Friends of Canadian Corridor

1. June Friends meeting

The FoCC is holding a Friends meeting on Wednesday 17^th June 2026.
Tim Read, CoB “Biodiversity Programs Officer” will outline the “Links across the divide” project scope and progress so far. The City of Ballarat is working with adjacent councils on identifying the bio links within the region. This includes the Wombat to Enfield Biolink of which the Canadian Corridor and Woowookarung Regional Park are central elements. 

June Friends meeting:   “Links across the divide”
7.00pm Wednesday 17th June 2026
Buninyong Community House, 407 Warrenheip St., Buninyong
All welcome

2. Goldfields Track planning workshop

A FoCC special meeting to discuss the Goldfields Track will be held at 7pm on Thursday June 11^th at the Buninyong Community House 407 Warrenheip St Buninyong.  The meeting will focus on possible trails through Woowookarung Regional Park through to Buninyong. All friends welcome.

3. April Friends meeting
   The April friends meeting was held on Wednesday 29^th April at the Buninyong Community House. David Bannear chair of the Goldfields Track group spoke about the “Goldfields Track and a possible path through Woowookarung Regional Park” David told the story of how the track started in 1992 as the Great Dividing trail and has grown from a walking track only to walking and cycling trails between Ballarat and Bendigo.

   

   

 

4. Friends of Lake Esmond working bees

Friends of Lake Esmond, a subgroup of the Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group, had their first activity on the 9^th of May. We optimistically gathered in the morning to plant 100 ground covers. The Lake gardens already have a good number of established trees, but the ground is very bare, so the focus is on the ground covers. We had a great, successful time. 9 people turned up, and we managed to plant just shy of 80 plants and spread a good deal of mulch. We worked for just over two hours, not wanting to push anyone too hard, but enjoying the time together. With the leftover plants, we had a follow-up planting on the 17th of May and managed to get the rest of the plants into the ground, with a few fewer people. We are looking forward to seeing the growing results of our work and building a nice sense of community around Lake Esmond. Next planting will be on 27^th June from 10 am. If you would like to join in, please do come along. We will be planting either side of the Larter St entrance. (Hopefully it won’t be too cold and wet!)
For further enquiries, please contact Michael O’Brien: mikeobblt@gmail.com

5. Friends of Specimen Vale working bee

Next working bee is to be held at: Site 3 : Otway Street end, 9:30 -11:00 am (followed by morning tea). Thursday 4^th June 2026.  

6. Joel Ellis achieves 50 “Bird of the Month” articles!
   Rob Loveband FoCC webmaster in discussion with Joel Ellis:  

How did you become interested in birds?
My interest in birds developed from a young age.  While still in primary school, I bought my first bird field guide.  At that age, I mostly used the field guide as a road trip staple, helping me to ID raptors — my favourite group of birds — seen during our travels through the countryside.  Predator birds were the favourites as I’ve always been fascinated by any fauna which lived off anything that runs/flies/hides from it.
How has your interest in Birds influenced your life?
Birds have been an addictive hobby for me (particularly since 2016).  Birding has helped me connect with the natural world, and appreciate real-life actualisations of scientific theory (e.g. ecosystem services, symbiotic relationships, bio-indicators), while also tangibly uplifting me with multiple health benefits (i.e. physical activity, plus the soothing effects of greenspace immersion, birdsong, etc.).
I studied Environmental Science from Year 10 through to University (Honours), and gradually specialised increasingly on birds.  Dr Grant Palmer was a pivotal mentor, as he believed in my identification skills, and introduced me to EBird — which awakened my passion for actively collecting and reporting bird sightings data.
What caused you to begin writing bird on the month?
The BotM idea was initially inspired by a segment in BirdLife Australia’s bulletin.  The FoCC Committee foresaw the potential to put an intimately local spin on the BotM, by featuring a carefully selected, topical species in Ballarat’s ever-dynamic bird assemblages during the given time.
Writing Bird of the Month was and continues to be a passion project that has provided me with a rewarding platform to raise awareness about the importance and beauty of our local birds.  It has reinforced my knowledge uptake and encouraged me to closely monitor monthly/seasonal trends in local bird communities.  It’s a blessing to have this creative outlet to express my passion, and hopefully inspire a passion for birds in the Spikey News readers!  Getting approached at FoCC General Meetings by readers who tell me that they enjoy reading the BotM every month, is the most heart-warming part about my time as a volunteer with FoCC!

