Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA) | Non-profit organisation

Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA)

Phone: +61 420 817 574

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22.01.2022 Issue 2 of Pittwater Nature is now on line here: http://pnha.org.au//u/2020/10/Issue-2-Pittwater-Nature.pdf Read about: Leopard Slugs drunk on KB, Avalon Community Garden's fantastic composting, A Cockie Conversation, Angophora Reserve in Avalon, a Koala, and the Big Angophora, Mona Vale Dunes, Baby Ringtails rescued, and lots more. We welcome contributions.

22.01.2022 Katandra Bushland Sanctuary on Lane Cove Rd Ingleside is now open every Sunday until October 25, 10am-4pm. Visitors to this lovely bushland have recently seen Powerful and Boobook Owls, Swamp Wallabies and Lyrebirds. Visitors, please make a small donation towards management of this Crown Land reserve. More details: http://www.katandra.org/home.htm Photos: David Seymour

21.01.2022 Pink Waxflower, Eriostemon australasius, in front of scorched bark of Red Bloodwood, Eucalyptus gummifera, two Sydney Sandstone species adapted to fire. In Dundundra Falls Reserve Terrey Hills, late August.

21.01.2022 Chiltern Track in spring - guided wildflowers and bird walk again on Sunday September 27. Wide track allows social distancing. Interested children very welcome with carers. We'll watch out for a nesting Spotted Pardalote family (example in photo by Rod Warnock) we saw last month. Scarlet Honeyeaters possible (photo Rod Warnock) and Eastern Spinebill (photo Neil Fifer). Bring binoculars. Some different flowers will be out. Numbers are limited so please book early: [email protected].

19.01.2022 Dwarf Apple buds, Angophora hispida. This heathland shrub is a stunner in early summer, very popular with insects, particularly beetles. Chiltern Track at Ingleside is a place to go for a close up view of this lovely plant in a week or two. The red hairs probably protect the developing flowers, as Angophoras, unlike Eucalypts, don't have a little cap over the stamens of the flowers.

17.01.2022 Heath-leafed Banksia glowing in the winter bush, nectar for Eastern Pygmy Possums and Honeyeaters. Each spike has hundreds of flowers. If you run your finger between them, you can taste that nectar, like honey.

17.01.2022 We like the idea of being able to enjoy the night sky. Can you support this proposal for a night sky park at Palm Beach? https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au//preserving-our-vie

16.01.2022 Frog ID week starts November 6. Get the Frog ID app on your phone or IPad to record a call and help Australian Museum frog experts map our frog species. Image: Southern Barred Frog (Mixophyes balbus) by Jodi Rowley. Thanks to your FrogID submissions from all across Australia, the FrogID team have produced seven scientific papers so far. This month, FrogID research revealed that Australian frogs indeed have accents, and their accents change across the country, and even over ti...me. We also used FrogID data to take a closer look at just how much frogs restrict their calling to night-time, and found that most Australian frogs actually call during the day, some at surprisingly high rates! All the research produced by the FrogID project is a reminder of how your records are providing information about frogs on scales never before possible. Last month, we revealed how your FrogID records are providing an early understanding of frogs persisting after the Black Summer bushfires, but this picture is not yet complete. Your continued use of FrogID is very important this year, more than ever. Whether you’re at a nearby creek, pond, nature reserve, or your own backyard every recording of a frog call contributes to our research. So far, FrogID has identified more than 250,000 frog calls and identified 199 of the known 242 Australian frog species. During FrogID Week last year, over 5,000 frog records from 71 species were counted! The best way to stay up to date with this year’s FrogID Week information, stats, and exciting discoveries, is by following us on social media. If you're planning any FrogID Week activities in your community and would like help seeking local media opportunities, let us know by emailing [email protected] With La Niña underway and the likelihood of above average rainfall across much of Australia, we hope more frogs will be breeding and calling this year. Head outside each day of FrogID Week and help us find calling frogs together, we can build our understanding and better protect our frog species. Safe frogging, everyone!

16.01.2022 What do you know about backyard birds? Here's a webinar to help. https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au//backyard-birds-dis

15.01.2022 Have a look at our new publication, the Pittwater Nature bulletin, keeping bushcarers, wildlife carers and community gardeners in touch, and anyone who loves our local flora and fauna, at home or in the bush. It's on our website: http://pnha.org.au//Issue-1-August-2020-Pittwater-Nature-C Inside: find out how the Bolwarra depends on a tiny weevil, and how the weevil depends on the Bolwarra. What does a pumpkin look like when it's only about 3 days old? and lots more.

