We have decided to increase our efforts on our little patch of remnant vegetation and will meet on the last Wednesday of each month this year - except January and December.
We hope this will make it easier for everyone to make it and get to know the seasonal delights which it offers.
Best wishes for 2010.
Jan 25, 2010
Nov 17, 2009
Birds in Franke Scrub
contributed by Lesley Beaton, a local birdwatcher.
I went down to Franke Scrub one morning recently, though not very good birding weather. However I flushed a Southern Boobook which was very nice to see. It was in the thickest scrub towards the bottom of the gully and only flew to another tree close by. So I skirted around that bit so as not to disturb it any further. The Double‑barred Finches and Rufous Fantails were very active, but it was too windy for the honeyeaters. I didn't see a one! There were a pair of Rufous Fantails following me along the track. They are such an attractive bird.
A male Double‑bar was courting. He sat on a mid‑canopy dead branch flicking a dangling wisp of grass. As soon as the female appeared lower down on the branch, he gave the grass one more flick, dropped it and went over to the female. He wiped his beak on the branch a couple of times and fluffed up her neck feathers, she lay low, and he mounted her. This only happened once. He then wiped his beak on the branch again, she flew of, he wiped his beak a further time and flew off in the opposite direction. The bird books say he does a bit of a dance and sings to the female but I saw and heard none of this behaviour.
Scrub
Southern Boobook S
Sacred Kingfisher S
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike S
Rufous Fantail S
White-browed Scrubwren S
Weebill S
Brown Thornbill S
Lewin’s Honeyeater S
Silvereye S
Double-barred Finch S
Grey Butcherbird S
Australian Magpie S
Torresian Crow S
Road reserve
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike S
White-browed Scrubwren S
Lewin’s Honeyeater S
Silvereye S
House Sparrow S
Double-barred Finch S
Grey Butcherbird S
Australian Magpie S
Overhead/adjacent paddocks
Straw-necked Ibis S
Ground Cuckoo-shrike S
Torresian Crow S
16 species
NOTE: At the time of these observations, there was no water in the scrub, but the farm dam next to it was full.
Nov 12, 2009
Working Bee, 2nd December
9.00am to midday (Morning tea break at 10.30)
The asparagus fern is flowering now, making the plants in the trees particularly easy to find at present. Let's hope it's still as conspicuous by the working bee date, as getting those plants down from the trees before they set seed will be out highest priority this time. there are not too many. We may be able to get most of not all of the plants which are mature enough to produce seed, if we make this our focus this time.
Bring:
* Cutting and digging tools
* Your own safety gear - boots, gloves, sunscreen, insect repellent, etc.
* Morning tea and a chair
I look forward to seeing you there!
The asparagus fern is flowering now, making the plants in the trees particularly easy to find at present. Let's hope it's still as conspicuous by the working bee date, as getting those plants down from the trees before they set seed will be out highest priority this time. there are not too many. We may be able to get most of not all of the plants which are mature enough to produce seed, if we make this our focus this time.
Bring:
* Cutting and digging tools
* Your own safety gear - boots, gloves, sunscreen, insect repellent, etc.
* Morning tea and a chair
I look forward to seeing you there!
Oct 1, 2009
Spring flowers, birds and butterflies
Two mistletoes are flowering beautifully at Franke scrub this week.
Lucas's mistletoe (Amyema lucasii) is making a great show with its bright yellow flowers, on our favourite leopard ash (Flindersia collina). The Flindersia itself is also flowering, though only
moderately this year.
And the "variable mistletoe", Amyema congener was quite conspicuous.
This plant loves growing on the Boonaree (Alectryon diversifolium) with its holly-like leaves. However it also grows on several other species in the scrub.The flowers on our local Amyema congener are a darker shade of red than the more common variety seen elsewhere.
Expect to see honeyeaters coming for the nectar from these flowers - and, later in the year, mistletoe birds coming for the fruits. Those special butterflies, the beautiful jezebels, which depend on mistletoes for their survival, are beginning to appear in the scrub again as the
weather warms up.
The sandalwoods (Santalum lanceolatum) under the leopard ash are in bud, so we can expect to see flowers there over the next few weeks. It looks as though they will be putting out a good crop of their dark red (edible but please don't eat them) fruits this year.
Trish
Lucas's mistletoe (Amyema lucasii) is making a great show with its bright yellow flowers, on our favourite leopard ash (Flindersia collina). The Flindersia itself is also flowering, though only
moderately this year.
And the "variable mistletoe", Amyema congener was quite conspicuous.
This plant loves growing on the Boonaree (Alectryon diversifolium) with its holly-like leaves. However it also grows on several other species in the scrub.The flowers on our local Amyema congener are a darker shade of red than the more common variety seen elsewhere.