Acknowledgments
From the bottom of my heart, thank-you to FoCC Committee, for their teamwork in proofreading and editing my drafts, and ultimately bestowing upon me the honour of contributing BotM columns to Spikey News.  Special thanks to our resident bird photographer, Rob Loveband, for being a skilled, reliable and generous image donor, and cooperative collaborator!  And an equally wholehearted thanks to our readers for your kind and supportive feedback, and your impressionable and undying readership!
NOTE: you can read all of Joel’s BotM editions here – they are being updated over this week from the latest edition back to the first one.

7. Bird of the Month XLX (April / May 2026)
   Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)
   Local First Nations names: kuitj kuitj / kut-kut

Some birds hit different. The individual meanings ascribed, emotions evoked, and symbolism attached to certain birds, is something that really fuels the passion in how we each enjoy birds and engage in our various birding hobbies. Sentiment is in the heart of the admirer. In my case, no local species was a more fitting subject for the 50th edition of Bird of the Month than my father’s – himself amidst a milestone year – lifelong favourite bird: the Eastern Rosella.

The Eastern Rosella is the smaller (Rainbow Lorikeet-sized at 29–34 cm), shier, and considerably less ubiquitous (though still relatively common) of our two local rosellas, in comparison to the Crimson Rosella (see BotM XLIII, July 2025). As its seldom-used alternative name – White-cheeked Rosella – implies, the round white cheek/throat patch is an important distinguishing feature that reveals its ancestral purity (or otherwise). A slight blue wash in the cheek patch is a tell-tale sign of Eastern Rosella × Crimson Rosella hybridisation or distant Crimson Rosella ancestry. Yes, the two species can and do interbreed, albeit uncommonly.
The Eastern Rosella bursts with fruity colours, shining like a beacon in the Aussie bush, with its rich scarlet red front (and vent), vibrant lemon-yellow belly, and vivid lime-green lower abdomen and rump (the green rump is conspicuous in flight). The species is largely sexually monomorphic, but subtle differences exist: females tend to show duller, patchier red with faint yellow mottling through the nape and chest. Juveniles are greener and patchier, with red gradually replacing the green as they mature.
Eastern Rosella breeding season is August through February. They are hollow-nesters, selecting deep, often narrow hollows in trunks or limbs of live or dead trees. Occasionally they use low stumps or logs, but usually nests are high off the ground. The female incubates 4–8 eggs for 19–20 days while the male feeds her near the nest. Both parents feed the young, which fledge at around five weeks.

Notice the individual in the third image below, the extent of red has ‘bled’ into the yellow and green of the belly and lower abdomen. Pigmentation oddities in Eastern Rosellas can arise from several phenomena: (i) genetic mutation (rare in wild birds or influenced by aviary escapees); (ii) hybridisation or genetic dilution by Crimson Rosella; (iii) Golden-mantled subspecies influence (more predisposed to extensive red); or (iv) natural variance within the familiar local subspecies. The Australian Bird Identification (ABID) community concluded that explanation (iv) is most probable. The pure white cheek patch rules out Crimson Rosella influence, and the bird’s South Australian location rules out Golden-mantled subspecies.

Eastern Rosellas are primarily granivores (seed- and grain-eaters) and forage across varied strata: grazing on the ground, feeding in shrubs, and feeding in trees. They also consume fruit. The species occurs in lightly treed country, farmland, watercourses, woodland, forest edges, roadsides, golf courses, parks, and gardens. They are sedentary (non-migratory), resident year-round, and occur in pairs, family groups, and small flocks.
Vocalisations
Eastern Rosellas can be chatty, often flushing into undulating flight with a brisk, sharp, clear, rapid “quink-quink, quink-quink” and even more rapid “whit-whit-whit-whit”. Other calls include a slower, drawn-out, high, clear ringing “pee-pt-eee”, “pink-pink”, and soft chatterings. My sister has nicknamed them the “Beep-beep Bird” for their recognisable flight call.

Eastern Rosellas are distributed throughout all of Victoria, the eastern half of NSW, southeast QLD, southwest SA, and much of Tasmania. Populations in all states and territories are considered ‘Secure’, and the species’ global conservation status is ‘Least Concern’ with an ‘Increasing’ population trend. They are said to benefit from partial clearing of dense forest into more open habitat.

