January Outing 2017 - Early Morning Bird Walk

Knehr Rd - western end of Lake Wyaralong

Fassifern Field Naturalist members
at Lake Wyaralong (in winter.)

Date: 21^st January 2017

Arrive: 6 am – the best time to catch the birds and beat the heat.

Upon arrival, please register by signing the Attendance Book and pay the $2 per person participation fee.

Directions from Boonah: drive along the Ipswich/Boonah Road for approximately 7 km and turn right onto the Beaudesert/Gold Coast Road, drive 4.4km then turn left onto Old Beaudesert Road (western end). Drive 0.6kms then turn right onto Knehr Road. Drive 0.9km and then turn right, follow this section of road which goes over a flood causeway for another 0.9 km. Turn right again and follow the track down to the gate at the western end of the trail and dam. Meet here.

Directions from Beaudesert: Look for the Old Beaudesert Road turn off just towards the end of the new section of the Beaudesert/Boonah Road (approximately 28 km from Beaudesert). Turn right here and follow the instructions above.

Knehr Road is gravel, some small hills and winding parts to the road, however suitable for 2-wheel drive vehicles except after heavy rain. Check with us closer to the day of the field trip if concerned.

Level of Fitness: The Shoreline Track is not strenuous and is classified as easy by seqwater. The track is regularly maintained and gently undulating. 

Bring: morning tea (or breakfast), chair, snacks, drinks, binocs, camera, hats and plenty of sun screen and insect repellent.  

Outing Report - Insect Symposium, November 2016

We had a great time. Thanks to Peter and Barry for organizing the symposium.

Trays of water insects

Insects under the microscopes

Lunch in the shed

November Outing - Insects Symposium

The November outing, Saturday 19th, is an opportunity to learn a little more about the insects in our area. This is to be held at a private property so please check your newsletter for details. Otherwise contact us through our blog email: fassifernfieldnaturalists[at]gmail.com.

Our respected member, Barry, will open up the fascinating world of insects and also provide members and guests with the opportunity to inspect different insects up close with the aid of microscopes.

Members are encouraged to bring along any insects, photos and stories about insects (or anything else) to share with everyone present. 

It is also a social time for members to catch up after their travels. Come for morning tea, and stay to be entertained.

Don’t forget your cameras, insect repellent (to get the critters for further research!!!)

Moths, or ....

.... bees, or ....

.... beetles. Whatever takes your fancy.

Goomburra National Park - October camp

Due to the number of members away on their own adventures, it was a small group of Field Nats who gathered at Manna Gum campground. However we still had a great time on our walks and around the campfire.

The camp in the cool morning

Red-necked Pademelon just outside the caravan door

Field nats photographing massive fungi
on the Mt Castle Lookout track

Paper Daisy on the Winder Track

Tangled vines on the Sylvester's Lookout track

Outing Report - Flagstone Creek, Coochin, September 2016

After the preliminaries and a short chat on the area, we walked up the track to an internal fence line where Keith spoke of the geology of the area and the work he has done with the local landholders through the Scenic Rim Regional Council.  Des spoke of the early days of a local family growing crops for sale on top of the hills near a cliff line, which is accessed up Black Rock Road. Des and John used to live immediately west of this area in their younger days and Des gave us an interesting chat on the people and pursuits of the area while we had our lunch. Around 43 birds were recorded on the day as well as other fauna and plenty of interesting flora. 

The floodplain of Flagstone Creek, Coochin

Tiny webs glistening in the morning dew

A web close up

Mt Asplenium to Spicer's Peak (left to right)

Dogwood (Jacksonia scoparia) and Leptospermum variabile

Round Ant Eater (Omoedus orbiculatus)

Keith with Rusty Pomaderris (Pomaderris ferruginea) and Leptospermum variabile

Clambering up the rock face

Species List: compiled by the Club Recorder from members’ sightings.

Beetle: Variable Ladybird (Coelophora inaequalis)

Birds: Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Rainbow Lorikeet, Musk Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Pheasant Coucal, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Red-backed Fairy-wren, White-browed Scrubwren, White-throated Gerygone, Spotted Pardalote, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Little Friarbird, Striped Honeyeater, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Leaden Flycatcher, Eastern Yellow Robin, Golden-headed Cisticola, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Mistletoebird, Double-barred Finch, Red-browed Finch.

Butterflies: Lesser Wanderer (Danaus chrysippus), Wanderer (Danaus plexippus).

Damselflies: Wandering Ringtail (Austrolestes leda); immature male – a pale tan colour, and adult male - blue.

Dragonflies: Scarlet Percher (Diplacodes haematodes); one male, Black-faced Percher (Diplacodes melanopsis); one male.

Moth: Triangular Moth (Epidesmia chilonaria).

Skink: Wall Skink (Cryptoblepharus virgatus).

Spiders: Wolf Spider sp., Round Ant Eater (Omoedus orbiculatus).

Evidence of species: Orts (food scraps) only - Glossy Black-Cockatoo, bandicoot diggings – possibly Northern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus), scats only Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), wallaby tracks - unknown species.

