Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus | Mount Gravatt Environment Group

October 29, 2019

2019 National Tree Day

Brisbane First Chinese Scout Group

By: Michael Fox

130 participants planted 450 native shrubs, vines and grasses … another successful National Tree Day and another large area of Fox Gully Bushcare restored.

As in past years many community groups returned for our 2019 event:

Carina Sai Centre were first to register
Brisbane First Chinese Scout Group
Shinnyo buddhists (Shinnyoen)
QUT Golden Key Chapter – Student club
Griffith Mates
Resurge Digital Team
Many other groups and community members

Shinnyoen - National Tree Day 2019, Mt Gravatt Environmental Group

Welcome to Resurge Digital Team … looking forward to meeting again in 2020

Holes ready: planting underway

Please accept my apologies if I got any names wrong or missed any groups. I normally do this report soon after the event.

Thank you to the BCC Habitat Brisbane team who organised the plants, mulch and holes for the planting.

National Tree Day is always an inspiration, having all these community members helping us restore the Reserve.

Weeding team returns

The Weeding Team cleared a huge area of the invasive Fishbone Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia, Fishbone is a native but not to Brisbane bushland and parks where it is an invasive weed.

Thanks to the Teams work Fishbone is well on the way to be eradicated from another part of Fox Gully Bushcare.

Griffith Mates Team

Of course it is never all work and no play.

Georgia (left) and Jake planting

Three months on and thanks to the watering done by Jake, Georgia and Robyn while I was away, only four plants have died, our best result ever. And click on the photos to see the amazing growth of Native Sarsaparilla Hardenbergia violacea which is already growing out the top of the green plant shelters.

Spangled Drongo

Jake, Georgia and Griffith Mates have been working with me to finish the planting. Watched over by a Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus.

March 23, 2014

Walking Mt Gravatt in Autumn

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushwalks, Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve, Wildlife | Tags: Black Faced Cuckoo Shrikes Coracina novaehollandiae, bush walking, Galahs Eolophus roseicapillus, Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus |
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Morning sun from Eastern Outlook Track

By: Michael Fox

Autumn is a wonderful time of year for a morning walk in Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve. The air is fresh and cool and alive with the sound of birds.

Every morning is different. One day the morning sun is putting on a show peaking over the clouds while this morning I saw a new bird to photograph and identify. (Not always easy when you only catch one view of the bird.)

What bird is this? Ideas anyone?

Are we really in the middle of a city?

We also saw a Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus on the Eastern Outlook Track and another pair on the Farm Fire Trail.

We did not see any Wallabies, there have been three reliable sightings over the past twelve months, but we did have a pair of Galahs Eolophus roseicapillus fly past and saw two Black Faced Cuckoo Shrikes Coracina novaehollandiae.

Every track has different vegetation and a different feel depending on the time of day and position of the sun.

March 9, 2014

Introducing students to Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Bushwalks, Fox Gully Bushcare, Wildlife | Tags: Birds, bush walking, gliders, Griffith Mates, Koala Phascolarctos cinereus, Mt Gravatt Lookout, Native Raspberry Rubus moluccanus, Nest boxes, QIBT, Settlers Flax Gymnostachys anceps, Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus |
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Koala - Fox Gully - 8 March 2014 - 7-01am

Koala with brown pelt? That is different.

By: Michael Fox

Saturday morning I was preparing to lead a guided walk for students from Griffith University and QIBT when my wife, Jude, calls to tell me there is a Koala in the tree behind our house. This is exciting because I can always find a tree with scratches to show people but if I can lead these students to a Koala in the wild right beside their university campus, that will be something special.

Griffith and QIBT student explorers

Rainbow Lorikeets

Laurie Deacon and I are joined by ten enthusiastic participants from all over the world – Europe, China, Japan, as well as country Victoria, all keen to explore Mt Gravatt walking tracks.

Acacia Way from Mt Gravatt Campus leads along the ridge that acts as the watershed between Ekibin/Norman Creek catchment and Mimosa/Bulimba Creek catchment passing a tree with a nest hollow being used by a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets Trichoglossus haematodus.

Koala Phascolarctos cinereus

I was able to introduce our visitors to bush food – Native Raspberry Rubus moluccanus, unfortunately not in fruit at the moment, and Settlers Flax Gymnostachys anceps with tough fibers used by aborigines to make fishing lines.

Joining the Geebung Track we continued onto the Fox Gully Bushcare site where I explained the nestbox project that is providing breeding habitat for Squirrel Gliders Petaurus norfolcensis and Kookaburras Dacelo novaeguineae.

Mountain explorers powering up the hill

Our friendly Koala has moved high up into the branches, however, it was still a special opportunity to show visitors one of these amazing animals in the wild, not in a zoo, just 15 minutes from the city and right beside their campus.

Re-energised our team powered on to Mt Gravatt Lookout for a break before returning to campus.

I was particularly pleased to photograph a Spangled Drongo on the way back. We had the Spangled Drongo on our species list but no photograph.

QIBT and Griffith students are invited to join us in our bush restoration work.See Griffith Mates for events.