Next time you wander through Woowookarung RP, or skirt its edges or those of any forest patches, farmland, parks, gardens, golf courses, or roadsides, keep an eye out for the fruity colours and pleasant chattering of the Beep-beep Birds that are Eastern Rosellas. And if you’re lucky enough to encounter them, perhaps spare a thought for the loved ones who would most enjoy these, and other birds, that have graced you with their presence.

Author note: FoCC Committee member and co-admin of FoCC’s Facebook and webpage, Joel Ellis is the resident bird nerd, amateur Powerful Owl researcher, and editor of FoCC’s (co-funded) ‘Indigenous [Species] of Southern Ballarat’ brochure series.  Joel has studied birds up to Honours degree level, is a professional ecological consultant (ornithologist), and member of BirdLife Australia (Ballarat branch). 

8. Koala Sightings

April to September is a quiet time for Koalas.  If you see, hear or find scat from a Koala, please send the information containing the when, where, and how to: foccinfo@gmail.com.  Images are gold (even if a little blurry). All Koala sightings are entered into the iNaturalist online data base.

Andrew and Kyle have been experimenting with a drone to locate Koalas in bushland. The drone uses infra-red technology to locate warm animals. A spot light camera is used to identify warm animals. On the flight, a fox, a possum, a wallaby and a koala were located and identified
Andrew and Kyle are in the experimental stage and they hope in the future to be able to survey properties and find out what is actually living on a property. Stay tuned.

Heard:  Koala on Gear Avenue Fed Uni, May 9^th Observed by Denise.
The complete list of Koala sightings can be viewed at  https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/

9. Soapy’s Dam working bee
   20 wonderful volunteers picked up hundreds of broken-down tree guards for recycling at Soapy’s Dam on Sunday 24^th May. Over 600 tree stakes were collected, sorted for reuse at a future planting. Last august 400 trees shrubs and grasses were planted on the site and a count today had the success rate at 90%. The plantings used corn-starch-based tree guards which are biodegradable and need to be broken down in composter. The bags of guards will be sent to a composter. See image below of broken-down tree guards. Another 50 plastic tree guards were collected for future reuse. A planting will be held at the dam on the 23rd August 2026. Any failed plants will be replanted.
   The working bee was the first time the FoCC trailer has been in use. Thank you to the City of Ballarat for funding the purchase of the Trailer.

   

   

   

10. Spikeys Trailer

This time last year the FoCC successfully applied to the City of Ballarat community fund for a grant to purchase a trailer to carry our tools, plants stakes and guards to tree planting sessions. The trailer was manufactured and purchased from Eureka Trailers in Melbourne Rd Brown Hill. This met a city of Ballarat Request to utilise local businesses as much as possible.

11. Urban Ripple 2026 program.

FoCC community Tree Plantings for 2026.

• 28th June – Canadian Creek
• 12th July – Dozed Track
• 19th July – Lal Lal Drain
• 2nd August – Canadian Creek
• 16th August – Sailors Gully Creek
• 23rd August – Soapy’s Dam

and

• Children Forest Planting, June 30^th – Canadian Creek reserve. See article below.

2026 Tree, shrub and grass orders. The FoCC has ordered 4500 plants from the Wadawurrung Indigenous Nursery at Bostok and 2000 from Wine Barrel Banksias Nursery Buninyong for delivery in June.
20000 tree guard stakes have been ordered from local supplier Ross St Building Supplies.
The FoCC 2026 Urban Ripple planting dates and details brochure accompanies this edition of Spikey News.

12. June 30^th Children’s Forest Planting

A special children’s forest planting will be held on Tuesday June 30^th. Bookings via Trybooking essential. Max number of children 50.

Bookings via Trybooking.com
https://www.trybooking.com/DMLSJ

13. Union Jack Reserve walk

The FoCC held a discovery walk around Union Jack Reserve on a gorgeous autumn day for the FoCC walk on Saturday 18^th April 2026. Twenty intrepid walkers were led by local naturalist Jez (Jeremy Goosens), pointing out historical mineshafts, tree ferns, gullies, hills and even a koala high in tree above the (4) mine site. According to Joel Ellis, FoCC bird expert, 20 different birds were observed or heard during the walk. Union Jack Reserve is one of the Corridors best kept secrets.

14. Trashing our Bushland
    Ballarat Courier Woowookarung Regional Park and surrounding areas have been subject to large amounts of illegal rubbish dumping over the past months. The Ballarat Courier highlighted the problem in a major article on Saturday 11^th April Courier.
    