15.01.2022 Have you ever seen a Rose Robin? Now that COVID 19 lockdowns are easing, we are able to offer a free guided bird walk, observing social distancing. Our guides can help you spot birds and recognise their calls. Location: Warriewood Wetland Date: Sunday June 28 Time: morning... RSVP: Contact us on [email protected] to register your interest and we’ll send you details of exact time and meeting place. The walk is limited to 15 people so book by June 26. Bring binoculars if possible. The Warriewood Wetlands are a favourite spot to look for birds, specially now, when the Swamp Mahoganies are in flower. Rose Robins have been recently seen there. (Image, Neil Fifer) About 170 species have been recorded so far. PNHA has published an introductory field guide about some of the birds of this area, available on the day. Looking forward to a lovely morning and lots of birds!

14.01.2022 Exciting news is that Wandering Trad is about to meet its nemesis. CSIRO has released a type of leaf fungus called a smut in Victoria last year and is about to release this in NSW. PNHA has nominated 3 sites so far where we need help: Bangalley Head Reserve at the Whale Beach rd site, along the Irrawong Waterfall track, and at McCarrs Creek reserve. NBC will also nominate sites. lots of info here: https://blog.csiro.au/smut-to-the-rescue/ and here: https://research.csiro.au/wandering-trad/progress-nsw/ If you want to suggest a site, contact Dr Ben Gooden in these links.

14.01.2022 Trad, that dreaded weed, may be about to meet its match in the Pittwater area and hopefully everywhere. PNHA has been tracking the progress of a biocontrol agent, a leaf fungus, trialled by the CSIRO. Last week we received a box of infected Trad and planted it at three sites on October 28 so it could infect healthy Trad. Watch for Trad going yellow: 1 on the right of the first boardwalk towards Irrawong Waterfall, 2, in part of McCarrs Creek Reserve, 3, Bangalley Head Reserve near . Whale Beach Rd. Photos: 1. Marita Macrae, Julie Bennett, David Palmer and Edna Blanchard with the infected Trad. 2. Planting the stems beside the boardwalk. NO, IT'S NOT ANOTHER CANE TOAD. More info: https://blog.csiro.au/smut-to-the-rescue/

14.01.2022 Wider view of the delicate flowers of Tongue Orchid in our cover photo. It survives dry conditions clinging to the rock with roots that can absorb moisture, the leaves thick and shrivelled, then bursts into bloom late September.

13.01.2022 Our latest Newsletter: Coastal Upland Swamps, Lorikeets - not all are Rainbows, "Shovel Ready" projects - is Bayview Golf Course really on the list? the Superb Fruit Dove (this image from eBird) , Bauer's Midge Orchid, PNHA projects. To read go to: http://pnha.org.au/whatsinside/uploads/2020//PNHA-NL-84.pdf

10.01.2022 The Textured Emerald Moth Hypodoxa muscosaria, expert in camouflage. Its earlier life is as a Green Looper caterpillar. This one in an Avalon garden. The moths are on the wing from November through to April in both rural and suburban situations, and they often come to nocturnal lights. The lovely colours turn to brown in dead moths. More info: http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/ge/muscosaria.html

10.01.2022 What a wonderful time we had on the Chiltern Track today. Wonderful weather, flowers, birds, people. Our first treat was a butterfly, a male Common Jezebel, Delias nigrina, feeding on Pimelia flowers. Difficult to photograph though. Its caterpillars feed on mistletoes. Another delight was three children, full of questions and observations. We watched a Spotted Pardalote fly down to its nesting burrow at the foot of a tree next to the track. Yellow tailed Black Cockatoos flew ...over, also a Brown Goshawk. Variegated Wrens, Scarlet Honeyeaters, Eastern Spinebills and so many wildflowers blooming. Bird List: Brown Goshawk Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo Laughing Kookaburra Spotted Pardalote Variegated Fairy-wren White-eared Honeyeater Scarlet Honeyeater New Holland Honeyeater Eastern Spinebill Little Wattlebird Red Wattlebird Eastern Whipbird (heard only) Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Pied Currawong (heard only) Australian Raven Grey Shrike-thrush Silvereye See more

