• Screams crime slaughter on Mount Majura?
• FoMM meeting – Saturday, 12 February
• Working party –  Sunday, 19 February
• Ant Walk – Sunday 4 March
• More up-coming activities with the Mount Ainslie Weeders and Greening Australia
• Two free workshops to extend your skills and knowledge: advanced grant writing & managing native ground-cover

Dear Friends

Has anyone noticed lately the loud screams on Mount Majura? Night walkers including myself noticed hair-rising screams around the reservoir and the paddock close by. It sounds as if someone is slaughtered but, quite funny, the source of the screams flies around! If anyone has a suggestion I would be pleased to hear from you.

We will have a FoMM meeting on Saturday 12 February, 4pm at 9 Selwyn Street, Hackett. We aim to complete a calendar of activities for 2012 and distribute tasks. Please get involved. Enquiries: admin@majura.org or 62477515.

Running regular activities requires not only background organization but also people who have or who are willing to acquire skills and knowledge whether it is about mapping, monitoring, managing biodiversity, identifying natives and weeds, safely using herbicide, maintaining tools and equipment, writing applications and much more. It would be great if we could spread skills and knowledge a bit wider in our group; there are a number of workshops coming soon and I hope some of you will grab the opportunity.

We’ll be back at the creek line downhill of the Majura dams for our monthly working party in February. At the recent control of St John Wort I observed a large amount of Sweet Briar re-growth, as well as some blackberry and garden escapes such as privet and ivy. There are also some young Cootamundra wattles trying to replace those large wattles which we frilled a couple of years ago. Many hands make light work so please come along and give a hand. Here are the details:
When: Sunday, 19 February 2012, 9 am to 1 pm; morning tea with cake and coffee around 11am;
Where: Meet at park entrance Mackenzie Street opposite Grayson Street, Hackett;
Wear and bring: Sun protection, sturdy shoes, old garden clothing with long sleeves and pants;
Tools and information on the weeds will be provided; come early for an introduction on the safe use of chemicals.
Enquiries: admin@majura.org or 6247 7515
For more information including on some of the target weeds and a map of the meeting point click here.

Ajay Narendra kindly agreed to lead another ant walk on Mount Majura. This is your chance to learn from a world expert about the amazing skills of jack jumpers and their relatives. Kids accompanied by adults are welcome. It might be our last ant walk with Ajay since he considers job offers from outside Canberra.
Places are limited and I’d advice to book early for this popular walk.
When: Sunday 4 March 2012, 3pm
Wear and bring: Please wear covered shoes and sun protection and bring a magnifying lens, if you have one; a gold coin donation to support FoMM conservation work would be appreciated.
Booking is essential! Booking and enquiries phone 62488955 or email admin@majura.org.
For more information on ants and Ajay’s research work click here.

Please find below details of more up-coming activities and two free workshops to extend your skills and knowledge.

I hope you find the program entertaining and I’m looking forward to seeing you on the mountain.

Warm regards
Waltraud

The Mt Ainslie Weeders will hold a working party this Sunday, 5 February from 9am to 12 noon at the old Ainslie tip, the National Tree Day 2008 planting site. Perhaps you could help the Weeders if you can’t make it to the working party on 19 February.  Wear long pants and sleeves, sturdy shoes and bring sun protection drinking water Enquiries: Jeanette  62477684.

Greening Australia’s nursery is conducting seedling thinning events in preparation for the coming planting season. Join the team for some good company and a bit of afternoon tea while doing your bit for our environment. Some of the seedlings will be for future plantings on Mount Majura.
When: Wednesdays 8 Feb and 15 Feb,5pm – 7pm
Where: 1 Kubura Pl, Aranda
What to bring: Sun protection, enclosed shoes and a smile!
RSVP Essential: Please RSVP to Ben Walmsley on 6253 3035 or bwalmsley@act.greeningaustralia.org.au

