Friends in my garden October 2009

The Striated Pardalot (top RHS) is a frequent visitor these days. His beautiful “tchip tchip” call can be heard through the bush, as I write this.

The Python, which is in the background?   I almost stood on him as I walked outside. Both the Python and the Brown Snake were sunning themselves and waiting for the small marsupials that abound here, to run along their pathways.

The White-Tail Spider was inside the house. He was nestled between the black keys of my piano, when I went to play, so I took a small brush, and brushed him into a glass, then took him outside. I like to take the “biting/hunting” spiders (wolf, white-tail, funnel-web spiders) outside. Firstly by putting a tall glass over them, then gently sliding some hard paper to cover the top of the glass, so that they can’t run or jump out of the glass, until I have emptied them out into the garden, close to where they can run for protection.

The Crow is the Father Crow of Benoit, my Crow friend (who has now grown up and left the Crow Nursery). I still put out water every day for the birds, and the parent Crows have their own water container. The Father Crow had just had a bath, in this photo. He is out there now splashing in his bath… he LOVES it!!!

The Goanna is also a frequent visitor. There are a number of these living nearby – of different sizes. This one is the largest one here – about four foot in length. I have, however, met one that was much much larger – over six foot in length, on the Marburg Range, west of Brisbane, many years back now.

The Skink – look hard in the collage – its there – is a common sight, both inside and outside the house.

The Honey Bee? Well they are constant visitors, although, since it has been so dry here, they do not seem as pollen loaded as usual, and I haven’t seen any native Black Bees for some months now.

Me trying to be very quiet and hidden in the garden

A note about taking photos for education and environmental advocacy purposes:-

Many animals do not like to have their photo taken, particularly birds. It is important when taking photos not to disturb them, as they are busy with their lives. These days, the lives of Australian wildlife can be somewhat stressful, so try not to stress wildlife by needlessly pursuing them, just for the sake of “capturing” their image. If you wish to photograph them or learn more by watching them, move slowly, preferably staying or sitting very still. And try not to focus too much attention on them – native wildlife are usually very very AWARE of their surroundings.

Eastern Brown Snake

Links:

Birds in Backyards – Birdfinder .

Honey Bee – bluecray environmental search

Native Black Bees – bluecray environmental search

Spiders at spiders.com.au

Snake Identification at wildlifeqld.com.au

Goanna – bluecray environmental search

Australian Lizards and Skinks – bluecray environmental search

Look carefully at this Ladybird Beetle... does it have an extra leg? NO! That is an ANT behind it!!

Honey Bees (introduced) in the Passionfruit Vine flowers, in the dry before the Spring rain came.

In the Bluecray “Journey for Wisdom in the Land” blog stories, I mention that the Goanna visited the Glyphosate bank, and eventually, the Goanna left also.

Here are a few LINKS to explore, to further understand restoration ecology, the complexity of biodiversity in disturbed fringe rainforest ecosystems and to help you with decision making with regard to suitability of spraying with Glyphosate (or any other herbicide) and mowing the area,  when embarking on a restoration project.

Factors affecting the use of reforested sites by reptiles in cleared rainforest landscapes in tropical and subtropical Australia. article at : Restoration Ecology 14, 67-76.  Kanowski, J., Reis, T., Catterall, C.P. and Piper, S. (2006)  This article can be found HERE.

Restoration Ecology – Wikipedia article

Pesticide fate and behaviour in Australian soils in relation to contamination and management of soil and water: a review : at CSIRO Australian Journal of Soil Research

NSW Government – Parliament Questions and Answers time at HANSARD : No. 10, Tuesday 19 September 1995 : if you scroll down this page, you will see Q’s & A’s pertaining to the NSW Government’s answer to the management of Bitou Bush involving the spraying of GLYPHOSATE. This is back in 1995. And if you have a look at current practices today, you will find that glyphosate is commonly sprayed in many areas of LAND and WATERWAYS. Landcare Groups, Land Managers, Developers, Councils – the list is endless as to those practicing glyphosate spraying.

Infection of frogs by amphibian chytrid causing the disease chytridiomycosis – key threatening process listing : KEY THREATENING PROCESS in Schedule 3 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act, NSW

“Is Batrachochytrium dendrobaidiss really the proximate cause of frog decline?” 2005 Shelley Burgin

Some other Articles concerning chytrid fungus HERE

Chytrid fungus at Wikipedia

Inclusion of species in the list of threatened species under section 178 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (55) (07/12/2007)  : This instrument amends the List of Threatened Species (16/07/2000) to include Litoria booroolongensis (Booroolong Frog) in the endangered category – at COMLAW

Action Statement Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988No. 118 Booroolong Frog :  Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victorian Government : this is a PDF, downloadable from the above link. I shall give you a small section from Page 4 of the above Action Statement where glyphosate and chytrid causing disease is mentioned: -

“Over the past 20 years there has been an increase in the general use of broad-spectrum herbicides (Tyler 1989).  The active ingredient in many formulations, glyphosate, and the surfactant have been shown to be toxic to frogs and tadpoles (Bidwell and Gorrie 1995).  Formulations which contain glyphosate and surfactant are commonly used to control emergent water weeds.  The wide use of these pesticides may have contributed to the decline of the Booroolong Frog in rural landscapes, such as the Northern Tablelands region.

