Friends of Stradbroke Island

Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings to all Friends of Stradbroke Island! Friends of Stradbroke Island Dec 2, 5:38 PM The FOSI Committee thanks you for your support in 2011 and looks forward to working with you in 2012 to preserve our beautiful island. Is your newsletter still arriving by post? If you’d prefer to receive it by email, please send your email address to Edith McPhee at emcphee@westnet.com.au. Thank you. Check out our new blog! This edition and new stories will be posted to http://   Read more… Spring Wildflowers Friends of Stradbroke Island Dec 2, 5:37 PM The spring wildflowers depicted below were photographed growing alongside the Blue Lake Track in September 2011 by Gail Quinn and Mary Barram. Forest boronia Guinea flower (hibbertia salicifolia) Phyllota phillicodes Agiortia pedicellata   Read more… Big picture protection Friends of Stradbroke Island Dec 2, 5:35 PM There are numerous threats to waders...

The FOSI Committee thanks you for your support in 2011 and looks forward to working with you in 2012 to preserve our beautiful island. Is your newsletter still arriving by post? If you’d prefer to receive it by email, please send your email address to Edith McPhee at emcphee@westnet.com.au. Thank you. Check out our new blog! This edition and new stories will be posted to http://www.fosi.org.au and over time back issues may also become available. Enjoy :)

The spring wildflowers depicted below were photographed growing alongside the Blue Lake Track in September 2011 by Gail Quinn and Mary Barram. Forest boronia Guinea flower (hibbertia salicifolia) Phyllota phillicodes Agiortia pedicellata

There are numerous threats to waders in Australia and in other countries of the flyway. In many parts of South-east Asia the birds are hunted and there is widespread habitat loss through coastal reclamation and industrial development, especially in China and South Korea. In Queensland, there is inadequate protection of roost and feeding sites and threats from pollution. The elusive Beach Stone Curlew photographed on Frenchman’s Beach  Australia is a signatory to international treaties aimed at protecting migratory waders including the Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) which promotes wetland conservation, and the Bonn Convention (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals) which provides a multinational framework for the conservation of migratory species. In the East Asian-Australasian flyway, 15 of the 22 countries in the flyway have signed the Ramsar Convention.  Australia al...

Shorebirds are very easily disturbed by close activity. A disturbance is any action that interrupts the breeding, feeding or resting of shorebirds. For example, causing a shorebird to take flight represents a significant disturbance. When shorebirds take flight they use critical energy that is required for migration and breeding. Repeated disturbances and disturbances that occur before or after migration are particularly damaging for shorebirds. Without sufficient energy reserves shorebirds may be unable to complete their migration or breed. Vehicles driven over Home Beach to the detriment of shore birds and their habitat We can all help prevent shorebird disturbance by following these guidelines: Keep dogs and cats under control and well away from shorebirds. Every time shorebirds are forced to take flight, they burn vital energy. Avoid driving or operating all forms of vehicles, vessels and recreational devices near shorebirds. Use 4 wheel drive vehicles only where permitted...

For a good look at shorebirds, sit quietly at a distance and study them through binoculars or a spotting scope. Disturbance from boats, people and dogs is a problem and these sites are best viewed out of the holiday season. Sooty Oystercatchers on the rocks at Frenchman’s Beach   Amity and Flinders Beach  One of the best places to see Straddie’s migratory shorebirds is on the Amity sandbanks at the north-western end of the village where the birds roost at high tide and on the exposed mudflats at low tide. Many thousands of waders and terns are sometimes present in summer. Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey-tailed Tattler are usually very abundant, while Whimbrel and Eastern Curlew are common. From February to August, the Double-banded Plover from New Zealand can be sometimes sighted at Amity but more often at Flinders Beach.  Amity is also a great place to see resident shore and water birds such as bush stone-curlew (especially at dusk in the camp grounds), red-capped ...

It seems that the plight of immigrants and how Australia should welcome - or reject - them has dominated the news for months lately. While all this has been going on North Stradbroke Island has been quietly providing a temporary home to thousands of undocumented and hungry arrivals. Beginning in early September, Amity Point, 18 Mile Swamp and other wetlands across Straddie and throughout Moreton Bay have been providing a temporary refuge to thousands of migratory shorebirds. Shorebirds, also known as waders, are a diverse group of birds commonly seen feeding in intertidal areas or on the fringes of freshwater wetlands. They generally have long legs in relation to their body size, no webbing on their feet and they do not swim. But they can certainly fly! Bar Tailed Godwit on Home Beach. Most of the migrants spend the months of June and July on their breeding grounds in the northern parts of Siberia, Alaska, China and Mongolia. They breed in areas where melting snow brings mass...

We were woken early on Saturday 15 October by a storm which eased as we headed for Cleveland and the water-taxi to Dunwich to take part in the 2011 North Stradbroke Island Urban Koala survey, organised by RCC Wildlife. There were about 30 volunteers this year and we surveyed the streets of each township in small groups, beginning at Dunwich. Here we found 10 koalas; then to Amity Point where we found 19 plus 1 at Flinders Beach. After lunch on the shore at Amity we surveyed Point Lookout but sighted only 1 koala there, a grand total of 31 for this year – 3 higher than last year. Where were the koalas which we know have been seen at Point Lookout? There have been photos and records of them and locals told us they have seen them but they seemed to be hiding away on the survey day! However, it was a good day; even the weather smiled on us – sunny and warm after the morning storm and then a magnificent storm brewing at the end of the day as we boarded the water-taxi back to Cleve...

The Healthy Waterways 2011 Ecosystem Report Card was released last month providing an insight into the health of South East Queensland’s waterways and Moreton Bay. The results show the full force of the flood with water quality deteriorating due to the significant amount of sediment and nutrients that have flowed into the bay from catchments. Three of the region’s five catchments flowing into the bay scored F (which means “Conditions do not meet set ecosystem health values; most key processes are not functional and most critical habitats are severely impacted”) and Central Bay, Deception Bay and Bramble Bay scored D+, D+ and D-. The good news is, in spite of Southern Moreton Bay scoring F, the water around Stradbroke Island is generally of a superior quality. The Eastern Banks scored A- and Eastern Bay scored B- while Waterloo Bay scored B+. There have however been reports of increasing mortality rates for dugongs and turtles and oyster farmers have had to remove barnacles t...

Sourced from the Financial Review 09/09/2011 The Proposed National Park The government’s vision for North Stradbroke Island includes declaring further national park by the end of 2011. The area to be added to that declared in March this year will result in approximately 50% of the island becoming national park. While any declaration of any area as national park is obviously something we welcome because it enhances protection, how much credit does the government deserve? The new national park will in fact bear a close resemblance to the proposed national park map published in the mining company's own documents for a number of years, including in CRL's draft Enterprise Environmental Studies Report in 2002. The same map has also been regularly published in official company documents since. It is worthwhile comparing that map with the latest DERM national park map. Go to www.savestraddie.com to view both maps, under the 'library' tab. Unfortunately, a significant propo...