Our biodiversity at risk # 4
September 21, 2026
Despite the ongoing dry conditions, many of our grasstrees
(Xanthorrhoea johnsonii) are putting up flower spikes. This beauty is inside the house yard. Currently, its 5 flowering spikes are a magnet for honeyeaters of all types. Noisy Friarbirds (Philemon corniculatus), Yellow-faced Honeyeaters (Lichenostomus chrysops) and Silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis) are the most interested. It was a big surprise yesterday 
when 3 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Zanda funerea) descended from the morning sky to ‘check out’ the spikes.
We have fewer and fewer sightings of these large cockatoos. Yesterday’s sighting was typical of recent years: usually 1 to 3 birds that seem to be ‘scouting’ for food. The grasstree inspected yesterday is growing just a few metres from a new grove of Forest Oaks (Allocasuarina torulosa) mentioned in Dispatches from The Hill 5 June 2026. Like the Glossy Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami), we have seen up to 10, maybe 15 Yellow-tailed Blacks munching on the seeds of the Forest Oaks in the years prior to the 2019 bushfire. But yesterday, they didn’t hang around.
We can only hope that there remains a larger flock of Yellow-tailed Blacks somewhere in our area. Sadly, it seems that for now these ‘food scouts’ have nothing of interest to report back. We had no time to snap a photo; within minutes they flew off through the Forest Oaks and were gone. We miss the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos and their unmistakable, slow ‘whee-lah’ call.
Parts of these outcrops are not always readily accessible. Last week, we were venturing where we had not been for a while. A standout feature was how the Port Jackson Figs (Ficu rubiginosa) take root and eventually ‘take over’ the boulders. We imagine that this process happens over decades, if not centuries.
We enjoy their company, but also curse their pilfering of grain from the chook feeder. Each winter, we see some males with those fabulous mature feathers and others still wearing their juvenile green/brown colour. We have counted up to 30 birds in some years, but this winter, we’ve seen just 4 with mature colours and 1 with immature – as in this photo.
) growing just uphill and east of The Gatehouse. It has come into flower over the last few weeks, and is a food magnet for honeyeaters. Daily visitors include Yellow-faced honeyeaters; White-eared honeyeaters; New Holland honeyeaters; Red wattle birds; Noisy friarbirds; Spinebills and Rainbow lorikeets. Occasional visitors include White-naped honeyeaters; White-plumed honeyeaters and Musk lorikeets. Today’s binocular session delivered our first sighting at Grasstrees of the Spiny-cheeked honeyeater. We counted three of them. They also attempted to drink from the nearby Roopool watering point, but the resident bullies (the New Holland honeyeater gang) were having none of it. We tried for a photo of this new species for our bird list, but with no luck.
to bloom this year and every year (Acacia neriifolia) is serving up layers of sunny yellow.
spotted this Speckled Warbler (Chthonicola sagittata)** in what’s left of The Gatehouse gardens. This species was last recorded here in May 2012.
It is officially winter and therefore not usually snake season, but this beautiful creature was not going to be denied the chance to soak up every bit of available warmth and sunshine. Somehow, it felt all wrong to encourage it off the track so we could pass.
Recently, we reported to the Trust on expenditure of a grant 
we received to assist with re-opening the 4WD tracks across Grasstrees. The tracks became very overgrown as a follow-on effect of the 2019 bushfire, and other factors. Funding was provided also for the control of weed infestations, but that job has been delayed due to the very dry conditions so far in 2026. Thank you, BCT; now we can ‘access all areas’ again.
we thought it would be unlikely that we would see any koalas taking advantage of free drinks in our lifetime. But we did think that other locals would appreciate the convenience, and that would be a good thing, especially during dry times. These two brush-tail possums were quick to take up the offer. Their night-time manoeuvres were captured on the movement sensor camera we have installed nearby. Gotcha guys!
