Welcome to July 2021!

 Dear all

It is [Covid willing] a busy month for our local branch of Birdlife.

As usual we have a variety of outings and events.

The first is a display in the Living Gardens section of the Nambour Garden Expo, a three-day annual event occurring on the 9, 10, 11 July at the Nambour showgrounds. Robyn Combes is the organiser on our behalf and if you are willing to assist please email her at robyn.combes62@gmail.com 

Second is a mid-week outing to Yandina Creek Wetlands on the Wednesday 14 July with Carolyn Scott.  The outing will begin at the car park at the eastern end of River Road [between Yandina and Coolum] at 8am. This is a great opportunity to visit the wetland in cool mosquito-free conditions! If you would like to read a brief description of the YCW and its history please visit Greg Robert’s blog;   http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com/2020/05/yandina-creek-wetland-open-to-public.html

Carolyn can be contacted at carolynascott@bigpond.com and, as usual, please bring a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, folding chair, morning tea. Summarised details are below.

Third is a Beginners’ Bird Walk to be held at Wappa Dam on the Saturday morning after our Living Garden display. Please encourage any friends who would like to begin learning more about birds and birding. The walk is hosted by a few of our experienced birders and the full details are below.

Fourth is a weekend outing to a private property in the Reesville area near Maleny on Saturday 24 July. This property is having important work on it from the Hinterland Bushlinks; so our visit should be good for birds but also an excellent opportunity to find out about the excellent conservation work being undertaken by Suzie Duncan and her Bushlinks crew. Again full details below.

Lastly, and strictly speaking not a July activity as it is on the first of August, is National Tree Day [ https://treeday.planetark.org/about/ ]. There is not a formal activity we are undertaking however, in the future per haps we should… I would like to encourage all members to plant a native tree or shrub or two or many and to encourage as many as their friends, family and acquaintances to do the same. Our urban areas need to developed to become as important for biodiversity as possible. The planting of locally native plant species including a variety of plant forms are really important to provide habitats for a variety of faunal types. A list of Sunshine Coast nurseries specialising in local native plants can be found below.

JULY – WEDNESDAY - MID WEEK OUTING 

Leader/s and contact details – Carolyn Scott carolynascott@bigpond.com  

Location – Yandina Creek Wetlands

Location –  Car Park at eastern end of River Road [between Yandina and Coolum]

Date –  14 July, 2021

Time – [beginning] – 8 am

Time – [ending -estimated] – c. 10am with bird call

What to bring – hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, folding chair, morning tea. 

Other details – http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com/2020/05/yandina-creek-wetland-open-to-public.html

JULY – BEGINNING BIRDING WALK

Leader/s and contact details – John Kooistra / Vince Lee albatross4560@gmail.com / Russell MacGregor 

Location – Wappa Dam

Location –  Meeting near the facilities at 8am.

Date – Saturday, 17 July

Time – [beginning] – 8 am

Time – [ending -estimated] – c. 9am with bird call

What to bring – hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, folding chair, morning tea. 

Other details – Beginners only. Members are only invited if they are bringing beginning birders. 

Beginners, please bring your birding questions!!!

This site features a variety of wetland species and common woodland birds. There are toilets on site. 

JULY – SATURDAY OUTING

Leader/s and contact details – Ken Cross friarbird43@bigpond.com

Location – Property ‘The Book Farm’ 8 Rees Lane, Reesville. [Hinterland Bush Links]*

Date – 24 July, 2021

Time – [beginning] – 8 am

Time – [ending -estimated] – c. 9am with bird call

What to bring – hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, folding chair, morning tea. 

Other details: https://www.hinterlandbushlinks.org/ 

National Tree Day – 1 August, 2021 - https://treeday.planetark.org/about/ 

Coolum Community Native Nursery

157 Warran Road, Yaroomba

Ph: (07) 5473 9322

Coolum Natives website - info@coolumnatives.com 

Mooloolah Native Nursery

Holcim Site, Steve Irwin Way, Glenview

Ph: (07) 5494 5074

Mooloolah Waterwatch and Landcare website 

Florabunda Native Nursery

(First driveway) Laidlaw Road, Woombye

Ph: (07) 5442 1339

Florabunda Bushcare website - florabundabushcare@bigpond.com  

Barung Landcare Nursery

26 Porters Lane, Maleny

Ph: (07) 5494 3151

Barung Landcare website - nursery@barunglandcare.org.au 

 

STEPS Nursery

9 George Street

Caloundra Qld 4551

Ph: (07) 5436 6023

STEPS Nursery website - lisab@stepsgroup.com.au 

NOOSA & DISTRICT LANDCARE

RETAIL NURSERY @ the HinterHub

Address: Station St, Pomona (opposite the bakery)

Hours: : Open to the public for plant sales, locally made artisan gifts, and an extensive book list

8.30-3.30pm Monday-Friday & 8am-1.30pm Saturday

Contact: Belinda Wedlock (Manager) or Keira McGrath (Assistant Manager) hinterhub@noosalandcare.org or 07 5485 2468.

Fairhill Nursery near Yandina is a nursery specialising in Australian native plants but they are not exclusively locally native species. https://www.fairhill.com.au/ 

NEXT MID WEEK OUTING WITH BIRDLIFE SUNSHINE COAST

Leader/s and contact details – Carolyn Scott carolynascott@bigpond.com

Location – Yandina Creek Wetlands

Location – Car Park at eastern end of River Road [between Yandina and Coolum]

Date – 14 July, 2021

Time – [beginning] – 8 am

Time – [ending -estimated] – c. 10am with bird call

What to bring – hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, folding chair, morning tea.

