Green Space Our Place - Our Volunteers Voice - Issue 38 - March 2023

Green Space Our Place

Front page:

Stratford Nursery

horticulturalist Ryan with volunteers Rosi and Doug planting alongside the outdoor growing area.

Back page: Cicada up close.

C O N T E N T S

In this issue:

From the Editor...............................2

One person’s ability to create change .............................................3

Volunteers Information Session....4

Volunteer activities.......................5

Butterfly food plants.................6-7

History of the Sugarworld Parklands.....................................8-9

Changing fortunes of Bird Island...........................................10-11

Bird Migration - Part 2...........12-13

Feathered Friends........................13

2023 World Wetlands Day celebration - Cattana Wetlands..14

Did you know? ...............................14

Catching up with Friends...........15

Small Wonders: nature in miniature .......................................16

Gapforce - February group.......17

What’s on in 2023..................18-19

From the Editor

Welcome

The Green Space Our Place volunteer program is about connecting people with people and people with nature, to build a stronger, more resilient community to support our city and the environment. With a commitment from an average of 400 volunteers per year, we are certainly seeing evidence to support this vision.

However, it still amazes me when one person can create a change on his own and this is what Rob Williams (see next page) has done with a piece of land adjoining Barr Creek. Well done Rob. You are an inspiration!

Early in the year, we had a change to our team with Sarah Olds accepting a position with Parks Assets, working primarily on Mt Whitfield’s Arrow Tracks. She will continue to support the Sandpipers and Tracks ‘n’ Trails program. We wish Sarah all the best in her new role.

We continue to offer a variety of activities in our program (see page 5), along with information sessions once a month with the aim of providing something in return for our volunteers’ support. This year’s sessions began with guest speaker ecologists, Jenn Muir presenting “Birds and their various adaptation strategies for survival”, and Barry Muir “A different way of looking at weeds”.

The next session in April will be with the Heritage Tour Guides who have offered to provide their tours. Did you know the tanks were used to store oil? Come along to learn all about the heritage of the Cairns Botanic Gardens and Tanks Art Centre.

Editor - Volunteers Supervisor, Louisa Grandy

Proof readers - Michelle Walkden

Volunteers Jennifer H. Muir, Sandy Long

Contributors - volunteers: Rob Williams, Tom Collis, Fran Lindsay, Janice Pichon, Jennifer H. Muir, John Peter, Hidetoshi Kudo (Mikey), Dr David Rentz AM, and Barry Muir & Bridgette Gower.

Also on this year’s agenda is a tour of the Mangrove Boardwalk, Friends’ Botanic Gardens tours, and Department of Biosecurity talking about good versus bad bugs at The Green Space - stay tuned.

If you would like to join our volunteer program, contact details are inside the back page.

One person’s ability to create change

Rob Williams

The Air Services Australia land, adjoining Barr Creek at Machans Beach, was cleared in the 70s to help with aircraft navigation. What had been a proud forested lagoon became a puddle in a mowed lawn.

I used to wander past and think “someone should get permission to recreate the Melaleuca swampland”, which would have been a vital habitat and integral part of Barr Creek fish habitat. It was obvious to me who that person would be, however it was not for one person with big ideas to approach Air Services Australia with the proposal. I had been a keen volunteer with the Barron Delta Community Engagement Group, so I mentioned my dream to the coordinator and said if the group could get the go ahead I would carry out the follow-up maintenance to ensure the regeneration project didn’t evolve, through neglect, into a strangled vine and weed thicket.

Permission was granted in September 2012 to re-establish the marvellous swampland now known as Radar Lagoon.

Cairns Regional Council has been supportive providing trees and mulch, and most of the residents close by have been very supportive planting extra trees and helping with maintenance.

After 10 years, Radar Lagoon is now a well established ecosystem buddied up with Barr Creek Fish Habitat. Local wildlife includes Shield Shrimp, Triops australiensis (a surprise to me), many frog species, Lace Monitor, wallaby, water snake, nesting Pygmy Geese on a floating reed nest, many nests in trees including the Crimson Finch and Torres Strait Pigeon. The Orange-footed Scrubfowls, of course, think they own the place and dig out as many of my little seedlings as they like. When a Whistling Kite flew down through the canopy and pinned one to the ground I didn’t know whose side to take. I interfered and rescued the scrubfowl so I guess it’s my mate.

Go Go Radar Lagoon! Check it out if you haven’t seen it.

Editors note: This is evidence what one person can do to create change.

