admin – Page 2 – Paluma – our village in the mist

Defibrillator not available at Community Hall

The PDCA defibrillator outside the entrance to the Community Hall is temporarily unavailable as it is being serviced. There are two other defibrillators inside the Hall, owned by the SES and RFS. In the event of an emergency please contact any member of the RFS or SES to gain access.

Paluma Bird of the Month, March 2024 – Mistletoe Bird

Over the wet season two species of mistletoe (Amylotheca subumbellata and Amylotheca dictyophleba) have been flowering and fruiting in the village.

This is a window of seasonal plenty for Mistletoe Birds (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) who live mainly on the mistletoe fruit and repay the favour by spreading the seeds of mistletoe.

The photo here of a female mistletoe bird was taken from the back deck of #56 at the start of the rainforest walk in mid-February. It wasn’t until the photo was uploaded and cropped that it became apparent the shot had captured a gluey seed locked and loaded for dispersal.

Female mistletoe bird. (Photo by Peter Cooke)

Although there are other birds that can spread mistletoe, the mistletoe bird has evolved a highly specialised and efficient method of ensuring future crops of mistletoe berries.

As a parasite, mistletoe seed needs to be placed in a particular way in the (usually) upper branches of the host tree. Mistletoe minimizes opportunistic feeding by less specialist dispersal species by producing few, inconspicuous fruits. The fruit is low in protein and so the mistletoe bird must eat large quantities for reproduction and moulting.

Amylotheca sp in the cutting near Whalley Cr (photo by Jan Cooke)

The mistletoe bird has evolved a digestive system that processes the fruit particularly quickly and with little damage to the seed. It takes between four and 25 minutes for the fruit to be processed and ready for “planting”.

The fruit emerges with a sticky coating that requires the bird to employ a special technique to detach it from the anal vent. Mistletoe birds often stand facing the host plant and with a wiping action deposits the fruit in a string along the perch. Seeds that emerge from mistletoe birds are much stickier than those of honeyeaters who also snack on mistletoe fruit. Seeds ejected by honeyeaters fall randomly and often miss the strong bonding to the host tree branch that is essential to keep the mistletoe supplied with a source of fluid as it grows.

Mistletoe birds occur throughout Australia in any habitat where mistletoe occurs. They are the only Australian representative of the flowerpecker family, Dicaeidae, which comprises 50 mistletoe-loving species distributed through tropical southern Asia and Australasia.

The male mistletoe bird is brightly and colourfully feathered while the female has more demure plumage, dark grey above with a white throat, light grey underparts and just a touch of pinkish red under the tail.

Male mistletoe bird. Photo by Tobias Hyashi (https://canberrabirds.org.au/our-birds/canberra-garden-birds/mistletoebird-flowerpeckers/)

Jamie Oliver previously posted a link to a great David Attenborough segment that captured the whole process including a time-lapse of seed germination. That link is here.

In early March a number of mistletoes were flowering nicely in “the cutting” around 21-27 Mt Spec Road.

Text by Peter Cooke

Note: no AI used in producing this post, just good old cut and paste plagiarism from various sources.

Paluma Bird of the Month Series

Nearly six years ago, in a rush of enthusiasm, I published what I hoped would be the first in a monthly series of articles on Paluma Birds. That post featured the Satin Bowerbird. Unfortunately, I never followed up with further articles, despite my feeling that this was a worthwhile project that could be a nice complement to Colwyn Campbell’s very successful Tree of the Month series, which persisted right up to the end of 2021.

I am delighted that the series is now restarting with the able support of Peter Cooke, whose first post features the mistletoe bird. Peter and I have several birds lined up for future months and are confident we will be able to keep the series going at least for this year. However, we would be delighted to receive contributions from other residents. If you have a well-framed, sharp portrait of a local bird that you would like to write about please contact us. We can help you write the text, or contribute some text to go with your picture. In either case, let us know! We are very keen to use photos by residents as our primary source of illustrations for the series. if you realize you have a great shot of one of the birds we feature in a post, and would like to share it, I can include it in a comment on that post after it’s published (unfortunately the system does not allow general users to include photos in the comments section).

