AUTUMN ’09 NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the autumn edition of our newsletter with lots to tell you about our coastal environment. It doesn’t seem all that long ago we were welcoming summer and the warmer weather. Now after the terrible fire tragedies we hope the worst is over and we can look forward to some lovely weather and good rains.
Summer on the Warrnambool coast has been kind to us with milder weather and plenty of coastal activities to keep us occupied during the holiday break. Coast Action Coastcare’s Summer by the Sea program went off really well with this year’s theme Victoria’s marine and coastal biodiversity highlighting the community can have fun on the coast combined with learning activities.
By far the most popular activity attended was the Meet the Maremmas tour on Middle Island with the 5 planned tours increased to 9 tours because of demand. It seems locals and tourists alike are all taking an interest in the Maremma project and the welfare of the Little Penguins breeding colony.
Thanks to those who helped out during the January Summer Night Markets at Lake Pertobe on our information table. There was good interest in the Summer by the Sea program and enquiries about our Group and ongoing activities in Warrnambool.
Have you got a copy of the Environmental Weeds of Warrnambool booklet yet? After our exciting launch in November (thanks to Society for Growing Australian Plants and John Sherwood) there has been a steady demand for the free publication which is available at WCC, DSE & CMA offices or at our meetings. The field guide contains most of the common weed species in our area and is easily and clearly identifiable. A handy pocket book for your library.
Our condolences go out to Dave Williams with the sudden loss of his pet Maremma dog Esta of four and a half years. Esta had been part of the Midddle Island Maremma team from day one, and foster mum to two sets of Meremma pups in the training and guardian program for fox control. She was quite often a photo queen for the media and will be missed by all of us.
Middle Island Penguin Breeding
The breeding of the Little Penguins on Middle Island has continued to progress well. This year has been the best since 2003, a long season, with the first eggs laid in May and the last (that we are monitoring) laid at the end of September. These last two chicks are yet to fledge and are the second brood raised by that pair.
We have had a bumper 26 chicks fledge this season and still have 4 more that we are hoping will make it to fledge. We have microchipped 49 penguins – 23 adults and 26 chicks, bringing the total number of identifiable Penguins to 94 over the past two years. We have had two incidences of double brooding this season. This is a great sign for Middle Island as it greatly increases the number of chicks produced. We need as many chicks fledging as possible to ensure growth of the colony, as approx 70% die in their first year.
Unfortunately we have found a few dead penguin chicks. We expect that their deaths were due to the extreme hot temperatures we had just before their bodies were found. Lucky for our monitoring statistics they were not chicks we were checking, but it does highlight how easy we can miss active burrows, as we do not access areas where we risk trampling the delicate Short-tailed Shearwater burrows. This means that our breeding monitoring statistics show the minimum number of breeding pairs and chicks raised.
We had a corralling night last month, (group the penguins together on arrival) and microchipped 7 penguins. These penguins had not been found breeding, so they had either been hiding from us (around the Shearwater burrows) or they are young adults, not yet old enough to breed. Thanks to all who assisted.
Recently, there have been some media crews interested in the project. We met Julica and Michael who are producing an article for a German magazine titled “Dog”, and Kerry Staight and her crew from ABC’s Landline program. This article is due for airing on Sunday March 15th (12.00-1.00) Not to be missed.
At present we have 4 chicks and several moulting adults on the island. The moulting adults are very vulnerable to fox predation as they cannot swim whilst replacing all their feathers. Thanks to Dave, the Maremma pups (and Esta, their foster mum, now deceased) for doing a great job of keeping the fox’s away.
Happy Penguining, Amanda
Middle Island Penguin Monitoring
With the most successful breeding season since the fox massacre, the night arrivals peaked at 80 during the middle of the main breeding season in December. Given that there were 26 chicks at the time and not all the penguins come ashore at the same time we can well assume there are over 100 Penguins using the Island.
Our last Little Penguin Arrival Count, held on 12 February, turned up a surprise number of 39 penguins. It is believed that the increase in arrivals, up from 20 as recorded at the previous count, may be due to adult birds returning to land to moult. So it will be interesting to see the change in numbers over the next month. Thanks to Niall Shiells and his Green Corp team on the last count. We still have two more counts this season.
Kristie King Co-ordinator 5562 3851
The Middle Island Maremma Project continues to attract attention around the globe. Stories on the Maremmas have been reported in Romania, Qatar, South Africa and Germany. A journalist from the German magazine "Dogs" flew to Warrnambool specifically to do a story on the Maremmas in the past couple of weeks. Also Landline are doing a feature piece on the project, which will be aired on March 15th, keep an eye out for our regular stars David Williams, Amanda Peucker and John Amor.
The Maremmas are continuing their daily visits to Middle Island, which is important as the shearwaters will be on the island until late April and moulting penguins inhabiting the island will increase in numbers in the coming weeks. It is planned to conduct single overnight stays at the end of March as a staged approach to extend the Maremmas contact hours on Middle Island.
There has been an increasing number of reports of fox activity in the region. Council will continue to set cages and destroy dens as a continued approach to fox control in our open space areas, particularly around the Middle Island area. Council managed to catch two juvenile foxes in one week near the depot.
Ian Fitzgibbon, Environmental Planner WCC
Dead Penguins!
What do you do if you see a dead penguin on the beach? Well, Mandy Watkins said it is ‘technically it is the property of the state, and the appropriate place for collection and storage is the Museum of Victoria’, where they may do autopsies on the animal. The best message is to leave where found and report the condition and location of the bird to the Warrnambool Biodiversity Officer at the DSE office.
Penguins have been tagged and now only micro chipped for research purposes on Middle Island for many years and there is a data base recording details of information. The DSE advises that in the event of a dead Penguin report they will liaise with the Deakin researchers to see if they want to arrange to have the bird scanned for a microchip.