Flora (just some that were discussed on the walk): On the floodplain soil – Moreton Bay Ash (Corymbia tessellaris), Grey Gum (Eucalyptus punctata), Small-leaved Fig (Ficus obliqua), Black Tea-tree or River Tea-tree (Melaleuca bracteata) with mistletoe that attracted the Mistletoebird, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, and a Shining-bronze Cuckoo. On the rocky slopes – Smooth-branched Ironbark (Eucalyptus dura), Queensland Peppermint (Eucalyptus exserta), Cheese Tree (Glochidion ferdinandi), Dogwood (Jacksonia scoparia), Leptospermum microcarpum - no common name, Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus), Rusty Pomaderris (Pomaderris ferruginea). 

September Outing - Flagstone Creek, Coochin Coochin

A gathering of Field Nats, at the last outing. See you at Flagstone Creek.

Meeting Place:  Park your cars 50 metres inside the gate at 1719 Boonah-Rathdowney Road which is on the left going south from Boonah. There will be a marker put in place before the flood-way sign just before Flagstone Creek. (If you go through Flagstone Creek causeway then you’ve gone too far.)

Time:  8.30 am for a 9.00 am start. Upon arrival, please register in the Attendance book and pay the $2 per person participation fee.

Level of Fitness: Another outing for everybody. This field trip is on level knee-high grassland and a creek bed of flattish rock with a gentle upward slope.  Two barbed wire fences need to be negotiated. We’ll see the local birds, flora, fauna, insects, butterflies and the Scenic Rim in the western distance.

Planned Activities: We’ll walk a vehicle track initially – go along a fence line to the creek then along the side of the creek on the northern side which should be good for seeing the birds – through a barbed wire fence then along the side of the creek again and on another track to the bed of the creek. –this could be the morning tea stop – then “up the creek” on flattish rock with some careful stepping on some slippery areas – through the fence across the creek and up a little further until we junction with another creek – from there on it gets a little too rough with no real benefit for us. When we come out of the creek on the way out, we’ll take a slightly different route after we’ve gone back through the barbed wire fence. The trip should be around 2.5 km.

Carry morning tea with you and we’ll return to the vehicles for lunch. There are no after lunch plans so we could take our time and have a late lunch.

We have permission from the three landholders.

What to bring: Morning tea, lunch, water, binocs, cameras, and your favourite repellents & sunscreens.  Also your tables and chairs for lunch.

Outing report - Secret Valley, June 2016

Saturday's walk: the red path being outbound while some members took the higher, green path back to the cars.

It was a beautiful day for the June outing: warm with no wind and a clear blue sky making it ideal for walking in the bush. The track to the valley is 2.5 kilometres of the Shoreline Trail on the northern side of the lake. We spent a little time at the Eastern Trailhead car-park where we saw plenty of birds along the dam wall and in the car park, and an unusual fungi in the garden bed.

Birdwatching in the eucalypt woodland

The winding track beside the lake is gently undulating and passes through mixed eucalypt woodland. The Spotted Gums (Corymbia maculata) were in flower and the groundcover, Winter Apple (Eremophila debilis), was fruiting. 

No frogs, lizards or mammals were seen on the day, however our fauna list totalled 50 species of birds and one butterfly. 

BIRD LIST FOR SECRET VALLEY 

Brown Quail, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead, Australasian Grebe, Common Bronzewing, Bar-shouldered Dove, Australasian Darter, Great Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Australian Pelican, Eastern Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, White-faced Heron, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Whistling Kite, Brahminy Kite, Dusky Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Masked Lapwing, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Azure Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Variegated Fairy-wren, Striated Pardalote, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Australian Magpie, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Restless Flycatcher, Magpie-lark, Jacky Winter, Tawny Grassbird, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Australasian Pipit. 

BUTTERFLY: Wanderer.

Outing Report - Mt French, August 2016

FFNC members investigating the flora and fauna on the Mt French escarpment

Considering rain was forecast it was more members than expected who assembled in the Mt French car-park. We had to jostle for parking spaces with the large numbers of rock-climbers attempting the Frog Buttress cracks. Before we left the car-park Keith pointed out the Eucalyptus dura, also known as the Smooth-branched Ironbark, or Gum-topped Ironbark, which is fairly uncommon but found on the peaks in our area.

Nats in the Mt French heath

Mt French is always a botanist's delight and it wasn't long before we were scattered along the Mee-bor-rum Circuit track as people stopped to discuss and identify plants. Unfortunately the Moogerah Pea (Bossiaea rupicola) had finished flowering and there were only occasional blooms to be seen.

Moogerah Pea (Bossiaea rupicola) - a lone flower.

However there were acacias in full flower and Wonga Vine (Pandorea pandorana) was tumbling down the rocky escarpment in a shower of creamy bells. Hoya australis was also climbing over the rocks and up the trees, and Hibiscus heterophyllus bushes were clinging to the edge but neither were flowering at this time of the year. Many of the Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea sp.) were in flower, and Keith spotted scratchings on one of the stems which looked as if they could have been made by a small glider. The native bees also enjoy the nectar and were buzzing around the tall spikes.

                     

Morning tea was back at the picnic tables then we set off for the North Cliff walk and the stupendous view at Logan's Lookout.