The nest was well hidden at about 2.5m above ground, deep within the climbing tangles, and blocked from view by the hundreds of seeding flowerheads which give this climber its common names of ‘old man’s beard’ or ‘grandpa’s whiskers’. In Spring 2022, we were very pleased to see the nesting couple had returned and were building again. For weeks the parents happily ignored us as we sat at the table. We enjoyed many close encounters of the feathered kind, especially after the chicks hatched. We timed relays of food deliveries at between 90 seconds and 3 minutes. On Tuesday 25 October, as we sat down for our lunch break, we noticed a change. A bub Spinebill had emerged and was sitting quietly overhead. But the food relays continued, and we were lucky enough to capture these 2 very short videos: 
And fewer bugs and grubs mean less tucker for hungry babies. All of which probably helps to explain why it took four attempts by our resident Willie Wagtail parents to complete a successful nesting cycle. After the first three nests and eggs were abandoned, it is just a week since three chicks finally left their nest in the grapevine.
A wet winter was beneficial after the first planting in April, and those 80 trees appear to have become established. However, cooler and dryer conditions in recent weeks have had a negative impact, especially on the second batch of 160 trees. Fortunately, we are able to monitor the trees easily as our daily walk to the Back Creek takes us through the habitat area. Supplementary watering has been undertaken when deemed necessary. A few plants have fallen victim to local macropods in transit, but total losses to date are fewer than 20.
We were able to install it in a patch of mature Eucalypts on the fringe of the newly-planted trees. So, the drinks are on us! A motion sensor camera is being installed this week, and that will tell us who is taking advantage.
Signing the agreement was the culmination of over 12 months’ collaboration with BCT Senior Landholder Support Officer Anthony Collins. The agreement contains a management plan, recommended management actions, and spells out restrictions on use of the Conservation Area.
The process of working towards the agreement has clarified our thinking about exactly what we hope to achieve here. It has meant letting go of some ideas and being open to others we had not considered previously. The end result is that we are now firmly entrenched in regenerating and conserving our tiny piece of Planet Earth; and we have some new options available to help us get on with it.
great opportunity to learn more about these threatened species. We have had many sightings of Little Eagles at Grasstrees, and some ‘maybe’ sightings of Square Tailed Kites. Having a chat with Dr Stephen Debus (legend) about our sightings was a highlight. Steve has been studying Australian Raptors for over 40 years, and has described the Little Eagle as “ a spectacular hunter and flier having an exuberant courtship display and voice”. 
So, we submitted our EOI and were told to be ready for an autumn planting. Not all our 240 seedlings are ready for planting just yet; some will have to wait for spring. But it was great to make a start with 40 E. blakelyi and 40 E. melliodora plants now in the ground and looking good! The Cool Country Koala Project will see thousands of koala-friendly trees planted across the Northern Tablelands in a bid to provide habitat and food.
Well, we don’t need friends when it comes to lemons because we have a very productive tree; but we certainly appreciate our very talented friends who help us in so many ways to make Grasstrees Private Nature Reserve a very special place. This is our friend and botanical artist Glenyth McKenzie, seen here sketching Swainsona formosa [Alice Springs July 2010].
but we were really pleased to discover this microbat had landed in the firebox.
most unexpected place. We think these two belong to a species of long-eared bat. It seems they like cuddling in under the old rags in my paint box.
This is Pterostylis revoluta; one of four Pterostylis species which have been identified in Grasstrees Private Nature Reserve (GPNR). Commonly known as the Autumn Greenhood, it is always a delight to come across a group of these graceful terrestrial orchids. Typically, Greenhood orchids go through a dormant stage, surviving underground as a tuber. And there they will wait until conditions above ground are favourable. But who knows where those tubers are waiting, unseen? Maybe in proximity to plants seen in a previous season, but maybe not even close to where you spotted them last time. For most of the year, there is no evidence above ground of what lies beneath. So, you can never be sure exactly where one or a group of these fascinating plants will emerge. And that’s what makes spotting them such a wonderful surprise!
and this absolute stunner P. woollsii (long-tailed greenhood). It is always a cause of great excitement when a P. woollsii shoot emerges from the ground in the warmer months. As well as the Pterostylis orchids, we have identified six other species of terrestrial orchids in GPNR, including the common but still gorgeous Waxlip Orchid (Caladenia major). 