Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Clean Up Australia Day - Rogers Reserve 2020

CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY - 1st March 2020

We again participated in our annual Clean Up Australia Day Event - Celebrating this year 7 consecutive events!! Something we as a community volunteer group -we are very proud of.

I would like to thank everyone who attended, and also those members of the community who always pick up rubbish on a regular basis in the reserve.

Any cans and plastic bottles collected were donated for the container collection scheme to support local wildlife rescue volunteers.

J. Gray

Clean Up Australia Day 2020 - Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields

McDonalds cups and straws are a constant find during our clean up events at Clean Up Australia Day 2020 - Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields

Clean Up Australia Day 2020 - Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields

Clean Up Australia Day 2020 Complete!- Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields

Friday, February 7, 2020

The Elusive Whip Birds of the Rogers Reserve Highfields

7th February 2020

The Eastern Whip-Birds make an iconic call across the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve at Highfields, and have called it home for as long as I can remember. The reserve has thick natural mulch and they at times can be seen scratching around in this looking for insects, mostly though they are rarely seen - only heard. On this visit, I happened to see two whip birds doing exactly that but they would then hop up into the branches and were secluded by foliage. These are the best photos that I managed of them during this visit.

The birdlife is always a wonderful distraction when weeding or doing rubbish collection during our Friends of Rogers Reserve Bushcare working bee days.

J. Gray

Elusive Eastern Whip Bird at Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, February 2020

Pale-headed Rosellas at Rogers Reserve Highfields

7th February 2020

PALE-HEADED ROSELLAS (Platycercus adscitus) at the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve.

Pale-headed Rosella at Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, 7/02/20

Pale-headed Rosellas are an exquisitely beautiful bird and one that is fairly consistent with sightings at the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve at Highfields. The reserve provides excellent nesting habitat with plenty of tree hollows and a plenty of food source with a range of flowering eucalyptus trees, native fruits, seeds, shrub flowers, insects and native grasses.

Even though it is brightly coloured, the Pale-headed Rosella is very well-camouflaged when feeding amongst leaves in the canopy of trees. The call is similar to that of the Eastern Rosella: 'kwik, kwik' calling in flight, or when perched a high pitched rapid 'pi-pi-pi-pi-pi' and soft chattering. (Source http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Platycercus-adscitus)

Pale-headed Rosella at Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, 7/02/20

Pale-headed Rosella Pair at Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, 7/02/20

Friday, December 6, 2019

December Bushcare Working Bee Rogers Reserve 2019

6th December 2019

Our last bushcare working bee for the year today. Further asparagus weed was removed and rubbish picked up and disposed of properly or collected for recycling. Thanks to everyone who has helped out this year again managing this special patch of dry rainforest in the middle of Highfields. We hope we will receive some much needed rain and some of our precious wildflowers may appear this summer. Lots of birds observed including two juvenile Pale-headed Rosellas with their parents.

Bushcare Working Bee - Friends of Rogers Reserve, 6th December 2019 Highfields.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Genius Childcare Bush Kindy at Rogers Reserve Highfields

2nd December 2019

Kindy students from Genius Childcare Highfields had a "Bush Kindy" field trip today to the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve. This is an update from their teacher:

Genius Childcare Bush Kindy at Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, 2/12/19 - Photos shared with permission.

Today in kindy we took advantage of the beautiful breeze and went of on an adventure to bush kindy. We especially went in search of hollows armed with our book “a hollow is a home” and we looked to see if we could find hollows of different sizes. We found large and small hollows and even saw one in use by a pair of galahs. We wondered if they had their little chicks or fledglings inside.

The girls spotted a kookaburra, and this is a “hollow dependant species” as they use hollows for breeding. We saw a VERY large hollow and we were also fascinated spotting tree hollows that had fallen to the ground to make homes for ground animals.

It was fun to find a hollow and then research (using our book) to learn which animals would use them.

The Kindy Students and teachers are regular visitors and care-takers to the Rogers Reserve, picking up rubbish and doing plant and fauna surveys. We greatly appreciate the updates from Miss Sarah and the teachers. The students have also applied for a grant to do tree planting in areas where lantana has been removed and it is now sparse.