The July newsletter rejoices upon the arrival of good rainfall. Arrangements for the AGM in August are discussed and a recently published book on plants of flood plains and woodlands of North East Victoria is featured. Photos of Regent Honeyeaters taken by Friends member Ian Cheyne can be accessed. .
Dear Friends
On a brisk winter morning nine members turned out to plant the trees at Chiltern Valley No 2 Dam. This planting was a fill-in to replace the ones lost from the last year’s planting. We thank Jan and Jenny at Sandy Creek Farm trees for donating the trees. Members were amazed at the growth of last year’s plants with all species particularly the Hedge and Golden Wattles doing well. Since the planting 20mm of rain has fallen so they should be well settled in. it proved a good gamble to change the day’s activities and trust the weather forecast of “good rain”. The team had the job finished before morning tea so it was off to Tuan Campsite for the customary bun and meeting. Thanks team! Our next task was to burn the ash trees which had been dumped some weeks ago. Neville created the base fire while the rest of us heaved the rubbish over the fence. It was a fantastic bonfire. Two enclosures are fully weeded but the third and newest one has three patches of dense weed. After discussion it was decided that the best approach was to add more newspaper and mulch rather than cause a lot of disturbance. We will do that as part of the next meeting’s work and combine it with nest box work.
In the afternoon five of us went to the Regent sites to check on proceedings. At the Howlong Road site we found 4 birds and Neville managed to photograph blue/red as it gleaned in the wattles.
At the Klotz site we ticked off a few more and to our surprise there was blue/red amongst the mob. Several of the released birds frequently fly between the two sites and this one did it in the space of half an hour.<p>
Anyone who visits the sites and manages to get a good look at the colour bands is asked to record them and let me know as there are a couple of birds seen only infrequently and you may be the one who gets the sighting. No prizes! Monitoring officially finished on Friday June 27th . Ongoing monitoring is being undertaken every second day. Anyone who would like to assist can call Sarah on : 0427 619962
Around the park
Still no sightings of Swift Parrots but it is possible they could visit on their return trip from the north so keep an eye out for them.
Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are being spotted every now and then and Black-chinned, White-naped, Yellow-tufted and Fuscous are recorded daily. Throughout the intensive monitoring of the Regents over the past 10 weeks there have been no reports of Painted Button-quail which is rather disturbing as the sites we are watching are regular haunts for these delightful little ground dwellers.
Orchids and fungi should feature in the next two months having been boosted by the early July rain.
It has been disappointing to find further rubbish dumped at the Tuan site, this time in the form of old carpet, lino and tiles from someone’s renovations! The papers under the lino were dated 1942!!!
AGM Speaker
There has been a change of speakers for the September AGM. Matt Cameron has kindly agreed to replace Jerry Alexander who is taking a visit to Canada.
Matt Cameron has worked in the field of natural resource management for nearly 20 years, with a particular emphasis on threatened species conservation. He has undertaken research on a range of species groups including invertebrates, waterbirds, reptiles, raptors and cockatoos. For his PhD, he studied the ecology of Glossy Cockatoos in central NSW. His book “Cockatoos” was recently published by CSIRO Publishing. He is currently based in Albury, where he is employed by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change.
A new book
Flood Plain and Woodland Plants of N. E. Victoria written by Helen and Peter Curtis and published by the Wangaratta Urban Landcare Group. Cost: $12 posted $16 It is available at Collins Bookshops.
This book is A4 spiral bound. Plants are divided into 4 categories.It describes and ID’s 56 native plants and 79 weeds. There are 338 colour images.Each weed described has treatment for its control detailed.
This is a practical field guide based on 12 years of experience at Kaluna Park in Wangaratta and we congratulate members Helen and Peter for their commitment.
Rainfall for June 16.4 mm over 9 days. Yearly total: 270.8 mm over 38 days.
NEXT MEETING: SUNDAY AUGUST 3rd MEET AT CHILTERN POST OFFICE AT 9.00AM
Nest box modification and checking. Weeding and adding more mulch to the enclosures at Tuan Campsite. Contact Eileen 03 57 261 484 Byo lunch, chair, binocs. Gloves, bucket and shovel.
FRIENDS OF CHILTERN NATIONAL PARK inc MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
P.O. Box 60 CHILTERN 3683 To assist, please mark the envelope Membership.
Friends have achieved a great deal during the past year. Surveys for plants, birds and monitoring, replacing and erection of new mammal boxes, tree planting and weed control are just some of our contributions. Your support for our activities is valued and your membership renewal is vital to our cause. Membership expires on June 30th. Please ensure your contact details are current. Thank you.
Please find enclosed my membership of $10 for 2008-9 The fee covers the whole family and includes 11 newsletters.
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