Workshop on how to manage native pastures for production and conservation
When: Friday 2 March 2012,
Where: Tharwa Hall and then “Cypress Springs”, Booroomba Road, ACT
Wear and bring: Please wear clothing suitable for the day’s weather, bring sunhats, sensible walking shoes, drinking water, and lots of questions.
This workshop is free and lunch is provided.
Please RSVP actlandcare@act.gov.au or phone Anna 62052914 or Sally 62052913.
This practical, hands-on workshop will cover:

• ID techniques for native and exotic grasses, forbs and their look-alike weed cousins.
• The lifecycle and growing conditions required by each species.
• The production and conservation value of each species.
• The relationship between soil health and bio-diverse paddocks.
• Successful, cost-effective strategies to boost production and conservation values.

Workshop on Advanced Grant Writing
ACT Landcare is offering parkCare volunteers a free workshop on how to write successful grant applications.
When: Tuesday 20 March 2012, 10am -3.30pm
Where: ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre, 245 Lady Denman Drive, Yarramundi Reach, ACT
RSVP essential: Please RSVP to actlandcare@act.gov.au, or phone Anna 62052914 or Sally 62052913 by Friday 16 March.
See below an outline of the workshop.
The Advanced Grant Application Writing Workshop will include:

• How to identify funding opportunities
• Planning projects and scoping the grant – what are you asking for?
• Breaking the project into achievable sub-projects
• Gathering evidence to support “the need”
• Developing a funding “cocktail” – funding partnerships
• Examples of good and bad applications
• Following up on successful and unsuccessful applications

The workshop will be presented by an experienced trainer from Our Community and will include tips from some of the ACT’s most successful grant writers as well as those who regularly assess grants in the ACT.
This workshop is free, lunch is provided. This workshop is funded under the ACT Regional Landcare Facilitator Initiative hosted within the ACT NRM Council.

How many ants live in this nest?

Kids accompanied by adults are especially welcome.
Please bring a magnifying lens if you have one and wear covered shoes and sun protection.
It is important to notify us if you are allergic to ants or bee stings.

Limited places! Bookings essential!

Booking and enquiries: Ph 62488955 or admin@majura.org

A gold coin donation to support the conservation work of the Friends of Mount Majura parkCare group would be much appreciated.

Ajay Narendra (right) and Sam Reid study visual guided behaviour of bulldog ants on the Mount Majura ridge.

Ajay Narendra is part of the research team studying navigation strategies in Jack Jumpers (Myrmecia croslandi) in Hackett. Find out about Jack Jumpers and other ants on Ajay’s website at  http://web.mac.com/ajaynarendra

Sweet Briar, Rosa rubiginosa, a native plant of Europe and West Asia, is a major weed particularly of dry and hilly disturbed land. The seeds are spread by birds and foxes which eat the red fleshy fruits (rose hips). Briars were introduced to Australia as garden and hedge plants in the early 1800s (Photograph Waltraud Pix, 23.11.2011).

Cootamundra Wattle, Acacia baileyana, is an Australian species, which does not naturally occur in Canberra. It was introduced to the ACT as a garden plant. The highly invasive species is now widespread in Namadgi National Park and the suburban nature reserves of the ACT.

How to tell-apart from look-a-likes. The compound blueish-grey-green leaves of a Cootamundra wattle (top in the left panel) resemble those of the local species Sliver wattle, Acacia dealbata, which native to the Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie nature reserves. The leaves of Cootamundra wattles have 3-4 pairs of leaflets arranged along the leaf stem, the lowest pair is shorter and embraces the branch to which the leaf is attached. The leaves of Silver wattles have 8-20 pairs of leaflets arranged along to the leaf stem and the lowest pair does not embrace the branch.

• Working party – this Sunday, 22 January
• Chemical training course
• Centenary Trail update
• Rabbit program update
• Wildlife poaching on Mt Majura
• FoMM report for the financial year 2010/11

Dear Friends

Welcome to the January 2012 edition of the FoMM newsletter. I hope you enjoyed a great break and will start the year with recharged batteries.