I hope you find the series informative and interesting.

Jamie Oliver

Rolingstone Art and Craft Show

The Artists@Rollingtone team is calling on artists and arts & crafts enthusiasts from the region to participate in the Annual Art and Craft Show and Sale. Saturday 27th July 2024. More details are in the poster below.

Sad News

It is with profound regret that we note that Glen Parker died unexpectedly last Sunday at home in Paluma. On behalf of the PDCA and the entire Paluma community, we offer our deepest condolences to Bobbi Parker and Glen’s extended family. A more detailed tribute to Glen will follow in due course.

Friday Night Drinks at the Hall, March 1st

After a recent PDCA exec meeting we decided to initiate regular Friday evening drinks and nibbles on the Friday before each Saturday working bee. If you feel the urge to relax and unwind, or play a friendly game of darts or table tennis over a beer or glass of wine then come over to the Hall around 6pm on March 1st. The bar will be open. Feel free to bring nibbles or finger food to share.

Paluma Working Bee, March 2nd

For the first working bee of the year, the plan is to clear roadside vegetation between Loop Road and the Rainforest Inn. We will meet at t the Community Hall at 2pm on March 2nd. bring snipping and lopping tools. As usual, your hard efforts will be acknowledged with free drinks at the hall afterwards.

Paluma’s Best Gardens for 2023

The winners of the Paluma Garden Competition were announced at the last social event a month ago so this may not be news to some readers. However, a formal post with some pictures seems warranted to celebrate the horticultural and landscaping skills of our Paluma residents and commercial establishments.

The inspections occurred on October 11th and the judges (Kathleen and Ange) and prizes were supplied by Bunnings.

The winners and the judges’ notes are listed below.

1. Best Residential Garden in the Village

Robert and Sandra Smyth, Whalley Cr
What first caught our eye was the amazing landscaping which flowed beautifully with the sloping terrain. We loved the use of stone and natural woods which created interest and texture. We also loved the variety of colourful flowers and foliage used throughout the garden beds.

2. Best Commercial Garden in the Village

Gumburu
The gardens were beautifully designed and landscaped. You can see all the hard work that has been put into maintaining these gardens. We loved the rainbow snake feature amongst the front garden bed. We also liked how the gardens flowed with the natural rainforest that surrounds the area.

3. Best Acreage Garden

Glenn & Bobbi Parker, Mt Spec Rd
We liked that every part of their property had points of interest with the open space as well as the rainforest. The rainforest was beautiful with interesting paths to take you throughout the property, each one was a unique experience. We also liked the integration of sustainability with the bees and vegetable gardens. There was also a beautiful balance of established gardens and the natural environment.

4. Highly Recommended Village Garden

Michele Bird, Mt Spec Rd
There is always something interesting and beautiful to look at in this garden. Both the front and back garden are filled with a large variety of plants. As you walk through the little paths in this garden you will come across an eclectic collection of plants, pots and ornaments that bring the garden to life.

5. Most Unusual Garden Specimen, Feature, Development etc.( Village or Blocks)

Glenn & Bobbi Parker, Mt Spec Rd
There were many features of their garden that stood out to us as most unusual but by far, the greatest feature of this garden is the beautifully made cabin in the forest overlooking the creek. Other features of this garden that stood out to us was the carnivorous plants and the old felled tree stump with the fig growing on top.

Allison Evens Memorial Trophy

“We would say Glen and Bobbi’s, they have such a wonderful garden that you could spend hours in!”

Cyclone Season Preparation

Memories of the 2019 February inundation and the subsequent isolation of Paluma and communities to the west will be with us for years. These memories should prompt all of us living in the area to consider carefully how we prepare for this wet season.

