Wambaliman since 1967

In the language of the Butchulla people, who are custodians of land that includes the Fraser Coast, ‘wambaliman’ means ‘to carry’,

and refers to the messages that the Newsletter is communicating.

The newsletter of the

Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland

Bundaberg and Fraser Coast Branches

WINTER 2016

2

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

WILDLIFE PRESERVATION

SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND

known informally as

WILDLIFE QUEENSLAND

BUNDABERG BRANCH

PO Box 1215 Bundaberg, 4670

President:

Maureen Schmitt 4155 2172

Vice President:

Judy Elliot 4156 5382

Secretary:

Ann Jarman 4159 1931

Treasurer:

Phil Jarman 4159 1931

FRASER COAST BRANCH

PO Box 7396 Urangan, 4655

President:

Sara Gerdsen 4129 5789

Vice President:

Peter Duck 4122 1998

Secretary:

Vanessa Elwell-Gavins

0428 624 366

Assistant Secretary (minutes):

Ruby Rosenfield 4123 4765

Treasurer:

Carol Bussey 4129 5979

Assistant Treasurer:

Linda Idiens 4124 2913

WAMBALIMAN Publisher: WPSQ Fraser Coast

Editor: Rodney Jones

0423 812 881 mycozip@gmail.com

Production: Rodney Jones

Proofreading: Andrea van Kampen

Staying motivated during the cooler months

might be a challenge for those who prefer the

warm weather. The type of ‘staying motivated’ that Sara Gerdsen writes about encourages us

to think to the future and build on the success

of wildlife conservation achievements.

A tremendous source of encouragement is our Patron, Joan Coutts: a snapshot of Joan’s

activities is covered in the article about her

‘farewell’. A truly admirable list of activities

for the Fraser Coast Branch is available in Wildlife Qld FC Branch Activities plus cover-

age of the Community Environment Program. A

stand-out from that list is the increasingly

popular Nature Walks program – a reflection

of the dedication put in to the task by the or-ganisers.

Pam Soper’s articles on the Mon Repos tur-

tles and State Development planned for the

Port of Bundaberg, bring us back to the reality

of wildlife conservation. The remaining articles

in the Newsletter provide some great examples

of the challenges we face in conserving wildlife habitat (unique mammals as victims of climate

change; decline of Australian bush birds), and

some motivating success stories (container

deposit scheme; animal rescue; motivating

speakers at the Ipswich EnviroForum).

Maximise your experience in wildlife conser-

vation by getting involved. Take note of dates

for library talks and nature walks. Time to start thinking about the warmer weather we’ll

be experiencing by the time of the next issue

of Wambaliman.

And, which direction does a koala’s pouch face?

● Rodney

mycozip@gmail.com

Editor's Note

3

Contents Winter 2016

Staying Motivated ··································· 4

Commemorating Joan Coutts ················· 5, 6

Victim of Climate Change ·························· 7

Range extension for Long-billed Corella? ····· 7

Wildlife Qld Fraser Coast Activities ·········· 8, 9

Nature Walks ··································· 10, 11

Wildlife Rescue ······································ 11

Community-based Science ······················ 11

Batty over Bats ································· 12, 13

Koala pouch direction ····························· 13

Wildlife Qld Bundaberg – turtles ··············· 14

Wildlife Qld Bundaberg – Development ······ 15

Community Environment Program ······· 16, 17

Ipswich Enviro Forum ························· 18, 19

Decline of Australian Bush Birds ··············· 19

Birds around the Burrum ························· 20

Container Deposit Scheme ······················ 21

Something to think about: H2O ················· 21

Haiku from the Beach ······························ 22

Book Review ········································· 22

Tips for Animal Rescue ··························· 23

Contributions

We welcome contributions from WPSQ

members and supporters. Articles can take the form of reports, observations of nature, anecdotes, quotes, humour etc.

Send contributions to: mycozip@gmail.com OR The Editor, Wambaliman PO Box 7396 URANGAN 4655

Submissions for the next issue are due by Friday 7 October 2016

Opinions expressed in WAMBALIMAN are not neces-sarily those endorsed by the Wildlife Preservation Society Queensland, Bundaberg and Fraser Coast Branches unless specifically attributed to them.

NOTICE BOARD Social gathering for members &

friends

Dianne 4128 3992

Monthly talks on community radio

Audrey 4125 6891

Branch meetings held each month

Venue alternates between Maryborough

and Hervey Bay.

Sara 4129 5789

Nature in the Library talks

Third Friday of the month at Hervey

Bay library.

Sara 4129 5789 or the library 4197 4220

19 August

Carol Bussey

Wallum heathlands on the Fraser Coast

(Ideal for September’s Nature Walkers)

16 September

Audrey Sorensen

The importance of understory plants

21 October

David Flack

Frogs

Nature Walks

First Saturday of the month

6 August

Burrum Coast National Park

Peter and Jenni 0400 656 325

3 September

Poona coast walk and wallum wildflowers

Peter and Jenni 0400 656 325

1 October

Booral – Woodlands Reserve

Peter and Jenni 0400 656 325

4

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

Recently I became a great-grandmother and I began to wonder what the world

would be like when my great-grandson's own children start exploring the environment.

There have already been so many negative impacts on the environment so what will it

be like in 30 or so years from now? Would they be able to visit the Great Barrier Reef

or would it be a collection of bleached and broken coral skeletons? Perhaps they

might decide to have a ramble through the bush looking for koalas. The way things

are going today I doubt they would spot any. Even a trip to Lone Pine Sanctuary might

not be an option as it may have closed because the captive population became so

inbred they could not be maintained. How sad if photos and museum displays were

the only information about this iconic Australian species! Today experts fear for the

continued existence of this species. Our Branch koala count in 2015, with more peo-

ple looking, recorded just five animals, 13 down from the previous year.

I began to wonder if my little efforts could make a difference for the future; my moti-

vation to carry on was at an all-time low.