We will have a working party this coming Sunday 22 January to control woody weeds along the drain ditch downhill of the Hackett reservoir. It would be great if you could give a couple of hours of your time to help. We will deal with a range of weeds most of them escapes from nearby gardens such as English Ivy, Japanese Honey suckle, Privet and Nettle tree which arrived there via dumping garden debris or bird droppings. If we are enough volunteers we will also replace some of the plastic guards around the seedlings planted in the paddock with more robust wire mesh guards. A crew of Conservation Volunteer Australia produced them at a working bee on Mt Majura yesterday and they are ready for installation.

Here are the details for the working party:
When Sunday, 22 January 2012, 9 am to 1 pm; morning tea with cake and coffee around 10.30 am;
Where Meet at the Hackett reservoir off Rivett / French Streets, click on this map to view the meeting point;
Wear and bring Sun protection, sturdy shoes, old garden clothing, long sleeves and pants;
Tools and information on the weeds will be provided; come early for an introduction on the safe use of chemicals.
Enquiries Ph 6247 7515 or admin@majura.org (the admin address wasn’t working for a while; it’s fixed now).

Herbicide use training course. The Southern ACT Catchment Group is organising a training course on herbicide use for the weekend 18/19 February 2012 to be held at Westwood Farm near Kambah. FoMM needs more trained volunteers who are qualified to apply herbicide in the nature reserve. Please consider to take part in the course. You will gain accreditation and the skills and knowledge required for applying herbicide safely. The accreditation will enable volunteers to conduct foliar spray treatment such as using a backpack spray to control thistles, Paterson’s Curse, St John’s Wort, horehound, and noxious grass weeds as well as being able to handle undiluted chemicals for mixing. ParkCare working parties that involve the use of herbicide require a trained person on site. The course is paid by the Government and free for parkCare volunteers. Bookings are essential and places are limited. Contact Steve Welch on info@sactcg.org.au or 6296 6400 or 0447 223 396. Further information on the course will then be provided. Please let me know if you are interested in the training.

Centenary trail update. FoMM submitted a comment which you can find by clicking here. The consultation period has been extended to 10 February 2012. Representatives of FoMM and the Mt Ainslie Weeders met on site with Government representatives, CBRE Town planning (Feasibility report) and Anthony Burgess (ground investigation of the proposed route) to discuss the issues raised by the ParkCare groups.

Rabbit control update. The mapping of rabbit warrens has been completed on Mt Majura and is on track on Mt Ainslie.  Notices of rabbit control work are placed at nature park entry points and according to my information contractors started control work today. They will work their way from the north of Mt Majura to the south. A preliminary analysis of the recorded warrens reveals mixed results: the number of warrens recorded in some parts of Mt Majura is similar to the number recorded in 2009/2010 however the number of active warrens and entrances appeared reduced. In some parts however such as on the steeper west slope, the number of warrens are down from 154 warrens recorded in January 2010 to 31 recorded in January 2012. We’ll keep you updated on the rabbit front.

Wildlife poaching on Mt Majura. There is increasing evidence of wildlife poaching in the nature reserve. I am concerned that our publications on wildlife and guided walks intended to share the treasures of the nature reserve with the wider public are being abused by poachers. For the time being I propose to communicate observations of rare and threatened species or species that might attract the interest of poachers only to trusted FoMM members and the land manager.

The FoMM annual report for the financial year 20010/11 is available on our website; click here to read the report.

Warm regards

Waltraud

During the 2010/2011 financial year volunteers contributed over 4000 hours towards the enhancement of Mount Majura nature reserve (3380 hours per year in the past five financial years). On average, 11.5 volunteers attended our regular monthly working parties to control weeds, tackle erosion and care for planted seedlings. We held a number of large-scale events such as National Tree Day community and school plantings and FoMM members worked in their own time on various projects such as controlling Cootamundra wattle and St John’s Wort or restoring a 5 hectares stock camp. We conducted several sessions to collect seeds of ground cover plants, shrubs, She-oak and trees for future plantings. We hosted a workshop on the identification and management of grass weeds, updated and  published the Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie flora list and wrote two submissions that addressed the “Draft ACT Pest Animal Management Strategy 2011-2021” and “Managing Rabbits in Canberra Nature Park”.