    

WIN TV
The following Wednesday 15^th April 2026, the dump shown in the image below was found by a WIN TV Camera Person going to work.  WIN TV’s Wednesday 15^th April news bulletin featured the rubbish dump and FoCC president Jeff Rootes.

ABC Ballarat Radio
Further interviews occurred on ABC Ballarat Radio.  City of Ballarat Director Bridget Weatherall told listeners that the City was going to make the Transfer Station at Alfredton more accessible. This would be done by opening a second lane and streamlining the facility.
Making the Transfer Station more accessible is something the FoCC has advocated for over the years. Well done City of Ballarat!

15. Old artifact found
    One of the delights of wandering through the Park are the birds, plants and leftover artifacts from the Gold Rush days. In a quiet secluded creek under a gorse bush this old sandstone grinding wheel.

    

    

16. Warrenheip Big Battery

There is a proposal for a Big Battery to be built in Coulson Rd, Warrenheip, adjacent to the existing Big Battery beside the Warrenheip substation. The FoCC is supportive of the Big Battery and its role in supporting a sustainable energy future. The Warrenheip Big Battery held a “Drop-in planning meeting” on Thursday 23rd April at Warrenheip Hall and the FoCC attended. There are some good opportunities that arose from it. The Battery is adjacent to Ballarat’s last remaining stand of big old trees. The FoCC put the trees forward to CoB for heritage listing earlier this year. The protection of the old trees and the restoration of the landscape around and under the old trees would be a worthy achievement. The proposed Ballarat to Warrenheip walk cycle trail runs beside the site. The incorporation of a new section of the trail to connect Strickland Parade and Farrels Rd should be part of the development.
Shown below are the 2 FoCC maps showing the big trees location and trail connections which should occur as a part of the project.

To read the full FoCC submission: http://www.focc.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Battery-Submission-Apri-2026.pdf  

17. City of Ballarat Biodiversity week
    The City of Ballarat is hosting a Biodiversity week August 1 to August 8 2026. The objectives of the week are to:

• celebrate and raise awareness of Ballarat’s biodiversity
• engage schools, community groups, and the broader public
• promote the Biodiversity Strategy and local conservation work
• encourage collaboration across organisations
• inspire action through education, art, and hands‑on activities

Many Nature friendly organisations are hosting information, walking, planting events during the week.

18. FoCC Biodiversity Week Events 

1. Community tree planting – Canadian Creek reserve. 10am to 12 noon Sunday August 2^nd. See Urban Ripple program for more information.
2. Community Forum. Focussing on species extinction and whether science can reverse extinction. Guest Speaker has worked with the Woolly Mammoth project in the USA and brings a wealth of what can be done and what can’t. Monday August 3^rd Barkly Square Theatrette, Barkly St Ballarat East.
3. Ten Year celebration of the establishment of Woowookarung Regional Park. 10am Wednesday August 5^th
4. Opening of the 10000 Step Trail at Soapys Creek Bridge.

(Off Katy Ryans Rd) at 12noon Wednesday August 5^th
As soon as the details of each event has been settled a special Spikey News will provide booking details.  

19. Rubbish dumpers, thieves and vandals
    The FoCC urges Park friends to report vandals as well as rubbish dumpers, wood thieves and other suspicious activity to Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or email: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au
    In emergency situations please call 000. If an offender is spotted, please note vehicle registration details as vehicle identification is most helpful, plus location and details. All information is treated by Parks Victoria Rangers professionally and confidentially.  

20. Useful information 

• Parks Victoria Woowookarung email address: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au

• City of Ballarat wildlife information:
  https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/me/pets-and-animals/wildlife

• Recommended Wildlife rescue: Wildlife Victoria (03) 8400 7300
• Koala spotting – https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/
• Ballarat Wildlife Hospital: https://ballaratwildlifehospital.org.au
• DEECA wildlife issues reporting information

Report wildlife crime to Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000. Report any wildlife at immediate risk of deliberate harm or neglect to 136 186. Other matters relating to wildlife and wildlife management should use the 136 186 too. The Help for Injured Wildlife tool will help you locate and contact the closest relevant wildlife carers and rescue and rehabilitation organisations to help the injured wildlife.

21. Membership
    Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year.

New members and renewals after July 1 2026 are credited to the next year.

• You can pay for membershipvia Trybooking at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1427368
  Cost is $20.50 via Trybooking. You can also make a donation of any size via this process.

