It's that time of year again and we are challenging you to Find a Frog in February!

We see some of you have got in early and are starting to see frogs about including some Great-barred frogs, Eastern sedge frogs and Rocky river frogs. Whether you are part of the greater Mary River Catchment or any catchment of the Sunshine Coast, get out there and take some photos or record those frog calls and upload them to iNaturalist.

Get involved in this great community frog monitoring project this February and join the Find a Frog in February project on iNaturalist. You can search for the project in iNaturalist or find the project here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/find-a-frog-in-february and when you photograph a frog on your property it will be added to the project.

Often it is easiest to spot frogs at night, when we can hear frogs calling preceding or after rainfall. If you're spotlighting at night, remember to always stay vigilant of your surroundings and take a buddy with you on your walk.

This iNaturalist project is run by the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee (MRCCC), aiming to assist land managers to help them undertake actions that improve water quality and aquatic biodiversity, and improve their productivity and sustainability in the Mary River Catchment. If you’d like to learn more about the MRCCC visit their website: https://mrccc.org.au/about-the-mrccc/

Another handy application that can assist you in identifying frogs in SEQ is the Australian Museum Frog ID app. which you can check out here - https://australian.museum/get-involved/citizen-science/frogid/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAz9ieBhCIARIsACB0oGJubT1NVT91CBqGgr4T2wUJfsdMN9MM1dPlGXTCSZ-QQhxveHxGlYAaAm31EALw_wcB

How many frogs will you log this month? Happy frogging!

Do you have one or more nest boxes on your property? Have you done an annual health check on your nest box this year? It is important to monitor new and existing nest boxes on your property to negate problems that may arise with termite activity and/or pest species (such as the establishment of European honeybee hives). It is also a good opportunity to see if your boxes have any roosting or nesting residents that have taken up residence on your property.

There are some easy ways to identify if your nest box has been in use recently including the following signs:

• Parrot box: Chewed edges of the round hole openings can be a sign of parrot use.

• Possum box: Scratch marks on the tree trunk and nest box exterior may mean a possum or arboreal mammal is using the nest box, or perhaps a monitor/goanna has been visiting the box. In addition, you may notice oily residue around the opening/entry of the box. This residue can be a sign that a possum or glider is using the box and entering and exiting the box frequently.

• Microbat box or other microbat specific habitat installation: You may find scats and pellets beneath the box after some regular occupancy occurs. If the box is in a position where you can see up through the base, you can shine a red light up into the box to see if there are any microbat’s roosting during the daytime.

If you spot a local critter using a nestbox on your property, share your photos of nest box inhabitants on iNaturalist for your chance to win a copy of Nest boxes for Wildlife: A practical guide by Alan and Stacey Franks!

If you’re interested in building and installing your own nest box you can also find basic designs and guidance here: Building and Installing a Nestbox (wildlife.org.au).

On the first weekend of April 2022, Queensland Trust for Nature (QTFN) held an Invertebrates adventure weekend workshop at Mount Mellum Nature Refuge. This workshop aimed to provide participants with the skills and experience to sample, survey and identify invertebrates they may find in various ecosystems and habitats in a range of forest types across their own properties.

Check out the Mount Mellum Invert Adeventure Project on iNaturalist to see over 528 observations logged by participants including the identification of 212 species of invertebrates from waterways and streams, terrestrial and arboreal rainforest and open Eucalypt forest. You’ll see a range of interesting invertebrates from colourful day moths and vibrant beetles to hairy burrowing spiders and giant king crickets. If you look through the observations in this project, you’re bound to come across some interesting species that you’ve likely spotted on your own property or maybe photographed during the most recent "Things with Wings" challenge.

After spending the weekend at Mount Mellum with a group of enthusiastic and passionate scientists and naturalists alike I am reminded of the quote by John Muir, “In every walk in nature one receives far more than he seeks”. Upon reflecting on the weekend workshop, I conclude that this rings true for me. A weekend filled with storytelling, knowledge sharing, invertebrate and macropod identifying and more generally the experience of thoughtful exploration of the forest at the macro level.

After this wet and warm weather there are lots of winged-beasts on the move. Whether you enjoy photographing butterflies and their host plants or recording bird calls in your backyard, this challenge is for you!

Record 10 or more "things with wings" (i.e. butterflies, birds, bats) before Easter and go into the draw to win an iTunes/Google Play gift card to purchase Field Guides for your phone.

There are a number of field guides that can assist you in your future identification pursuits including applications for your smart device such as Frogs of Australia, Snakes of Australia and Morcombe’s Birds of Australia field guides. Field guides have colour photos, recordings of various mating and advertising calls as well as descriptions on habitat and distributions maps to assist you in sharpening your ID skills.

Alternatively winners may choose to select a voucher for native seedlings. There are a number of native host vines, shrubs and small trees that you might like to plant to provide additional foraging habitat for locally significant or threatened moth and butterfly species living on your property and surrounds. If you wish to get in touch with any local community native nurseries to see if they have any specific host plants in stock, you can find their details here: https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Environment/Trees-plants-and-gardens/Community-Native-Nurseries.

