April Activity Details - Friday meeting and outing to Deongwar State Forest and surrounds.

Cattle Poison Sawfly
Lophyrotoma interrupta
Photo: Glenda Walter

CLUB MEETING: Friday, 4th  April, 7 pm - St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba.

‘Legged and Legless - fauna and flora in Central and Western Australia’ presented by Glenda Walter. 

On retirement to Toowoomba in 2009, David and Wendy Clark, at Bellthorpe, encouraged Glenda to photograph and list the hundreds of species of fungi found on their rainforest property. She then moved on to studying spiders, generally on trips with friends and members of TFNC around Toowoomba. The world of spiders rivalled the fungi in their variety of shapes, colours and habits. Insects came next. 

She photographs the specimens she finds, then posts them on the iNaturalist website where curators and others help with identifications. She has listed more than 7,500 observations, and is also a font of knowledge about the habits of these creatures. In 2023, Glenda was awarded the Entomological Society of Victoria’s ‘Le Souef Award’ for her significant contribution to amateur entomology.  

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 16th March 2025. Deongwar State Forest and surrounds

Greater Gliders have been recorded at Deongwar since the fires
Permission to use this image is under the GNU Free Documentation License,
owner benjamint444

Time: 8.30am

Where: Hampton on the corner of the New England Highway and the Hampton-Esk Road.

Description: After stopping briefly in Deongwar we will continue to a nearby ‘Land for Wildlife’ property which is historically hoop pine dominated dry vine forest, and it contains a number of local ecosystems. 

Activities: A chance to study regrowth after the 2019 bushfire.

Level of Fitness: There are well maintained easy walking tracks clearly marked on maps available at the property. There is also easy access for all vehicles.

What to Bring: suitable clothing and footwear for walking in the bush, sunscreen, insect repellant, water, morning tea and lunch, chair, and the usual naturalist stuff of your choice; binoculars, camera, field guides, notebook, etc.

March Outing Report - parks in North Toowoomba 14 March 2025

 Adapted from the TFNC April 2025 newsletter report of B. Gundry.

TRC Parks of North Toowoomba

McKenzie St Lookout, Toowoomba

This outing had been rescheduled courtesy of the much vaunted Cyclone Alfred. The Field Nats assembled at Horn Park on a fine dewy morning, heralding a warm day to follow. Others joined in as the morning progressed. (Dr. Alex Horn had donated this land to Council in the early 20th Century.) Our attention was first drawn to 6 to 7 Black Kites Milvus migrans, just soaring above the trees adjacent to the Bridge Clubhouse. We could ascertain no reason for this aggregation, other than that they were also enjoying their early autumnal morning ….

Our second stop was at the end of Henry Street to visit a huge Moreton Bay Fig just inside the former Rifle Range Reserve. This tree was planted by Eric French prior to his enlistment in the AIF in 1916. He survived the war but lived the rest of his life as a dentist in Brisbane. I was surprised that it was such a huge tree for its 110 years.

Hoop Pine
Araucaria cunninghamii
at Boyce Gardens

Our morning tea break was at Woodward Park in Alfred Street, followed the top of North Street, a newly renovated park, Bunya Park on the corner of Geoffrey and Mackenzie Streets …. The name was inspired by the Bunya pines planted by Duncan Munro who developed the property in the 1880s. The park now showcases pines in the Araucariaceae family; the Bunya Pine Araucaria bidwilli, the Hoop Pine Araucaria cunninghamii and the Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria heterophylla, as well as several other pines.

A drive to the very northern end of Mackenzie Street brought us to the eastern edge of the
range where the waterfall from the end of Rifle Range Road was still trickling after the recent rain ….

Lunch was relished in the shady gardens overlooking the original pool and water feature of Boyce Gardens. Not everyone took the rainforest walk, but with the recent UQ and Boyce Trust upgrade with historical markers, it concluded a warm sunny day enjoyed by all.

All photos: B. Weller

March activity details - Friday 14 March 2025 and Sunday 16 March 2025. Parks across North Toowoomba

CLUB MEETING: Friday, 14th  March, 7 pm - 

Golden-shouldered Parrot country

St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba.

