Nature – Page 7 – Paluma – our village in the mist

Bush Walk to Platypus Hole and Forgotten Falls

Wilfred Karnoll and the Townsville Bushwalking Club would like to invite any interested Paluma residents to join a Bush Walk to Platypus Hole and Forgotten Falls on Sunday 6th March 2022. The details of this event and information has been provided by Wilfred below:-

When: Sunday 6th March, commencing at 8 am.

Where: Meet at 8 am at 24 Mount Spec Road, Paluma (Wilfred’s place).

What to Bring: Day pack with water bottle, food and snacks, sun screen, swimmers, a pair of sandshoes or crocs to wade across the creek (if you don’t want to get your hiking shoes wet) and camera/phone to take some memorable photos.

Cost: $5.00 per person to cover insurance with ‘Bush Walking Queensland’ as a temporary member for the day.

Booking: Please book with Wilfred, the team leader for the walk on Mobile 0447 822 626.

The walk starts at Clapham Junction on the Paluma Dam Road. From there we follow an old logging road on a ridge line between Williams and Echo Creek before turning off to drop down into Williams Creek to visit Platypus Hole. If we’re quiet we might see one of these elusive critters that give the big pool its name. We cross the creek and then proceed to the base of Forgotten Falls, which should be flowing nicely after the recent rains. Time for a swim and something to eat. We then climb to the top of the Falls, the brave ones can try a spot of rock scrambling, or you can follow the bush track beside the Falls. From there it’s an easy walk up to Chick’s Road and some waiting cars to return to the village. Whilst the walk is over some rough terrain, it is not too strenuous and not a full day walk, so anybody of a reasonable fitness level will be able to do it. It’s a great opportunity for Paluma residents to explore one of the little treasures in the area. We should be back in Paluma by mid afternoon, depending on walking speed.

Paluma After Dark Club

Saturday Night, 8 pm, Potters Park. Bring a torch

For a small community, Paluma could be said to have a fairly active schedule of evening events throughout the year, but on most nights the village is pretty quiet – in terms of human activity. However this statement belies the fact that our village and surrounding forest have a very active and often noisy nightlife.

Over the last year or so, following the lead of my son Michael, I have been taking nighttime walks through the village local tracks to see what I could see and hear. With the help of a head torch, binoculars and a frog call recording app on my iPhone I have been able to identify most of the more common and easily detected animals.

Common sightings include bandicoots, Pademelons, barred frogs (on wet nights) native rats. Less common to rare, and mostly not yet seen by me at night are Dingos, pythons, nightigers, Feather-tailed gliders, Possums, and even (over a decade ago) a spotted-tailed quoll.

Common sounds include 2 species of frog (again on wet nights), the thumps of unseen Pademelons retreating into the forest, and the piercing buzz of cicadas (as yet unidentified), Babook owls and Lesser Sooty Owl

Not every evening walk results in a sighting, although after heavy rain, frogs are just about guaranteed. And of course the tiny gleaming eyes of wolf spiders and the ever-present sound of cidadas mean that no night walk is without signs of life.

I am keen to continue to go on a regular night walks around the village and perhaps along the road out to the Dam this year. I invite anyone who is interested to join an unofficial “Paluma After Dark Club” and spend an hour or so every couple of months to see what we can record and discover. The inaugural walk will be this Saturday evening (February 26). Meet at Potters Park opposite 27 Lennox Cr at 8 pm.

Bring a head torch, preferably a bright one that can be focused to a narrow beam. Binoculars are also surprising useful to identify mammals and night birds once they are in the beam of a spotlight.

If the first event garners sufficient interest, we might also consider bringing some experts on specific groups up to give us a talk and a guided walk.

Text and Photos by Jamie Oliver

Rainforest Tree of the Month, December 2021 – Native Hydrangea

The native hydrangea (Abrophyllum ornans) is a small understorey tree (up to 8m high) or shrub that is endemic to Qld and northern NSW. It can be found in rainforest gullies and streams or regrowth areas from Batemans Bay to the McIlwraith Range NE of Coen in Cape York. The Genus Abrophyllum belongs to the family Rousseaceae, which is restricted to New Guinea, Australia New Zealand and Mauritius.

The scientific name refers to its attractive leaf and is derived from the Greek habros (splendid) + phyllon (leaf) and the Latin orno (adorn).