I put away the baby photos and turned to sorting other photos to be used for a dis-

play at the Hervey Bay Volunteers Expo. This collection of images made me realise

that our branch had achieved many things despite the set-backs, and hopefully in the

future branch activities will ensure that some habitat will be there so that unique Aus-

tralian species will not go ‘the way of the Dodo’.

Arkarra Lagoons, Wongi Water Holes, Cheelii Reserve and lagoon were all saved.

As well, we designed interpretive signage to be erected at some sites. Our latest ven-

ture was planting koala food trees at Woocoo Park and arranging for interpretive signs

to educate the public about wetlands and koalas. Let’s hope that when the trees are

grown, there will be koalas still living nearby.

Educational activities have included nature walks, library talks, workshops and fo-

rums, as well as youth programs being a major focus. We write many submissions,

and perhaps some of these are effective. And I mustn’t forget the wonderful selection

of wildlife cards the Branch has produced.

Certainly there have been failures, like the campaign to save the Crows Ash tree,

but much more has been achieved than not. As I sorted the many photos my negative

thoughts started to fade. Adding to this was the news that John Williams’ submission

to address the Indian Myna bird problem had been successful.

What will the world be like in 2050? No one can know for certain, but we must stay

motivated and do what we can, for as Paul Ehrlich and Robert Pringle remind us:

“The fate of biological diversity for the next 10 million years will almost certainly be

determined during the next 50-100 years by the activities of a single species.” (2008)

● Sara Gerdsen, President, Wildlife Queensland Fraser Coast Branch

Staying Motivated

5

Like many residents of the Fraser

Coast, Joan Coutts spent much

of her life in Mel-

bourne. Her involve-

ment with environ-

mental issues seems

to have commenced

when she became

an activist with Ani-

mal Liberation (Melbourne) at the

age of 19. It was there that she

honed her skills in activism with

feats like racing the retriever

dogs to dead birds during the duck shooting season in Vic-

toria.

During a distinguished career in teaching, specifically in

Early Childhood Education and early intervention programs,

Joan raised four children as well as maintaining an involvement in environmental is-

sues. During the 1960s she joined the Australian Conservation Foundation, taking part

in protests and demonstrations when she could. When nuclear disarmament became

a hot topic in the early 1980s, Joan joined the not-for-profit group People for Nuclear

Disarmament, and once again joined thousands of other people in protest against the

arms race.

Several decades ago, the ill-health of her husband was the catalyst for them to head

north, settling on a bush block at Booral: the block was later registered as a conserva-

tion area. Joan brought her passion for environment/conservation issues with her,

becoming a founding member of the local WPSQ group in 1992 and holding the posi-

tion of President for more than 10 years. She was particularly active at the time that

WPSQ had an office in the Urangan Community Centre and a shop in Main St, Pialba.

Among the many campaigns instigated by Joan were:

action to protect the endangered Illidge’s ant-blue butterfly from indiscriminate

insecticide spray at River Heads;

discouraging the sale and planting of Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia ssp.) which

Continued on page 6

You cannot get through a single day without having an

impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference,

and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

Jane Goodall

Main: Dianne Christen-

sen presenting Joan with

a photo of herself and

friends. Ted Sorensen

looks on. Inset: Joan

Coutts.

Commemorating Joan Coutts

6

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

Continued from page 5

kill larvae of the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia);

protection of the Hervey Bay bats and prevention of the relocation of the bat colo-

ny at Tooan Tooan Creek, Hervey Bay;

action against the raising of Lenthalls Dam wall;

obtaining funding for protection of turtle nesting sites at Point Vernon, including

fencing, walkways and tree planting at ESA Park to prevent street-light pollution

that was attracting hatchlings to the road where they were often run over;

the establishment of an Environment Centre to promote public education on envi-

ronment issues; and

more recently Joan’s concern for native wildlife was expressed in her being the

person on the end of a 24-hour Wildlife Animal Rescue telephone hotline.

In the early 2000s, Joan developed hip problems and received a hip replacement

which failed and had to be replaced a second time. This curtailed her activity quite a

bit since she was never able to drive again. Recently, ill health caused Joan to relo-

cate to a Lismore nursing home close to her daughter Rosanne. Over the two days of

28-29 June, Joan returned to the Fraser Coast for a ‘farewell’ by her friends and col-

leagues here.

About 25 people attended the main event held on Wednesday at ESA Park, Point

Vernon. Ted Sorensen, who was Mayor during the activity at ESA Park, came along

and helped plant a Burdekin Plum (P ) in Joan’s honour. Diane

Christensen organised a plaque for the base of the tree and a lovely print of the group

to present to Joan. Attendees included members from the present WPSQ Fraser

Coast, representatives from WPSQ Bundaberg and Hervey Bay Birdwatchers, and

Tony van Kampen (who was the Vegetation Management Officer with the Hervey Bay

City Council at the time of the ESA Park activities). The current president, Sara Gerd-

sen, invited participants to share their memories and pay tribute to Joan’s achieve-

ments.

We were blessed with beautiful weather for the day, and it was a tremendous op-

portunity for catching up with other like-minded folk. Thanks to all who were involved

in organising the day, with special thanks to Les Idiens for manning the barbeque.

People who were unable to attend on Wednesday for the official event shared a

picnic lunch with Joan and her daughter, Rosanne, at Wongi Waterholes. Wongi Wa-

terholes is significant because one of Joan’s main campaigns was against the raising

of Lenthalls Dam wall. The raising of the dam was confined to two metres instead of

the proposed six metres: six metres would have flooded the waterholes resulting in

heavy loss of wildlife habitat. Wongi Waterholes are also an historic meeting place for

the Butchulla people.

● Rodney Jones

Commemorating Joan Coutts cont.

7

Unique mammal a victim of Climate Change A 2015 article in the journal Science found that one sixth of the world’s species face

extinction due to climate change. The Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola) sad-

ly seems to be part of that one sixth. Melomys rubicola, the Great Barrier Reef’s only

endemic mammal species, could be the first mammal in the world to be wiped out by

human-induced (anthropogenic) climate change.