We organised expert guided walks with topics on trees and ecological communities, nocturnal life, ants and wildflowers. Jointly with our neighbour parkCare groups we cleaned bush land at Australian Clean-up Day and tackled woody weeds in the “Common”, a weed infested grassy woodland below the saddle between Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie which FoMM and the Mt Ainslie Weeders attend once a year at a joint working bee.

FoMM together with our neighbour ParkCare groups, the Mount Ainslie Weeders and the Watson Woodland Working Group received the ACT Landcare Award 2011 in the Urban Landcare category in recognition of our combined effort to engage the public in protecting and enhancing the natural environment at the doorstep of established suburbs. The three groups will represent the ACT at the Federal Landcare Award 2012.

In the 2010 edition of Scribbly Gum I presented two photographs of a cleared part of the Majura paddock, one of our project sites close to the Hackett reservoir. The first from October 2007 shows a purple sea of Paterson’s Curse and the second taken in October 2010 after 3 years of persistent weed control by volunteers shows no visible Paterson’s Curse. Recent monitoring in the paddock revealed two lonely Curses as well as a great reduction of the yellow weeds cohort of Cape weed, Hedge mustard, flatweed and fleabane, which we controlled in the past two years along with our target weeds Curse, St John’s Wort, horehound, and noxious grass weeds.

The pair of photographs presented in this Scribbly Gum edition shows the impact of volunteers on the horehound infested wooded part of the paddock.  We hand-weeded seed producing horehound, spot-sprayed regrowth (2-3 applications of MCPA per annum), broadcasted seeds of local grass species and planted shrubs and groundcover such as Clustered Everlastings. Thanks to favourable weather condition, removal of weed competition, some direct seeding and reduction of grazing pressure (rabbits) the native grass cover improved during the past year, which in turn helps to suppress germination and new establishment of weeds.

Horehound infested timbered part of Majura paddock on 15 September 2009 (left) and the same site on 16 October 2011 (right). Volunteers hand weeded seed bearing horehound, spot sprayed horehound regrowth and other weeds, direct seeded native grass and planted a mixture of local shrub and ground cover species.

The restoration of the Majura paddock is one of the many success stories of FoMM and parkCare and the result of hard work in partnership with rangers and the wider community. An ongoing great concern, however, is the grazing pressure, which if not addressed by the land manager will render our weed control and revegetation efforts unsustainable (for example, we spend about 0.5 hours on average to protect a single seedling from damage by grazing).

We face challenges from encroaching development, vandalism (recently we noticed large-scale rock and log rolling most likely to collect wildlife), impact of increasing recreational activities, shortage of resources to manage this impact and it seems that recreation replaces conservation as the prime management objective of CNP in the thinking of some government agencies. It takes a fair amount of commitment and enthusiasm to overcome the struggles associated with these challenges.

The decision of the Parks and Conservation Service (PCS) administration to exclude parkCare from the initial consultation of the proposed Centenary Trail was in my view a breach of trust which robbed me of my enthusiasm. The result of this exclusive consultation is the Feasibility Report which suggests to exploit the natural environment of Canberra Nature Park for nature-based tourism and to use parkCare as the provider of free labour to maintain assets. Our rangers know that parkcaring takes a fair amount of motivation and volunteers work best in partnership. It is not the hard work that de-motivates me, but being ignored and not valued as partner.

I’d like to thank all FoMM volunteers for giving their time and the rangers of North District, the Molonglo Catchment Group, the North Canberra Community Council, the Hackett Community Association, the Hackett Neighbourhood Watch, Greening Australia, the Majura Mountain Scouts and the local Blue Gum School for continuous support and interest. I wish Nadia and Joel all the best in their new life; it was a great pleasure to work with you and I hope you will come back to the North District.