Mandy Watkins, the Senior Biodiversity Officer at the DSE said that if any penguins are brought into the office in good condition, they would be willing to scan them before freezing and passing them on to the Museum.
Surveys
Included in our last newsletter was a set of member/non-member survey forms in which we asked our readers to answer a series of questions about ourselves and Warrnambool’s environment in order to help our group grow, reflect and plan for the future.
The response was very good with a diverse range of ideas and suggestions from our members. We are still yet to discuss the implications of survey at a meeting as we ran out of time in February. The prize for submitting the survey will be drawn at our March meeting.
Overall, many members saw a varying need for better weed control from roadsides, railway land, Russell Ck, banks of the Hopkins and Wollaston bridge. Other suggestions were litter traps, more mulch in public gardens, linking existing reserves and addressing energy issues. About half thought we were doing enough work in the environment while the rest thought we could do more (those who think the later, are most welcome to become more pro active)
Most of us thought we could improve out profile in the community with letter drops, media and more involvement with other groups. A few members would help with mid week reveg work as long as they had no other commitments. A wonderful varied list of skills was also drawn up with members stating experience in submissions, communication, horticulture, weed ID, computer graphics and diving.
Weed Warriors Win War
This 3 year project is starting to show signs of making a difference on the Merri Wetlands,as local schools join with Warrnambool Landcare Coastcare to combat the Bridal Creeper; which is a weed on national significance.
The Bridal Creeper is suffering under the pressure placed on it by the leaf hopper and rust which are biological controls. It had 50% less flowers which means less seeds are being released into the soil and eaten by birds. Warrnambool East, Warrnambool College and Merrivale students were very busy in 2008 breeding leaf hoppers to release into the wetland. Our two control sites have had significant reduction in the creeper.
A big thank you to South West TAFE Natural Resource Management students who mapped the area and found that the rust was found all over the wetland. Our next step might be some reveg in sites which have reduced the amount of creeper. Nicole Wood- Coordinator
Harris on Merri Reveg
Six people turned upfor our first maintenance day of the year in February. We had a productive morning pulling out dead weeds which was made easy, as the Council had kindly organised the area to be sprayed beforehand.
The reveg continues to be a delight on the eye despite the lack of rain. The diversity of species is excellent. This year we plan to fill in the remaining gaps and make preparation to extend along the Merri River. We eagerly await RAIN !!! We will try to have regular maintenance days to keep on top of those pesky weeds.
Cheers Ann Park Co-ordinator
Membership Dues
With the new calendar year came time for all of us to renew our membership.
The renewal process has been a little slow this year as there has not been a lot of opportunities. Payment can be posted to Box 588, or in person at an activity or meeting. Your money goes to covering overheads like the web site, post office box, postage and stationery and keeping us afloat.
News in Brief
This year for National Tree Day (August 2nd) we are going to have a community planting day at Granny’s Grave to revegetate the areas around pathways that still haven’t recovered since the promenade got extended about six years ago. Meanwhile some sites will be prepared at the Flume to revisit it on NTD in 2010.
Thanks to WCC for offering plants and tools to help us revegetate this year. With the last three funding applications being unsuccessful, the WCC are ensuring we can still deliver our volunteer services to the Coastal Reserve and environment this year. We are also grateful to Powercor’s sponsorship for enabling us to continue participating in the Maremma trial and Penguin monitoring. Their funding covered our costs with walkie talkies, torches and counters.
You can now walk from the Merri footbridge to the corner of Pickering Point/Thunder Point T-intersection car park, without going on the road. A partnership between Green Corp and the WCC has now been completed which follows the coast, taking in some spectacular scenery over just a short distance.
Nominations have just closed for this years Clean Beaches Award organized by Keep Australia Beautiful, Victoria.
We have nominated Sting Ray Bay in the Protection of the Environment Award section, as we have an ongoing commitment to the area. This award focuses on the preservation and management of local flora and fauna. Our work on Middle Island should be a huge plus in this category.
It was reported at our last meeting that there have been high levels of turbidity and tannin discoloration in certain parts of the Merri River recently. The Make a Difference (MAD) to the Merri Steering group are seeking funding for riparian projects and education for users of the river system. It is truly a river system worth saving.
If you are a new, experienced or a potential office bearer the VFF are holding a Governance Training Program in Ballarat on 19th March. This is a free course to Landcarers and will provide a good opportunity to learn the skills of governance within volunteer groups. We would encourage as many as possible to attend and we will be carpooling. Contact Don, 5562 3371 for more information.
Our deputy leader, Lisette Mill has designed a new series of prints for our stormwater drain lids, as most of the present ones need revamping. After getting approval from WCC to repaint the lids, Lisette is asking if anyone is interested in helping her complete the task, to contact her on 5561 4672
Heritage Victoria is having a ‘DIG’ of archaeological sites in Warrnambool and Yambuk areas around 27-29th March. The main objective of the project is to provide advice and guidance to councils, government agencies, landowners and community on the management, protection and ID of historical archaeological sites.
For more info contact Nigel Thomas @ WCC 5559 4828
If you are thinking of making environmental improvements to your home, such as installation of a rain water system, or double glazed windows or even purchasing a hybrid car, South West Credit has developed an Enviro Loan. In partnering with the GHCMA, the Enviro Loan offers a 25% discount on establishment fees, a reduced interest rate of .25% and provides funding to the GHCMA for every loan written.
Congratulations to Barry Peters who for years has made many children happy with his whale songs and dances, has just released his new song “They call me Maremma”. The music (soon to be on DVD) was an instant hit and arguable Barry’s best to date, was launched at Flagstaff Hill as part of the Wunta Festival. You can visit www.barrypeters.com.au for more information.