‘Saving Jack Barnes Mangrove Boardwalk’ presentation a popular topic

Jon, speaker Denis Walls, and Rob

Sandy and Prue

Volunteers support officer Sarah and Suzy

Elaine with program team leader Louisa Joanne and Suellen Chelsea and Janelle

Marilyn, Graeme and Lee

Erica, Lyn and Darlene

Therese and Diana

David, Jenn and Barry

Jo and Brigette

Jim, Charles and Peter

A snapshot of our supervised volunteer activities

Sandpipers: Kerry, Jim, Jill and Chris

Jabirus: getting set to plant out the entrance. Rikki, Prue, Dave, Kerry and Geoff

Sugarworld: team leader Louisa (centre) with John, Jenny and Johnson

Down ‘n’ Dirty: planting a native garden at the front of The Green Space, Jess Mitchell Park

Stratford Nursery: Joel received his 5 Years of Service certificate for providing the nursery with seeds he collects from the Cairns region

Egrets: Hiromi and Rob (background) planting

Heritage Tour Guides preparing for their first tours: Janice, Trevor, Bernie, Elaine, Lyn and Bob

Tracks ‘n’ Trails: Rob, Hiromi, John and Peter

Little Taccas: Bridgette and Jeannette

Heritage Tour Guide Bob on the first tour for 2023 with one of our volunteers from the past, Ann

Penny working in The Green Space

Green Spotted Triangle on Lime Berry

Little Evodia, Melicope rubra, host plant for the Ulysses butterfly

Caterpillar of the Cairns Birdwing butterfly

Lacewing vine, Adenia heterophylla, host plant for Red Lacewing butterfly

Male Cairns Birdwing butterfly

Yellow Jezabel butterfly on Lime Berry tree

Coastal Caper Capparis lucida host plant for Pearl White butterfly Cairns Birdwing chrysalis under a leaf

Butterfly food plants

Butterflies spend their short lives seeking plants for food, shelter and places to lay eggs. The plants they use fall into two categories: host plants and nectar plants. Host plants provide food (mostly the leaves) for caterpillars, and nectar plants provide food (through the flowers) for the adult butterflies. Some plants serve both purposes.

Several species of native Aristolochia vine are host plants for Australia’s largest butterfly, the Cairns Birdwing. The female seeks out this host plant and deposits her eggs on it. After hatching, the hungry caterpillars start eating the leaves before pupating into a chrysalis. The vines don’t provide any food for the adult butterflies so they must search for nectar plants. A good place to see Cairns Birdwing butterflies and caterpillars are the Aristolochia vines growing along the western boundary fence of Flecker Gardens.

The Lacewing Vine, Adenia heterophylla, is a food plant for caterpillars of the beautiful Red Lacewing butterfly. The caterpillars are bright yellow and black – warning signs in nature that they are poisonous. Like many butterfly species, the toxin in the caterpillar comes from the poisonous leaves of the vine. Lacewing is also a host to the Glasswing and Cruiser butterflies.

When flowering, Lime Berry Trees, Micromelum

minutum, attract large numbers of butterflies that feed on the nectar. It is a great tree to grow in Cairns gardens and attracts many species including Green Triangle, Brown Soldier and Jezabel butterflies. Lime Berry is in the same plant family as citrus and is a host tree for the Orchard Butterfly.

Little Evodia, Melicope rubra, is a host and nectar plant for the blue Ulysses butterfly, providing food for both the caterpillars and the adults. Little Evodia is small, fast growing and produces masses of flowers along the branches even as a small shrub. Another species of Evodia in the Wet Tropics is the Pink Evodia, Melicope elleryana, a much larger tree that grows to 35 metres. It is also a host tree for the Ulysses butterfly.

Most of the 11 species of Capparis in the Wet Tropics are host plants for Caper Butterflies. The plants are often seen with dozens of small white butterflies hovering around the plant. Most commonly seen around Cairns are Pearl White butterflies that lay eggs on the leaves of Coast Caper, Capparis lucida.

These are just a few examples of the relationship between plants and butterflies. For more information check out Garry Sankowsky’s book “A Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia – Their Life Histories and Host Plants”.

Tom Collis

Blue Tiger butterfly feeding on flowers of Large-leafed Privet (a weed).

FRAN LINDSAY

Pre-2000

History of the Sugarworld Parklands

In today’s modern times, Sugarworld Parklands is known for its waterslides and open landscape. However it has an interesting history, outlined here by President of the Friends of Sugarworld Botanic Gardens Inc, Fran Lindsay.

The year of 1881 found Cairns at its lowest ebb and when all hope of revival seemed to be at an end, Mr. Swallow arrived, and, like the wonderful alchemist of industry that he was, brought order out of chaos. He selected land on the Mulgrave road (now known as Sugarworld Parklands) and soon had the axe busy felling scrub, men active in planting cane, and others hurrying onward the erection of a vast sugar mill.

Mr Swallow set up his own sugar mill and tramway to Trinity Inlet to a point now known as Swallows Landing. The last steam locomotive to be used in the Edmonton Sugar Industry can still be seen at the parklands today. The Hudswell Clarke was built in England in 1924 and carried cane from Trinity Beach, Smithfield and the Barron River area.