Waltraud Pix
Friends of Mt Majura Co-ordinator
admin@majura.org

Centenary Trail
Parks and Conservation Service proposes a 100km long shared walk and bike track that runs through a number of nature reserves including the Mt Majura and  Mt Ainslie nature parks.
Information on the proposed trail alignment is available at the Territorial and Municipal Services website www.tams.act.gov.au; click on Centenary Trail to open the page.
To view the proposed alignments of the Walk and Bike routes (they differ slightly) click on the Google Earth files Proposed Walk Route in Google Earth and Proposed Bike Route in Google Earth
Please note you will need Google Earth to view the Google Earth files. The software can be downloaded from the internet for free individual use at: http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html

The proposed routes in the Mt Majura nature reserve follow mostly maintenance roads, except behind Mackenzie Street, where a shared route is proposed through a narrow 100-200 meters wide strip of grassy woodland parallel to and between the existing maintenance roads behind the houses and the transmission line easement. The proposal in the Mt Ainslie nature park includes the construction of a new walk and bike track on the east slope of Mt Ainslie.

Comments on the proposal should be send by close of business on Friday 10 February 2012 by email to TAMSCentenaryTrail@act.gov.au or by post to TAMS Centenary Trail,  GPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601. For enquiries contact TAMSCentenaryTrail@act.gov.au or 6207 3703.

ACT Trails Disussion Paper 2011-2021
Parks and Conservation Service commissioned CBRE Townplanning to develop a strategy for the managment, use and construction of trails in the nature reserves and national parks. The Paper discusses the option to open and promote the nature parks for more recreation, large scale recreational events and tourism.

CBRE invited FoMM to comment; click here to view the comment. A public consultation will be conducted at an undisclosed time.

When: Sunday, 22 January 2012, 9 am to 1 pm

Where: Meet at the Hackett reservoir off Rivett / French Streets, Hackett (click this map to view the meeting point)

Wear and bring: Sun protection, sturdy shoes, old garden clothing with long sleeves & pants

What: Control of woody weeds at the drain ditch close to the reservoir; installing wire mesh tree guards around the shrubs planted in 2011.

Give as little or as much time as you want. We provide the tools and morning tea with delicious cakes.

Please come early for an introduction.

Enquiries: Ph 6247 7515 or Email admin@majura.org

Download this poster to promote the working party

Pre-Christmas working party – Sunday 18 December
Trail & Tracks – Centenary Trail meetings and submissions
Fire alert
Wood piles along Casuarina Trail
FoMM 2012 plans
Rabbit mappers wanted
FoMM website in the PANDORA Archive of the National Library of Australia
2012-2013 bird survey

Dear Friends

All of a sudden it’s December and Christmas approaches fast. Have you thought about a gift for Mount Majura? Well, give some of your time and come along to our Pre-Christmas working party on Sunday, 18 December from 9am. We’ll tackle woody weeds in the Mt Majura nature park section off Antill Street south of “The Fair” construction site in north Watson. Access and car parking is opposite Prime TV; walk along the horse track towards “The Fair” until you hit the ranger trailer. Please come early for an introduction on how to safely cut, daub and frill; click here for more information and to view a map.

Also approaching fast is the closing date for submissions in regard to the Centenary Trail Proposal (16 December). In addition to the Centenary trail Parks and Conservation Service seeks input to a ACT trails strategy report for Canberra Nature Park – much about nature based tourism and staged events and little about the environment or the capacity of local reserves to cope with induced overuse (submissions close also on the 16 December).

Representatives of FoMM and the Mt Ainslie Weeders are invited to attend a meeting on 8 December to discuss the Centenary Trail proposal. There will be a special meeting on the Centenary Trail for all parkCarers on the 15 December; for more details and to rsvp please contact Philip Selmes at philip.selmes@act.gov.au or phone 62057384. If you are interested in the ACT Trails Discussion Paper please talk to Philip. Please consider writing a submission; it doesn’t need to be long. For instance, some FoMM members said the use of the vast existing network of formed roads and fire trails are okay for bike riding but the proposed construction of new bike tracks (proposed for Mt Ainslie) or upgrading of informal paths to shared walk and bike trails (Mt Ainslie and Mt Majura) should not happen because the reserves are already crisscrossed and fragmented by numerous tracks, trails, transmission lines, etc that impact on the conservation of the natural environment. Click this link to the TAMS Centenary Trail webpage for information on the proposal and how to prepare your own submission.

