female Kookaburra, Blacks Walk, Spring Bird Survey 2018

• We were treated to a fabulous day for this year’s Spring Bird Survey on Saturday, 6th October – with clear blue skies highlighting the birds’ colours, no wind and warmish weather.
• The results are available here – and we’ve crunched the data into our database for further analysis.
• Highlights were:
  • A Straw Necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) was seen for the first time on a Bird Survey – although the species has been recorded before in the park.  It is a rare visitor – an immature bird was the first seen in February, 2014.
  • Only two introduced species were spotted (the Common or Indian Mynah and the Spotted Turtle-Dove).
  • It is unusual to see Gang-Gang Cockatoos in Spring – though we did see them in the park in Spring, 2014 as well.
  • Two species usually seen in Spring were not observed this year – the Musk Lorikeet and the introduced Common Blackbird.
• Here are some photos contributed by attendees:

Rosa’s photo of a cheeky Lorikeet watching the watchers from its nesting hole.

Julie’s photo of one of our favourites- a Tawny Frogmouth – sunning itself in Blacks Walk

One from Margaret – a photo of a female Laughing Kookaburra – the frayed tail feathers are probably due to her frequently exiting a narrow nesting hollow in reverse after feeding her young.

• Along with many familiar faces, we were privileged to welcome several new participants too – thank you all for coming!
• Our thanks to our expert and interesting team leaders Pat Bingham and Ian Moodie, Bronwyn from the Scouts for facilitating making the hall available, Mary and Megan for running the event, our “scribes” who recorded the observations, Anne for organising “thank-you” gifts for our leaders and Viola for managing the catering for the morning.

Our First Ducklings for the Season

• Here are the first ducklings Committee is aware of being seen in the park this season:

• The photo was taken north and east of the creek off Main Street near the rubbish bin just before our working bee (see below). Mother and father Wood Duck were taking their ten(?) ducklings for a training nibble in the grass.  Our apologies for the photo’s quality – it was taken on an old mobile phone from a respectful distance.
• Interestingly, a lone Pacific Black duckling was spotted nearby in the creek shortly afterwards (no parent in sight).
• Last week, our intrepid phone (phoney?) paparazzo, captured this shot of some of a pair of Chestnut Teal ducks and five chicks (showing Dad and four of the chicks):

• This means all three species of our local ducks have successfully reproduced this year!

Working Bee Report – Bucket Loads of Weeds

Buckets of Weeds!

• The working bee held on Saturday, 13th October in warm conditions was very successful in transforming the Main Street boundary of the park on the north-western side.  Work also began on cleaning out along the path westwards.
• The Buttercup climbing up from the creek bank was noted as a particularly difficult pest to weed out – please see our Weed of the Month.
• This was our last community working bee for the year.  There were six this year including the following works:
  • site preparation and planting in and behind Thelma’s Maze and near the Laurel Grove bridge in Kalang Park,
  • weeding and planting north of the bridge in Furness Park,
  • planting adjacent the track from the Main Street bridge towards Gardenia Street in Furness Park as well as our October weeding bee.
• We thank all those who participated and hope to see you next year!  If you can’t wait that long, you might like to join in with the Monday/Thursday Maintenance Team which continues work through summer.

Maintenance Team Report

• Weather conditions during September and early October were very dry – so much so, we started watering this year’s young plants on 11th October.
• Watering was done on the northern bank of the creek at Blackburn Road and also to assist new plantings in the plots between Heath Street and the walking track.
• Other than the “watering bees”, work has continued weeding the land adjacent to 60 Main Street following the working bee and at The Billabong earlier in the month.
• We received 46mm of rain recently which allowed watering to be deferred temporarily.  However, it is about to resume – it looks like we’ll weed one day per week and water the other going forwards.