“The Golden-shouldered Parrot, a retrospective on its discovery and field research” presented by Mark Weaver. During the 1970s and 1980s, Mark was based in Cairns as a District Wildlife Ranger. While there, he undertook numerous field trips into the Cape York Peninsula region 

and became involved in opportunistic field research on this endangered parrot.

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 16th March 2025. Parks in North Toowoomba

Meeting Time: 8.30am

Where: Horn Park in Stuart Street

Description: A tag-along tour which will include the Rifle Range, Mt. Lofty, several small parks and finish in the recently upgraded car park off Range Road at the Boyce Gardens. Morning tea along the way and lunch in the Boyce Gardens. 

Activities: This outing will be to some of the Council Parks across North Toowoomba. This will enable people a chance to assess Council plantings and to make suggestions about the vegetation and management of our large and small parks.

Level of Fitness: easy access and easy walking for all

What to Bring: suitable clothing and footwear for walking in the bush, sunscreen, insect repellant, water, morning tea and lunch, chair, and the usual naturalist stuff of your choice; binoculars, camera, field guides, notebook, etc.

February Outing Report - two properties in the Grantham area, 09 February 2025

Varied Eggfly butterflies,
one female and several males
Photo: B. Weller

 Adapted from the TFNC March 2025 newsletter report of P. Allen.

The Garden of Eden - 19 members and guests set off for the butterfly farm owned and run by Ray and Delphine Archer. A large, fully netted butterfly enclosure was alive with hundreds of butterflies, predominately Common or Varied Eggfly Hypolimnas bolina of both sexes. There was a variety of other species in smaller numbers and a few members were lucky enough to see a female Cairns Birdwing Butterfly Ornithoptera richmondia. The variety of food and nectar plants, including both vegetables, exotic and native plants was in itself fascinating and a few of us were clearly planning to add some to our own gardens. 

Inside the butterfly house
Photo: B. Weller

Ray explained that the huge predominance of the Common Eggfly is deliberate as this is the butterfly most likely to land on both plants (and people) which makes photography easier for the many visitors. A glassed-in room at the end of the enclosure was good for observing the breeding of various butterflies.

We enjoyed our morning tea under shady trees outside where the owners had planted other butterfly attracting plants, like Pigeon Pea Cajanus cajan and Plumbago sp. The latter attracting numerous species while we were there.

We then moved on to the next property at the edge of the Helidon Hills. This 40 acre property included a variety of ecosystems, including open grassy areas, a man-made rainforest area but mostly a steep, hillside leading down to a creek, which was where most of the locally endemic plants were found.

Autumn Cluster Moth
Dichomeris capnites
Photo: M. Simmons

As usual the Natters scattered, some down to the creek while several members were fully occupied exploring the small but fascinating rainforest area that the owners had created. With two ponds and a variety of plant species this area was alive with interesting creatures including numerous dragonflies and  damselflies. An intriguing moth which had settled in huge numbers on some leaves of a tree was later identified as the Autumn Cluster Moth, Dichomeris capnites.

Species list for the day, compiled from members' observations:

Butterflies: Chequered Swallowtail, Large Grass Yellow, Small Grass Yellow, Common Eggfly, Lemon Migrant, Caper White, Common Crow, Brown Soldier, Black Margined Yellow, Monarch, Australian Wanderer, White Banded Plane, Small Green Banded Blue, Plumbago Blue, Tailed Emperor, Orchard Swallowtail, Richmond Birdwing.

Moths: Joseph's Coat Moth, Autumn Cluster Moth.

Spiders: Ant eating Jumping Spider, St Andrew's Cross Spider, Christmas Jewel Spider, Giant Golden Orb Weaver, Nephilidae pilipes; Tent Spider or Tent-web Spider, Cyrtophora moluccensis.

Birds: Straw necked Ibis, Brown-cuckoo Dove, Pale-headed Rosella, Striated Pardalote, Brown Honeyeater, Grey Shrike-thrush, Willie Wagtail, Spangled Drongo, Peaceful Dove.