For over 100 years Hambledon Mill processed sugarcane grown on the fertile lowlands around the city of Cairns. In this immediate area there were staff houses and facilities, including well maintained parkland and some well-established trees. The mill provided employment to around 250 workers (many more in earlier years) and processing up to 600,000 tonnes of cane annually. Hambledon was an historic site with a very proud heritage. The Sugarworld area is well regarded for its magnificent rain trees. Many of these date back 100 years and a storyboard at the Thomas Swallow Park gives some early history of the Swallow family and the area.

From around the early 1970s the development of Cairns and district as a popular tourist destination, particularly for the Japanese market, resulted in a very significant shift in focus and in the demography of Cairns. The tourist industry was becoming lucrative and the developers were eager to exploit new opportunities. The accompanying population growth led to large-scale urban expansion which inevitably encroached upon the cane lands. Well -located land owners were richly rewarded by selling to developers, with the resultant contraction of land area suitable for the production of sugarcane.

Minimal opportunity existed for relocation of cane

assignments to new areas in the valley so the commercial viability of the mill, operating in a long-established agricultural-based enterprise, was being put to the test by a new and fast moving push into tourism. Unfortunately, Hambledon as a sugar milling operation, was simply located too close to the centre of this new business activity for it not to be placed at considerable disadvantage.

Against that background, there appeared little to be gained from continued resistance to land re-development, and opportunities were canvassed that might help regain some advantage in the changed circumstances. In 1987 it was decided to make use of the mill’s proximity to Cairns and its involvement with sugar by extending into tropical agriculture generally and creating an extra dimension of tourist interest in the Cairns area. Sugar would be the core interest offered, with mill and cane land tours during the season, while tropical fruits and plants would be on permanent display year round. (It is noteworthy here that for many years tour operators from Cairns had been bringing busloads of visitors to Hambledon for mill inspections during crushing. These had proven very popular with no entry fee charged.)

By 1988 extensive plantings for display had been completed in the Sugarworld area, with particular emphasis on the rare tropical fruits collection. All the sections were made easily accessible and were well labelled with both common and botanical names. It was decided the attraction would need to be entertaining as well as educational, and a train, a coach, water features, small animals and food/souvenir outlets, were included. The facility was designed essentially as a family destination not dissimilar to some overseas theme parks, but initially on a small scale. An interpretive centre was created where information would be available and opportunity to taste fruit in season would be offered.

The trees and plants generally thrived and good fruit yields were achieved in a short time. The deep rich soil in the area had proved highly suitable for this type of tropical agriculture.

The owners of Hambledon Estate, CSR Limited, decided that the mill would cease operations at the end of the 1991 season, as projected profitability from sugar milling was in decline with no prospects of turnaround. An agreement was reached for the cane farm assignments to be transferred to Mulgrave Mill. The Hambledon land, consisting of some 300ha, would be allowed to pass on to redevelopment, with the exception of some hill slopes and most of the Sugarworld precinct, for which ownership would pass to Cairns City Council. The Council purchased a section of land as freehold, where the waterslides are

situated, with the remaining tree areas coming across as public open space, with Council as Trustee.

In the subsequent redevelopment, a large proportion of the rare fruits displays were sadly destroyed and what remains is a mere token measure of what it could have been – a botanical display of great relevance to the tropical north. For good practical reasons, however, it is unlikely that the growing of rare tropical fruits could be displayed successfully in any unsupervised public open space.

Post 2000

In February 2007, Friends of Sugarworld Botanic Gardens Incorporated was formed with the objective of stimulating interest and community awareness in the activities of the Sugarworld Botanic Gardens; to promote and support horticultural and botanical science in Cairns; and to raise funds for use in furthering the stated management aims of the Gardens.

This group meets monthly and assists with general maintenance and gardening such as weeding, mulching and planting under the guidance of Council staff and the Green Space Our Place volunteer program.

Sugarcane

In 2014, several varieties of sugarcane were planted. These plantings are behind the stage area beside the pathway. Sugarcane, the sweet grass, belongs to the genus Saccharum. Many of the wild species have little or no sugar content but are used in plant breeding. Other sweet canes have been selected by the native people of Melanesia and over the centuries grown in gardens for

food. From there it was taken to other tropical countries and became important in their cultures. In the tropics, sugarcane is an annual crop, grown in the summer wet season and matures and ripens in the cooler drier winter, when it is harvested and crushed for the commercial product we buy in the shops.

Some kinds of sugarcane:

Badila: Introduced from New Guinea (where it had been grown in native gardens) by Henry Tryon in 1896. parentage unknown.

POJ2878: Introduced from Java by Bureau of Sugar Experimental Stations (BSES) and Colonial Sugar Refining Co (CSR) in 1928. This cane has been important in the cane breeding program.