The bark of the native hydrangea is grey or light brown. The alternating leaves are ovate with pointed tips and finely serrated edges (up to 2ocm long and .8 cm wide).

*A. ornans* fruit and flowers (photos by Russell Cumming

Small perfumed whitish yellow flowers develop in branched clusters from October to December and the unopened buds can resemble true Hydrangea flower heads (although the two species are not related). Flowers develop into distinctive purple to blackish berries about .5cm in diameter.

A. ornans is cultivated as a garden ornamental, valued for its handsome clusters of berries, or as an indoor plant. It is easily propagated from cuttings or fresh seeds. It is also considered a useful plant for restoration along rainforest edges.

There is a tagged specimen of A. ornans (white tag # 26) on the H-track at the bottom of the slope down from the start at Whalley Cr.

Text by Jamie Oliver
Photos (unless indicated) by Russell Cumming on Flickr

Rainforest Tree of the Month, November 2021 – Messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana)

Although the rainforest around Paluma is extensive, covering over 42km², it forms a narrow north-south band that changes to eucalyptus dominated sclerophyll forest as one travels east down the range or west towards Hidden Valley. The border between rainforest and sclerophyll forest is not fixed, and some studies have shown that the rainforest is slowly expanding and encroaching on the ecologically important sclerophyll habitats that host a number of important species of plants and animals. Late last century there was concern that rainforest expansion might be an ecological threat to adjacent forests but more recent work shows that the rate of expansion is very low, and current climate predictions for destructive cyclones and increased bushfire severity in the region suggest that rainforests are the more threatened of the two habitats.

Some evidence of past rainforest encroachment can still be found along some walking tracks, where there are huge old Eucalyptus trees that would have germinated in open forest have survived the fierce competition for light that characterises rainforest habitats and now stand as anomalous reminders border dynamics. This series has already highlighted two sclerophyll trees that can be found near rainforest margins (Eucalyptus grandis and Syncarpia glomulifera). A third species is the Messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana).

The track down to Triple Falls from the H-track has some magnificent old messmate trees in an area just adjacent to open forest at the crest of the escarpment. This tree is endemic to eastern Queensland and in ideal conditions can grow to 55m in height. The lower trunk has rough flakey or fibrous bark, but is smooth on the upper trunk and branches. Leaves are lanceolate to ovate 0.2-1.3cm long. Flowering occurs has been recorded in December and January. The mature gum nuts are globose to hemispherical, 0.4–0.7 cm long, 0.6–1.1 cm wide.

Messmate has been logged over most of its range and is now cultivated in plantations. It has been imported to Africa and is one of the more important general purpose hardwood plantation trees in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The species name (cloeziana) was chosen in honour of Francois Cloez, a chemist who originally identified the chemical cineole as the major constituent of eucalyptus oil.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

Rainforest Tree of the Month, October 2021 – Buff Alder

The buff alder (Apodytes brachystylis) is a common understory tree in well-developed rainforests from sea level to 1200m. The genus (around 8 species are recognised) is distributed from Africa through Asia to the western Pacific, but A. brachystylis is endemic to (found only in) north Queensland and is most common in upland rainforests from Cooktown to Townsville.

The leaves have a wavy margin and the leaf stems (petioles) are yellowish with a grooved upper surface. The flowers are small (petals 3-4.5mm long) with hairs on the inner surface.

Left : Buff Alder flower and buds (photo by B. Jago CC by 3.0).
Right: Leaves (Photo by Russel Cumming on Flickr)

None of these features make it easy to spot this species during a casual walk through the rainforest, however, once the fruit drops ) to the ground (November to February) this species is unmistakable. Usually what drops is a very handsome combination of a dark blue-black receptacle (the basal part of the flower) and a bright green carpel (the seed bearing structure that contains the ovaries, stigma and style).

Fallen buff alder fruit. Right image shows examples where only the green carpel remains on the ground.

Tagged buff alder on H-track.
Photo by Will Cairns

Based on my frequent encounters with the fallen fruit on the tracks around Paluma it appears to be quite common around the village. There is a tagged specimen (White Tag Number 16) of the tree about 3/4 of the way down the slope toward the main plank bridge on the H-Track (starting from Whalley Crescent.

Text and Photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

IF WE DON’T DO ANYTHING – WE WILL LOSE IT!