Bramble Cay, a small coral island which

sits just 3 m above sea level in eastern

Torres Strait, contained the only

known population of the species.

The island has been inundated

multiple times due to storm activity and ris-

ing seas resulting in the decimation of 97%

of melomys habitat and the death of a once

viable population. An extensive survey of

the cay by researchers from the Dept Envi-

ronment and Heritage Protection and the University of Queensland has declared the

rodent extinct.

Does M. rubicola occur anywhere else in the world? Highly unlikely; no other popu-

lation has been discovered in the 170 years since the first record was reported at

Bramble Cay and 90 years since the species was formally described. However, in his

description of Bramble Cay melomys in 1924, Thomas referred to a single specimen

resembling this species that was collected from an island 150 km south west of Bram-

ble Cay: the specimen could not be identified conclusively due to its poor condition.

Naturalists will now consider looking for the rodent at this location to determine if it

warrants the dubious status of ‘globally extinct’.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, leading CSIRO oceanographer and expert on sea

level change, John Church, along with more than 100 of his colleagues, was notified

of his redundancy from CSIRO earlier this year. Innovative and agile?

● Carol Bussey and Rodney Jones

Photo: Ian Bell, Queensland Government

Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola)

Range extension for Long-billed Corrella?

On an excursion to the depths of my back yard to check if I

still had a resident Indian-Ringneck Parrot (Psittacula krameri)

I spotted these two corellas. A quick check of reference books

and the internet indicated that they were Long-billed Corellas

(Cacatua tenuirostris). More surprising was that they were a

long way outside their natural distribution of SE Australia!

Cage escapees? I didn’t find the Indian Ringneck, but I’m now

more observant to check if there are any ring-ins when a flock

of Little Corellas (C. ) fly over. ● Rodney Jones

8

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

From 9 April to 8 July 2016

Communications

Wambaliman AUTUMN 2016 issue was released towards the end of April.

Audrey Sorensen has continued raising wildlife issues in our 10-minute slot on

local community radio 107.5 FM on the second Tuesday of each month.

We continue to have excellent coverage in local newspapers for the Nature Walks

program and the Nature in the Library talks at Hervey Bay Library.

Workshops, Walks and other events

Our 2016 Nature Walks program continued with a walk at Utopia on 7 May, and

Mt Benarige and the Mt Benarige Creek in St Mary State Forest on 11 June. Both

these walks were very well attended, with a record 38 people attending the Mt

Benarige walk, including lots of newcomers. As of cut-off date for the Winter issue

of Wambaliman, we look set to have another record number of participants in our

July nature walk to Mt Bauple National Park on 9 July.

Nature in the Library talks at the Hervey Bay Library included Dr Michael King

(marine biologist) in April, and Cliff Greet on Glossy Black Cockatoos in June.

Unfortunately the May talk had to be cancelled because the date was a new public

holiday that the organisers were unaware of when the talk date was selected.

We have experimented with having more market stalls (e.g. Howard on 2 July).

These have generally not been very successful.

By contrast, our stall at the Volunteer Expo at the Charles St Neighbourhood Cen-

tre was well patronised with lots of interest and sales

Vanessa Elwell-Gavins represented Wildlife Fraser Coast at the inaugural Tando-

ra Mangrove Walking Tour on Saturday 28 May, hosted by the wonderful Lindsay

(Butch) Titmarsh. Highly recommended!

Grant implementation

Our Everyone’s Environment Grant project in Woocoo Park was finally completed

and fully acquitted.

The koala sign was completed and unveiled in May, in front of a large crowd.

John Williams’ grant application to BMRG for an Indian Myna Control project was

successful and commenced formally on 1 July.

Submissions and letters

We have written a few letters, mostly raising issues around poor planning in the

Fraser Coast, including a fish kill in the Richard St lagoon system, and proposed

conversion of wallum vegetation between Maryborough and Hervey Bay to sugar

cane, as well as possible purchase of native vegetation adjacent to the Vernon

Regional Park, and the value of native vegetation around lakes and water courses

9

We have started work on a submission to the Queensland Government on its draft

Climate Action Plan.

We made a submission supporting reinstatement of the Vegetation Management

Act, which was wound back by the previous Government.

Anti-Plastics campaign

The anti-plastics message continues to be promoted to schools (in this instance

Pialba School and Tinana School) through our pantomime.

Many thanks to the members who organised a petition to the State Government in

support of a Container Deposit Scheme. Both Government and Opposition appear

likely to support such a scheme now.

Meetings and social

Some 25 people attended a farewell BBQ for our Patron, Joan Coutts, at ESA

Park on 29 June. A tree was planted in her honour and we presented her with a

memento.

The Executive met on 12 June.

General meetings were held on 10 April, 15 May, 12 June and 10 July. Guest

speakers included Tim Thornton (wearing his Friends of Burrum River hat), Cr

David Lewis who has taken up a new environmental portfolio for Council, and new

Mayor, Cr Chris Loft.

Administrative

We have finalised a MOU with Council on the flying fox wall hangings.

● Vanessa Elwell-Gavins, Secretary, Wildlife Queensland Fraser Coast Branch

10

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

On our June walk to Mt Benarige in the St Mary State Forest we were blessed with

glorious weather. Thirty nine people attended and started the walk together along the

Mt Benarige track, some four kilometres from the summit. Most of the group contin-

ued up the steep track to the summit while a smaller group accompanied Tony van

Kampen up one of the Benarige Creek gullies in search of rare and interesting plants.

The trek to the summit followed

the old track to the fire towers. We

passed through a variety of vegeta-

tion types including sandy wallum

type country along the top ridge. The view from the summit, while partially obscured

by regrowth, provides interesting vistas towards Mt Walsh, Mt Mt

Woocoo and Mt Doongul.

On the return trek a few walkers who

were still with me, after scrambling through

a thicket of Beach , were

shown the extremely rare Mountain

(known only from the summits of

Mt Benarige and Mt Woocoo).