Q57: Bred by BSES, now SRA, at Meringa in 1945. Produced good sugar content in the wet areas of the State.

Trojan: Bred by CSR at Macknade in 1933, became a leading variety with a good late season sugar. All these varieties have been superseded.

Thanks to Harry Soloman (Hambledon Sugar Mill retired manager) and local cane farmer and Friends committee member Jim Hill for their invaluable information.

Currently Sugarworld Gardens are open seven days a week from 7.30am to 6pm with free entry. The Waterpark occupy about 2.7ha and the Parklands 5.8ha. The tropical fruit orchard produces many diverse and interesting fruit such as the Jaboticaba, Miracle Fruit (which turns bitter taste into sweet), Velvet Apples and Breadfruit to name but a few.

Photo supplied by Cairns Historical Society

Changing fortunes of Bird Island Yesteryears of Michaelmas Cay

JANICE PICHON

Michaelmas Cay is a tiny, low-lying coral islet located 43km north-east of Cairns in the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef. Sparkling azure waters and fine white sands surround a grassy platform which is crowned by a cloud of wheeling and screeching seabirds.

With a vegetated area of 1.8ha, this diminutive cay hosts an impressive and nationally important seabird rookery comprising up to 20,000 ground-nesting terns and noddies. The cay and the rookery depend on each other for their existence, with bird droppings bringing seeds of grasses and other low-lying plants, and also fertilising their growth. As grasses grow, they provide suitable habitat for nesting. If the birds disappear, the grasses that stabilise the sand will perish and, in time, the cay could be swept away by the sea, depriving the seabirds of their traditional breeding grounds.

In times past, the stability of this cay has been solely at the mercy of weather and sea conditions. However, since European settlement on the mainland, the equilibrium between the cay and its nesting seabirds has been tested by new forces. Particularly in the period between the mid1800s and the mid-1900s, the survival of “Bird Island” was imperilled by human activities.

Bêche-de-mer fishing

Commercial harvesting of bêche-de-mer (sea cucumbers) at Michaelmas Cay occurred between 1870 and 1905. Apart from its effect on sea cucumber populations, the fishing activity disturbed the island’s birds. A visiting group of naturalists in 1903 was bitterly disappointed to find most of the birds had deserted the cay due to the unsettling presence of a bêche-de-mer fishing camp. By the beginning of the 20th century, reef stocks of bêchede-mer were experiencing localised depletion and the industry dwindled.

Drilling

In May 1926, a party of eight set up camp on Michaelmas Cay for an ambitious scientific project to bore down into the island’s foundations. Organised by the Great Barrier Reef Committee in Brisbane, its goal was to discover the depth of the coral reef platform on which the cay sits.

Four months of drilling disturbed the physical environment along with the birdlife, although nothing seemed to quieten the perpetual cacophony of their squeals! Surprisingly, rather than avoiding the new inhabitants of their cay, the chicks were attracted to the crew, essentially to enjoy the

shade cast by the men’s bodies, such protection from the sun being scarce on a treeless island.

The drilling program induced no long-term impacts, with the only visible trace being the bore hole marker which has proven a useful benchmark for tracking cay movement. Indeed, a visit to Michaelmas Cay two years later in 1928 by members of the Great Barrier Reef Expedition documented countless thousands of seabirds.

Providentially, the presence of the boring team threw light on other more harmful practices. In particular, the Cairns community was alerted to the plundering of the bird colony with egg collecting and senseless killing of birds: it was estimated that 50,000 eggs and several thousand birds were lost in a single month.

Guano extraction

Seabird islands develop rich beds of guano, the dried accumulation of years of bird excrement, along with their carcases and eggshells. In the era before the advent of commercial fertilisers, these phosphate-rich deposits were mined on many coral islands to fertilise mainland crops. In 1901, a 21-year lease was approved to remove guano at Michaelmas Cay together with adjacent Upolu Cay. Sustained guano mining took place up until 1940 and more than 1000 tons of deposits were removed from the two cays.

Guano mining involved clearing of cay vegetation to facilitate extraction of the phosphatic rock, along with major disturbance of the rookery. Over on the mainland, these operations caused mounting community concern about the eventual destruction of the island. Today, there is no visible evidence of these quarrying activities at Michaelmas Cay. However, some other Reef sites subject to more intensive mining still bear the scars, for example, Raine Island where the topography was completely altered.

Coral mining

Another resource extracted from Michaelmas Cay in the 1920s to 1930s was coral which was used to supply building materials and produce agricultural lime, a necessity for the neutralising the acidic soils of North Queensland sugar cane farms. In 1922, a lease for coral mining on the cay was issued, despite objection by the Cairns City Council. However, no monitoring occurred, and tons of coral materiel were taken from the prohibited zone above the high-water mark, directly impacting the birdlife.