The Rainforest Walk is a short approximately 600m track that starts opposite the Community Hall, runs down to a small creek with evidence of stone pitching from the tin mining days and ends back on the main road opposite Sarah Swan’s Glass Art Studio. For many years this track has been maintained by QPWS, together with the ‘H Track’, but as a cost cutting measure the QPWS has decided to stop all maintenance on the Rainforest Walk because this track is not in the National Park. This track is situated on Unallocated State Land (USL). The ‘H Track’ is only 10% in National Park and 90% on the same block of USL, but QPWS are happy to continue to maintain the ‘H Track’……..You Figure It Out??!!

The Rainforest Walk is a very popular track and it is an invaluable tool to introduce anybody who can walk to the delights and diversity of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and it is ideally located right in the middle of our community!

The start of the Rainforest Walking Track opposite the Community Hall.

After discussions within the group and getting the support of the USL Department, the Walking Track Volunteers (we look after over 100 km of walking tracks around Paluma, the Dam and Mount Spec) have decided to take on the responsibility to keep this track open and maintained to the same or better condition than when QPWS looked after it. We have already replaced a rotten board on one of the walk platforms and have begun to install galvanized chicken wire on the wooden platforms, as they were very slippery during wet weather (most of the time in Paluma). The biggest job on the maintenance list is the re-surfacing of large sections of the track with Deco, that has been dumped at each end of the track and needs to be taken by wheel burrow to the washed-out sections of the track. Whilst doing this, we will also install some drains across the track to channel rain water away from the track, rather than have it wash the Deco away again on the sloping sections of the track.

We will make a start on this work at a Working Bee to be held on Saturday 16th October, from 2pm to 4pm. We would like to appeal to all residents and community members to come and join us with a wheel burrow, shovel and rake, and a bit of elbow-grease!. Remember the saying – Many hands make light work!! A refreshing drink will be made available at the Community Hall after the Working Bee. Feel free to contact Wilfred on 0447 822 626 if you have any questions.

Article by Wilfred Karnoll.

Rainforest Tree of the Month, September 2021 – Hickory Boxwood

The Hickory Boxwood (Planchonella euphlebia) is endemic to north Queensland. It is a widespread and relatively common tall (~25m), often buttressed tree in established rainforests from 200m to 1200m in altitude. It is also sometimes referred to as Pouteria euphlebia, although this name is now considered to be a synonym .

Leaves are obovate (egg-shaped with the narrow end towards the stem) and 5-14cm long. The undersides of young leaves are covered in fine brown hairs. the species name euphlebia refers to the well developed (“eu”) veins (“phlebius”) on the leaves.

Although common around Paluma, these trees are not easy to distinguish from the appearance of their trunks. There is a tagged specimen (White Tag number 10) on the H-track near the bottom of the slope leading down from Whaley Crescent. However the fallen fruit are easy to identify. The fruit appear from October to December and are fairly common on the ground along many Paluma walking tracks. They are about 1.5.2cm long. globular to elongate and coloured yellowy-orange to red. The fleshy fruit contains 1 to 5 distinctively shaped brown glossy seeds with a pale grey scar along one side. The fruit is reported to be edible in some texts but as always great caution should be taken in sampling any fruit from the forest.

Timber from this tree is suitable for general building and furniture, but it was not specifically targetted by loggers.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

It’s Still Raining at Paluma

Just a point of clarification on my last post (of 1 September) referring to the Paluma rain gauge overflowing with a recording of 25.4 mm. Judging from some of the feedback I received, I think I may have created some confusion?!

The Paluma rain gauge consists of two main receptacles for collecting rainfall. The inner-most receptacle can collect just over 20 mm of rainfall. This container has a detailed ruler for measuring the amount of rain collected. The recent excitement amongst some of us was because this internal receptacle reached capacity for the first time since the new rain gauge became operational in early August 2021.

The inner container sits in a much larger water-tight steel container. This secondary container can collect several hundred millimetres of rainfall. The new rain gauge has the capacity to collect large amounts of rain and it will be able to capture every drop of those wet season deluges that Paluma is so famous for. Indeed, if the large outer steel receptacle ever looks like overflowing, then we will all need to head for the Ark!

