October 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and Sunday outing to three attractions in the Murphy's Creek area.

Black-striped Wallaby Macropus dorsalis 
Photo: By Queensland government, the State of Queensland.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=914, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=141450561

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 3 October 2025  

Pepe Clarke – Remote Area Conservation
Pepe has spent 25 years working at the intersection of environmental law, policy, and advocacy including leading WWF’s global oceans work. He now works as an independent consultant and strategic advisor. Over the years, he has seen how the right combination of vision, strategy, and partnerships can unlock large-scale conservation wins that benefit both nature and people.

St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speaker's presentation is followed by official business and supper. 

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 5 October 2025. Three attractions in the Murphy's Creek area.

Meeting Time:  9 am

Where: Jessie's Cottage, Murphy's Creek.

Directions:  Follow the New England highway north and turn right at the Mt. Kynoch lights, (clearly signed Spring Bluff and Murphy’s Creek) for 14 kms. to the town. Turn left over the railway line and left again around the perimeter of the sports oval to the cottage (signed 'Jessie’s Cottage'). More about the cottage.

Activities: 1. A brief orientation and tour of this historical museum. This cottage was built by the Taylor family (early Scots settlers) in 1899. The neighbourhood trust of Murphy’s Creek restored the cottage in 1996 as a community hub and is now a local history museum with information of locals from surrounding areas.

2. We leave at 9:45 for Second Chance Macropod sanctuary to meet our hosts, Catherine Buchanan and John Kirk.  While we have morning tea Catherine will talk of their long- term experiences and endeavours in the rescue and rehabilitation of macropods and other wildlife. Morning tea will be here.

From Humane World for Animals website:

"Second Chances spans across 128 hectares of heavily forested land dominated by eucalypts, acacia species and native grasses. Wildlife present on the property includes red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), black-striped wallabies (Macropus dorsalis), brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) and various microbats. Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) have been heard in the area. A wide range of birdlife including wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax) and yellow-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) are also seen throughout the property."

3. Spring Bluff Railway Station. We will retrace our route to have lunch at this historical venue. This station was built in 1864-1867, employing 1600 men, with engineer Robert Ballard. It was the main Ipswich – Toowoomba line (5- hour trip). The Main Range (later Spring Bluff) station carried passengers, timber, dairy and other produce. The area was quite a social hub. The station and gardens are now maintained by the Spring Bluff Trust. There is an easy walking circuit (approx. 20 minutes) with interesting bird life and vegetation. More about Spring Bluff Railway Station.

What to Bring: suitable footwear for walking in the bush, a chair, morning tea, and lunch.

August 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and Sunday outing to Goombungee "tip".

 CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 05 September 2025

St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speaker's presentation is followed by official business and supper. 

An image of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp),
taken on April 04, 1997
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported 

Speaker: Professor Jonti Horner presenting A Comet’s Tale.

Jonti is an astrobiologist and astronomer based at the University of Southern Queensland. He is a passionate science communicator and teacher, taking great pleasure from delving into the mysteries of the cosmos, and the question of life elsewhere. His research interests encompass solar system evolution, the search for alien worlds and evidence of life in other parts of the cosmos. He teaches astronomy, planetary and exoplanetary science at USQ, and supervises several post-graduate students whose research journeys relate to these disciplines. Aside from his scientific work, he has published many articles in ‘The Conversation’ and on the website ‘SpaceAustralia.com’. 

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 07 September  2025. Goombungee ‘tip’

We will try for Goombungee wildflowers again and keep our fingers crossed for mild weather.

The Goombungee Waste Management Facility holding protects a large area of pristine native vegetation beyond the rubbish sites where public access is not available. By special arrangement, guided by Lisa Churchward we are privileged to have entry to the area for this outing where it is hoped boronia, prostanthera, acacias and hovea - to name just a few will still be in flower. 

See Full times and details here.

August Outing Report - Highfields Falls Bushland instead, Sunday 03 Aug 2025.

Adapted from the TFNC newsletter report of F. Mangubhai with contribution on galls from D. Johnson.

Galls on a young wattle plant
Photo: F Mangubhai

The planned outing to Goombungee had to be cancelled because of the amount of rain during the night. Instead, we were to meet at the James Byrne end of the Highfields Falls Bushland. Ten members and a visitor arrived by 9 a.m. on a sunny but cold morning.

It was an easy walk with a chorus of birds to keep us company. The stops made on the route were mainly to try to spot birds which were flitting about, quite often high in the canopy. These spots were where the sun broke through, as well as at the top of the waterfall, and again at the bottom of the Falls. Recent rains ensured that there was a good flow of water. Opposite the descent to the bottom of the Falls was a tree where Powerful Owls used to roost, but there was no sign of any owl, nor any giveaway signs on the ground to indicate they might have been there. 

One of the non-avian things that caught our attention was some large galls on a quite small wattle tree (see photo). It was not the gall that poet Gerard Manley Hopkins was referring to in these few lines:

I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deep decree

Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;

Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.

But it is a bit of a curse for the wattle tree. The gall is a reaction to insects such as mites, thrips and wasps, laying eggs in the plant tissue, and their larvae release chemicals (like cecidotoxins) that stimulate abnormal cell growth, forming the gall. The gall is essentially the tree’s defensive response - a kind of botanical scar tissue - triggered by foreign substances or organisms. It walls off the invader, but in doing so, creates a nutrient-rich shelter that ironically benefits the pest. Gall shapes vary on different Acacias. [For more information on galls: gall history in Aus.pdf.]

Bird list for Highfields Falls Bushland Park (compiled from members' observations)

Straw-necked Ibis; Pacific Baza (probable sighting); Brown Quail; White-headed Pigeon; Galah; Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Rainbow Lorikeet; Little Lorikeet; King Parrot; Pale-headed Rosella; Laughing Kookaburra; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Eastern Yellow Robin; Grey Shrike-thrush; Grey Fantail; Eastern Whipbird; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Brown Thornbill (probable sighting); Varied Sittella; White-throated Treecreeper; Noisy Miner; Lewin’s Honeyeater; White-naped Honeyeater; Brown Honeyeater; Mistletoebird; Spotted Pardalote; Red-browed Firetail; Olive-backed Oriole; Australian Figbird.

AGM - Friday 01 August 2025.

CLUB MEETING: 

  

Latham's Snipe  
Photo: Jason Girvan by CC BY-SA 3.0

7 pm, Friday 1 August 2025  at 

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

 The members' presentations are followed by official business and supper. 

• Glenda Walter is presenting the TED (Technical Entertainment Design) talk by  Scott Loarie, founder of iNaturalist. Glenda gets a mention in this due to her discovery of a new genus/species of mantis. 
• Ben and Jean Gundry are giving a short talk on the remarkable behaviour of Latham's Snipe.

TFNC campout to Myall Park Botanic Garden, Glenmorgan. 22nd – 25th August 2025

Bird Beak Hakea
Hakea orthorrhyncha

Myall Park Botanic Garden conserves and displays species from arid, semi-arid and dry tropical regions with an emphasis on rare, threatened and vulnerable species. This historic natural bush garden attracts botanists, gardeners, bird watchers, photographers, artists and bush walkers. We'll  also visit Erringibba National Park which conserves shrubby open forest and open forest to woodland.

Itinerary – 

Friday 22^nd August – Make your own way to Myall Park Botanic Garden to arrive mid-afternoon (after 2pm).  Gather together 5pm for meet’n’greet and shared communal dinner.

Saturday 23^rd August – Full day at Myall Park walking the many trails or taking short drives along the circuit road. Meet again 5pm to discuss sightings. Self-catering all meals.
Sunday 24^th August -  Meet 8.30 am at the Gallery for tag-along drive to Eringgibba National Park approx. 15km east (through Glenmorgan) from Myall Park. Return to Myall Park for lunch. Afternoon at leisure. Meet 5pm to discuss sightings. Self-catering all meals.
Monday 25^th August – Return to Toowoomba (or home). 

Added information – There are many different routes to travel to Glenmorgan with interesting stops along the way. Some suggestions  - Hugh Sawrey Memorial Park Kogan, Caliguel Lagoon Condamine, Brigalow Creek Meandarra, Tara Lagoon and many creek crossings with water.

Non members: please email toowoombafieldnaturalists@gmail.com for more information on accommodation and directions.

Lagoon on the way into Myall Park

Myall Park entrance by the lagoon

Mud map of key birding sites
near Myall Park (not to scale)

2025 Activity Details - Sunday outing to Goombungee

Rush-leaf Wattle Acacia juncifolia

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 3rd August 2025. Goombungee Tip

The Goombungee Waste Management Facility  protects a large area of pristine native vegetation beyond the rubbish sites where public access is not available. By special arrangement, guided by Lisa Churchward we are privileged to have entry to the area for this outing where it is expected boronia, prostanthera, acacias and hovea - to name just a few will be in flower.

