Spangled Drongo at the Eco-Corridor (photo: Peter Storer)
With National Tree Day (NTD) 31 July fast approaching and plenty of moisture still in the soil, this a great time to consider planting some native trees at your place. The Eco-Corridor showcases almost 150 of our local tree species, including rainforest trees, which are suitable for landholders near creeks or rivers, and eucalypts and wattles for those in drier areas.
MBRC Bushcare held a community planting on the river bank at the Eco-Corridor on NTD in 2018 (this year they will be at Strathpine, Deception Bay and Mango Hill), but this area was extensively flattened in the 2022 floods and we’re waiting to see how it recovers. In recent months, we have extended this riverbank revegetation southwards. At the June monthly bushcare session, our volunteers planted a further 180 rainforest trees, building on the work we started in April. This new section, which juts into the remnant, is much larger than we had anticipated before it was cleared, and, on the recommendation of Council Bushcare officers, this will become our next major planting zone P4 (rather than the area by the track to the waterhole). This strategic change means that we will continue working our way southwards along the Eco-Trail from the Bowls Club, rather than ‘by-passing’ this section as originally planned. We can’t mulch on the river bank, so weed control in P4 will be a big focus over the next two years until we get canopy closure.
In May, our birdwatchers recorded 50 bird species during the monthly survey. Highlights included watching a pair of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos foraging noisily in hillside planting P3 and seeing two raptors soaring overhead (Whistling Kite and Grey Goshawk). The most magical moment, though, was seeing a platypus at the waterhole. It looked just like a small floating log at first, then it suddenly swam and dived.
Our June bird survey resulted in 53 bird species. Fairywrens were a big highlight, with all three local species seen together in a mixed party at the top of the hill: Superb, Red-backed and Variegated. The clear morning looked promising for raptors, which didn’t disappoint, with Square-tailed Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Brown Goshawk and Wedge-tailed Eagle all soaring overhead. In breaking news, a female Regent Honeyeater has recently been seen feeding on fruiting Psychotria in rainforest zone P2, bringing the total number of birds recorded at the Eco-Corridor to 149 species. Who will find the 150th?
You can contact us via email (ecocorridor@gmail.com) or follow our Facebook (www.facebook.com/EcoCorridor/) or Instagram pages.
Peter Storer