09.01.2022 At the start of our Chiltern Track walk today: That butterfly: a male Common Jezebel, Delia nigrina. Not a good photo, but very lucky to see it at all. You can only see the colourful underwings here. Its upper wings are white with black tips of the forewings, so you might think: Cabbage White , but it flickers as it flies because the under wings are so dark. More about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delias_nigrina

09.01.2022 The Spotted Pardalote's sweet little call high in the eucalypt canopy is rare in Pittwater now, unless you are near a bushland reserve. Loss of canopy trees and places safe from cats to build nesting tunnels are reasons, plus the attacks of Noisy Miners and other bully birds. Can you plant a local Eucalypt to bring back our canopy and lock up your cat?

07.01.2022 Spring is coming, though the shortest day coming soon is officially mid-winter. Spring flowers are starting, birds are courting. Some plants on our favourite Chiltern Track: Hakea propinqua - tiny flowers, large nobbly fruit with two seeds. Hairpin Banksia, and a mystery photo? Those marks on the bark of Red Bloodwood at the far end of Chiltern Rd are caused by Sugar Gliders biting to make the sap flow and get a high energy slurp.

06.01.2022 Rescued Flying Foxes, Koolewong Track Trees, The Carrot Family, Appreciating Flies - and more in Pittwater Nature Issue 3 http://pnha.org.au//u/2020/12/Issue-3-Pittwater-Nature.pdf

06.01.2022 Have a look at our Mona Vale Dunes bush regeneration site progress, in before and after photos. Work began early this year. Dense bitou bush, green cestrum, lantana and asparagus completely covered this area. A few desperate native plants have been revealed. Bush regen contractors are working here funded by a grant to PNHA from the Federal Government's communities environment program. We will be planting tubestock here in autumn 2021. The site is now becoming visible from the pathway between Golf Ave and south Mona Vale headland.

06.01.2022 What pollinators are on your flowers? Hoverflies? Bees native and introduced? Wasps? Beetles? https://www.australianpollinatorweek.org.au/

05.01.2022 That Textured Emerald Moth again. November 27 2020 and October 7 2017.

05.01.2022 Floury Baker (Aleeta curvicosta), emerging in Avalon this week in early December.

04.01.2022 PNHA Activities are over for 2020. Need a bush adventure? Upcoming activities for Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment: Sun 6 December 7.30 am Walk & Weed on track from Deep Creek to Bahai temple in Garigal NP. After 1 hr walk we will attack small leaved privet ( Ligustrum sinense). ... Bring gloves and if available long handled screwdriver. Allow 5hrs. Walk grade medium. Bookings essential. Conny 0432643295 Sun 27 December 7.30 am Walk & Weed along 5 Mile Creek track in Garigal NP. Short 15min walk to exotic grass and lantana infestation site. Weed for 2 hrs on rockshelf surrounded by beautiful bush. Bring gloves and long handled screwdriver if available. Walk easy-medium. Finish 10.30am Bookings essential. Conny 0432643295 Sun 21 February 2021 7.30 am Walk & Weed along the Narrabeen Lagoon catchment transverse walk. Start at Oxford Falls walk for 3 1/2 hours, weed for 30min, continue 30min walk and car pool back to start. Bring gloves and long handled screwdriver if available. Walk grade: medium. Bookings essential. Conny 0432643295 https://www.narrabeenlagoon.org.au/

02.01.2022 Abstract art, by Nature, the world's greatest artist. Spotted Gum bark on a wet morning.

01.01.2022 The marvellous Chiltern Track in Ku-ring-gai Chase NP at Ingleside is our next destination for a guided walk looking at wildflowers and birds. Date: Sunday August 30. To book and get more information please email us: [email protected]. Numbers are limited to 15 so don't delay. This walk was originally planned for Bangalley Head Reserve, but COVID changed that to this safer wide track. We'll see Hakea propinqua, and if sunny, Native Iris, Patersonia sericea.

01.01.2022 Roundup herbicide contains the active ingredient glyphosate. What do we need to know about its safety? Though we'd love to do without herbicides, it's very valuable to bush regenerators. Alternatives suggested can be more dangerous or ineffective. Read Tim Low's article here: https://invasives.org.au//glyphosate-a-chemical-to-unders/