Pre-publicity for the walk in the local

press prompted a couple of interesting

contacts. John from Maryborough had

worked on the construction of the roads for

the fire towers and had a number of old photographs to show (at 85 he was too old to

attend the walk) and two sisters from Tiaro and , who did go on the walk,

were keen to attend as their grandfather had lived on Mt Benarige.

If the mountain won’t come to the people …

Left: Some of the crowd

that gathered for the walk.

Below: the destination – Mt

Benarige.

11

The paucity of fungal records at the late 20th Century was the principal catalyst for

development of the initiative.

is a non-profit, citizen-science organisation that uses information submit-

ted by volunteer observers to map the distribution of macrofungi across Australia.

The initial list of 100 target species was based on ease of identification and generally

widespread distribution. Submitted records with basic collection information, includ-

ing photographs, are identified and added to a database maintained by .

Get involved!

http://fungimap.org.au/

If the mountain won’t come to the people … cont. Tony van Kampen led eight doughty amateur botanists along a tributary of Benarige

Creek. Conditions were perfect; cool, sunny and dry. Navigating the boulder strewn

gully, clambering under and over fallen branches, the keen group picked up tips from

Tony on identifying plant species. We screwed up leaves to smell the aroma, looked

for oil dots, examined the venation, the presence of petioles, stipules, lenticels. The

highlight was coming across a of young hoop pines which are uncommon in

this area. ● Carol Bussey

Walkers on the

summit of

Wildlife Rescue

This male Boobook Owl (Ninox boobook) crashed into a glass swimming pool fence

recently at Dundowran. The property owners heard a loud 'thud' and went to investi-

gate, whereby they found this beauty floundering on the ground! Thankfully they real-

ised he needed a hand and called for help. Happily he was only stunned with minor

concussion; a vet check to ensure his eyes were

100% and a short stint in care for some R&R, and

he was cleared to go home for release.

Boobook Owls are often referred to as 'Mopokes'

due to their call vocalisation, but their correct name

is actually Southern Boobook Owl. Did you know

Owls can rotate their heads to around 270°, the

average human can turn approximately 180°. For

most species of Raptors (birds of prey) the females

are larger than the males! ● Natalie Richardson

12

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

From Feared to Fabulous – The importance of Bats to our Environment

Historically, bats have been portrayed in a

largely negative light: as carriers of disease and

being associated with vampire lore. The idea

that bats are the transformational figure of a

blood sucking vampire is indeed intriguing but,

amongst an impressive 1,240 different species,

there are only three species of bat that feed on

the blood of other mammals.

Of course bats do indeed carry diseases such

as Lyssavirus and Hendra which are the diseas-

es that incite fear in the general public. But just

like many of the other dangerous aspects of

sharing Australia with creatures such as snakes,

spiders, sharks and scorpions, the risk can al-

ways be managed, and often the media do no favours by portraying some of our na-

tive species such as the bat as a dirty, deadly no-gooders.

Every animal on this planet plays its own important role in maintaining ecological

equilibrium, and the bat is no different. The importance of these social and intelligent

creatures to Australia’s biodiversity cannot be underestimated. We are fortunate to

host over 90 species that contribute to our incredibly beautiful and diverse landscape.

They do so by acting as long-range seed dispersers and pollinators of native plants.

The 90 or so species of bats in Australia can be roughly divided into two groups:

Microbats and Megabats. A microbat has a small wingspan of around 25 cm and its

diet consists of insects such as grub moths, mosquitoes, weevils and midges. Let’s

take a moment to thank these amazing mammals for the silent service they do each

night by keeping these pesky, biting insects in somewhat manageable populations! A

megabat, as the name suggests, has a much larger wingspan of up to one metre and

feeds on fruit, blossoms and nectar. Unlike microbats that use echolocation to navi-

gate in the dark, megabats or Flying Foxes have well developed eyes and a keen

sense of smell that helps them to locate their tucker!

Flying Foxes are perhaps the most well-known of the bat species. These are the

guys that tend to cause the most headaches in relation to crop damage and also in-

trude on our ever-so-serene town existences with their incredibly noisy house parties

officially known as ‘roosts’ or ‘camps’ that can host tens of thousands of individuals at

a time. This loud chatter is in fact extremely important communication between indi-

viduals; with up to 30 different calls, it’s fair to say they have a lot to talk about, includ-

ing the important work of finding their pup when they return home from the night’s

feed. Of course during breeding season there is much to talk about, and many battles

Batty over Bats

13

lost and won over prime roosting branches and the prettiest females.

As we lose more and more forest and roosting sites to development and agriculture,

there is a worrying trend for flying fox roosts to land right in our backyards, literally.

Urbanisation of Flying Foxes is becoming a reality and it’s important that local councils

take this into account in relation to management and future town planning schemes.

Contrary to historical folklore, a world without bats would be a very scary world in-

deed!!! ● Casey Murtagh

http://wildcare.org.au/species-information/bats/

https://www.tolgabathospital.org/links_batrescue.htm

https://www.facebook.com/wildliferescuefrasercoast/

Batty over Bats cont.

Koala pouch direction

At the Wildlife Queensland Fraser Coast meeting in

May, discussion arose on the direction of the koala

pouch. I, like many others I suspect, were subcon-

sciously questioning their knowledge on this part of

the anatomy of one of Australia’s iconic mammals.

This is the sort of thing you don’t expect to change!

Carol Bussey followed-up this issue and supplied the

following information.

From the section on koalas in The Australian Muse-

um Complete Book of Australian Mammals by Ronald

Strahan (Ed.) “the pouch of the female encloses only

two nipples and opens towards the rear”. The Australi-

an Koala Foundation’s Koala Kit for Kids says the joey

journeys to “the mother’s backward opening pouch”.

However, I notice that the AKF website NOW says the pouch opens outwards, but

that the opening is towards the bottom of the pouch and, therefore, towards the rear

of the mother. Previous descriptions said it was backward opening because the larger

joeys climb out facing the rear.

