Saturday, June 12, 2010

Newsletter #76 June 2010

After the storm

Bushland after the storm
The bushland looked like a bushfire had gone through due to stripped trees and dead foliage caused by hail damage.
Three months later life is returning to the bushland – lots of birds are back, and the trees are producing new leaves to replace the damaged or removed foliage.
Jarrah trees began to produce leaves quite soon after the storm. The Allocasuarinas have been the slowest to regenerate.
The bushland was very quiet for a couple of weeks after the storm; most birds had disappeared. The first birds back were Rainbow Lorrikeets and crows.
A month later researchers from ECU doing some bird banding in the bushland found many species had returned. They even found one banded bird – so it seems that some birds escaped the approaching storm, or managed to find shelter.
 
 ECU bird banders at work

In the bushland

In the weeks prior to the hailstorm we had been searching for the endangered sun moth Symenon gratiosa. Vicki’s sharp eyes spotted one and we got a net over it, but it escaped before I could take a photo to get the sighting verified. Then with the storm we lost any chance of finding it again this year. We will look again next year.
Now that winter has arrived we are weeding Freesias and Geraldton Carnation weed. You can see what we are doing in the bushland at our blog site (http://shenton-bushland.blogspot.com/)
Vicki has been liaising with the Health Department to get a management plan for their bushland. This will enable us to address many of the weeds that invade Shenton Bushland from the Health Department, especially Flinders Ranges Wattle (which has been widely planted around the buildings), and other potential weeds such as Japanese Peppers and bulbous weeds.
We are applying for funding to get this management plan developed (the Health Department is paying part of it).

Coming Events

The bush-to-beach walk for 2010 is currently being planned. We are looking at a route that runs from Shenton Bushland, through Hollywood Reserve (for morning tea?) and the Karrakatta Cemetery to Lake Claremont (for a picnic lunch). We could then do a loop of the Lake to view restoration of bushland around the Lakeway Drive-In housing development.
Sound interesting? Pencil it in for Sunday September 12th.

Committee meeting

Our next committee meeting is scheduled for July. We will be planning the bush to beach walk and spring activities. All welcome!
Contact Dani (9381 3470 or Dani's email) for details.

This newsletter is produced by the Friends of Shenton Bushland Inc.
Contributions by Daniel Boase-Jelinek
Edited by Daniel Boase-Jelinek, 117 Derby Road, Shenton Park WA 6008.

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