Just Jack

The wonderful 4 Paws Animal Rescue provides refuge for homeless cats and dogs. They are a not-forprofit organisation run entirely by volunteers. Most of their animals come from Council pounds, some are surrendered or abandoned, others are saved from cruel living conditions.

The team has quite an urgent call-out and are desperately seeking a foster carer with a view to adopting Jack, the Jack Russell.

Jack is just a gorgeous and cute one-year-

Rescue old who has a beautiful personality. Weighing 5kg, he adores being around people, especially children. Jack has a lot of energy so a secure fenced-in yard where he can have a good run around as well as being taken for walks on his lead would be perfect!

Jack is of the Terrier breed so he would not be good around chickens, cats and pocket pets. He does still need a little training, so his perfect home would be with someone who can dedicate some time towards Jack growing to his full potential.

How could you resist the cuteness overload? If you feel that you could foster or adopt Jack please visit the website:- 4pawsanimalrescue.org.au

The right plant in the right place

The right plant in the right place can be one of the great challenges when planning a garden, considering there are so many factors that influence a plants health, their form and how they function.

A major factor of course is how much sunlight plants receive. Even an extra few hours of too much or too little light can dramatically influence a plant's health and appearance.

An example of how a few hours of different light levels effects growth and flowering is how the plant Chrysocephalum apiculatum (yellow buttons) grows in the sunniest parts of the Barung Seed Forest garden, flowering their heads off all year round and in the dappled light they are leggy and throw very few flowers.

As we edge towards the winter solstice (June 22), where daylight hours and the angle of the sun are

Barung at their lowest, it is a good time to observe where the light falls in a garden. Observing and taking note of this low ebb can help position plants correctly and also help position winter sitting areas.

At our Barung Seed Forest garden we have used a design idea called the ‘east west line’ to help plan the placement of our different garden sections which are modelled on the region’s forest types.

A transect line running through the garden east to west was marked. As a general rule anywhere south of the line is planned for shade-loving plants and north of the line is for sun lovers. Using this idea we have been able to locate very different forest types right next to each other.

As an example, our rainforest section is placed directly next to a wildflower grassland. The juxtaposition of the shady forest against the sunny grasses and wildflowers creates a dramatic look and different niches for animal species to move between in a relatively small area.

The east west line doesn’t need to be a rigid straight line, it can be curved or stepped and staggered. It is a design idea that, when used creatively, can help best position plants according to their sunlight requirements and also help increase the diversity of both flora and fauna of our local species.

by JAMIE WALKER

Looking for birds is an uncertain business. We can positively target species in habitats they are proven to occupy, and our efforts can still fail. On the other hand, it is sometimes possible to benefit from surprising appearances which, in theory at least, are unlikely to occur.

Recently, on an early morning walk at Sandstone Lakes in Ningi, I found a Musk Duck, a species described by the late, eminent ornithologist Graham Pizzey, as ‘A very strange duck’.

The male has a leathery bladder under his chin, which is inflated during display. The bird’s calls amount to shrill whistles and grunts. A clumsy flyer, its plumage is overall slate grey. Its tail looks like an intimidating fan of hard spikes. You could never call it attractive.

It is also a predator – eating yabbies, crabs, and even young ducklings - and I noticed that little Australasian Grebes nearby were skirting around the bird very sheepishly.

What was remarkable about the encounter was that Musk Ducks are normally seen much further south, on upland lakes or diving among kelp along the seashore.

The Brown Songlark is a bird of open pastureland and crops in dryer, inland regions. It was therefore a surprise to me, to find one earlier in the year, in the moist, marshy flats of the Maroochy River valley.

The bird did everything a Brown Songlark is supposed to do.

In the Wild

Up the Creek

Once upon a time ... not too long ago, it was considered good practice to remove useless scrub from creek banks and replace it with pasture. Not only did the scrub along the creek and river banks reduce the area that could be grazed, but the trees often fell into the creek and made snags ... and that’s just messy!

So, for over a hundred years, native vegetation was removed from the landscape and creeks were de-snagged of dead wood. The consequences should have been obvious in retrospect, but let’s not forget that the guys who undertook this herculean task were often first-generation settlers, new to the rhythms of this landscape and the monsoonal downpours that can turn bare hillsides into custard.

Massive erosion occurred across the landscape, crystal clear rocky creeks became silted bogs, big rivers became creeks, native fish populations collapsed as resources and habitat dwindled. Hills dried out as soils became

Early in May, I took a walk near Maleny’s weir. Moving between the bushes was a vibrant party of Silvereyes and Grey Fantails. With them was a little, yellowish bird which frequently hovered around the outer foliage, as it picked at small food items. It was my great pleasure to have found a Fairy Gerygone.

Once again, I had discovered a stranger –normally associated with old vine forest. We are at the southern end of its range, and it has been found at only a few sites on the Sunshine Coast. Years of studying and searching for wildlife have taught me that hope and optimism are more valuable than expectation. If our searches come to nothing, we will be disappointed. But that’s birding

At other times, the patient, alert, open-minded watcher will be rewarded and feel lifted by the

With an upright posture and tail sharply cocked, it sang from the top of a fence post in true field guide pose. It towered up into the sky in display flight and floated back down to the same spot. This was classic behaviour, but in the wrong place.

A week later, I couldn’t find it.

In all probability, it had moved on; being unable to secure one of life’s essentials –contact with others of its species.

About That Tree

with Tree Surgeon Tony Wootton, our local arborist and author, meeting the Hinterland's tree needs since 1996 shallower, floods increased as water moved across the land quicker and creeks dried up sooner as their catchments dried out.

It feels like winter has arrived again, and the endemic red cedars, Toona ciliata, and white cedars, Melia azedarach, and many of the exotic species, are starting to shed their leaves.

Interestingly, the reason the leaves change colour is because the shorter days mean that there is less light falling on the tree, so the chlorophyll, which makes the leaves green, breaks down. This reveals the substances left behind, including compounds such as the carotenoids, the same substance that makes carrots orange. So we see the leftover substances in the leaves as the beautiful autumn hues, reds, yellows, purples and oranges.

I am constantly contemplating the incredible array of functions going on within trees. The exchange of gases with the atmosphere around them includes respiration, just like us, where they take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide as a byproduct of burning sugar for energy.

These changes often happened subtly over a few generations and the community memory of what has changed is often quickly lost.

Planting trees on creek banks can help turn back the tide of ecological degradation. Yes there may be some initial erosion in the short term as we switch from pasture back to forest cover, but within five-to-ten years the roots of trees such as Figs (Ficus spp.) and Lillypilly’s (Syzygium spp.) will provide deep long term protection for creek banks.

The shade that these trees provide cools the water and reduces algal blooms. The fallen trees, branches, leaves and fruit provide the habitat for native fish and other animals such as the platypus. The water that flows through these forested creeks provides cleaner water for dams and for us!

A good example of creek bank rehabilitation is the Obi-Obi boardwalk in Maleny - 25 years ago this was an area full of weeds, erosion and rubbish. I was fortunate enough to be involved in this project from its very early stages and have witnessed the changes along this stretch of creek.

I remember planting a Deciduous Fig (Ficus superb) on a steep collapsing bend (rather optimistically – I thought at the time) about 20 years ago and can now go back and see a beautiful tree holding the creek bank firmly together.

This area is a great testament to the community spirit of Maleny and our ability to heal the landscape when we work together. Check out some of the larger sized stock we have available, to help you revegetate your favourite creek bank.