Meeting Time: 9.00 am

Where: Bottle Tree Park in the main street of Goombungee between George and Edward Streets. Car-pooling into high clearance vehicles is suggested. 

Activities: We will take short, easy walks as we make frequent stops around the site.  Morning tea within the forested area, and return to Bottle Tree Park for lunch.

Facilities: Toilets & picnic tables at Bottle Tree Park

What to Bring: Come prepared with water, closed footwear and sun protection. Bring morning tea, lunch, a chair and enjoy this rare opportunity with Lisa.

All welcome.

Boronia inflexa

Hovea

  

July Outing Report - Muntapa Tunnel and the Palms National Park, Cooyar, Sunday 06 July 2025.

  Adapted from the TFNC newsletter report of M.Simmons

Rhyolite blocks and tuff
Photo: K. Stephenson

Our day was designed to drive the Oakey-Cooyar Road through the localities of Wilthorn, Sabine, Sugarloaf, Beith, Acland, Muldu, Balgowan, Plainview, Rosalie Plains, Kulpi, Peranga and Narko before reaching the Muntapa Tunnel – all were sidings along the Oakey-Cooyar railway line built in 1911 to carry timber and other primary produce to the coast. A brief roadside pull-over atop a hill enabled a view over the current workings of the Acland coal mine.

In the Muntapa picnic area we were given interesting little stories and information on the geological formation of the surrounding rocks and topography. ‘About 18 million years ago [this area] was subject to complex and violent volcanism where rising rhyolitic magmas superheated groundwater resulting in huge phreatic explosions. Craters between 100 and 200 metres deep were infilled with masses of material fallen from the sky. Both portals [of the tunnel] will show us the variety of this material – through which those who had constructed the tunnel had worked with hand tools.’ 

The tunnel has now been fenced giving a Gothic-like appearance through to the roosting and breeding colony of several thousand Bent-wing Bats, Miniopterus schreibersii. These bats cluster tightly together (up to 1,500 per square metre) on the ceilings of caves, mines, disused railway tunnels, storm water drains and old cement buildings. (‘Bats of Eastern Australia’ Qld Museum booklet No.12).  The historical markers and information recording the  history of the tunnel, the workers campsite and associated memories of long-term residents all added to making this a worthy revisit for the Nats.                                                                        

Black Bean
Castanospermum australe 
pods at The Palms N.P.
Photo: D. Pagel

Further north beyond Cooyar in the Palms National Park we walked the short track through Piccabeen Palms, Strangler Figs, Bunya and Hoop Pines and an ancient Grey Gum – over 300 years old through which flows a spring fed gully in the headwaters of the Brisbane River. 

Bird list for July outing.  (Muntapa Tunnel and Palms Nat. Park compiled by L. Moodie.)

Oakey Rotary Park: Pacific Black Duck, Australian Pelican, Australian White Ibis, Little Corella, Noisy Miner, Grey Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark. 

Muntapa Tunnel:  Red-backed Fairy-wren, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Spotted Pardalote, Speckled Warbler, Brown Thornbill, Varied Sittella, Grey Shrike-thrush, Pied Currawong, Australian Magpie, Grey Butcherbird, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Silvereye, Red-browed Finch.

Palms National Park: Australian Brush-turkey, Brown Quail, Laughing Kookaburra, White-throated Treecreeper, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote, Brown Gerygone, White-browed Scrubwren, Golden Whistler, Eastern Whipbird, Grey Fantail, Eastern Yellow Robin.

July 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and Sunday outing to Muntapa Tunnel & Palms National Park.

 CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 4 July 2025  

St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speakers' presentations are followed by official business and supper. 

Two speakers:

Dingo on K'gari
Photo:  Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

1. Peter Jesser on 'Wild Dogs and Dingoes' (Peter has worked for the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, and is a pest management consultant.)

2. Ann Alcock on 'Puffins to Penguins' (Ann, a professional freelance photographer, photojournalist, documentary photographer, and event photographer for newspapers and magazines, is not one to shy away from adventure.)

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 6 July 2025. Muntapa Tunnel and the Palms National Park, Cooyar

Meeting Time: 8.30am

Map of railway route
from Oakey to Cooyar

Where: Rotary Park on Campbell Street, Oakey (next to the Park House Motor Inn). This route closely follows the original Oakey-Cooyar railway line.