• Bank transfer to details: Bendigo Bank Buninyong BSB   633 000    Account No 184147098

Note: Please add your name to the bank transfer and email  foccinfo@gmail.com your name and the date of the transaction. If your postal address has changed, please let us know.

• Payment to the Treasurer at a FoCC meeting

 

22. FoCC Facebook and webpage  www.facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor/
    Rob is overseeing the webpage  webmaster@focc.asn.au

The FoCC has over 1400+ friends following us on Facebook and growing. Welcome to all new friends. Feel free to pass on to other friends and press the Like button.

23. 2026 Calendar
    The calendar is prepared by the FoCC committee.
    

24. FoCC Committee for 2026 is as follows:  

President	Jeff Rootes
Secretary	Hayley Inglis
Treasurer	Peter Darveniza
Committee members.	Jo Kelly, Tarn Kruger, Joan Brick, Rob Loveband, Jane Thompson, Bob Hartmann, Tracie Currie and Joel Ellis

Spikey News change of issue dates

Spikey news is now be published six times a year for the Friends of Canadian Corridor Incorporated. Registered No A0097535B. The FoCC is an independent Landcare group registered with Landcare Victoria Inc. Each edition aligns with one of the six seasons which reflect how the Wadawurrung people and the seasonal changes in the landscape interact.

Season	Spikey issue date
Mid-summer	End of January
Late summer	End of March
Autumn early winter	End of May
Deep winter	End of July
Early Spring	End of September
Spring and Early summer	End of November

The purpose of “Spikey News” is to link the community to Woowookarung Regional Park and the Canadian Corridor. Circulation this issue is to 1261 1269 subscribers. Welcome to all new friends. Any opinions expressed in Spikey News are made by the editors in good faith and do not officially represent Parks Victoria or the FoCC.
Previous issues of Spikey news can be found at our web site, here.

We are proud to walk this land with the Wadawurrung people and all other First Nations people.

1. The first Friends meeting of the year

Was held on Wednesday 18^th February 2026 at the Gorge adjacent to Olympic Av Mt Clear. Highlight of the meeting was the celebration of the news that the Park had finally been rezoned.

2. April Friends meeting

 7.00pm Wednesday 29^th April, Buninyong Community House,
407 Warrenheip St, Buninyong
Topic “Goldfields Track and Woowookarung Regional Park”
All Members and Friends welcome!

 

3. Woowookarung Park Rezoning

When the Park was established in 2016, the two existing zones were carried over. The Canadian Forest areas were zoned Pubic Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) and the plantation areas were zoned Farm Zone (FZ). Those zones date back to the late 1970’s.
The 2018 WRP Strategic Plan listed rezoning of the Park to all PCRZ as a priority. The Farm Zone is specific in what is allowed, and if it had continued would have precluded the construction of visitor facilities and other necessary works.

The map shows the two former zones in yellow and pink. Road reserves and superfluous overlays in the Park have now been deleted by the rezoning.

The announcement was made as a “Ballarat Planning Scheme C255 amendment” in the Victorian Government Gazette. Full details at: https://planning-schemes.app.planning.vic.gov.au/All%20schemes/amendments/C255ball?schemeCode=ball

The zoning change is the culmination of over a year’s hard work by Parks Victoria staff in creating and documenting the zoning reasons and changes.

4. Smart Living Expo

The FoCC hosted a stall at the Smart Living Expo at Buninyong on Sunday 23^rd February. Over 400 maps, brochures and flyers were distributed to a large number of expo visitors. Many enquiries were made about the Canadian Corridor and Woowookarung Regional Park and several new “friends” were signed up. The morning session included a visit by local Federal Member Catherine King MP. The FoCC has been at every Expo since 2014 excluding the Covid years.

5. Lake Esmond Friends launch

Local Residents from around Lake Esmond met on Saturday morning 21^st March 2026, to discuss ideas about how to look after Lake Esmond better. The meeting was facilitated by City of Ballarat, Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group and the FoCC representatives.
Discussion ranged from:

• short term annoyances,
• park maintenance,
• working bees and future plantings,
• propagation of plants,
• grants
• creating a Lake Master Plan
  The meeting agreed for a small group of local volunteers to meet and work out the purpose, identity and the next steps for the future of the group. People wishing to be involved in the group should contact the lead organiser at present: Contact: frmike@tpg.com.au
  The Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group offered Landcare Facilitator support for the group. The FoCC offered local publicity via its regular “Spikey News” newsletter and Facebook. The City of Ballarat provides support to volunteer groups with materials, guidance from the council’s parks and gardens staff, maintenance and preparatory work plus plants from the community nursery.

