We need to reconsider the notion of ‘home’
A healthy community is one that not only caters for humans, but also for the life that humans share their lives with.  And that includes birds.

CREATING HOMES FOR WILDLIFE demonstrates the extent to which we are cognisant that we co-exist with the ‘more than human’ species that were here long before us and have every right to exist as much as we do. 

‘Not in my backyard’ doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to rights to property. Native animal species have a right to a home, and one of these groups is birds, whose homes are being gobbled up by human society as it expands into native animal territory, knocking down their places to live at an alarming rate. 

We need to: “reconsider the notion of ‘home’”, says Georgia Angus, in Birds need homes too (Organic Gardening magazine, Issue 149, 2024). We need to think of communities “as a cohabited space for us and native animals, fostering a symbiotic relationship that benefits us all in many ways.”

 “The face of Australian housing has changed in recent decades.
Back in the 1980s, houses generally had a house-to-garden ratio
of around 50:50, providing ample room for a garden.”

Now it’s more like 80:20 and this might only mean the verge. The layout creates urban heat islands, stops the penetration of groundwater and forces people to drive to required services instead of walking or cycling. “

“We have sprawled and swallowed up essential habitat in pursuit of the Australian dream. This leaves no space for wildlife”, says Georgia.

More about Georgia Angus at – https://www.weekendbirder.com/episodes/50-birds-with-personality-with-georgia   and, How to bring more birds into your garden – ABC Organic Gardener Magazine 

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Step inside what it’s like to be a little bird in the bush
As housing gobbles up green space and with these areas also being more fragmented than ever before, the need to prioritise habitat corridors becomes more urgent.  Research from RMIT University needs to inform our decision-making. Munibung Hill has a role to play as a refugia. 

AN OVERVIEW of the findings appear in: Stepping stones for wildlife: how linking up isolated habitats can help nature thrive in our cities, The Conversation, July 19, 2024. Thami Croeser and Holly Kirk (see credit below) ask us to: 
 
Imagine you’re a fairywren living in a patch of scrub behind a schoolyard in the suburbs. It’s been pretty nice so far, but a recent increase in neighbourhood cats and the council’s insect control tactics mean it’s time to look for somewhere safer to live.
 
There’s a problem, though. You’re a small, bright blue bird that tends to make short flights from shrub to shrub, staying safe in the foliage. Beyond your little patch of habitat, there don’t seem to be any places you can easily access. On one side are wide-open sportsfields; on the other, a busy six-lane road. Where do you go?
 
It’s a bad situation for a fairywren, and for many other native species in cities. In ecology, we call this habitat fragmentation.
 
The map of suitable habitat for city-dwelling wildlife often looks like a scattering of islands in an inhospitable sea of other land uses. These species face threats or barriers such as roads, buildings, fences and feral predators. This poses several issues, such as barring access to feeding areas, increasing competition for nesting spaces within habitat patches and even reducing gene flow by making it hard to find mates.    ……….

Even though Munibung Hill is an island, of the likes mentioned in this report – with far too many unfriendly neighbours – it is vitally important, and all the more essential, that every last skerrick of bush possible is preserved.  Even the areas that are currently overgrown with invasive species like lantana or crofton weed, can over time be rehabilitated to become ideal fairywren homeland.   ……….

Thami Croeser, Research Officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University; Holly Kirk, Research Fellow, Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group (ICON Science), RMIT University

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A box ‘hollow’ for a home
The ‘loss of hollow bearing trees’ is a key threatening process in the Australian ecological landscape.

NATURALLY FORMED TREE HOLLOWS and their substitutes, artificial nest boxes, are critical for the survival of biodiversity within the local community. Around 300 animal species rely on tree hollows in Australia, including birds, possums, gliders, microbats, frogs, lizards, snakes, insects and spiders. It is therefore crucial that we know more about the hollows that exist within our local communities.

MHCS has commenced a project to help house homeless native species. In partner-ship with Lake Woodies and the WBA Sustainable Neighbourhood Centre we plan to get nestboxes into trees on and around Munibung Hill and monitor the adoption of them as shelter and breeding places.