The best way to start this years’ preparation is to visit the Queensland Government website https://www.getready.qld.gov.au. The site addresses preparation for a range of disasters that could affect Queensland. Cyclone, storm damage & fires are the most relevant to our area. It also lists a number of disaster related apps. Other useful websites are https://disaster.townsville.qld.gov.au & https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/safety-education/resources.

Cyclones & extreme rainfall events

The getready website suggests being prepared for 3 days of self-sufficiency. This may be adequate for the lowlands, but could easily prove inadequate for Paluma to Hidden Valley communities. If a high category cyclone crosses the coast anywhere near Townsville, Paluma to Hidden Valley problems are likely to be well down government priority lists, if they are not life threatening.

Plan for the worst – what if?

All access roads to the area closed for seven (?) plus days
Prolonged loss of the electricity grid supply.
Eventual loss of landline, mobile phone & internet communication due to loss of power to Telstra sites.
Damage to Townsville Water infrastructure resulting in unreliable water supply.
Structural damage to your private residences forcing evacuation to temporary accommodation.
For those living west of Paluma & not dependant on town water & the electricity grid – consider consequences of damage to satellite dishes & solar panel arrays. Ensure water tanks contain enough water to resist cyclone strength winds.

If you work through the three steps of the Have a Plan section of the get ready website you should be covered for most things. But there are local considerations.

THE FOLLOWING CHECKLIST COVERS SOME OF THE THINGS TO CONSIDER.

Clearing around you residence to remove anything with the potential of becoming an airborne projectile.

Insurance – Check currency & adequacy.

Basic supplies

Enough food for the whole household including pets. If you have no generator backup for your refrigerator then stick mainly to non-perishable food. (dried or tinned)
Adequate supplies of prescription medication plus cold & flu tablets, pain killers etc.
Toiletries.
Adequate clothing for everyone for the duration.
Extra bed linen & towels.
Sturdy gloves.
Wet weather gear.
Allow 3 litres of bottled water per person per day. Alternatively a small rainwater tank with water purification tablets from chemist/camping stores. Without power electrical appliances will not be able to boil water for safety.
Important documents & a backup hard drive.
Up to date first aid kit.
Adequate fuel for vehicles & generators plus gas for backup cooking equipment. Those on solar off grid systems should consider how much fuel they may need if the solar array is damaged.
Spare batteries for torches/radios.
Sturdy waterproof containers for food, clothes, medication, phones etc.

Communications

The Telstra site in Paluma has backup batteries & a generator but when the fuel runs out Telstra will be unable to refuel if access roads to Paluma are closed. So the phones & internet may continue to work for some time after a power failure & then shut down. Suggest it wise to make any important phone calls or emails as soon as possible after the event. West of Paluma landline phones may also eventually fail due to loss of power or damage to Telstra facilities.
For landline phones a non 240v dependant phone is best.
Have an alternate way of charging mobile phones & tablets without mains power.
Will your mobile phone work at the Star Valley or McClelland’s’ lookouts.
Battery radio.

Equipment

Generator –tested/serviced.
Backup gas cooking equipment (BBQ) if you only have an electric stove.
Alternative lighting.
Fire extinguishers are always cheap insurance.

Rental properties. If you have any form of rental property in the area, consider the need to advise potential tenants of the risk of isolation after extreme weather events.

If you are not going to be in the Paluma area.

Ensure anyone occupying your house is aware of the above suggestions.
Clean out your fridge & freezer
Consider supplying a neighbour with a key & your contact details so they can access your property to check for damage & report to you.

Evacuating your house due structural damage. Extra things that should be considered for an evacuation kit include bedding (sleeping bags, inflatable mattresses & pillows), reading material & games, cash.

Fallen Power Lines. Assume live & maintain an exclusion zone of 8 meters. Report to Ergon Energy – Ph 131670. Warn others.

Mt Spec SES