Fire Alert. In the past months the fire brigade attended number of fires on Mt Majura. If you observe a fire please contact Canberra Connect at 13 22 81; or ring ‘000’ if the fire is big.

Woodpiles along Casuarina Trail. Members of the public assume that Friends of Mount Majura are involved in placing large piles of logs and limbs along Casuarina Trail off the Antill Street park entrance. This is not the case. FoMM disapproves the removal of large logs as this destroys habitat. We use cut material from large fallen trees to carry out erosion control work and we would never create a fire hazard by piling up logs under trees and in long lines.

FoMM meeting on 2012 plans. The FoMM committee will meet this Saturday, 3 December to discuss plans for 2012. Other items on the agenda are an operational plan for Mt Majura, updates on the Centenary Trail and work at the north-west slope behind the Fair construction site. If you have a cool idea for 2012 or if you could take up commitments please contact admin@majura.org.

Rabbit mappers wanted. Rabbit mapping is in full swing, butwe could do with a few more volunteers. If you have time between now and mid-January please contact fomm.committee@gmail.com or phone Margaret at 6247 5561. Experience in rabbit mapping would be brilliant but is not a ‘must’. Mapping involves walking a dedicated area, recording rabbit warrens with a GPS, and entering observations in a field data sheet. You would receive face-to- face GPS training (fun!) and a GPS unit for recording. You will learn a new skill that is useful for all kinds of outdoor activities, have some exercise and enjoy a closer look at a part of the nature reserve – so, what’s holding you back?

FoMM website in the PANDORA Archive of the National Library of Australia. I am delighted to inform you that the Friends of Mount Majura website is now included into the PANDORA Archive of the National Library of Australia. FoMM granted the National Library of Australia a copyright licence to include our website in the Archive. This licence permits the Library to copy our publication into the Archive, retain that copy and provide online public access to it in perpetuity. Our website is now publicly available in the PANDORA Archive at http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-130572. Access to our website is facilitated via the Library’s online catalogue and via subject and title lists maintained on the PANDORA home page.

2012-2013 bird survey. The Australian National University Sustainability Office ANUgreen, http://www.anu.edu.au/anugreen/ is preparing for their seasonal bird surveys for 2012-13, and they are hoping for as many volunteers as possible. These surveys will be an important step in monitoring and protecting native birds in the ACT region. Experience is not essential, and training will be provided. The first planned survey will take place on Saturday 21st January 2012. For enquires and to register for training and the survey please contact anugreen@anu.edu.au with the subject title as ‘bird survey 2012′ or phone 6125 2158.

Enjoy the lovely cool days as long as they last,

Waltraud

• Rabbit Mapping Volunteer Information Meeting – Tuesday 8th November
• Bird Walk – Sunday 13^th November
• Working Party – Sunday, 20th November

Dear Friends

Meetings were held with the rangers during October and the exciting news is that the rabbit control contractors should start their work on 18th January. This means that time is quite short for us to organize a re-mapping of Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie to identify all the currently active rabbit warrens.  Posters have been displayed to advertise a meeting on Tuesday  November 8^th at the Phillip Street entrance to the reserve from 6-7 pm for everyone who has an interest in helping with the rabbit mapping project.  Our local ranger will be there to talk about the project and show people how to identify active warrens and there are plenty of example warrens in that area!  Volunteers will be encouraged to adopt a mapping block and sign up for a GPS training session. See more details below or at this link or ring Margaret on 62475561. If this time or date is not possible but you want to take part then please call Margaret.