HOLLOWS AS HOMES 
IS THE FIRST LARGE SCALE
CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT OF ITS KIND. 

Its purpose is to better understand and demonstrate the importance of hollows as habitat for wildlife within our cities and rural areas across the Sydney region.

The project is coordinated by the Royal Botanic Garden, University of Sydney, and the Australian Museum, with Campbelltown City Council being one of 30 Councils getting behind the project and encouraging its community to take part.

Click on the highlighted Hollows as Homes link above for more.

When you come across a tree hollow take a picture, noting the location, and send it to munibunghcs@gmail.com

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Urban Ecology*
Urban Ecology provides a framework which informs the vast majority of how a town or city functions.

ALL THE STRANDS OF SOCIETY and government can be brought together under an Urban Ecology Plan and Strategy.  Comprehensive by design, within which all the component parts nest – figuratively, literally, substantively, and by extension, naturally – it is a most inclusive method with the capacity to ‘speak’ a common language.

It is an overarching way of understanding that we are embedded first and foremost within nature – nesting within the larger biosphere. We are not separate, on the outside looking in. Are there examples, models, precedents, grounded in sound science? We don’t have to look far afield to find them.  

Sydney – Urban biodiversity is an important part of Sustainable Sydney 2030, our vision for a green, global and connected city.  Urban Ecology Strategic Action Plan.
Melbourne – Healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity are vital for the liveability of our city. Protecting and enhancing biodiversity will support the health and wellbeing of our community and contribute to effective climate change adaptation actions .. Urban Ecology and Biodiversity Strategy
Perth – Transitioning Perth to connect people and nature … NatureLink Perth
NSW – Urban ecology renewal investigation project | NSW Environment and Heritage

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Shooting – through the lens with Eddie
This issue we feature a reptile that enjoys scouting around the perimeter of Munibung Hill paying a visit to an adjoining backyard, knowing that the family welcomes them calling in.

THE GOANNA / LACE MONITOR Varanus varius, features prominently in Aboriginal mythology and Australian folklore.

Goannas prey on any animal they can catch that is small enough to eat whole and are also attracted to rotting meat.

Most goannas are dark-coloured, with greys, browns, blacks, and greens featuring prominently; however, white is also common. Camouflage ranges from bands and stripes to splotches, speckles, and circles, and can change as the creature matures.

Like most lizards, goannas lay eggs, mostly in a nest or burrow, but some species lay their eggs inside termite mounds. This offers protection and incubation; additionally, the termites may provide a meal for the young as they hatch.       Source: Wikipedia

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Glossy black cockatoos with Gavin

“ON A RECENT trip to Munibung hill NSW I discovered evidence of chewing on Casuarina trees,” reports Gavin Ord, who posted these photos online.

“This could suggest that the Glossy tailed black Cockatoo has been in this area. Some of the chewing seemed recent but some was definitely older.”

“This area is a Casuarina tree forest and has some bigger gum trees that could have nesting hollows. I have recorded my findings on the iNaturalist App.”  

 See the story below.

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Appracadappra, an ‘i’ for nature – literally
Beyond Facebook and Instagram, for the social media novice, this app opens doors to help us better understand what can be right under our eyes, but overlooked. When we know how to apply these new found skills, it gives us the capacity to see anew what is all around us – it can connect us into a scientific network and used to great effect.

ORGANISED BY GAVIN ORD and with the assistance of Andrew Slee, we learnt the ropes of how to post a ‘finding’ to the iNaturalist app. 

“It is a community generated media platform that helps identify plants, animals and geological features. At the same time it loads the information into the worldwide community of naturalists committed to ensuring nature becomes ‘visible’ on an international gallery,” said Gavin.

 In the process of learning how to use the iNaturalist app.
the group was introduced to the Seek app.

Gavin explained that this app has been developed by iNaturalist as a simpler version, with a feature being that the pictures don’t get uploaded to iNaturalist to be publicly available. This means children are safe to use the Seek app. and can participate in challenges and earn badges. Identification is in real-time on screen. There is no personal identifiable information collected.

We’ll have iNaturalist and Seek features in future issues of MMM. 

   … From MMM Issue #46, Oct-Nov. 2024