This can be seen in the photo and you can see why all the sources said that the

pouch was backward opening because the opening is facing the back end of the

mother. Still, for koala conservation it doesn’t matter which way the pouch faces!

So, this information should be kept in mind when reading the newly-installed Koala

interpretive sign at Woocoo Park. When the Koala interpretive sign is made for Pio-

neer Park we can omit the words ‘backward facing pouch’ and just use the word

‘pouch’. ● Carol Bussey

14

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

Turtles at Mon Repos under renewed threat:

killing the goose that lays the golden egg

Mon Repos Turtle Rookery near Bundaberg has long been recognised internationally

as an important nesting site for loggerhead, green, flatback and leatherback sea tur-

tles. The most common species nesting at Mon Repos being the endangered logger-

head turtle.

Since the 1960s Wildlife and Conservation groups have worked hard to protect the

turtles, and their nesting beach, including two lengthy actions in the Planning and En-

vironment Court in the 1980s to stop urban development adjacent to the beach.

Now it is not the subdivision developers we have to worry about, but the campaign

strongly supported by the North Burnett and Bundaberg Tourism body to turn Mon

Repos Turtle Centre into an eco-tourist destination complete with restaurant, cafe,

tourism shop, ‘glamping’ facilities, and turtle pools with live turtles kept in captivity for

up to 18 months supposedly to attract visitors all year round.

The turtles have long been heralded as the greatest tourist attraction for this region.

They have been credited with boosting the local economy, creating jobs, filling accom-

modation, and supporting local restaurants and cafes throughout the ‘turtle season’

from early November through to March.

That apparently is not enough as far as the State Government, Bundaberg Regional

Council and the North Burnett and Bundaberg Tourism Boards are concerned. Sup-

porting development of commercial business within a protected environmental area

takes precedence over protection of a unique endangered species.

According to scientific reports it is important for turtle hatchlings to get into the ocean

as quickly as possible, however it is now proposed to hold some turtles in captivity,

hand feed them for up to 18 months, and then release them to the ocean to survive as

best they can.

Commercialisation of Mon Repos will create more noise, more lights, and more peo-

ple trampling over the dunes and nesting areas throughout the year. Over time this

has the potential to drive the turtles to seek other quieter areas to lay their eggs, or

failure to successfully nest at all. The needs of an endangered marine species are

being sacrificed for financial gain.

A Directions Paper, Setting the Direction for Mon Repos Turtle Centre, was appar-

ently signed off by the Newman Government in June 2014, and clearly indicates that

this is part of their declared plan to open up Environmental and National Parks for

commercial operators.

The current government recently announced a grant of $10 million for an ‘upgrade’ of

Mon Repos. Seems that power brokers are still getting their own way.

● Pam Soper

15

Potential State Development Area (SDA) around the port of Bundaberg

In October 2015, the Queensland Government announced an investigation into the

possibility of establishing a SDA around the Port of Bundaberg. An analysis has been

undertaken to determine the suitability of land around the Port to support industrial

development. The analysis has included consideration of economic development op-

portunities, physical and environmental constraints, environmental and community

impacts and infrastructure requirements.

From a wildlife perspective, the main issues will be impacts on the internationally

recognised Mon Repos Turtle Rookery, including endangered Loggerhead turtles,

from dredging and industry, which has yet to be identified. Industrialisation apparently

includes construction of a rail line to the Port, and provision for the export of coal and

minerals. Other issues include:

impact on inshore coral reefs;

impacts on known migratory shorebird roost sites (Bundaberg Port waste ponds,

Barubbra Island, Skyringville Passage and sand spit extending northwards).

Some of the spit is protected as Environmental Park and Council Reserve land but

would still be affected by proposed dredging, storm water runoff and pollutants

from industry etc.;

turtles have been recorded resting within the Port entrance area between nesting events;

potential removal of mangroves;

loss of food source for waders; and

Much of the area within the proposed SDA would be wetlands.

The outcomes of the government investigation have informed a boundary for the

proposed Bundaberg SDA. Community feedback is now being sought to assist the

Queensland Government to make a decision on whether an SDA should be declared

around the Port of Bundaberg, and if so, the location of the SDA boundary.

Closing date for submissions is 25 July 2016.

● Pam Soper

Copies of the publication Investigation into the potential for a State Development Area

around the Port of Bundaberg, Information Report – June 2016, plus details of how to

make a submission, are available at the government website:

www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au or info@dsd.qld.gov.au

WILDLIFE RESCUE

Fraser Coast

for all species of native wildlife

Phone 4121 3146

16

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

Happy Valley Bush Regenerators

Following on from our 2015 CEP ant workshop, we were once again joined by

and environmental science lecturer, Dr Wayne Robinson in April.

Again he told of interesting finds, the importance of biodiversity, the role ants play in

maintaining healthy ecosystems and their amazing capacity to significantly change

ecosystems over time. We particularly focused on how the invasive ant species, Phei-

dole megacephala (coastal brown ant) interacts with native ants. Wayne's PhD project

focused on the interactions of exotic and native species on K'gari, and he keeps us

riveted with his wealth of knowledge of the island’s diverse, uniquely rich, and vulner-

able by nature, local ant species.

Over two years now we have surveyed transects Wayne has been monitoring since

2009. We found that even since 2015 Pheidole megacephala had clearly continued its

invasion and dominance in environmentally disturbed areas where native ants had

been displaced or killed through clearing and do not recolonize where the exotic in-

vader has become established. Wayne commented that the spread of these invasive

ants around Happy Valley continues, to the detriment of native ants and other insects.

This disrupts the ecological services provided by native ants and has the capacity to

change the vegetation and ecology over time. An interesting observation presently is

the apparent boom in numbers of doodlebugs or ant lion lacewings. In their early life

stages these insects prey on ants and other insects that they trap in cone shaped

traps built in the sand. Are ant lion numbers increasing with more (exotic ant) food

available?