Volunteering in Blackburn

• The above item appeared in The Age’s OddSpot segment on 25th October.  As it happens, Wigan in England is quite close to Blackburn (…albeit the one in the UK!).
• Fortunately, our Whitehorse Council’s attitude and Wigan’s are poles apart!  Clearly, our Council values the contributions made by volunteers for the community.  We are happy to report that we have good working relationships with Council staff – both at management level and also in the field:
  • We too have a few dedicated people who regularly collect rubbish in our park.
  • Most Friends of the Creeklands and the broader community know of, and/or participate in, our in occasional Saturday or Sunday morning Working Bees.  We also regularly report our Monday/Thursday Maintenance Team‘s work.  Council helps us by collecting our weeds, providing mulch, first-aid training, sponsoring our grant applications and provides a small annual sum towards our operating expenses.
  • As an Advisory Committee, we also provide specialist and local advice representing the community when needed to Council.  In the other direction, Council provides an annual networking event for information exchange with other Advisory Committees and with Council.

Snap, Send Solve

• Last month, Whitehorse City Council endorsed the Snap Send Solve system for the community to efficiently report problems such as issues in the park to Council.  Problems can also be reported to utility companies.
• Snap Send Solve uses the power of the Smartphone to efficiently combine the user’s location and a photo (via the phone’s in-built GPS and camera) in a problem report.   The report is then sent to the relevant Council or other authority.   A report can also be made via the Snap Send Solve web-site.
• For further information, please refer to the Snap Send Solve web-site which has links for Apple and Google app downloads.

Planned Laurel Grove Pedestrian Bridge Maintenance

• Council has let us know that it plans to refurbish the Laurel Grove pedestrian bridge.  Like the Blacks Walk bridge last year, this will involve installing a new deck and repainting.  At this point we do not have specific dates, but it will necessitate the bridge being closed to park users at times.
• We’ll let you know as soon as we know more…

Corridor News

Gardens for Wildlife 

• The Gardens for Wildlife program is active in our municipality to support local residents setting an area aside in their gardens for local wildlife – the benefits including assisting bio-links and corridors.
• Here’s a number of recommended things you could do in your garden to assist wildlife:
  • Protect any indigenous canopy trees you may have – or plant one if you have room!
  • Provide dense shrubs for bird shelter, nectar plants for honeyeaters and local daisies for butterflies.
  • Install a cat-proof birdbath, a frog-friendly pond or bog with unpolluted water.
  • Keep a patch of natural mulch for beetles and worms.
  • Provide a warm, sheltered corner for lizards.
• Click here to visit Council’s web page for more information and links to other resources.
• At our Bird Survey event, Pat (from Birdlife Australia) pointed out that the Birds in Backyards surveys took place in September/October.   You might like to participate next year – please click here for further information.  There is also information there on how you can create bird-friendly spaces in your garden and about Australian birds and their habitats.

Wurundjeri Walk’s 30th Anniversary

• Wurundjeri Walk’s 30th Anniversary will be celebrated on Sunday, 18th November 2018.   Please click here for further details.
• Our congratulations to all the Wurundjeri Walk committee people and friends, past and present,  who helped make our sister park such a success!

Monthly Awards

Plant of the Month

• Our Plant of the Month is the Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium strictum).  This plant has long grass-like leaves with a single violet (rarely white) flower on stalks.  They have a chocolatey scent which explains their common name.

• We’ve noticed this year that some of the newer plantings in the park are coming along nicely despite the very dry conditions.  Our photos above were taken in Furness Park giving us cause to reflect that the then City of Nunawading purchased Furness Park in 1941 so as to preserve land for indigenous plants and wildflowers.  Though quite a spectacular flower, they are sparse and not “in your face” – so, to enthusiasts, they are a delight to find.

Weed of the Month

• Our Weed of the Month is Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens).
• Creeping Buttercup is a very unwelcome yellow flowering plant native to Europe, Asia and northwest Africa.  It has erect flowering stems up to 50 cm high as well as prostrate running stems, which produce strong roots and new plants at the nodes, rather like strawberry plants.
• It likes damp places and becomes quite dense.  Ruth’s photo below, taken at our last working bee, clearly shows the roots at nodes: