Drouin bird surveys - October 2020

Birds can live in almost any habitat – wetlands, forests, deserts, alpine, coastal, urban, grassland, etc.

Information from a simple species list can play an important role in indicating the health of the local environment and provide clues to what may be going wrong, or indeed what is being done right!

Records of bird populations in parks and gardens or wetlands can, over time, provide useful data to monitor such things as the local effects of climate change or changes in land use. And, simple bird surveys can indicate those areas rich in species that may deserve special protection.

Part of Bellbird Park wetland and bush - very precious

The Friends of Drouin’s Trees have been conducting two surveys a year, April and October, since 2018. Covid and a run of inclement Wednesday mornings throughout October this year have delayed analyses a little. Finally, some basic results have been determined:

·       82 species were recorded over 12 sites in and around Drouin

·       More than 40 species were recorded at both Bellbird Park Wetlands and the Drouin sewerage ponds

·       More than 30 species were recorded at six other sites

·       The usual introduced/pest species – Blackbird, Common Myna, Starling, Spotted Dove, etc – were most common

·       The most common native species included – Noisy Miner, Magpie, Eastern Rosella, Grey Butcherbird and the Grey Fantail.

·       New or unusual sightings included – Song Lark, Greenfinch, Blue-billed Duck, Richard’s Pipit and Rufous Fantail.

It is worth noting that some small ‘bushland’ birds – Brown Thornbill, Eastern Yellow Robin, Superb Fairy-wren - appear to be maintaining their populations within our very urban environment. 

The Eastern Yellow Robin can still be seen in several places in urban Drouin

Also however, the following were among the missing or severely declined – Crimson Rosella, Black-shouldered Kite, Boobook, Gang-gang Cockatoo, Great Egret and Musk Lorikeet although it is dangerous to make assumptions on such little data and basic procedures.

Raft of Pink-eared Ducks at Drouin Sewerage Ponds

All in all, while the unrelenting development of Drouin continues, it seems that some localities within our town and nearby, are becoming places of refuge for many avian species – but for how much longer? Drouin has at least six wetland places of significance and there are five localities at least where remnant tree ferns are present. It is incumbent of us to save these places for our avian friends and for our own good health and well being.

 

If trees could speak

 “Many people do not see us. They walk past us every day and sometimes sit in our shade.

“They eat our fruit, pick our flowers, smell our leaves. People climb us, cut our branches for firewood, pulp us into paper. We are often cut down to make room for houses and sometimes to just improve a view.

“And yet, they do not see us.

“People cut us into timber to make homes, furniture, musical instruments. They write poems and sing songs about us.

“And still, many do not see us.

“People have become disconnected from us, insensitive to us. Many have stopped caring about us.

“We give people clean air to breathe, shade to cool them down. We provide food and shelter for many animals. We store carbon, soak up ground water and stop erosion. We help to keep people healthy.

“We are old. We know the past. We have much to give for the future.

“Next time you walk by one of us, pause a moment and listen, we may whisper to you in the wind.”

 

Paraphrased from the transcript of a talk given by novelist Elif Shafak October 2020.

Silver Wattle

The Silver Wattle, Acacia dealbata, is endemic to parts of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.

Credit: wtlandcare.org

   

 Some accidental or deliberate naturalization has occurred in other states and in some other countries, where it is commonly referred to as Mimosa.

Silver Wattles can be found growing in a range of soils on roadsides, beside creeks, open forests and in parks and gardens. It is a fast-growing tree that usually has a 30-40 year lifespan. Silver Wattles often colonize quickly after a fire event.

    There are almost 1000 species of acacia and many can be hard to identify. The Silver Wattle has bluish-grey foliage and sometimes a whiteish appearance on the branchlets, giving its common name. It is very similar in appearance to the Black Wattle, A.mearnsii,  but the large globular flowers of the Silver Wattle usually appear earlier in late winter than the Black Wattle.

    The branchlets of the Silver Wattles have small raised glands at the junction of each pair of leaf-stalks. (Black Wattles have glands distributed randomly along the branchlets). 

L: Bee on a flower   R: Uniformly-spaced glands at junctions of pinnae

          The Silver Wattle regenerates readily from seeds and rhizomes, and is capable of re-sprouting after being cut. Like all wattles, it has nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its root nodules, making it a valuable fertilizing species for other native trees and shrubs.

             Several species of cockatoos and parrots enjoy eating the seeds when they appear in their flattened pods. The gum is a favourite food of the Sugar Glider. Being prone to attack by grubs, Silver Wattles are often seen with holes that have been chewed by Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos in search of a juicy larvae. The diminutive Yellow Thornbill can often be found in the ‘feathery foliage’ of the Silver Wattle rather than the eucalypt canopy preferred by most other thornbills.

L: Yellow Thornbill (Balfour Rd)  R: Black Cockatoo and its excavation in a young wattle

    Silver Wattles are found on roadsides in and around Drouin – Balfour Rd – parks, gardens and reserves – Bellbird Park – etc.

Do we need more housing choice?

 

Our shire is becoming rapidly urbanized and there are some arguments for a more diverse range of housing in Drouin and Warragul. Not everyone wants a ‘McMansion’ that takes up the whole block or a ‘squeezy unit’ at the bottom of a shared driveway. Low-density developments are often taken up with huge houses, sheds and concrete driveways. 

There is a tendency for our current patterns of development to destroy the character of our towns. Any semblance of distinctive or diverse architecture is coincidental. Often, there is little or no blending of the natural environment into our neighbourhoods.

Perhaps it is time for some properly planned mixed developments, particularly close to our CBDs, with well-designed medium density accommodation to combat the expensive infrastructural-sprawl that is consuming our beautiful rural landscapes, farmland and bush. 

Mixed density development Cranbourne South

The current pattern of many developments in Baw Baw, is for greenfield subdivisions of detached houses that require car-dependent families, often resulting in negative social, economic and environmental outcomes.

There is no doubt a need for a proportion of developments in Baw Baw to be of a dormitory nature, with many of the occupiers to be commuters to nearby cities and suburbs. This is only going to be the ultimate natural result of the near unprecedented expansion of Melbourne.

However, it takes little imagination to consider the values of some simple alternatives, for example cluster housing developments. Cluster housing means a number of dwellings grouped on one site to 1) take advantage of better building conditions, less gradient, etc, 2) to enable the appreciation of a view or outlook, 3) to create a larger area of open space, 4) to conserve an area of natural environment, 5) to enhance solar gain for all residences, etc.

Another option is for a greater choice of medium density residential housing that might include townhouses, terrace houses, semi-detached houses, duplexes, manor houses or small ‘apartment blocks’.  According to the 2016 census, just 7% of dwellings in regional Victoria were medium density. In Melbourne, medium density homes are at least 20% cheaper than detached houses. Low rise medium density housing developments use land more efficiently and when suitably located, they make walkability to retail centres and public transport highly valued to many occupants. Governments and planners should not be influenced by the ‘NIMBYism’ of residents in considering approvals for such developments.

There are other options too. The tiny house movement is gaining momentum in many places. 

Credit: thegoodtrade.com

 There would seemingly be multiple opportunities in Baw Baw to adopt some sustainable energy developments. There is an emerging biodiversity-sensitive urban design movement that would suit the supposed ‘green image’ of this region.

Credit: ggarradresearch

With some enlightened efforts on behalf of developers, planners and governments, environmentally sustainable, economical and engaging urban development design is achievable.

 

PLEASE NOTE

The views expressed in this post may not be held by all members of the Friends of Drouin’s Trees. You are welcome to make comment by clicking on the ‘COMMENTS’ label at the bottom of the post (on the website).