The catastrophic effect of coral mining provoked objections from alarmed naturalists. Early evidence from extensive quarrying at a neighbouring cay showed reduced island height and almost no birds remaining. Nonetheless, a senior government official considered that the sacrifice of cays was justified by the agricultural benefits arising from improved cropping. Finally, the coral licence for Michaelmas Cay was revoked in 1934, and mining prohibited in 1937.

Pillaging wildlife

Over many decades, the bird colonies of Michaelmas Cay were regularly plundered by crews from passing ships and visitors from Cairns. Apart from killing the birds for meat, it was common practice to destroy all the eggs in a particular area, ensuring that any eggs collected on subsequent days would be freshly laid. Kerosene drumfuls of eggs were carted off the cay for consumption aboard or to be sold in Cairns where they were a favourite of cake bakers. Some visitors even used the cay for sport shooting or worse, killing birds for fun and smashing eggs.

The Cairns community became increasingly fearful that intensive egg collecting would wipe out complete generations of birds and jeopardise the rookery, along with its tourism potential. To protect its future, Michaelmas Cay was declared an animal and birdlife sanctuary in 1926. However, the cay was not monitored, and breaches occurred with egg harvesting being last reported in 1976.

Securing the future

The era of regulation and management arrived before irreparable long-term damage of Michaelmas Cay through resource exploitation. At the same time, the rise in reef tourism with larger and faster boats saw visitor numbers escalate, renewing the perils. Establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and declaration of the cay as a Queensland National Park in 1975, complemented by site management plans, have prevented this “island of perpetual (bird) noise” being silenced.

The management challenge was to find solutions to allow visitation without damaging the cay and disturbing the birds, causing frightened adults to abandon their eggs or chicks to a certain death. Fencing the vegetated part and voluntary codes of conduct for tourism operators have proven successful. Specific measures were needed to limit bird disturbance from aircraft noise, with initially the banning of seaplanes and later planes overflying; the first time that airspace restrictions had been imposed on environmental grounds.

The fact that Michaelmas Cay is presently one of the top seabird nesting sites on the Great Barrier Reef is testament to the success of the island’s management. Through conservation practices, it has maintained a healthy environment, providing beneficial effects for biodiversity and tourism, as well as endowing the cay with greater natural ability to respond to future stresses. Today, Michaelmas Cay is welcoming new generations of visitors who share the island’s resources with the seabirds.

Seabirds swirl around Michaelmas Cay visitor 1928.

The changing face of Michaelmas Cay tourism, 1933 and 1991 (below).

Crowded nesting on Michaelmas Cay.

BIRD MIGRATION – Part 2 Shorebirds (aka Waders)

In the last Volunteers Voice issue (December 2022), I discussed why birds migrate and types of migration. Now I’ll discuss more of the remarkable shorebirds, some of which fly incredible 25,000km round trips.

They reach Australia in our spring, in transitional (partial breeding) plumage from their Arctic Circle breeding grounds. For them, Australia is a non-breeding (Rest and Recreation - R&R) region in which they avoid the long, mind-numbingly cold Northern Hemisphere winter and its lack of food.

While here, they undergo their annual flight feathers moult (October-February), which is essential to ensure they’re in top condition for their coming arduous return flight to their Arctic breeding grounds. To gain energy for these grueling flights, they eat high-fat prey such as molluscs, crustaceans, marine worms and insects during their southern R&R. If eating plant matter, they prefer high fat seeds and fruits.

Between the Arctic and Australia most follow the western Pacific’s East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) along Asia’s coast and islands (some 8,000-12,500kms each way). This involves very long flights and rest stops in a chain of staging posts, so they can ‘refuel’ for the next leg of their journey. The coastline is much safer than crossing the ocean as shorebirds rarely swim, and if they fell into the ocean they would probably drown.

Along the EAAF, environmental degradation of the birds’ rest stop staging areas by onshore development (eg fish farms, land reclamation, housing, pollution), has resulted in tragic loss of birds. Some areas that supported many thousands of shorebirds 30 to 40 years ago, no longer do so: many sites no longer exist or are severely damaged, and birds can’t refuel enough to continue their journey. Many weaken and starve to death, or drown en route. Refuelling is crucial. The resulting overall decline in shorebird populations over the past 30 or so years is a disaster for Earth’s diversity, environmental health and future.

Many international birders visit Cairns, the Atherton Tablelands and Cape York, often during summer, for the shorebirds. Here are four shorebirds that bring visitors.

Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) arrives in Australia in September/October from northern Siberia. It follows the EAAF to India, southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Oceania for our southern summer. When their stunning (black, and speckled cream and gold) breeding plumage starts to develop (as pictured) they start their northern migration.

In Australia, they prefer estuaries, tidal flats, beaches and reefs, especially with seaweed, salt-marshes and rocky coasts. They run in the typical plover stop-start sewing machine-style to catch small molluscs and crustaceans.