Description: This 287 metre single bore tunnel is unique in that it goes through the Great Dividing Range from the Murray-Darling river catchment to the Brisbane Valley catchment area. The tunnel has now been fenced to protect the roosting and breeding site of several thousand Bent-wing Bats.

Activities: Historical information signage, a picnic area and amenities, make this an interesting site to revisit. After morning-tea here we will travel through Cooyar north to the Palms National Park known as a roosting site for three different species of flying-fox - black, grey-headed and little red. (On last visit early June there were no flying-foxes present.)

Level of Fitness: easy to moderate

Facilities: Muntapa - BBQ, picnic tables, shelter & toilets; Palms - picnic tables, toilets in nearby Cooyar.

What to Bring: morning tea, lunch, water, chair, sun protection and wear closed shoes.

June Outing Report - Postmans Ridge and Helidon Spa, Sunday 08 June 2025.

 Adapted from the TFNC July 2025 newsletter report of D. Pagel.

Withcott Waterlilies
Photo: M. Simmons

It was a clear winter’s day, and the temperature was much warmer below the Range when we met at our destination in Withcott. We strolled down a grassy slope past scattered Forest Red Gums Eucalyptus tereticornis where there was some evidence of koala activity in foliage and on bark, and past specimens of Soap Tree Alphitonia excelsa and Flat-stemmed Wattle Acacia complanata. The slope led to a large dam that was more like a picturesque billabong skirted by a path and fringed with Common Rush Juncus usitatus. On the water were a number of waterbirds, and patches of exotic Blue Water Lilies Nymphaea caerulea flowering on their tall stems. However, some flowers appeared larger, paler and to sit on the surface of the water. Surely, they were not the native Giant Water Lily Nymphaea gigantea, locally extinct, that years ago excited our Field Naturalists on outings to several locations on the Downs? (Yet to be confirmed.)

Rodent droppings
Photo: L. Moodie

We then moved on to an area of scrubby woodland  on poor thin soil at Postmans Ridge. Here the Gatton Sandstone that had not been so conspicuous at our first stop demonstrated how friable and easily eroded it can be. Our sandy road became impassable because of deeply eroded channels, probably the result of tunnelling where the clayey subsoil contains sodium salts that dissolve or ‘melt away’ on wetting. On one side of this road, we noted stands of Black She-oak Allocasuarina littoralis and termite activity both on trees and in a prominent mound that was capped with the dark droppings of an unidentified species of rat. Those who walked on the other side noted Geebung Persoonia sp., Cough Bush Cassinia laevis and Sweet Canthium Psydrax odorata subsp. buxifolium. Acacias included Flat-stemmed Wattle Acacia complanata and Blake’s Wattle Acacia Blakei subsp. diphylla.

Fungus Pisolithes sp. 
Photo: D. Pagel

 Emerging from the road surface itself was a fresh specimen of the Horse Dung Fungus Pisolithus sp. that had been spared by many of our vehicles’ tyres. Its white globe would finally become dark brown and crumble when mature to reveal its spore mass. This fungus has been known to emerge on roadsides through bitumen.

Our final destination was Helidon Spa where Nats enjoyed lunch at the water’s edge while admiring large numbers of Plumed Whistling Ducks and the image of Little Corellas in a eucalypt, vivid white against an intense blue sky. Warm thanks to Melanie for organizing this enjoyable excursion.

Little Corellas at Helidon Spa
Photo: M. Simmons

Species Lists

Birds: 

Withcott. Superb Fairy-wren, Magpie Lark, Willie Wagtail, Common Myna, House Sparrow.

Postmans Ridge.  Plumed Whistling Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead, Australasian Grebe, Crested Pigeon, Little Black Cormorant, White Faced Heron, Dusky Moorhen, Pale-headed Rosella, Noisy Minor, Grey Butcherbird, Magpie-lark, Welcome Swallow. 

Helidon Spa. Plumed Whistling Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Australasian Grebe, Dusky Moorhen, Straw-necked Ibis, Masked Lapwing, Little Corella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Willie Wagtail.

Butterflies: Small Green Banded Blue, Caper White, Common Grass Yellow, Wanderer (Monarch).

June 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and Sunday outing to Helidon lowlands.

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 6 June 2025  St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba 

Assoc. Professor

Tomatoes
Photo from Wikipedia: 
Creative Commons Attribution

John Dearnaley will speak on Australian Serendipita fungi and their interactions with native plants and crops

John Dearnaley is Associate Professor in Plant Microbe Interactions, School of Agriculture & Environmental Science, University of Southern Queensland. 

