Wildlife cameras monitoring the two Tree Troff Koala Drinkers are showing a diversity of animals visiting for water.
Birds in particular are frequent visitors showing the importance of providing water for our urban wildlife. Create and register a Pollinator Link garden providing Water, Food and Shelter for Birds, Butterflies and Bees.
SPROMISESPROMISERainbow Lorikeets, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Australian Magpies
Koalas Phascolarctos cinereus and Common Brushtail Possums Trichosurus vulpecula are also using the water source.
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The cameras also picked up some unwelcome visitors with two European Red Fox Vulpes vulpes cubs playing below the Tree Troff at 2am.
You can report feral animals like foxes or cats on the BCC website.
When leaf moisture is not high enough, this can lead to dehydration and large-scale mortality events as koalas are forced to search the ground for alternative water sources, exposing them to additional threats such as cars and dogs. Conditions in which koalas will need to search for water are only expected to increase in frequency due to climate change. (Watkins, A, Schlagloth, R. and Santamaria, F. (2021) Qld Naturalist 59 (1-3))
Koalas and other wildlife living in urban Island Habitats like Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve are particularly vulnerable as access to water requires crossing busy roads and facing dogs in backyards.
Last year I spent an interesting morning with farmer Robert Frend of Wildsip who showed me the evolution of the Tree Troff starting with the very first drinker that was simply strapped to the tree.
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Early evolution of Koala drinker
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Supported by research with wildlife cameras observing Koala behaviour the drinker evolved through many versions trialling solar powered pumps and different platforms to finally arrive at an innovative designed, engineer certified and professionally built water for wildlife solution.
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Alan driving stakes to hold the Tree Troff in place.
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Our 2020 Koala Drinker Research Project demonstrated the value of providing water for wildlife, for example, six thousand visits by birds in six months. WIRES generous gift of two Tree Troffs and support from Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (B4C) providing refill services means we are able to create a long term water for wildlife solution for our Reserve.
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The first Tree Troff is installed in the Fox Gully Bushcare site at the junction of the Geebung and Federation Tracks. Bushcare team members Phil Girle and Alan Moore worked with me to assemble and erect the Tree Troff.
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Seton Ball Valve Lockout Devices
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The Tree Troff tank will be filled from ground level with high pressure pump which also allows the water trough to be flushed to clear leaves and mozzie larvae. Installation in a public space has required some modifications to reduce temptation to tamper. Seton Ball Valve Lockout Devices provide a simple way to lock the taps.
Cameras will be installed to monitor wildlife use to provide further evidence to support deployment of water for wildlife solutions in Brisbane parks and Bushcare sites.
2020 has been a difficult year with most of our Bushcare events cancelled. So I decided to check in with our partner “nature” to see what has been happening while we have been distracted by a COVID pandemic.
2016 National Tree Day planting expanded the previous year’s planting of small forest bird habitat. A combination of Habitat Tripods and insect attracting plants to feed Fairy Wrens.
Our 2017 National Tree Day site was a closed car park blocked off and overgrown with weeds. Cleared of weeds, mulched and replanted the site is starting to regenerate healthy habitat for Koalas and small forest birds. .
The 2018 National Tree Day site needed special preparation because the large amount of asbestos (fibro) dumped there. The BCC Habitat Brisbane team organised professional asbestos removal contractors to clear the site. We then covered the site in a thick layer of cardboard fridge boxes from Harvey Norman. The cardboard was then covered in mulch and planted so any residual asbestos will be locked in by plant roots.
2019 National Tree Day was restoration of a very degraded area where BCC contractors had cleared a large area of Lantana Lantana camara. Plants were chosen to maintain the view while restoring native habitat. The special site has an amazing view out to the Bay Islands hence the track name: Eastern Outlook Track. A great spot to sit and enjoy the winter morning sun.
National Tree Day 2020 had to be cancelled however the BCC Natural Areas team stepped up and organised contractors to plant a large area at the Summit.
2021 is already looking good with Clean Up Australia on Sunday March 7th.
Koala breeding season is here again: August to February. So it is very important that dogs visiting Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve are kept on a leash at all times. Dog owners regularly tell us that “their dogs wouldn’t attack koalas because they’re well trained and don’t cause problems.” However, the RSPCA rescue volunteer releasing a young male Koala at Gertrude Petty Place yesterday told Sue Jones different story “dogs are more often than not implicated in Koala rescues.”
Alan Moore photographed this family group last Saturday in Fox Gully Bushcare behind houses in O’Grady Street.
Toni McDonald photographed another Koala last Wednesday in Firefly Gully off Mt Gravatt Road.
We now have a healthy Koala population in the Reserve and people often ask how many Koalas there are. Until now, other than telling them that we have two or three joeys each year I don’t have any detailed numbers to share. The joint Queensland University of Technology-Brisbane City Council research using heat-seeking drones should provide valuable population information.
Walking the Mountain this morning we saw a pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos Cacatua galerita high in the trees getting very upset about something. Initially we thought they were getting upset with a murder of Crows in the trees.
Stingless Native Bee
Then Jude spotted a Koala hanging on for dear life as the Cockatoos and Crows all harried it.
In the same area I found tiny Stingless Native Bees Tetragonula sp. collecting nectar and pollen on Bottle Brush Grass Tree Xanthorrhoea macronema flowers.
Look for the pollen on legs.
Ringtail Possum nesting in dead tree
Our last find was a Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus asleep in its nest in a dead tree.
Dead trees (called stags) are an important part of our bushland habitat providing homes for insects, lizards, birds and even Possums.
August to January is Koala breeding season with most young (called a joey) born over the summer months.
That means I am receiving an increasing number of reports of Koala sightings like Sue’s report:
“I was awoken at 4 am by a dreadful noise in our yard – blood curdling screaming. Couldn’t get back to sleep. At 5 am the local birds let me know some ‘foreign’ creature was still around.
I took this photo of a Koala which had just leapt off our back terrace into one of our gums. He was roaring loudly as he ascended the tree. He then spent the day sleeping in an adjacent Tallowwood. He looked well fed and healthy.
Upon later investigation I found Koala fur and droppings all over the terrace. I wonder whether two Koalas may have been involved.” Sue Jones
The Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve now has a healthy and growing Koala population. This is a great opportunity for our community and a great responsibility: we have been given a second chance. You can help by:
reporting Koala sightings – email photo/s (phone camera is fine – evidence is important not photo quality), approximate location, date and time – email megoutlook@gmail.com
Mount Gravatt Environment Group 