Expect to see honeyeaters coming for the nectar from these flowers - and, later in the year, mistletoe birds coming for the fruits. Those special butterflies, the beautiful jezebels, which depend on mistletoes for their survival, are beginning to appear in the scrub again as the
weather warms up.
The sandalwoods (Santalum lanceolatum) under the leopard ash are in bud, so we can expect to see flowers there over the next few weeks. It looks as though they will be putting out a good crop of their dark red (edible but please don't eat them) fruits this year.
Trish
Sep 30, 2009
A chipping hoe for weeds
Today we had a visit from Ian who brought his Root Blade tool to show us how well it works on noxious weeds, and we got a lot of useful work out of him!
Normally he uses it on privet and lantana with Friends of the Escarpment Parks in Toowoomba and you can see the Brothers Grimm in action on this website.
We showed him how we were more targeted to the asparagus vine in our diverse and otherwise relatively weed-free environment, taking care of surrounding plants.
Looking at those videos, it looks like we could combine forces with those fellows, if only to introduce a bit of mixed company!
We also had a visit from Evan Prentice from Torrington Nursery who happened to be passing. This is another place where you can get local native plants for your garden.
Normally he uses it on privet and lantana with Friends of the Escarpment Parks in Toowoomba and you can see the Brothers Grimm in action on this website.
We showed him how we were more targeted to the asparagus vine in our diverse and otherwise relatively weed-free environment, taking care of surrounding plants.
Looking at those videos, it looks like we could combine forces with those fellows, if only to introduce a bit of mixed company!
We also had a visit from Evan Prentice from Torrington Nursery who happened to be passing. This is another place where you can get local native plants for your garden.
Sep 28, 2009
Future Working Bees
The next "fifth Wednesday" is in December. Probably not a good day for many people.
I wonder if we should have one on the first Wednesday in December as well / instead?
However we seem to be organising a lot of working bees on days which suit too few of our members! I'd really like to hear some suggestions from you as to which day or days would suit you, between now and the end of the year.
Trish
I wonder if we should have one on the first Wednesday in December as well / instead?
However we seem to be organising a lot of working bees on days which suit too few of our members! I'd really like to hear some suggestions from you as to which day or days would suit you, between now and the end of the year.
Trish
Sep 24, 2009
September working bees
The Scrub was looking good at this morning's working bee (or what we could see of it through the dust storm!).
There were quite a lot of scrambling caper plants (Capparis sarmentosa) flowering beautifully, and with lots of buds. They should look even better next week. The scrambling lily (Geitonoplesium cymosum) was also in flower.
Jamie Pukallus and his team got a lot of the bigger asparagus vines out of the upper end of the scrub, and the rest of us (there were only three) got more, as well as a lot of smaller plants. It looks so different from the scrub of a few years ago, with all those enormous plants up in the canopy, so we are making progress!
We need to keep our collective eye out for any larger plants that have still escaped us, as those are the ones that keep producing seed - but we can now start working on eliminating the next generation of plants, some of which are starting to climb.
We inspected the cats claw corner and got down the few bits that had escaped up into the trees again. I'm hoping that Steve will be able to have another go at poisoning the roots before too long. His last effort was very successful, knocking it back considerably, so it's not nearly as extensive as it once was. However, I did find another small plant in the centre of the scrub. Although I got most of the tubers out, I think I missed a few - so that's something we'll also have to watch out for. It would be a disaster of the cats claw spread through the scrub.
WORKING BEE NEXT WEEK.
We'll have another, unofficial one, next Wednesday (30 September). No representatives from the council will be there, but some of our members will be spending the morning working. Will you join us?
Trish
There were quite a lot of scrambling caper plants (Capparis sarmentosa) flowering beautifully, and with lots of buds. They should look even better next week. The scrambling lily (Geitonoplesium cymosum) was also in flower.
Jamie Pukallus and his team got a lot of the bigger asparagus vines out of the upper end of the scrub, and the rest of us (there were only three) got more, as well as a lot of smaller plants. It looks so different from the scrub of a few years ago, with all those enormous plants up in the canopy, so we are making progress!
We need to keep our collective eye out for any larger plants that have still escaped us, as those are the ones that keep producing seed - but we can now start working on eliminating the next generation of plants, some of which are starting to climb.
We inspected the cats claw corner and got down the few bits that had escaped up into the trees again. I'm hoping that Steve will be able to have another go at poisoning the roots before too long. His last effort was very successful, knocking it back considerably, so it's not nearly as extensive as it once was. However, I did find another small plant in the centre of the scrub. Although I got most of the tubers out, I think I missed a few - so that's something we'll also have to watch out for. It would be a disaster of the cats claw spread through the scrub.
WORKING BEE NEXT WEEK.
We'll have another, unofficial one, next Wednesday (30 September). No representatives from the council will be there, but some of our members will be spending the morning working. Will you join us?
Trish
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