A valuable vegetation monitoring workshop is planned for November (see Free BioDiversity Monitoring Training Flyer).  This one is targeted especially at Parkcare groups and will be invaluable in helping us to assess and plan our activities. It would be great if some of you could attend these sessions if you can spare the time.  If interested please email Waltraud.

A new Chemcert training will be run if there are sufficient numbers for this.  It is a very useful one day course which equips you with a lot of knowledge about the chemical sprays we use, safety procedures and a whole lot more.  The more people we have trained the better, so please email Waltraud if you are interested. Parkcare covers the cost of the course.

Finally – African Lovegrass is a huge problem around Canberra and a workshop is offered in identifying and treating this noxious weed.  It is difficult to identify and can easily be confused with other grasses.  Is there someone out there who would like to become our African Lovegrass specialist ?  Think how good it would look on your resume!!  Again, let Waltraud know if the idea appeals.

Plenty of activities happened during October.  In particular there was a working party at the Majura Paddock on October 16^th.  One of the volunteers from that working party, Will Floyd, a Crowajingalong scout, wrote a lovely description of the working party and this account and its accompanying photos can be seen on the website at Report-on-spring-working-party link

About 20 people enjoyed the sunny afternoon walk on October 30^th. There were fewer flowers than last year, perhaps because of the dry conditions in October. Michael Doherty was still able to show the group a large variety of wildflowers with many people noting the names on the list of plants on Mt Majura. The highlight of the walk was the baby shingle back lizard whose image was captured by 3 women from Slovakia. As always, Michael was a font of knowledge on all matters botanical, answering a stream of questions from the participants. Thank you Michael!

October 16-22 was the week for the annual Frogwatch census.  I can say from personal experience that the unusually dry conditions for most of October led to a very quiet frogwatching event!  Last year at the Lower Majura Dam (up the Blue Metal Track from the McKenzie Street entrance) the night was filled with a cacophony of frog noises with at least four different species being identified.  This year during my recording period one, solitary whistling tree frog was calling out over the dam.  The water level in the dam seemed to be dropping as I watched.  Luckily in the last few days of October we had some welcome rain and the frogs and the new seedlings at the Majura Paddock were all very grateful.

The Mt Majura/Mt Ainslie Bird Walk to be led by ornithologist, Terry Munro on November 13^th has already been oversubscribed and there is a waiting list of people who are hopeful that another walk can be planned.

This month’s working party joint with the Watson Woodlanders will be on Sunday November 20^th from 9am-noon    Please come and help us tackle woody weeds on the north-west slope of Mount Majura.  More details and links for this event are shown below.

No news to report on the Centenary Trail.

I hope Waltraud is enjoying her time away from Mt Majura and that she returns refreshed and rested.  Somehow I doubt she is relaxing on a beach and suspect she is working as hard as ever!

Best wishes Louisa Barnsley

Rabbit Mapping Volunteer Meeting – Tuesday 8 November
When: Tuesday, 8 November 2011, 6 – 7pm
Where: Mt Majura nature at the Phillip Street entrance
Meet: Access and car parking available off Kellaway Street; click on Kellaway Street parking to see parking area and park entrance.
What: Meet the ranger, learns about identifying active warrens, adopt a mapping block and sign up for a GPS training session.
Click on this link for a poster you can download and distribute to advertise this meeting.
Please contact us if this time is not convenient but you do wish to take part.
Enquiries: click on this link for more info.

Woody Weeds Working Party – Sunday 20 November
When: Sunday, 20 November 2011, 9.00 am – 12.00 noon
Where: Mt Majura nature park off Antill Street south of “The Fair” construction site, north Watson
Meet: Access and car parking opposite Prime TV; walk along the horse track towards “The Fair” until you hit the PCS trailer; click on this map to view the meeting point and working area. Note: due to stormwater augmentation work, the nature park access and car park further north will be not accessible until further notice.
What: Cut-&-daub Sweet Briar, hawthorns, and frilling of Cootamundra wattles.
Bring: Sun protection, appropriate shoes, body-covering clothing; tools and morning tea will be provided.
Please come early for an introduction.
Enquiries and more information: visit this link