Birds of the Wedderburn area

On Sat 8th September the Wedderburn CMN will be running a fully catered tour of various environmental sites around Wedderburn. It is hoped that participants, guided by experienced observers, will discover some of the birds inhabiting the environment around the area and learn of some of the past, present and future environmental projects carried out by the Network. The tour will leave Jacka Park, Wedderburn, 9.00 am and return by 4.30 pm. This event is organised by the Wedderburn CMN as a contribution to the Naturally Loddon Festival that will begin on the 2^nd of September with events running until the 7^th of October. The tour has proved very popular with places taken up readily by participants from as far afield as Melbourne.

Michael Moore

New WCMN Ranger

My name is Karly Learmonth and I’m currently backfilling for Wendy as the Wedderburn CMN Ranger.  I have been at DSE for the past few years, mostly working with private landholders to conserve biodiversity values on their properties. 

I love getting out and meeting people and am totally obsessed with birds.  I have enjoyed putting together the new WCMN website – see new address below. I look forward to meeting you soon!

Email: karly.learmonth@dse.vic.gov.au

Phone: 0429 356 285

Sharing the load on control of foxes

Since 2004 Wedderburn CMN has been cooperating with Parks Victoria with respect to the control of foxes in the Wychitella NCR. The WCMN fox baiting program is designed to protect native wildlife in the Wychitella NCR from predation by foxes. We are specifically trying to protect the Malleefowl, a species which is nationally vulnerable, however many other ground-dwellers such as stumpy-tailed lizards and goannas will benefit. A further benefit to adjacent landholders is that they will have to contend with less foxes on their properties.  

The WCMN carried out three baiting periods in 2011/12, between December 2011 and March 2012. We had a total of 34 baits takes during this period - 21 takes from Wedderburn Block, 7 takes from Skinners Flat Block and 6 from Wychitella Block.

Parks Victoria’s baiting took place within the Woosang, Korong vale and Potters hill blocks of the Wychitella NCR from the 26/3/12 to the 28/5/12 by Wilkins Environmental Services. There were 34 baits taken from Potters hill, 3 from Woosang and 4 from Korong vale block from 44 bait stations located on internal and external tracks within the above blocks.

On advice from Wilkins Environmental Services and Parks Victoria field staff a fox drive was organised and completed by the Dunolly and Bendigo Field and Game and Parks Victoria on the 1^st July. Two foxes were shot within the Potters hill block and five at Mt Egbert, this will be followed up with another shoot in August (blocks still to be decided).

Braden Pearce, Parks Victoria, is currently in the process of organising the 2012-13 financial year fox control within the Wychitella NCR in cooperation with WCMN.

Braden Pearce and Karly Learmonth

Signs say a great deal about the on-ground work of the WCMN

New works project signs to promote our CFOC activities

When Caring for our Country (CFOC) representatives visited the WCMN in March 2012, they highlighted the need for more signage on fences and gates around the district to promote the important works being done by the WCMN and funded by CFOC.  These works projects include revegetation of previously cleared woodlands, fencing to exclude stock from good quality remnant woodlands, pest animal control, weed control and habitat restoration works.

In keeping with CFOC’s recommendation, the WCMN has designed a new series of works projects signs, which will be coming shortly to a fence or gate near you! 

The Woodlands Revegetation Project is working to restore our Box Gum Grassy Woodlands, which are listed as critically endangered under Commonwealth legislation.  These revegetation projects usually involve planting tubestock or direct seeding previously cleared land with indigenous canopy and understorey species. 

The Fencing Native Woodlands sign indicates that the property contains good quality remnant native woodlands, which have been fenced off to exclude stock.  Reduced grazing pressure allows natural regeneration of important woodland species to take place.

There are three different Weed Control Works signs – Wheel Cactus, Bridal Creeper and Gazania.  To help people identify the target species, each sign has a photograph of the weed in the top right-hand corner. Bridal Creeper and Wheel Cactus, both Weeds of National Significance, have been a focus of the WCMN since its inception in 2003.  Gazania is emerging as a major environmental weed and will be a target of WCMN weed control works in the future.  

While not currently funded by CFOC, the WCMN is also revamping the design of the existing Malleefowl Habitat Restoration Project signs.  At A2 size the new signs will be larger and therefore more visible to passing traffic.  These signs will be erected when works are undertaken around Wychitella NCR that will benefit the local Malleefowl population, either directly or indirectly.  

There are two Pest Animal Control signs - Red Fox and Rabbit.  The WCMN conducts an annual fox baiting program in Wychitella Nature Conservation Reserve (NCR) to protect breeding malleefowl and other woodland species(see article above). The WCMN also carries out a warren fumigation program to reduce Wedderburn’s rabbit population.  Rabbits contribute to declining habitat quality by grazing on native vegetation.

Karly Learmonth

Loddon Plains Landcare Network Ministerial visit to the LPLN

The State Minister for Environment the Hon Ryan Smith MP visited the Loddon Plains Landcare Network (LPLN) area on Wednesday the 25^th July. Arriving aboard a coach with the North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) Board, the Minister paid a visit to the Loddon Vale Landcare Fishing Platform project on Serpentine Creek at Durham Ox.

NCCMA Board member and LPLN President Laurie Maxted spoke about the Fishing Platform project and this was followed by lunch up the road at the Maxted family homestead.

Over lunch the LPLN Facilitator, Anthony Gallacher spoke about the progress of the network to date, including the success of the workshops run in May and the advancement of the GOANNA project with the support of The Norman Wettenhall Foundation.

Photo: Mal Brown, from left to right: James Williams (NCCMA Board), Anthony Gallacher (LPLN Facilitator), The Hon. Ryan Smith MP (Minister for Environment), Sarah Meredith (Ministerial Advisor).

The LPLN Committee of Management would like to thank the State Government for its support of the network through the Victorian Local Landcare Facilitator Initiative and the Victorian Landcare Grants Program. A special thanks to the Maxted family for their hospitality and a delicious lunch.

Anthony Gallacher

Malleefowl road signs erected on Old Boort Road

Good news! Old Boort Road in Wedderburn now has its very own set of Malleefowl road signs to warn northbound and southbound motorists of the presence of Malleefowl along this road.  These new road signs complement the signs that have been in place along Wedderburn-Wychitella Road for the past couple of years. 

The new road signs are located in the vicinity of the Maxwells Road intersection to the north and the southern entry to Wallaby Way at the south.  The location of the road signs coincides with the start of the Mallee vegetation along Old Boort Road which is vital to our flagship species’ ongoing survival in the Wedderburn district. 

The Wedderburn CMN would like to send out a huge thank you to Daniel Lloyd at Loddon Shire Council, who generously arranged for Council’s road patrol crew to erect the Malleefowl road signs free of charge.  Thanks Daniel, and thanks Loddon Shire!

Karly Learmonth

Tree Day planting for students at Wedderburn P12 College

On Friday July 27 Grade 6 students from Mrs Brett’s class at Wedderburn P12 College planted trees and shrubs along the back boundary of the school to celebrate Schools Tree Day and National Tree Day. 

The Wedderburn CMN donated 200 seedlings to the school for the event.  Karly – the new Wedderburn CMN Ranger - gave a brief talk to the class about the importance of revegetation projects around Wedderburn and then ably demonstrated how to plant a tree. 

 With rain clouds looming the day’s activities looked under threat, but luckily the rain held off.  The students attacked the task at hand with gusto, jointly planting 120 plants in less than one hour. 

The plants selected were all indigenous to the Wedderburn area.  As they grow, they will help to provide valuable food and shelter to the native animals that use the woodlands around the school. 

Karly Learmonth