Clustered Everlasting flowers.
Photo courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Friends of Mount Majura wish you Happy New Year for 2026! So far, the summer has been quite dry, but some species don’t mind and are thriving. The Clustered Everlastings Chrysocephalum semipapposum are a golden delight and the Cicadas are providing a background chorus, seeming to enjoy the hotter times during the days.
Mondays @ the Fair group have been tackling Serrated Tussock and herbaceous weeds plus a few woody ones while the chem-certified sprayers have been concentrating on St John’s Wort (StJW) while it is flowering. Some StJW areas remain to be mapped to guide areas for spraying next summer. An enjoyable task for the near future will be collecting seeds of Clustered Everlastings to be sown in areas where there are few wildflowers now. Woody weeds need extra care as some, particularly Sweet Briar roses, have been found to be resprouting after previous treatments.
Our agreed annual plan for ParkCare in 2025-26 is available here and advice on weed control is available in the ACT Weeds Manual here.
Mondays @ the Fair meet at 9:30 at the Tay St gate to the Reserve in North Watson, and everyone is welcome to come and join in! We work together in small groups so novice weeders can learn from the more experienced ones and socialise at the same time.
Summer Bird Walk 8 February 2026 at 8am till 10am
Join bird enthusiast Peter Miller for an early morning stroll through Mt Majura’s woodland to spot, listen to and learn about Mt Majura’s birds. We plan to walk on rough foot tracks, and off track on uneven ground.
Meet on Sunday 8 February at 8am sharp – at the nature reserve entrance at Tay St, North Watson (at the volunteer registration point on this map).
Bring sturdy shoes, binoculars, a bird ID book or App and a gold coin donation for a printed copy of Mt Majura’s bird species list.
If you have questions, contact: FoMMnaturewalks@gmail.com
No bookings required.
Further information:
http://canberrabirds.org.au/observing-birds/identification/
Pied Currawong Strepera graculina, a common species in Canberra’s suburbs and bushland, one of the birds responsible for spreading seed of exotic plants such as privets Ligustrum spp and ivies Hedera spp into the woodlands in our reserves. Photo taken by HappyWanderer in Mt Majura reserve, courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Thorns, Spines or Prickles?
If you are doing a crossword, all these words would be considered synonyms – they are all spiky things on plants which are painful when you jab your finger on them! But botanically they are different. They are defensive weapons evolved to help protect the plant and coincidently help us identify what plant is spiking us.
Thorns are actually bits of stem with a sharp point. They can be branched and may have leaves. Examples are Firethorns Pyracantha spp, African Boxthorn Lycium ferocissimum, wild Callery Pear Pyrus calleryana and some citrus varieties.
Branches from a weedy Callery Pear growing in a Canberra Nature Reserve showing the thorns, some with leaves growing out of them.
Photo by Mike Sim, courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Spines are modified leaf structures or leaf parts such as stipules or petioles. They do not branch but can occur in clusters at the stem nodes. A good example is Kangaroo Thorn, the common name for spiney Acacia paradoxa. Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna has spines. Most cacti have leaves which are spines – photosynthesis takes place in their enlarged stems. And thistles are spiney – see Spear Thistle Cirsium vulgare.
Kangaroo Thorn stem showing the pairs of spines at each node just at the base of the phyllode “leaf”.
Photo courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Prickles are outgrowths of the skin of the plant and can occur anywhere on stems, not just at the nodes, or on bark, leaves or fruits. Roses and briars have prickles, and so do those little fruits which catch in your socks or animals’ fur, things like Bidgee Widgee (or Biddee-biddee) Acaena novae-zelandiae and its two relatives both called Sheep’s Burr Acaena echinata and Acaena ovina
Prickles on fruits can aid in seed distribution. When these pretty globes of Bidgee Widgee mature, they will stick to animals and thus get spread around. Photo courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Reports
Here is a presentation from the Office of Nature Conservation on Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for ACT Natural Values, a topic they are currently studying. This is from the November meeting of the Biodiversity Conservation Forum, now renamed the Nature Conservation Forum. The type of woodlands we work in are assessed as having low resilience to climate change.
Annual Report from the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions – see here for some good news stories particularly on biocontrol. Drone based mapping projects include two in the ACT: ACT Parks & Conservation – Urambi Hills for St John’s Wort and ANU – Spring Valley Farm for Paterson’s Curse.
Fact Sheet on Illegal Wildlife Trade. Don’t think it could not affect us… take care to not identify locations where you see lizards, bird nests or other wildlife which may be the latest in-thing for illegal collectors.
Carp Biological Control Program (CBCP) webinar and transcript for an update on the further research needed before a decision can be made on whether to release the carp virus. What has happened in the ACT? – see here. Further action depends on the CBCP. Expect a decision by 2028.