Kingfisher Lakes Bushwackys

A hot Summer, Spring and Autumn has seen the Bushwackys hard at work with

weed management, planting and seed collecting in the bushland at the entrance to

Kingfisher Lakes Estate, which is part of the Eli Creek Catchment Area.

Compared to this time last year, the work has been much easier as so much of the

Easter Cassia has been cut down and now just needs light pruning to keep the growth

controlled. Weed control includes Corky Passion Vine, Mile a Minute, Basket Aspara-

gus Fern, Panic Grass, and numerous other plants.

A garden beside the bridge had the old dying Westringia and weeds completely

cleared and replanted with native shrubs to encourage small birds, bees and butter-

flies, plus give visibility to drivers across the bridge as the road curves. Melaleuca

thymifolia, Austromyrtus dulcis, Hibertia linearis, Philotheca queenslandica, Wallum

Bottlebrush, Westringia rosemarinifolia, Dianella caerula and a Melicope elleryana

tree were planted and supplied with mulch - all provided by the Council Nursery.

Green Army – Fraser Coast Urban Wildlife Corridor Restoration Project – Fay

Smith Wetlands

In May, the Green Army team hosted an open day for the local community to show-

case our project at Fay Smith Wetlands, Maryborough. We letter-dropped residents

from the surrounding areas, inviting them to the event, explaining the aims of the pro-

Community Environment Program Activities

17

ject, hopefully raising awareness about the importance of the Wetlands. The event

also served to raise awareness of the work done in general by the Green Army.

CEP Volunteers visit Gin Gin Landcare CEP

On Wednesday, 20 April, 12 nursery volunteers and two other CEP volunteers from

Fay Smith Wetlands were privileged to head north with Tina Raveneau and Brent

Whitworth to visit Gin Gin Landcare’s inspiring nursery and bush food garden. Ray

Johnson, Gin Gin Landcare’s very passionate coordinator, and about eight of his

members, welcomed us with a huge morning tea before we had a whirlwind tour of a

patch of planted rainforest and the nursery, and learned about their recipe for potting

mix and how they have had success soaking some hard-to-propagate seeds in battery

acid. Their plants all looked fabulous, springing out of their pots. Gin Gin Landcare’s

nursery is able to make sales to the public, in addition to assisting with more tradition-

al ‘landcare plantings’. The bushfood garden, which opened two years ago, was an

inspiration, combining native Australian bush foods with ‘bush foods’ from all around

the world. In truth, it looked more like a permaculture garden, with plants spilling out in

a riot of colour and greenery.

Tree Planting at Bunya Court

In April a hard-working team of Sea Scouts got their hands dirty helping to revege-

tate another section of previously mown grass in the parkland at Bunya Court, Eli Wa-

ters. The kids helped dig, plant and water, and also did a bit of weeding in the original

planting area. Well done Scouts!

Roving Restorers

The Roving Restorers have continued their monthly working bees in special bush-

land areas. In April we re-visited Peterson Park, Dundowran, and in May volunteers

worked in the vine forest patch on the corner of Ansons Rd and Eagle Beach Parade.

The main invasive species in both places are climbing asparagus and coral berry, so

we continued to focus on removing these. We also found large numbers of Mock or-

ange shrubs and seedlings spread throughout Peterson Park in particular – obviously

spread by birds from plants in neighbouring gardens. More community education is

needed on this one!

CEP Nursery Update

Our nursery volunteers, under the excellent guidance of Jenny continue their hard

work. Volunteers had a display at the BGANZ Open Day, held in the Botanic Gardens

in April. We supported Under 8s Day by sharing easy-to-care-for local natives to fami-

lies who attended in May, and have also supplied a large number of plants to Coun-

cil’s Natural Areas projects.

Recent extensions to our fenceline have meant that the nursery area has expanded.

We now have more space for our compost piles and other equipment, and will be ex-

tending the irrigation system to better cater for the additional plants we’ll hold.

● Various authors

Community Environment Program Activities cont.

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Wambaliman WINTER 2016

The coal mining and manufacturing city of Ipswich has developed an environmental

outlook that we here on the Fraser Coast (which boasts whale watching and the won-

ders of Fraser Island) can only envy. Every year the Ipswich City Council holds an

EnviroForum on a selected environmental subject; this year the topic was communica-

tion. What impressed me at this year’s forum was the number of women presenters

and their passion to get the message out to the world.

The messages from the day were:

be realistic;

modify your goals;

persevere; compromise if necessary;

be honest, reliable and flexible;

think laterally and appeal to people's own interests; and

encourage community stewardship.

All the talks were inspiring, but here are just two from the day.

One Million Women

One Million Women was created by the charming and vibrant Natalie Isaacs after

she was inspired to reduce her carbon footprint by Al Gore's campaign on climate

change. Surprised and pleased by the big difference she would make with simple

changes, Natalie decided to show other women how important it was and how easy it

was to do. Getting this message across to women would have a big impact since

households are predominantly run by women, and 81% of household purchases are

decided by women.

That was in 2006. Natalie thought the message was so wonderful that within a few

months she would have one million members. Now in 2016, the One Million Women

Movement has 450,000 members: not a bad feat. They have an anthem and a blog

that receives millions of hits. I see on her web page that she is now urging women to

avoid cosmetics with plastic microbeads. Good on you Natalie.

Nature Play

We all bemoan the fact that today's children do not have the freedom that we had to

explore and get to know nature: fear of abduction totally outstrips reality and leads to

over protection. Hyahno Moser said in his presentation that unstructured outdoor play-

time builds resilience and social skills in young children. A generation ago 73% of

children's time was spent outdoors; now 13% of time is spent outdoors.

Hyahno created the Nature Play program to change ‘screen time to green time’.

Nature Play is supported by the Queensland government to get modern kids outside

into parks, planting trees and so on. A Nature Play Passport has been devised with

challenges to children, e.g. climb a tree, sleep under the stars, plant a seed etc. The

child selects an avatar and completes the passport as he/she completes the activities.