Flora: White Cedar, Meila azedarach; Helidon Hills White Mahogany, Eucalyptus helidonica; Acacia podalyriifolia; Acacia hispidula; Acacia penninervis; Bailey's Stringybark, Eucalyptus baileyana; Soap Tree, Alphitonia excelsa; Native Coffee Bush, Breynia oblongifolia; Yellow Buttons, Chrysocephalum apiculatum; Moreton Bay Ash, Eucalyptus tessellaris; Dogwood, Jacksonia scoparia; Poison Peach, Trema tomentosa; Barbed wire Grass, Cymbopogon refractus; Kangaroo Grass, Themeda triandra; a Geebung, Persoonia sp.; Barbed wire vine, Smilax australis; Cupid’s Lipstick (?); Long leaved Bitter pea, Daviesia wyattiana.

February activity details - Sunday 09 February 2025. Butterfly Farm and McGarvas Road, Grantham

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 07 February 

St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba 

Five speakers ‘from the floor’ on ‘Close Encounters of the Natural History Kind.’

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 09 February 2025. Butterfly Farm and McGarvas Road, Grantham

$5.00 entry fee (cash only – no credit card availability) 

Time: 9.00am

Where to meet: James Norman Hedges Park at Helidon. This is the park on the left (northern) side of the Warrego Highway immediately before crossing Lockyer Creek at Helidon.

Description: This will allow birdwatchers time to wander around the creek before leaving at 9.30 am for the ‘Garden of Eden’ Butterfly Farm 6 kilometres from Helidon on Conners Road. There is a $5.00 entry fee (cash only – no credit card availability) to this peaceful sanctuary owned and run by Ray and Delphine Archer.

Please note - As butterflies are not active on cloudy and rainy days, this outing remains subject to change at short notice.  

On leaving the Butterfly Farm we will continue along Conners Road to McGarvas Road which rises high to a sandstone plateau. We will a property where the owners are enjoying a ‘tree change’ and happy for us to have lunch and wander around. There is much to see for those with limited mobility and a more strenuous walk down a creek for those so inclined. There is suitable access for all vehicles. 

Non-members: Please email us if you have any queries.

Level of Fitness: Activities to suit all levels.

What to Bring: suitable clothing and footwear for walking in the bush, sunscreen, insect repellant, water, morning tea and lunch, chair, and the usual naturalist stuff of your choice; binoculars, camera, field guides, notebook, etc.

November Outing Report - Glen Lomond Conservation Park, 03 November 2024

Hell Hole Falls with columnar basalt. 

Adapted from the TFNC December newsletter reports of M. Compton and B. Gundry

Our outing was a special day, one seemingly suspended in a kind of dreamtime. It was a glorious spring day in which to have an almost “Hanging Rock” timeless experience in Glen Lomond Conservation Park at the southern end of the escarpment.

We are all used to the indications of serious volcanic activity in the Toowoomba vicinity, especially obviously so with the flat-topped cone of Tabletop. But how about the other way round - a reverse cone down into the earth? For our November excursion we visited the very impressive mouth of a volcano in this park at the south-east corner of the eastern range. Here, we stood at the edge of this geological phenomenon and gazed deep into the funnel created when the boiling magma blew out of the depths and into the air. Giant basalt columns line the sides of the mouth, while a modest creek has cut a “V” in one side, trickling over as Hell Hole Creek and making its way to join Flagstone Creek. The ancient history of the area is palpable, and its impressive grandeur makes a great impact. 

Close by is an open area of grassland about the size of a cricket ground, with shelter sheds. Of course, the field nats set themselves up very comfortably in one of these and proceeded to enjoy the day “spaced out” in a naturalist kind of way. 

Some members set off for the walk to a waterfall deep within the park, returning with enthusiastic reports of the experience, but saying quite honestly that it wasn’t an easy walk. 

The “falls” occurred over exposed, hexagonal columnar basalt and the scatter of rocks of the plunge pool were likewise of basalt, but there was some softer material which initially was thought of a type of tuff. On further investigation it was a mass of matted biotic materials. Where there is water, there will be a living response. Here, plants, living and dead, clung to the moist basalt, creating a matted vegetative layer, in places only half a centimetre thick, but the more central masses may have been 10-20 centimetres thick. The entire mass was about 5-6 metres high at the apex and about three metres wide across the base. The entire moist biotic mass may have weighed over 1 tonne and looked something less than stable.