Are you interested in learning more about light trapping moths to assist in getting better photographs for identifying moths on your property? Learn more here https://www.lfwseq.org.au/light-trapping-moths-for-beginners/#:~:text=Probably%20the%20simplest%20way%20is,portions%20of%20the%20light%20spectrum.

Frogs are a vital component of ecosystems and are easily affected by changes in the air, water and land: they are good indicators of the environmental health of our region! But they are in trouble world-wide due to habitat loss, pollution and disease.

We can ALL help them if we know where they live! Get involved in this great community frog monitoring project this February and join the Find a Frog in February project on iNaturalist. You can search for the project in iNaturalist or find the project here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/find-a-frog-in-february and when you photograph a frog on your property it will be added to the project.

Often it is easiest to spot frogs at night, when we can hear frogs calling preceding or after rainfall. If you're spotlighting at night, remember to always stay vigilant of your surroundings and take a buddy with you on your walk.

This project is run by the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee (MRCCC), aiming to assist land managers to help them undertake actions that improve water quality and aquatic biodiversity, and improve their productivity and sustainability in the Mary River Catchment. If you’d like to learn more about the MRCCC visit their website: https://mrccc.org.au/about-the-mrccc/.

How many frogs will you log this month? Happy frogging!

Next week is National Bird Week 2021 from Monday 18 October to Sunday 24 October.

The celebration of National Bird Week has its origins back in the early 1900s when 28 October was first designated by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, as the first ‘Bird Day’.

Have you spotted any interesting feathered friends flying overhead or building a nest in a large Eucalypt or amongst the reeds on your property? Grab some binoculars or go for a walk with a friend and see what birds you can see and hear calling for the Aussie Backyard Bird Count. If you can, grab some photos and share them with the Land for Wildlife network for a challenge this month!

For more information and to register with the Aussie Bird Count visit: https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/.

If you're looking for more mobile resources to identify birds in your backyard or on your property there are a number of applications for mobile field guides that include photos, illustrations and bird calls including the following examples:

- Morcombe & Stewart Guide: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/morcombe-stewart-
guide/id397979505; and/or

- Pizzey and Knight Birds of Aus: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/pizzey-and-knight-birds-of-
aus/id714625973

If you're interested in keeping a more regular checklist of birds that you see on your property whilst going for walks, the eBird application is also a good way of keeping regular checklists and keeps a track of where you've walked and observed birds. For more information about eBird visit here: https://ebird.org/about/ebird-mobile/#:~:text=eBird%20Mobile%20is%20a%20free,to%20focus%20on%20the%20birds!.

Happy birding!

Have you seen a golden scruffy? How about a shaggy cap or a leathery goblet? Is there a chorus of frog calls coming from your creek, dam or pond?

The wet and warm weather has brought the fungi and frogs out of their hiding spots. But it won't last, so get out there with your camera or smartphone and get snapping.

Book packs to be won!
We would like you to submit as many fungi and frog observations as you can over the next ten weeks. Any Sunshine Coast Land for Wildlife member who submits at least 10 frog or fungi observations to the LfW Nature Challenge Sunshine Coast project before March 31 will go in the draw to win one of ten frog and fungi field guide book packs.

For help with identifying your fungi and frog finds take a look at these fantastic websites.

https://qldfungi.org.au/
https://frogs.org.au/frogs/of/Queensland/

Have fun!

Alan

Making Great Observations

Here are a few tips to help with a positive ID:

• Taking multiple, clear (full frame and in focus) photos of your living organism not only helps community identifiers confirm your observation to Research Grade, but also improves the accuracy of the observation.

• If you’re not sure of exactly what your observation is, rather than selecting ‘something’, try and drill down to what you are confident of (eg plant, animal, fungi etc.) That way community identifiers with a special interest are more likely to help ID it.

• iNaturalist uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make identification suggestions – sometimes it’s way off! Be sure to cast a critical eye over the suggestion before accepting. It can be useful to consult relevant field guides if you have them.

• Did you notice anything unique that the photo doesn’t capture? Make sure to pop it in the notes section!

Hints and Tips Links:

• How to make an observation on your mobile: https://www.youtube.com/watch/xENz1xRu0wI
• Getting good photos for identification: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/2465
• Tips for making iNaturalist observations: https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/5360-tips-for-making-inaturalist-observations

Thanks for making observations of the plants, animals and fungi on your LfW property! The more you do it the more you will learn and the better our understanding of biodiversity on the Sunshine Coast.

Kylie

Thanks to everyone who has contributed observations during our spring competition, we are now at well over 1100 for the project - what a great start!

Congratulations to our 6 lucky winners of the CSIRO book vouchers who have been notified by email.

Look forward to seeing more great observations as they come through!

Kylie

Don’t forget you have until this Saturday at midnight to go into the draw to win one of six CSIRO book vouchers valued at $50 each!

To go in the draw, all you need to do is make 10 observations by the closing date – some of you are only one or two observations away, so don’t miss out on your chance to win!

What great read will you spend yours on?!

Kylie