EnviroForum 2016 – Environmental Communication

19

Hmmm, sounds rather organised to me! I don't think Nature Play results in the free-

dom we had as kids, which was completely unsupervised and consisted of totally non-

environmentally-correct activities such as wandering around local creeks, capturing

lizards and tadpoles and putting them in jars. This type of life is not totally gone you

know. When I lived at Howard, there were often children playing in the bed of Maria

Creek trying to catch little fish, building cubbies and generally mucking about like kids

do.

What Nature Play also does is gets Mum and Dad away from their screens and out

in nature with the children. ● Carol Bussey

EnviroForum 2016 – Environmental Communication cont.

In his document of the same title, Tim Thornton uses the example of birds to raise

awareness of the causes of decline in Australian wildlife. Tim opens with reference to

BirdLife Australia’s State of Australia’s Birds report, and then goes on to deal with

habitat destruction, predation, pollution, and climate change. Importantly, he suggests

solutions to these topics.

Under ‘Habitat Destruction’ Tim uses scenarios from the residential development

area Pacific Haven near Burrum Heads. The old culprits of feral cats and foxes are

dealt with under ‘Predation’, including the level of ignorance of the general public on

the impacts of these and domestic animals. Tim sees Pollution from such things as

chemicals and plastic as the ‘Elephant in the Room’, with the decline in insect num-

bers being the tip of the iceberg in the collapse of the food chain. A more difficult issue

is ‘Climate Change’, which Tim suggests could be altering the overall food chain, thus

affecting birds.

In the section ‘Mindset of Mankind’ Tim addresses the question of ‘Where have we

gone wrong?’. He lists a number of examples, but concludes with a plea for us ‘true

believers’ (in conservation) to fight for our native wildlife: “they have no voice of their

own”.

The article includes an extensive list of birds not seen or heard at Pacific Haven for

five years or more. You can access Tim’s article at:

http://birdlife.org.au/images/uploads/branches/documents/SQ-Warbler-Jun16.pdf

● Rodney Jones

Decline of Australian Bush Birds

20

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

At about 3 pm on 9 October 2002 I saw a small brown bird moving through the

mangroves in front of my home on the Burrum River. It was obviously a Gerygone, but

it was not a Mangrove Gerygone or a Fairy Gerygone, which are the common species

in this locality. Through the binoculars at a distance of 6–8 metres this Gerygone had

a brown back which increased in rufous (rusty coloured) across the rump, and the tail

was distinctly and completely rufous on the upper surface; there was a white mark in

front of the red eye and the underparts were pale greyish brown.

I got out the field guides (Morcombe, Simpson & Day, Pizzey & Knight), but none of

them illustrated or described this bird. After checking my observations, I found my

battered copies of Slater (broken spines, pages stuck together and separated from

being wet, covers stuck on with sticky tape) and to my amazement on p. 262 was a

Rusty-tailed Warbler, the bird before my eyes. Slater says “some doubts about locali-

ty; presumably the place to look is in the mangroves between Tully and Fraser Is.,

Qld.“

That afternoon I phoned Peter Slater who told me that the Rusty-tailed Warbler dis-

appeared from the literature in 1994 with the publication of The Taxonomy and Spe-

cies of Birds of Australia and its Territories by Christidis and Boles. Such is the might

of a taxonomist’s pen that the past, present and future of a bird can all be obliterated

with a single well considered stroke. However, Peter intends to leave the Rusty-tailed

Gerygone (Gerygone ruficauda) in the coming revised edition of his Families field

guide. This is great news, not only for the Rusty-tailed Gerygone but for Australian

ornithology, because if it takes him as long to revise this edition as it took him to re-

vise his previous two-volume field guide, he will live well into his 90s.

By chance, on 2 November 2002 I met Eric Zillmann, another noted senior ornithol-

ogist, from Bundaberg. He told me he had seen a Rusty-tailed Warbler in 1985 at

Buxton, some 5 km downstream from my home on the Burrum River.

Time and taxonomy will decide the fate of Gerygone ruficauda in the literature and

field guides of Australian birds. In the meantime, there is a Gerygone with a rusty tail

in the mangroves of the Burrum River.

Dr Tim Thornton (December 2002)

Footnote: The revised edition of The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds, Second

Edition by Peter, Pat and Raoul Slater with Sally Elmer (2009) does not include the

Rusty-tailed Gerygone.

Addendum: Several bird watchers have visited our surrounds in an effort to see this

bird. Most notable was Tony Hill from Bundaberg, who spent 4 days kayaking around

the mangroves without success. However, I saw it again in early November 2015,

almost 13 years after my first sighting. Tim (25/05/2016)

● Tim Thornton

Birds around the Burrum – A rusty tale

21

On 8 May, 2016, NSW Premier Mike Baird an-

nounced that NSW would be adopting a drink con-

tainer deposit scheme (CDS) commencing on July 1,

2017. A CDS was a recommendation of the Con-

tainer Deposit Scheme Advisory Committee, a feder-

al parliamentary committee that is investigating the

threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia.

What will be recycled? Drink containers between

150 ml and 3 L, with some exceptions, e.g. milk containers and glass containers for

wine and spirits. Drink manufacturers are required to use containers that comply with

the scheme.

How are they recycled? Consumers will receive a 10-cent refund when they return

an empty, eligible beverage container to an approved collection depot or reverse

vending machine.

What will be the effect? Drink containers made up about 44% of the volume of litter

collected in NSW in 2014-15. A major impact on litter is expected with the introduction

of the CDS. The benefits will flow-on to less plastic in the terrestrial and marine envi-

ronments.

Other benefits? Minimisation of harm to terrestrial and marine life. Reduction in the

cost of managing litter. Less unsightly litter in public areas and road verges. Reduction

in antisocial behaviour. etc.

In South Australia which has a CDS, charities and community groups raised $60

million last year with container return activities.

Congratulations NSW.