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

arrives in Australia in September/ October from north-eastern Siberia and western Alaska. Its southern journey is a non-stop flight of about 10,000km (the longest non-stop flight known for any bird) directly across the Pacific Ocean to eastern Australia and New Zealand. On its return trip it follows the EAAF refueling at staging posts en route.

Pacific Golden Plover

Bar-tailed Godwit

In Australia they prefer large tidal flats, feeding on molluscs, crustaceans and marine worms found by repeated shallow probing with their long sensitive bills. They leave in April/May to return to their Northern Hemisphere breeding grounds.

Feathered Friends

JOHN PETER BirdLife Australia

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) migrates here from the Arctic Siberian tundra, arriving in Australia in August/September, departing late in April/May to return to its breeding grounds. Note the markings on the crown and face, and down-curved bill about twice as long as its head (shorter than bill of the Eastern Curlew below).

In Australia Whimbels prefer estuaries, large tidal flats with mangroves, and salt marshes. They mostly probe for worms or molluscs on mud or sand, or pick up crustaceans and insects among rocks, coral and seaweed. They may also eat plant matter, particularly seeds and fruits.

Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) the largest of Australia’s shorebirds migrates from eastern Siberian and Manchurian moors to Australia arriving in August/September, and returning to its breeding grounds in late March/early May. It’s believed that the world’s entire population of Eastern Curlew may spend its southern R&R around Australia’s coastline. Note plain face with the pale ‘eyebrow’, and longer down-curved bill than that of the Whimbrel.

In Australia they prefer estuaries, tidal flats, open sandy beaches and salt marshes, probing mud and sand with their long bills, probably for worms and small crabs. Their longer bills enable them to probe for deeper prey that other birds can’t reach.

A familiar bird to many people right across northern Australia, the Blue-winged Kookaburra also occurs in southern New Guinea. Within this range, they are found in a range of tropical and subtropical forests and woodlands, usually among eucalypts.

Blue-winged Kookaburras are often difficult to approach, sometimes flying off when you’re 200m away! They often beat the tropical heat by sheltering quietly among the foliage in trees, but their chorus of harsh screeches, barks, yelps and cackles, most often around dawn and dusk, readily draws people’s attention to them. This far-reaching call, sometimes given by two or more birds at the same time, carries throughout the forest, and may be answered by other kookaburras. Although they are kingfishers, Blue-winged Kookaburras seldom dive into water to catch fish. Instead, they usually perch in a tree, scanning the ground below for insects or lizards, then pounce onto the leaf litter, and return to the branch to beat their prey before eating it.

Blue-winged Kookaburras usually nest in large tree hollows, which only form in very old trees, so they are at a premium and subject to competition from other hollowbreeding birds and mammals. Sometimes they excavate a nesting tunnel into a termite mound instead. Up to five white eggs are laid onto a layer of woodchips and dust, or crumbly termite substrate, and incubated by both parents, as well as by helpers at the nest. They all brood and feed the chicks.

Blue-winged Kookaburra

Whimbrel

World Wetlands Day Celebration - Cattana Wetlands

HIDETOSHI KUDO (MIKEY)

Cairns Area Coordinator, BirdLife Northern Queensland

The World Wetlands Day is an international day to celebrate our wetlands and raise awareness of the important value they have for our environment and communities.

The Ramsar Convention, for wetland conservation, was adopted in 1971 by seven countries with importance emphasised on 2 February. Australia was one of the seven that took a huge step forward to protect our wetland environments with over 170 countries now registered for the Convention.

In Queensland, there are only five sites that have been registered under the Convention. Although there are none in Far North Queensland, despite the rich nature of the Wet Tropics, we continue to celebrate our local Cattana Wetlands in Cairns. The beautiful wetlands were artificially created and have been looked after by the Council and many volunteers. In recent years, there has been a increase in birds nesting.

Ambitiously, Green Space Our Place Jabiru volunteer Geoff McClure and I organised the celebration on Saturday 4 February, the middle of the wet season with huge support from Cairns Birders. Needless to say, lots of mosquitoes were also excited about the celebration.

Jabiru volunteer Denis Moeser was another leader at the event. Denis has installed a number of nest boxes for Sugar Gliders and Striped Possums, as well as for microbats. He also installed some unique insect shelters around the park facilities. Unfortunatley, the introduced Asian Honey Bees are one of the challenges, taking over the nest boxes and driving out the Sugar Gliders.

Dave Anderson, of Cairns Birders and also a Jabiru volunteer, supported the event by describing the bird species around the Cattana Wetlands. We heard Fig Parrots, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Spangled Drongos, Jacanas and Bush-Hens. It was a great morning with like-minded people who are concerned about our environment. I would like to send a big thank you to all participants and the leaders who guided through the wetlands. I would also like to add that the Cairns Reginal Council acknowledges this event and hope BirdLife can receive everyone’s continued support in the future.