Other details – https://www.unitywater.com/about-us/projects-in-your-area/major-projects/yandina-creek-wetland

OUTING REPORT: IMBIL - BROOLOO RAIL TRACK

Striated Pardalote

This was our first outing to this site, the Mary River Rail Trail, near Imbil in the Mary Valley. The bird walk was initially planned for 2020, after a tip off, from the Gympie Field Naturalists. The 2020 walk like much of 2020, you may remember, was cancelled due to Covid. The 2021 walk went ahead with many patting their arms proudly where they have recently received their Covid shot. Hopefully these injections will light a way to a perfectly normal 2022...  

The trail covers a distance of 4 and a half kilometres one way from Imbil to Brooloo and, as its name suggests, is located on an extinct rail line. The tracks and sleepers have been removed making it an excellent surface for bikers, walkers and birders.  Balking at the 9 kilometre round trip the plan was that we would walk out for an hour or so and then stroll back for a cuppa and bird call.

juvenile Chestnut breasted Munia

It was an 8 am start for this, our first official winter walk and nearly 25 birders ventured west to Imbil for our walk along the old train line. The walking was easy and flat but the wind was strong and cold and many praised themselves for the inclusion of a decent coat in their morning's packing. Originally I thought that the wind might affect the birds and the birding but in the event we could not complain with some 80 species being recorded.

Many thanks to Lionel Muir, from the Gympie Field Naturalists, who recommended the site to our club and who joined us today for the outing. And [ESPECIALLY] to Vince Lee who lead the walk this morning and conducted the oh-so-important bird call.

The list is below;

Tawny Frogmouth

Photos by Gary Jeffers

GARDEN EXPO JULY 2021

 JULY – NAMBOUR GARDEN EXPO – 09 / 10 / 11

Volunteers required! Please contact Robyn Combes if interested.

Robyn Combes <robyn.combes62@gmail.com>

Each year our Sunshine Coast branch runs an information stand at the Nambour Garden Expo on behalf of Birdlife Australia. We are positioned with other 'like-minded' groups that together promote the appreciation and understanding of our wonderful fauna. Obviously we would like to encourage people to understand and value birds, learn about them, consider ways to assist in their conservation and, perhaps, become bird watchers and join Birdlife Australia. 

To assist in this plan we need some people who are willing to talk the bird talk for a couple of hours on one of the dates above. 

We will be running a Beginning Bird Walk, BBW,[on the following weekend - 17 July] which we hope will be attended by some of the Expo visitors. If you do volunteer please remember to give this free walk a plug!

Great thanks to Robyn Combes who has organised this event each year for the past several. Thanks, in advance, for any and all of our volunteers. And, finally, thanks to Vince Lee, John Kooistra and Russel MacGregor, for agreeing to help run the Bird Walk.

Details of the BBW below; 

JULY – BEGINNING BIRDING WALK

Group – Sunshine Coast

Leader/s and contact details – John Kooistra / Vince Lee albatross4560@gmail.com / Russell MacGregor

Location – Wappa Dam

Location –  Meeting near the facilities at 8am.

Date – Saturday, 17 July

Time – [beginning] – 8 am

Time – [ending -estimated] – c. 9am with bird call

What to bring – hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, folding chair, morning tea.

Other details – Beginners only. Members are only invited if they are bringing beginning birders.

Beginners please bring your birding questions!!!

This site features a variety of wetland species and common woodland birds. There are toilets on site.

Outing Report, Woondum NP Sat. 29th May

 A later but nonetheless chilly start to Saturday's field outing greeted 21 members and visitors(5) at the southern entrance of Woodnum NP west of Cooran. This was the first ever visit by our group to this NP (which straddles the boundary between the Noosa and Gympie local authority areas) and is generally believed to be an under-birded area. So it was ripe for exploration by the 18 participants who'd never previously visited. We took a track which ran roughly parallel to the southern boundary, starting in dry eucalyptus.woodland which gradually descended to mixed rainforest gullies with quite tall Flooded Gum. We utilized Steve and Carol Popple's local knowledge of the park with them leading from the front whilst the nominated leader lead from behind.

        Many of the birds choose to present themselves high in the canopy, making identification and photography an often lengthy and neck-straining exercise. But persistence was rewarded with some excellent views of perched Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, and for a lucky few a single Eastern Spinebill and male Mistletoebird feeding in the same mistletoe clump. Four pigeon species were recorded with the only raptors a pair of overflying Grey Goshawk. The most abundant species recorded (more heard than seen) were Bell Miner (20), with Dusky ,Scarlet, Lewin's, White-throated, White-naped ,Yellow-faced and Noisy Friarbird completing the honeyeaters. Parrots were well represented with both Rainbow and Scaly-breasred Lorikeets, Galah, King Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Pale-headed Rosella seen or heard.Only one species of cuckoo was heard, Shining Bronze, and surprisingly only a single Eastern Yellow Robin was seen. Eastern Whipbirds called from the undergrowth whilst Beown Gerygone and Brown Thornbill favoured the upper canopy..

      Towards the end of the walk, the lagging group spent some time inspecting the trunk of a large eucalyptus tree on which were numerous scratch marks. Discussion favoured Lace Monitor but Koala was also a possibility for some of the marks as Steve and I had seen one close-by this tree a year ago.

      A pleasant morning tea was taken back at the cars where bird call revealed 43 species had been recorded on the walk. This NP is well worth considering for spring and summer visits when the birds will be more active.

Russ Lamb