  

  

  

6. 10000-Step Trail walk

FoCC walkers tested out the full 10000 Step Trail in Woowookarung Regional Park on Sunday 22^nd March 2026. Thirty-seven walkers started at the Dementia Trail welcome shelter and walked around the trail visiting the Lookout, Grasstree Nature Trail, Amphitheatre, Baileys Track, Bunny Rail Trail, Penny Leaf Track returning via the newly completed open section of track between Dozed Track and the Dementia Trail car park.

The 7.8 km long 10000 Step Trail will soon have the bridge over the creek due to be installed in a few weeks’ time with eleven direction signs to be installed before it is officially opened. Great to have an early look at a project that has been ten years in the making.

7. FoCC membership for 2026 reminder
   Over 143 already paid. A new record!
   One unidentified payment
   One wonderful FoCC member has paid via Bank First on the 12^th February and forgot to add their name. We don’t know who you are.????  Contact foccinfo@gmail.com

Membership of the FoCC helps the FoCC in its advocacy, education and activities in support of the corridor. Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. Children of members are free.
To renew your membership:

• You can pay for membership via Trybooking at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1427368
  Cost is $20.50 via Trybooking. You can also make a donation of any size via this process.
  or via Bank transfer: Bendigo Bank Buninyong BSB   633 000    Account No 184147098 Note: Please add your name to the bank transfer and email  foccinfo@gmail.com your name and the date of the transaction. If your postal address has changed, please let us know.
  New Members: New members are most welcome:
  Applications after July are credited to the next year. Membership forms are available online or email foccinfo@gmail.com  

8. Koala Sightings
   October to March is Koala breeding season and peak sightings time. If you see, hear or find scat from a Koala, please send the information containing the when, where, and how to: foccinfo@gmail.com.  Images are gold (even if a little blurry). All Koala sightings are entered into the iNaturalist online data base. The complete list of sightings can be viewed at https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/

   

   

   

   

   

9. Koala Monitoring walk completed
   The Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group has been monitoring koalas in Ballarat and Moorabool over the past three years as part of the National Koala Monitoring Program (NKMP). The FoCC have been proud partners on the program.

For the last 3 years, a Koala monitoring walk has been held annually along the Canadian Creek Trail between Hocking Av and Recreation Rd, Mt Clear. On Friday 20^th February 2026, volunteers walked with Jackson from the Moorabool Landcare Group looking for Koalas. Alas no sightings. It is important in Koala monitoring to record where they are not seen as well as where they are.
Sound recorders
Placing sound recorders is another Koala monitoring task in likely Koala habitat. Last year a sound recorder was placed in Lal Lal Drain area which resulted in 108 recordings from a couple of Koalas.

10. The Koala DNA new research

A recent report in “The Conversation” about the surprise findings of DNA of Koalas is worth reading. The Koala DNA question about whether small colonies of Koalas in places like Ballarat were at risk, has a surprise finding, which is heartening for Ballarat’s Koala future. The FoCC believes Koala scat collected from Ballarat in 2023 was included in the research.
Read the KOALA DNA report at:

https://theconversation.com/we-thought-inbred-koalas-were-at-risk-of-extinction-but-what-we-discovered-upends-genetic-conventions-276981

11. Bird of the Season XLIX (February / March 2026)
    Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

If raptors (birds of prey) are at the worst of times symbols of grace, aerialist ability, and formidable predatory prowess – then add to that, for this particular raptor, resourceful adaptability, (almost) worldwide occupation, and some Cleopatra charm (more on that later!). And don’t forget its chocolate-coloured plumage, and its being shrouded in lore as one of a few Aussie ‘firehawks’. The Black Kite, formerly and colloquially referred to as Fork-tailed Kite, is Australia’s only raptor with a conspicuously concave (V-shaped) trailing edge to its tail. While they are commonly recognised as open country regulars, the species is seemingly increasingly commonly-encountered in a variety of habitat contexts – including flyovers above the forests of Union Jack Reserve (Buninyong) and Canadian sections of Woowookarung Regional Park. On balance, these birds are awe-inspiring with a hint of mildly villainous protagonist (loveable antihero?)!