DID YOU KNOW...?

If you want to know birds better, a good way is to look closely at them. You can tell a lot about a bird and how it lives from looking closely at it with binoculars. Food is crucial for survival, and many birds have distinctive bill shapes that enable them to get their share in a complex, highly competitive world.

A long bill is better for probing soil, mud or cracks between rocks and plant roots, to find prey that other birds with shorter bills can’t reach. Shorebirds such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and Eastern Curlew, have long, probing bills.

A long, thin bill can get into nectaries in flowers, and ‘tweezer’-like bills are good for picking up and holding insects. Strong, stubby bills are good for cracking open shells to extract the inner nut or seed, eg finches. Longish, heavy, sharp bills are good for catching fish - terns get their lunch by diving into water to catch fish.

Long, sharp bills are good for spearing fish – have a close look at a darter. Did you know darters catch their fish then come to the surface to swallow it. They often throw the fish up into the air manipulating it so they can swallow it head first – can you guess why?

It is because of the fish’s scales which could get stuck in the bird’s throat if swallowed the wrong way!

JENNIFER H. MUIR

Denis Moeser talking about the nesting boxes.

Geoff McClure giving a talk on weed management.

Cattana Night Walk and Moth Night

DR DAVID RENTZ AM

The Friends of the Botanic Garden, Cairns took advantage of a break in the rain to have a combined Night Walk and Moth Night at the Cattana Wetlands. Around 25 people were in attendance. Several groups were represented: the local Australian New Guinea Fish Association (local aquarium society), James Cook University and Birdlife Australia, as well as the Friends. Many insects, frogs and sleeping lizards were seen in the vegetation along the paths. The more adventurous took guided tours of the ponds where they saw a variety of fish and eye-shine indicating a few small crocodiles calling the ponds home.

The light sheets produced a wide variety of insects including some fancy moths and beetles. We had great feedback and enthusiasm for an additional walk during the dry season.

Jackie Frost receives service award

Jackie Frost (left) receiving her Years of Service certificate from Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns president Val Schier. Jackie became a Friends member in 2011, volunteering her time in a variety of roles: Committee Membership Secretary and general member; member of the Carnival on Collins Coordination Team; promotional stalls; and for many years, has been a friendly face in the Friends Shop, providng support and guidance for the Cairns Botanic Gardens’ visitors - with some interesting tales to tell. The Friends held a morning tea to thank her for all her support over the years.

Friends AGM results

The Friends held their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 8 March with the following members elected for the Committee:

President - Val Shier

Vice-President - Elaine Harrison

Secretary - Megan Lilly

Treasurer - William van Bakel

Events Coordinator - Sue McCulloch

Publicity-PR Officer - William Martin

General Committee Member (Assistant Treasurer)Peerapan Maslen

General Committee Member (Membership)Jennifer Muir

General Committee Members:

Jeannette Wehrle, Bridgette Gower, Michael Hyde

James Sing, Del van Mierlo, Annabelle Symes

Scott Ritchie taking a closer look.

Jabiru member Dave (left) with Mikey volunteered their time to support the event.

Matt taking photos of insects attracted to the light sheet.

Small Wonders: nature in miniature

This is the first in a series of photo-essays about the tiny flora, fauna and fungi that live in the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

We tend to wander through this marvellous place and are fascinated by the large flowers and the birds that live in the Gardens without really appreciating what a spectacular place and vital conservation reserve it really is. Much of that fascination and conservation value lies in the tiny things that we usually don’t see because we are mentally attuned to the large and conspicuous.

The bush you walk past may have a myriad of tiny structures, animals and fungi that are mind-boggling in their beauty and complexity. This series of photo essays will, we hope, bring to your attention a few tiny parts of our world, and encourage you to look more closely. A whole new perspective awaits!

This is a close-up of the flower head of Osmoxylon lineare, from the Philippines. There are several of these plants in the Gardens, including one near the main entry. Also called Maigos or Green Aralia, the flower head has tight clusters of flowers about a centimetre across, followed by black fruit. In the Philippines it likes to grow in wet soil, such as along the margins of creeks, and has been widely introduced around the world for landscaping and as a hedge.

The Green Tree Ant Mimicking Spider (Amyciaea albomaculata) holds its two front legs up high so that they look like the antennae of the Green Tree Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) on which they prey. This female is about 4mm long. They belong to the Crab or Flower Spider family (Thomisidae). These spiders have eight eyes arranged on little knobs in two rows of four and can judge distance and direction very accurately. At night they hide in a folded leaf.