Come on Queensland!

● Carol Bussey

Container Deposit Scheme

Only 3% of water in the hydrosphere is freshwater, the other 97% being saltwater

Only 0.02% of the freshwater is held in rivers and lakes

Only 0.005% of water in rivers and lakes is available freshwater

A standard toilet flush uses up to 9 litres of water

A ten minute shower uses about 45 litres of water

Fifty glasses of water are required to produce one glass of orange juice

About half a kilogram of beef requires over 1,100 litres of water

A Thai village of 60,000 people uses 6,500 cubic litres of water per day. One golf

course in Thailand uses 6,500 cubic litres of water per day

Something to think about – H2O

22

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

Haiku from the Beach by Audrey Sorensen

Living in the Sound of the Wind: A Personal Quest for W H Hudson, Naturalist

and Writer from the River Plate by Jason Wilson.

Published 2015 by Constable & Robinson, London 309 pp. RRP $30 Canadian

Sometimes interesting books such as this biography of W H Hudson turn up on the

book bargain table. When I was a young teenager, Hudson's Green Mansions was

one of my favourite books. It was a romantic tragedy about a wisp of a girl who lived

in the trees in the Venezuelan jungle and spoke in a language like birdsong. So, it

was a pleasant surprise to come across this title Living in the Sound of the Wind on

the bargain table.

It is not a normal biography because the author, Jason Wilson, also puts a great

deal of his own life into the book. Briefly, Hudson was born of American protestant

parents who migrated to Argentina in the early 1800s. As a young boy, he lived the

hard, free horse-centric life of the gaucho: self-contained but bloodthirsty and cruel.

He shot thousands of birds, and prepared and sent 500 skins to London's Zoological

Society. Due to illness, he became bedridden and did a great deal of reading.

Hudson completely reversed his views on hunting, and campaigned actively against

shooting and against vivisection, and was a strong supporter of the Royal Society for

the Protection of Birds, becoming an early observer and documenter of Argentine

birds and their habits. At the age of 32, Hudson emigrated to England and barely sur-

vived by writing articles and books. He consorted with other well-known writers of his

time including Joseph Conrad and John Galsworthy.

The book is interesting because Wilson travels to Hudson's birthplace in Argentina,

and the first six chapters are devoted to life on the pampas, which one can compare

to early days in the Australian colonies. He also details Hudson's life in England; rela-

tions with women, literary and scientific friends and experiences with country life. Hud-

son was an imposing but largely unknowable character who only found true peace

when alone in communion with nature.

I found the book very readable and it has made me keen to search out more of W H

Hudson's books.

● Carol Bussey

Side-stepping soldiers

in blue uniforms

merely imagined

Beyond the beach

a pair of plovers

on patrol

Urangan Pier

catches a longline

of fallen stars

Wet sand mirrors

remnants of colour

escaping from sky

Sky-fire

sears the torn edges

of purple parchment

Sunset sky

frames the horizon

brightens the day

Water-colour sky

painted by the setting sun

master-piece complete

In tidal pools

a white-faced heron

strides upside-down

Against a red sky

silhouettes of sea birds

skim a silent sea

Book Review

23

Emergency tips for native animal rescue

Don’t let not knowing what to do when you come across injured native animals pre-

vent you from rescuing them. Here are some tips:

SAFE – put it somewhere safe and secure, but be sure there is adequate ventilation

(providing of course it is an animal, and only in circumstances where it is safe for you

to handle the animal yourself).

QUIET – wild animals have a heightened sense of hearing, and often smell, com-

pared to us, so minimal noise and interaction is of the essence.

DARK – this will help to calm and settle the animal, and helps to avoid stimulation and

stress.

WARM – not too hot, not too cold.

Sick, injured or orphaned baby animals may not be able to move away from a heat

source and can 'cook', so a suitable temperature needs to be considered. Do not

place a heat source directly underneath them.

(Please note: Echidnas do not require heat, nor do reptiles; keep them at room tem-

perature.)

NO FOOD OR WATER – for adult animals a small bowl of water provided is OK, but

please do not try to put water directly into their mouth. No water for babies, especially

baby birds.

Parent birds do not take water to the chicks in nest, and the young do not drink wa-

ter until after they have fully fledged. It is very easy for water to go down their airway

and for them to aspirate when people attempt to give them water.

In addition, trying to feed animals that are ill or hurt can further add to their distress,

plus they are very unlikely to want to eat in that condition.

Wrong food due to mis-identification is also a risk. We regularly see even very

'common' species wrongly identified, and inappropriate foods given. Please only feed

injured animals after discussion with a carer.

NEVER touch any species of Bat (microbats or megabats, aka flying foxes). This

is for your personal safety and for the safety of the bat. Our carers are vaccinated to

handle bats. #NoTouch=NoRisk

** Contact a carer or vet a.s.a.p. for further assistance.

(Some vets may only be available during business hours; wildlife rescue / carers are

usually available 24/7)

Wildlife Rescue Fraser Coast is a 24 / 7, 365 days, voluntary service providing rescue,

care, rehabilitation and regarding Australian native fauna, and

covering all of the Fraser Coast. The main contact number is 4121 3146.

● Natalie Richardson, Wildlife Rescue Fraser Coast

Insurance claim data shows kangaroos are behind nearly 90 per cent of animal-related collisions.

ABC News 12 July 2016

24

Wambaliman WINTER 2016

Want to join Wildlife Queensland?

http://www.wildlife.org.au/store/membership.html

or download the membership form at

http://www.wildlife.org.au/support/image/

membershipform.pdf

Membership for 1 year

$30 Individual

$45 Family / non-profit group

$20 Concession

$12.50 Youth

National Tree Day – 31 July

Cartoon by Paul Fitzgerald (polyp.org.uk). As a condition of using his cartoons, Paul

has asked that I promote his children’s book Little Worm’s Big Question at:

www.littleworm.org

The book has a review by Costa Georgiadis from ABC’s Gardening Australia.