Annual Nest Box Monitoring

It was a beautiful sunny Autumn day in which we found ourselves checking the nest boxes on the Walmer South Nature Conservation Reserve. Six of us got the job done in just under three hours. We have a total of 89 boxes but only 77 are for mammals, including bats. The other boxes are for pardalotes and owlet nightjars which are not a part of our monitoring program.

The number of critters seen were down on last year, with a total of 25 – 4 x Brush-tailed Possums, 12 x Sugargliders, and 9 x bats. Although we didn’t see any Brush-tailed Phascogales, there were 7 fresh nests in the boxes giving us an indication of occupation this season.

Annual nest box monitoring

Muckleford Catchment Landcare Group will carry out its annual nest box monitoring at the Walmer South Nature Conservation Reserve (Muckleford-Walmer Road) on SUNDAY 23RD MAY 2021, 10am start.

Join us to monitor our 88 boxes, and wander around the reserve. The event will be cancelled in bad weather and no food or drink will be supplied. Wear sturdy footwear and bring your own drink bottle.

Call Beth if required 0431219980.

Shape the future of our area

Don’t forget to have your say about our local community and fill out the Mount Alexander Shire Council survey “Your community, your vision”. Let’s make sure that the local environment is a top priority in this shire.

https://shape.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/vision

Autumn Greenhood Orchids

Have a look around your properties for the Autumn Greenhood Orchid – there is some flowering happening right now, but we suspect that more will come out once we get some rain.

Here are some photos we took at the Walmer Nature Conservation Reserve. Congratulations to Landcare member Richard for being the one to spot the only two orchids we could find!

(taken by Richard)

(taken by Beth)

(taken by Bronwyn)

Walmer Walk

Lovely morning for a quick walk around the Walmer Nature Reserve (Foggarty’s Gap Road end of the Muckleford-Walmer Road) this morning, Sunday 18th April, 10am. Interesting reserve, largely untouched by weeds, but will it yield any Autumn Greenhood Orchids? See you there.

Autumn orchid hunt

Join Muckleford Catchment Landcare Group for a hunt for the Autumn Greenhood – Sunday 18th April 2021, 10am, at the Walmer Nature Conservation Reserve.

This reserve is on the Muckleford-Walmer Road, but is a different reserve to where our nest boxes reside, it’s further down the road, (NOT the Walmer South Nature Conservation Reserve). We’ll have some flags and signs out the front, but it’s at the Foggerty’s Gap Road end.

Nothing is provided, so just come along for a wander in the bush together so we can find some orchids.

Restoration products

We’ve been sent some samples from two companies selling restoration products. If you are going to do a big tree planting, here are some options for you to consider. Both have the biodegradable plant guards.

https://www.arborgreen.com.au/category/8-tree-planting-revegetation-products

https://www.suregrotreemax.com.au/categories/

 

Clean Up Australia Day

Well done Muckleford Landcare members and new friends who turned up on Clean Up Australia Day at the Muckleford Bushland Reserve on the Muckleford School Road. We ended up with a trailer load of barbed wire, and around 16 bags of rubbish and recycling. Let’s hope people stop dumping their rubbish on this site. Our next event is on Sunday 18th April, 10am to 11.30am when we go for a quick walk to look for Autumn Greenhoods. Details to follow.

Clean up the Muckleford Bushland Reserve

Join us for Clean Up Australia Day on SUNDAY 7th MARCH, 10am to 1pm, at the Muckleford Bushland Reserve, Muckleford School Road, Muckleford. We will be holding an activity to clean up rubbish from the reserve and have some lunch together. Bring your own gloves but everything else will be provided, including lunch (at this stage, there are no restrictions for this event, but we are ‘at the ready’ for a cancellation, so maybe pencil in your diaries).

You need to register (and pay a small donation to Clean Up Australia Day) by going to the site https://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/fundraisers/bethmellick/muckleford-bushland-reserve

First event in March

Put this date in your diaries – Sunday 7th March 2021, 10am. It’s Clean Up Australia Day and we have registered our first event for the year to clean up the Muckleford Bushland Reserve.

https://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/fundraisers/bethmellick/muckleford-bushland-reserve