These fabulous little fungi, Mycena roseolignicola, stand about 25mm high and are common in the Gardens at almost any time of year, if it has rained. They will grow on the bark of trees, or on fallen logs, and may form clusters of a dozen or more. They are tiny, but part of the huge suite of decomposer/recycler fungi which break down logs and branches and return the nutrients to the soil for reuse by living plants. They disperse their spores by dropping them from under the cap when there is a slight breeze.

REFERENCES

Aussie Macro Photos Bridgette Gower https://aussiemacrophotos.com

Philippine Medicinal Plants (2022) Maigos. Philippine Alternative Medicine. Whyte, R. & Anderson, G. (2017). A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia. CSIRO.

Bridgette Gower

Bridgette Gower

Barry Muir Bridgette Gower

GAPFORCE - FEBRUARY GROUP

The Gapforce International volunteer group spent a couple of weeks in February supporting Green Space Our Place program activities. Here they are keeping up with the Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers moving 10m3 of mulch within an hour at Cairns Botanic Gardens. Great effort in very hot, humid conditions.

Abi and Anisha at Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Having a break from weeding at the Aeroglen revegetation site.

Weeding at Cattana Wetlands with the Jabiru volunteers.

Mulching garden beds at Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Mulching at the Clarke & Wallace Pocket Garden.

What’s on in 2023

Friends’ Plant Sales

Trolley Plant Sales: Wednesday mornings from 8.30am to 11.30am outside the Friends House, Flecker Gardens.

Other sales held on the front Conservatory Lawn: Pre-Easter Sale: Sunday 2 April 8am to noon

Carnival on Collins: Sunday 3 September 8am to noon

December Plant Sale: Sunday 3 December 8am to noon

Friends’ Talks

Wednesday Night Talks are held on the second Wednesday of the month from 6.30pm at the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre. Members $5, non-members $10. Topics are varied.

Friends’ Shop

Based in the Flecker Garden, the Friends’ Shop opens from 9.30am to 3.30pm on Monday to Friday with friendly volunteers available to assist with directions and answer questions about the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

The Green Space education food garden

Jess Mitchell Park, Greenslopes St. Open Wednesdays 9.30 to 3.30pm and Friday afternoon 1.30 to 3.30pm, and by appointment for groups and workshops.

Children’s nature programs

Little Taccas nature activities and Little Sprouts kindy kids program. Find dates on our website page.

Friends’ Garden Guided Tours

Discover the Cairns Botanic Garden and its vast array of tropical plants, Monday to Friday leaving from the Friends House at 10am. Contact the Friends House 4032 3900 for further details.

Friends Bird Tours

Guided birding tours in the Cairns Botanic Gardens every Tuesday, leaving at the new time of 7.30am from the Friends House, Flecker Gardens.

Botanic Gardens & Tanks Precinct Heritage Tours

Did you know these tanks were used to store oil? Come along and learn all about the Cairns Botanic Gardens and Tanks Art Centre heritage with the Green Space Our Place volunteers. Tours leave at 10am on Thursdays from the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre.

JOIN THE FRIENDS

Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns

Membership details - phone 4032 3900 or email info@botanicfriendscairns.org.au

After joining you can support the Friends in many ways: as a committee member, in the Friends Shop, as a tour guide or assisting with events.

Friends of Sugarworld Botanic Gardens

Contact Fran Lindsay frantastic10@bigpond.com

Newsletter contributions:

Please submit articles (must be volunteer or naturebased) by first week of May for the next quarterly publication in June.

Email: l.grandy@cairns.qld.gov.au Please note articles are subject to editing.

Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with all events or visit our websites:

- Green Space Our Place

- Cairns Botanic Gardens

- Friends of the Botanic Gardens

Green Space Our Place

• Tuesdays - Cattana Wetlands Jabirus 9am to noon

• Tuesdays - City Sandpipers, Tuesdays 9am to noon

• Wednesdays - Botanic Gardens Down ’n’ Dirty volunteers 9am-noon

• Wednesdays - Tracks ‘n’ Trails 9am to noon

• Thursdays - Stratford Nursery volunteers 9am to noon

• Thursday (once a month) - Sugarworld Friends & Gardeners 9am11.30am

• Fortnightly Thursdays - Children’s Nature Activities Program - Little Taccas

• Fortnightly Thursdays - Kindy kids program - Little Sprouts

• Heritage Tour Guides - Thursdays 10am

• The Green Space education food garden - Wednesdays 9am to 3.30pm / Fridays 1.30 to 3.30pm

Interested in becoming involved with your local park, reserve or tracks in your community? Contact us to register as a Council volunteer and be involved in beautifying your park (enhance planting, weed management, litter clean-up), reporting on issues (graffiti and vandalism, anti-social behaviour, maintenance issues) and building community participation (networking activities) with Council support.

If you are interested in supporting any of our weekly groups or volunteering in your local area contact Volunteers Supervisor Louisa Grandy 4032 6648 or email greenspaceourplace@cairns.qld.gov.au