Report from BugHunt on Bugs in My Backyard week which was in November. See here. A local iNaturalist Dianne Clark, who records sightings in the ACT and Queanbeyan area, recorded the most bugs during the week.
NPA Goanna Project: Goanna News 68 Look at the reports on progress with the collecting of DNA samples from goannas, and news about the local Mt Ainslie/Majura Rosenberg’s goannas here. Fancy a trip to the Eyre Peninsula in February to help with the project? The invitation is there in the Goanna News 68.
A Rosenberg’s Goanna hatchling thanks people who support the National Parks Association research project by donating to become a Goanna Guardian.
News Stories
A Wombat Management Plan for the ACT is available as a draft here and it is causing some alarm – see this ABC story.
A fresh water turtle story and another one on how turtles help clean our rivers and could assist if the carp biocontrol virus is released – see reports section above on carp biological control research.
A story on the need to protect the Lake Eyre basin – see here.
The Red Goshawk, a rare bird story from Newhaven and the Kimberley – see here.
The Ampurta or Crest-tailed Mulgara – a surprising recovery of a threatened marsupial carnivore in arid Australia – see here. And for more on Mulgaras, see this Bush Heritage story and this fact sheet.
A photo-story on the need to protect habitat areas when siting wind farms – regulations in the new federal environmental legislation will be crucial to avoid harming nature.
Events
Any day at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) at 11 am and 2 pm – free guided walks – meet at the flag near the café bridge. If there are more than six people in your group, contact walks@friendsanbg.org.au a week in advance. Visiting the ANBG is free but there are carpark fees, and the gardens close at 5 pm.
Any day at the Australian National Botanic Gardens – self-guided walks anytime the Gardens Visitor Centre is open between 9:30am to 4:30pm to collect a pamphlet with map and pictures. There are two options which change every two weeks:
1 Flowers Fruit and Foliage walk showcases 15 plants along an easy route; the walk guide pamphlet is also available on-line here; and
2 Pause for Pollinators stroll encourages you to take time staring at flowers at the identified hotspots along the mapped trail, to see and perhaps photograph their pollinators.
Or just collect the gardens map pamphlet and do your own thing; there are always lovely flowers to look at from all around Australia and insects and birds visiting them.
Metallic Jewel Bug nymph Scutiphora pedicellate visiting a Flannel Flower Actinotus helianthi at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in December. This bug has been also recorded on Mt Majura.
Photo, taken at ANBG on a Pause for Pollinators walk, courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Wed, 7 Jan 2026, 9am – 1pm Western Edge Guided Walk: Tongs Hole to Namarag see here for info and to register.
12 – 18 January – 4 sessions/day – Snakes Alive! See snakes, lizards, frog, turtles and more … for more info and to book see here.Organised by the ACT Herpetological Association with the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Thursday, 5 February 2026 – 6:00pm to 7:00pm Bruce Lindenmayer Memorial Lecture Distinguished Professor David Lindenmayer speaks on ‘Re-imagining fire in the land of fire’ See here to book and for more information. Free, but donations accepted.
Sunday 8 Feb 2026 Peter Miller kindly volunteered to do a Late Summer Bird walk at The Fair 8am -10am. For more information see the story near the top of this newsletter.
Wed, 18 Feb 2026, 6pm – 8pm Conservation Council Townhall with ACT Environment Minister Suzanne Orr at Kingston – see here for info and to register.
Sunday 22nd Feb 10:30am -12:30pm if you would like to join a FoMM Butterfly walk on the slopes of Mt Majura, which Dr Suzi Bond has agreed to lead.
Exact location will be provided on FoMM website in January.
Suzi researches biodiversity across Australia, is fascinated by butterflies of the ACT, and is working towards a better understanding of their populations and ecology. She is the author of ‘Field Guide to the Butterflies of the Australian Capital Territory’, and a co-author of ‘Moths in the ACT’.
Exhibitions
Virtual exhibition of prizewinning science photography here.
14 Jan – 18 Feb 9:30 – 4:30 at the Visitor Centre Gallery, ANBG – Postcard from Black Mountain by Morgyn Phillips – postcard-sized images of landscapes, tracks, flora and fauna to remind us of the need to protect Black Mountain’s natural wonders in the middle of the city.
To see what’s on at Belco Arts in January to June see their website here with a flip book to explore.
“Botany is the science of beauty.” – Quote from the back cover of a coffee table book by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew called The Science of Plants, Inside Their Secret World – treat your inner botanist or artist by borrowing it from the ACT Library.
Final photo by louisab, courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr, shows a Red-headed Mouse Spider Missulena occatoria on Mount Majura, a bug almost in her backyard!