Kalbar from Logan's Lookout on Mt French

The habitat is quite different in this section though similar to the car-park and camping area. Young Celery Wood (Polyscias elegans) and Kurrajong (Brachychiton sp) were noted by the side of the track.

      

It was back to the picnic tables for lunch, and time to recap on what we had observed, catch up with members we don't always see on our outings and cheer our decathlon winner in the Games. (Some people can't live without their gadgets!) The group split up after this with some members heading home and others going to the lower section of the national park.

              

The ground was damper here and the track was littered with tiny yellow fungi and Pale Sundew (Drosera peltata). We searched the leaf litter for native ground orchids and though we saw leaves of some varieties it was a little early for their flowers. In the dry creek bed we found Lacy Wedge Fern (Lindsaea microphylla).

                

Certainly a day for the botanists.

Des, cleaning his boots to help eradicate the Phytophthora cinnamomi or Root Rot, a mold which infects native vegetation.
Heathlands and dry Eucalypt forest are particularly at risk.  

Birds:

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Laughing Kookaburra, White-throated Treecreeper, Spotted Pardalote, Lewin's Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Scarlet Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Australasian Figbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Silvereye, Mistletoebird

Butterflies:

Black Jezebel (Delias nigrina)

Skinks:

Wall Skink (Cryptoblepharus virgatus)

Spiders:
Leaf Curling Spider (Phonognatha graeffei), egg sacs of the Magnificent Spider (Ordgarius magnificus)

Outing Report - Eagleby Wetlands, July 2016

Fassifern Field Naturalists Club members on the Eagleby Wetlands boardwalk

Condensed from the report by our leader, Noela.

A small group of 10 Field Nats braved the overcast skies and showery forecast to take part in the walk on the tracks and boardwalks of the Eagleby Wetlands.                                                    
The Paperbarks (Melaleuca quinquenervia) and (Melaleuca sieberi) had just finished their flowering but a number of the Eucalypts were in full flower. The melodic calls of the Scarlet Honeyeaters could be heard throughout the network of tracks and their red and black plumage was clearly visible as they fed amongst the white eucalypt flowers. A highlight was the number of wrens seen flitting around in the lower vegetation and grassland. The plumage of the male Red-backed and Superb Fairy wrens was brilliant even in the dull light of a heavily clouded day. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                   
The Albert River walk produced a few more birds and the open spaces gave us clear views to the skies to observe the magnificent White-bellied Sea Eagle and the Brahminy Kite as they sailed overhead. Peter pointed out to the group a large clump of Needle-leaf Mistletoe which had attached itself to a Casuarina and mimicked the host’s foliage. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Fauna list

Birds:          

Aust. Brush Turkey, Australian Wood Duck, Grey Teal, Pacific Black Duck, Australasian Grebe, Crested Pigeon, Bar-shouldered Dove, Aust. Darter, Little Pied Cormorant, Aust. Pelican, Eastern Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, White-faced Heron, Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Purple Swamphen, Dusky Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Masked Lapwing, Galah, Long-billed Corella, Little Corella, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Pheasant Coucal, Azure Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Superb Fairy Wren, Red-backed Fairy Wren ,Variegated Fairy Wren, Mangrove Gerygone, White-throated Gerygone, Striated Pardalote, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin’s Honey-eater,Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Varied Honeyeater, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike Thrush, Olive-backed Oriole, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Willy Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Magpie Lark, Eastern Yellow Robin, Tawny Grassbird, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Fairy Martin, Mistletoebird, Double-barred Finch, Red-browed Finch, 1 Unidentified Raptor, 1 Unidentified Tern, 1 Cage Escapee Parrot  (Indian Ringneck)  69 species     

Butterflies: Black Jezebel

July Outing - Eagleby Wetlands

Birdwatching at Eagleby Wetlands

Meeting Place: The Eagleby Wetlands Conservation Reserve, Logan Street, Eagleby. Park in the car-park near the Information Board. 

When: 8.45 am or before, to leave the car park at 9.00 am, 16th July 2016

What to bring: Hats, sunscreen, insect repellent, binocs, cameras, etc., water, morning tea, lunch and chairs.

Owlet Nightjar photographed at the Wetlands

Level of fitness: The Reserve is accessed by numerous tracks and boardwalks to cover fully the variety of habitats. All of the walks are easy and flat but wetland conditions will be influenced by the current dry unless recent rain has fallen. 

Planned Activities: Walking the boardwalks and tracks to check flora, fauna, birds and butterflies and anything else along the way. 


The Eagleby Wetlands Conservation Reserve comprises a cluster of re-claimed wetland reserves abutting a water treatment plant on the Albert River, and is located on the northern end of Eagleby, between the Logan and Albert Rivers. The reserve has a number of wetlands representing various ecosystems which include – shallow enclosed bodies of water, a mangrove lined river influenced by tides, and areas of restored forest. Varied bird habitats are situated in the reserve such as melaleuca and brackish swamps, woodland, mangroves, adjacent cane fields and open grassland. 

Upon Arrival: Please register in the Attendance Book and pay your $2 per person participant fee.