Meanwhile others, in the wont of Natters, scattered into the area adjacent to the shelter shed to enjoy their naturalizing.

Species List; Glen Lomond Park, Middle Ridge, Toowoomba (compiled by R. Hobson from members' observations)
Birds: Australian Brush-turkey, Wonga Pigeon, Crested Pigeon, Eastern Great Egret x 1 (overhead), Dollarbird, Peregrine Falcon x 1 (dead), Little Corella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Satin Bowerbird, White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairy-wren, Noisy Friarbird, Brown Honeyeater, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, White-browed Scrubwren, Striated Thornbill, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Common Cicadabird, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Eastern Whipbird, Pied Currawong, Australian Magpie, Spangled Drongo, Torresian Crow, Leaden Flycatcher, Eastern Yellow Robin, Mistletoebird, Silvereye Amphibians: Common Green Treefrog Litoria caerulea Reptiles (lizards): Scute-snouted Calyptotis Calyptotis scutirostrum, Lace Monitor Varanus varius Dragonflies and Damselflies: Australian Emperor Anax papuensis, Australian Emerald Hemicordulia australiae; Blue Skimmer Orthetrum caledonicum Grasshoppers and Crickets: Hedge Grasshopper Valanga irregularis, Field Cricket Teleogryllus commodus Cicadas: Black Tree Ticker Cicada Birrima varians Butterflies and Moths: Orchard Swallowtail Papilio a. aegeus, Chequered Swallowtail Papilio demoleus sthenelus, Dainty Swallowtail Papilio anactus, White Migrant Catopsilia pyranthe crokera, Yellow Migrant Catopsilia g. gorgophone, Caper White Belenois java teutonia, Scarlet Jezebel Delias a. argenthona, Lesser Wanderer Danaus petilia, Monarch Danaus plexippus, Common Crow Euploea corinna, Glasswing Acraea a. andromacha, Meadow Argus Junonia v. villida, Tailed Emperor Charaxes s. sempronius, Grey Ringlet Hypocysta pseudirius, Common Grass-blue Zizina otis labradus Beetles: a small green beetle Diphucephala sp. (very common esp. on Soap Tree Alphitonia excelsa) Ants: Giant Bull Ant Myrmecia gulosa, Green-head Ant Rhytidoponera metallica, Daemel’s Spiny Ant Polyrhachis daemeli, Southern Meat Ant Iridomyrmex purpureus

November Outing Details: Glen Lomond Park, McStay Street entrance, Sunday 03 November 2024

McStay St entrance, Glen Lomond Park

Time: 8.30 am

Where:  at the McStay St entrance

Directions: Follow Rowbotham Street to the far end and turn left onto Zupps Road. Turn left again into Dippel Street and park at the McStay Street entrance. 

Description: This is one of Toowoomba’s Escarpment Parks and the least visited of all the parks that make up the escarpment park precinct. The track travels through a grassy paddock that becomes narrower approaching the ridge. It undulates until it reaches a cleared picnic area that offers magnificent views of the range including Table Top Mountain (Meewah).

Activities: We have a permit from the Toowoomba Regional Council to take 3-4 vehicles (preferably 4WD) through the locked gate to the end of the Hell Hole track. It is suggested we put our morning tea, lunch and chairs in the vehicles while most of us walk the Spur track (340 metres) and those less able to take a vehicle ride to the picnic area. (It is not suggested we take the full 2.75 kilometre walk to the Hell Hole Falls.)

Level of Fitness: All levels - see Activities above.

Facilities: benches, picnic tables and shelters but no rubbish bins, so come prepared to carry rubbish back with you. Also no toilets, probably the nearest are at Duggan Park.

What to Bring: suitable clothing and footwear for walking in the bush, sunscreen, insect repellant, water, morning tea and lunch, chair, and the usual naturalist stuff of your choice; binoculars, camera, field guides, notebook, etc.