Studies of ill and dead frogs have implicated a chytrid fungus in the decline of some tropical and sub-tropical frog species in north Queensland and Central America (Berger  et al. 1998; Lips 1999). Several species of temperate riverine frogs have been infected with this fungus (Berger et al. 1998; Berger unpublished data).”

Bluecray Regional Environmental News-Mt Warning Caldera  Search Engine:-

search “Litoria booroolongensis threatened species”    RESULTS

some useful article on restoration and ecology: at Biodiversity Assessment & Management Pty Ltd (BAAM)

And so, lets just look at what has been going on here:-

Frogs , especially very small frogs, can be undetected in banks of streams and gullies. They may be in the soil, under vegetation, on vegetation or in the water. If, and when, a person comes into this habitat, and sprays glyphosate, some frogs are documented as not handling this very well. It may make them sick. Sickness from a chemical, plus loss of habitat, via death of vegetation (less cover, lessened insect activity, loss of biodiversity – even IF it happens to be that the only current biodiversity in the area is weeds) can cause stress. Stress can be a cause of illness manifesting.  I now leave it up to you to work out.

CHOICE 1. Spraying stream banks and gullys, or indeed, anywhere, with glyphosate,  thus killing vegetation and habitat areas. Mowing and slashing and/or spraying, thus decreasing groundcover for smaller wildlife species

PK wonders if Litoria & her friends will escape the Glyphosate and Slashers in the Landcare Project on their Creek in NE NSW

CHOICE 2. Sound, environmentaly sustainable practices for maintaining biodiversity . This may include:

• careful, selective  hand weeding,
• mulching with local leaves, branches  and debris,
• dense planting to promote quick canopy,
• leaving wood, rocks and logs in place, rather than removing to allow a slasher in
• incorporating native groundcovers, grasses, herbs  and middles storey plants and seed into revegetation program,
• slow mindful approach to sensitive stream bank areas – there is a huge choice of careful land stewardship methods.
• Basically, minimum disturbance of the habitat that is to be regenerated is best, thus allowing the species already present, to stay, in a protected habitat situation. In a later article, I shall discuss these and other methods,  a bit more in depth.

And so, in answer to WHY Goanna left the Glyphosate Bank in my story?  Well, because, (and there IS some artistic licence here) ……..

Because all the other wildlife began to feel ill, exposed, and the seed and insects had gone. The small seed eating birds left.  They all had to move into other animals’ habitats for a while.

And  Goanna left too,  before he got too stressed or chased by a slasher!  And of course, the tall grasses with their open high thatch, as well as the cover of lantana, leading from the forest to the grassy bank had allowed the goanna some protection, as he searched for food in the gully and along the bank. Once all this was dead and dried up and sparse, the goanna, being more exposed in his searching for food,  left the Glyphosate Bank.

Kremen Lab Group : “In California, our recent findings show that a diverse community of native bee pollinators can provide sufficient pollination services for crops without the addition of managed colonies of honey bees (Kremen et al. 2002), but that this service critically depends on the availability of natural habitat in proximity to the farm site (Kremen et al. 2004). Farm management (organic versus conventional) may also influence the diversity and abundance of native bees found on farms.”  taken from Current Projects at Dr. Kremen’s (University of California, Berkeley, USA) research website

These photos are for you. I took these photos in my yard at Burringbar, New South Wales, Australia, where I live.

The baby crows in the photos are my friends. The three baby crows live in the trees beside my house, with their mother and father.   Baba O’Riley is the eldest child.  Benoit Mandelbrot is the middle child, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is the youngest.

Baba is a very brave young crow. He has already chased a big sea eagle, high into the clouds above my home. Benoit is the brightest of the crow children. Lucy is just young and cute.  The crows like to eat grasshoppers, rats, snakes, mandarins, avocado, peanuts, orange, barley seed, corn, snake and bird eggs and earthworms.  They like to chase kookaburras, eagles, hawks, owls, cats and goannas.  The baby crows really love flying about with their mother and father.

I hope you like the photos! love al.

Below are the Chart Art links to the Burringbar Crows –  Baba, Benoit, Lucy and their Mother & father, plus stories of some of their adventures + more pics:-

Crow Magic

Crows Ash Tree

Children of the Crows

Baba’s First Big Flight

More Crows

Benoit Mandelbrot – A very Smart Crow

Benoit Mandelbrot at home in Burringbar

Benoit Mandelbrot the Crow, Figs, Swans and the Synchronicity of Symbols

Benoit is Back!

Corvus in the Midheaven, Mars Rising