His research interests include the taxonomy, ecology and economics of Australian fungi, in particular, those that are fungal symbionts of plants. 

He has published widely on this interesting group of fungi during his 30 year research career. 

Currently, he and his students are working on a range of projects centred on the taxonomy, ecology and bioactive properties of rainforest endophytes (fungi that live inside the tissues of plants.) Recent research has found that inoculating plants with Serendipita sp. increased the fresh weight of tomatoes and improved immunity against the powdery mildew pathogen in an alternative, eco-friendly and non-chemical approach. 

Other research includes the taxonomy and ecology of Australian Marasmiaceae (Pinwheel fungi), Australian mammals that eat fungi, fungal biomaterials (materials that are derived from or produced by fungi), and the symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots in agriculture.

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 8th June 2025. Helidon Lowlands

Paynter Rd waterlilies

Meeting Time: 8.30 am

Where: Withcott; the car park beside the Freedom Fuels Service Station 

Description: Normally we head for the hills at Helidon but this month we're never very far from Rocky Creek which meanders into Lockyer Creek west of Helidon.

Activities: We will be visiting a property in Paynter Road along a watercourse, then shrubby woodland on Ashlands Drive (look out for Painted Button-quail), and lastly Helidon Spa for waterbirds.

Level of Fitness: 

Ashlands Drive

There is easy vehicle access to all stops. Easy walking at all stops although walking along the watercourse and around the waterlilies is through a well-grassed paddock. 

What to Bring: 

Helidon Spa

Bring morning tea, lunch, chair and a friend.

  

  

May Outing Report - Hirstglen, Sunday 4 May 2025.

 Lovely weather, good company, beautiful property in an area we don't often visit.

One of the dams on Minglen
Photo: L. Beaton

 Adapted from the TFNC June 2025 newsletter reports of L. Moodie and D. Ford.

Natters in the Hirstglen Valley
Photo: L. Moodie

It was a cool and sunny Sunday morning when we arrived in convoy to the property in the Hirstglen Valley. Our host, Sandy, was generous and informative. After we’d emerged from our assorted vehicles, we gathered to listen to her describe the history of her grazing property and its special features. She has actively contributed to the conservation value of her land and waterways in the 30 years since she arrived.

Bushfires burnt the property in 1994 and again in 2014, which Sandy believes may have favoured the grasses rather than the weeds, though Lantana is now abundant in the wetter areas. Geologically, much of the property is based on cracking black basalt clays with outcrops of Gatton sandstone and pockets of chalk.

Over 200 species of plants have been recorded on the property, including the rare

Austral Toadflax Thesium australe
Photo: L. Moodie

and endangered Austral Toadflax (Thesium australe), a short-lived herb in the Santalaceae family, parasitic on the roots of other plants, particularly kangaroo grass. (for more information on Toadflax link: ).  Part of the hillside where this plant is known to occur has been fenced off to protect it from grazing livestock, and it is contributing to an ongoing study of the ecology of this plant. It has been observed that cattle like to browse on it whereas horses do not. The pasture on the property comprises a number of native grass species including Queensland Blue Grass (Dichanthium sericeum) and Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra), as well as introduced species such as Bissett Creeping Bluegrass (Bothriochloa insculpta), which Sandy believes outcompetes the native bluegrass if significant rains have fallen in early Autumn. A small mob of Eastern Grey Kangaroos hopped away when we arrived to examine the Toadflax.

We are very appreciative of the time Sandy gave us, and her extremely informative talks.

Species Lists

White-banded Plane
Phaedyma shepherdi
Photo: M.Weaver

Birds: Brown Quail, Australasian Grebe, Crested Pigeon, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Tawny Frogmouth, Little Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Australian White Ibis, Masked Lapwing, Little Corella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Pale-headed & Eastern Rosella hybrid, Pheasant Coucal, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Striated Pardalote, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Red Wattlebird, Brown Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Little Friarbird, Grey-crowned Babbler, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler ♀, Rufous Whistler ♀&♂, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Golden-headed Cisticola, Welcome Swallow, Double-barred Finch. 

Marsupials: Eastern Grey Kangaroo. 

Butterflies: Scarlet Jezebel, Monarch, Lesser Wanderer, Meadow Argus, White-banded Plane. 

Bees: Native Bee, possibly a Blue-banded Bee.

May 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and Sunday outing to Hirstglen area.

 CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 2 May 2025  St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba 

Leon Steinhardt
Photo:  Leon's Facebook page

Leon Steinhardt will speak to us on the 'Fossils of the Esk Formation, Brisbane Valley'.  

Leon’s talk will be based on the fossils he has collected personally. He is a retired high school teacher and Head of Department for Social Science. He always had an interest in the physical world around him and became interested in palaeontology when he was told of the very significant fossils in the Esk Formation, after he was transferred to Lowood State High School.

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 4 May 2025. Hirstglen

Meeting Time: 8.00am 

Where: The Lions Park on the corner of the New England Highway and Freyling Road, Hodgson Vale.

Description: This outing to the beautiful Hirstglen Valley in the upper reaches of the Condamine catchment area includes Mt. Hirstglen and one kilometre frontage along Back Creek. There is a variety of birdlife and water rats have been seen in the creek.

Activities: There is easy vehicle access to the property with 4WD vehicle pooling required for the drive to Mt. Hirstglen. It is easy walking around the house and along the creek. 

Level of Fitness: Suits 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.

April Outing Report - Deongwar 6 April 2025

 Adapted from the TFNC May 2025 newsletter reports of C. Stephenson & D. Ford.

Skeletal remains
of the victims
Photo: K. Crompton

April 06 dawned cool and cloudy as we passed Toowoomba’s flourishing trees, lawns, parks and gardens bright with Autumn red, gold and yellow to Deongwar State Forest where huge fallen eucalypts were of great interest with their coverings of rotting leaf and bark litter, fungi, mosses and lichens. Further along the forest track, we entered our destination, a 40 acre Land for Wildlife property, purchased after the devastating 2019 fires.

This property of hoop pine dominated softwood scrub, bordered on three sides by predominantly eucalypt State Forest, was enveloped and destroyed by a huge fiery cloud. Tall, skeletal remains of the victims of the fire towered over the lush, green re-growth. Only two of the hoop pines remained, damaged, but alive. The steadfast work of the owners in clearing lantana, and planting hoop pine and other native seedlings is showing positive results. However, steep slopes and aggressive growth of invasive lantana will be an ongoing challenge.

Over 300mm of welcome rain in March has aided in the rapid regeneration of pioneering species, especially green wattle. (up to 6 metres high). The resilience of eucalypts is evident from the obvious coppicing from the base of burnt trees. Naturally regenerating hoop pine seedlings were seen as we meandered along the walking tracks close to the creek.

Of great interest was the spectacular array of abundant fungi

Chocolate Tube Slime
Stemonitis splendens
Photo: B. Dyke

- so varied in type, size, shape and colour…red, orange, yellow, purple, green, white, cream, brown, all working to decompose the many charred tree trunks and branches on the forest floor or still standing. A peaceful, camouflaged bird hide made by Scott, was a welcome resting spot to listen to the elusive birds in the surrounding bush, before descending, past several brush turkey mounds, and a pleasing mixture of naturally regenerating dry rainforest plants, to the gently flowing creek.

In the creek bed was a tiny waterfall, formed by a buttress root, all that remained of a large fig tree, that had been incinerated in the all-consuming fire. Many thanks to our hosts for their welcome, and willingness to share their property. Their provision of maps, species lists and marked, maintained tracks was most helpful and very much appreciated. We wish them success in their endeavours to reawaken this special place. 

Deongwar species list - 06 April 2025 (Collated by C. Stephenson)

Birds: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (in vicinity of Hampton Information Centre), Rainbow Lorikeet, King Parrot, Welcome Swallow, Laughing Kookaburra, Eastern Yellow Robin, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Spectacled Monarch, Leaden Flycatcher, Rufous Fantail, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Eastern Whipbird, Superb Fairy-wren, Yellow-throated Scrub-wren, White-browed Scrub-wren, White-throated Gerygone, Brown Thornbill, White-throated Treecreeper, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Eastern Spinebill, Striated Pardalote, Silvereye, Red-browed Finch, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow.

Reptiles: Yellow-faced Whipsnake.

Insects: Grass Dart or skipper Ocybadistes sp., Australian Emperor, Yellow Migrant, Wandering Percher, Evening Brown, Blue Skimmer, Brown Ringlet, Hibiscus Harlequin Bug Tectocoris diophthalmus, Monarch Butterfly.

Toowoomba Field Naturalist members went on a NSW camp in March - Armidale & Myall Lakes National Park. The report will be posted later. Watch this space!

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.