I have previously mentioned the great work done by Wilfred to stabilise and protect the rain gauge on the Village Green. Just last week, Barry created a rather ingenious water tight plastic container (from large polypipe) to store the BOM rainfall data sheet. Great innovation and an ongoing collective community effort in recording Paluma’s rainfall record.

And the good news. A total of 1.2 mm of rain was recorded last Saturday and 4.2 mm recorded on Sunday (4 and 5 September 2021).

Wilfred’s paving and fencing work to protect our rain gauge.

Barry’s water tight container for the rainfall recording sheet.

Article & Photos by Michele Bird

Rainforest Tree of the Month, August 2021 – Yellowheart

Although it is neither common nor prominent among the trees along the H-track, the yellowheart (Fagraea fagraeacea) is both unmistakeble and unforgettable once it starts dropping its ripe fruit.

The yellowheart grows as a shrub to small tree (5-20m) and is endemic to higher altitude (300-1250m) rainforests in NE Queensland. As a tree it has flakey to fibrous bark with a yellowish inner bark when exposed by a blaze.

The leaves are elliptical to ovate and 5-10cm long. The flowers are cream coloured and can be highly perfumed.

F. Fagraeacea leaves (photo by Russel Cumming on Flickr)
and flowers (photo by John Elliot on Flickr)

The genus Fagraea includes about 60 species in the Family Gentianaceae. Although there are no readily accessible (i.e. Googleable) details on any human use for this species, the yellowheart was once considered to be a part of a single, variable species (F. gracilipes) which occurs in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. F. gracilipes is known to produce durable, workable wood that has been used for canoes, posts and housing. The latex sap from this and several other members of the genus is used as an adhesive.

There is a solitary small tree on the H-track about 100m before the main creek crossing (walking from Lennox Cr) that, for several years, has dropped its brilliant lipstick pink fruit onto the track around August to October. It is just beginning to develop its fruit now, so be on the lookout next time you are on the Track.

Despite its striking assets (brilliantly coloured fruit and perfumed flowers and a manageable size) yellowheart is not commonly cultivated. I have twice gathered the fruit and planted them into pots to germinate so that I could add this lovely small tree to my garden but have had no success so far.

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

A Tale of Two Bowers

We have previously posted several articles on this website regarding the amazing bowers built by the satin bowerbirds in and around the village of Paluma.

This is a story of two bowers and the concerted efforts of my resident satin bowerbird/s to build and maintain their bower in the face of considerable adversity.

A few weeks ago at the start of the breeding season I noticed that the satin bowerbirds were very active in the garden – in their favourite spot where a bower has been built over two successive years. So, it didn’t surprise me to see work had begun on a new bower (no.3) this breeding season. The construction of the bower was well under way and various blue objects started appearing in the garden as the efforts ramped up to build the bower and tempt the female birds in. There was some frenetic activity going on.

Then…….along came the tree trimmers to prune the vegetation from the transmission lines.

At my place they pruned some sizeable branches and left most of them behind littered throughout the garden. The clean up effort by the crew was pretty poor to say the least. As I cussed (numerous times) and began cleaning up the branches left behind, I noticed that a large branch had been lopped and left right on top of the bower. I promptly removed it to discover that the bower had been flattened to a pulp (along with several of my garden plants). In addition, the large branch left on top of the bower meant that the birds could not get access to the area to retrieve their twigs, sticks, blue trinkets and treasures to rebuild or relocate the bower.

I cussed again (more times than previously) and resolved with some disappointment that the bowerbird courting and breeding in my garden would be over for this year.

But that is not the end of this tale.

Coming back to my garden after two weeks away I was pleasantly surprised to see the bowerbird/s had rebuilt and re-erected the bower. It was bigger and better than before. There were new and many more blue trinkets scattered around the bower, along with pieces of bright green lichen. A new addition was the leaves of the exotic aluminium plant with the silvery upper side of the leaves carefully placed at the bower entrance. In recent times there has again been a hive of courting activity and chortling at the bower and around the garden.

It never ceases to amaze me how adaptable and innovative these birds can be. Not only do they collect and re-use the plastic contaminants we humans leave in the environment (well at least the blue pieces), they also re-adjust quite readily to our invasion of their rainforest home and our constant interference in their breeding and life cycle.

If only we humans were so tolerant and adaptable to the other species sharing the planet!

The array of blue (plastic) treasures at the bower.

Text & Photos by Michele Bird