A member of Order Accipitriformes, and the second such featured as a Bird of the Month (after the Wedge-tailed Eagle), the Black Kite is one of six Australian species who go by the ‘Kite’ moniker.  Those six ‘Kites’ belong to four different genera (Black Kite is the standalone representative of Genus Milvus, in Australia), and four of them occur in Ballarat (Whistling, Square-tailed, and Black-shouldered are the other three locally-occurring species).  Just as there is much diversity between the ‘Kites’, there is much diversity within the Family Accipitridae, given eagles, buzzards, harriers, hawks, and indeed kites, all belong in the family***.  And much diversity within the species complex of Black Kite, given several subspecies exist across multiple continents.

***Did you know?  In listing off the generic names of raptors within Family Accipitridae, the omission of falcons was not an accident or mistake.  Falcons belong to their own branch of the evolutionary tree, that of Order Falconiformes, and are actually closer in genetic relationship to parrots and cockatoos (Order Psittaciformes) than they are to the eagles, hawks, kites, etc. of Order Accipitriformes.  Kestrel, Hobby, and the Crested Caracara of the Americas, all belong to Family Falconidae, while the former two join Peregrine and other falcons in Genus Falco – demonstrating again that there exists much diversity in some cases within a genus, let alone family or order classification. Other omissions: §   Osprey o   Rare or absent from Victoria, colloquially referred to as ‘Fish Hawk’, the coastal specialist, piscivore joins Black Kite in Order Accipitriformes, but is in its own offshoot that is Family Pandionidae. §   Owls o   The nocturnal predators, which are sometimes included in the generic, informal grouping of ‘raptor’, belong to Order Strigiformes, which includes: §  Family Tytonidae (the ‘Barn’ owls of Genus Tyto), characterised by their distinctive facial disk §  Family Strigidae (the ‘Hawk-owls’ / Boobooks and allies, of Genus Ninox among other genera), whose facial disks are more of an eye mask

The Black Kite is a medium-sized (48-55cm long, with 1.2m wingspan) raptor, with a largely unpatterned plumage.  The ‘Black’ is somewhat of a misnomer, given these kites are more chocolate-coloured, and barely reach dusky brown levels of darkness.  This becomes all the more misapplied in females of advanced age, whose head becomes progressively paler (such cases aside, the sexes are largely indistinguishable).  Given the largely uniformly brown plumage can be non-descript and not provide many ID clues when distinguishing from other raptors and even the similarly-sized Little Raven, it is very useful for the observer to focus their attention on the bird’s shape.  The tail is distinctively forked in a V-shape – setting it apart from all other Australian raptors – and only when it is in moult or the tail is fanned to the extreme does its tail become comparable to that of Square-tailed Kite (but at such an extreme fanning the Square-tailed Kite’s tail is gently convex, whereas Black’s is triangular).

Also important is its wing posture and flight behaviour; gliding on gently bowed wings (like a seagull stick figure in a generic seaside painting) with wrist forward and primaries / ‘fingers’ spread, and tail tilting (clockwise and anticlockwise) – all classic characteristics of Black Kite.  For photographers tossing up the ID of a well-defined image, Black Kite is unmistakable with its yellow cere (nostril area), yellow feet, and “Egyptian mascara” through the eye – a descriptor that was trending on Facebook bird identification forums (hence the Cleopatra reference in the intro!).

Black Kites are very flexible and cunning in their foraging strategy, able to combine active predation of locusts, mice, and other small fauna, with scavenging of carrion from roadsides, abattoirs, stockyards, rubbish tips, and beaches.  Black Kites are attracted to bushfires, and will survey about the smoky blaze ready to opportunistically seize prey fleeing the flames.  This association with fire is so shrouded in lore – and recently verified to be factual – that Black Kite, along with Whistling Kite and Brown Falcon, earned the moniker of ‘firehawks’, i.e. raptors that purposefully spread pre-existing fires by picking up sticks with burning embers and dropping them in nearby unburned patches.  To the best of my knowledge, this behaviour is uncommon, and known only from remote northern Australia.

Black Kites inhabit grasslands, open farmland, woodland, scrub, gibber deserts, wooded watercourses, mudflats, mangroves, beaches, airfields, and homestead environs.

Black Kites’ breeding season in the south of Australia is generally July through December (whereas, northern Australian birds may breed at any time of year).  Both sexes engage in a ritualised aerial courtship, which entails loud calling and choreography of locking talons and tumbling or cartwheeling.  The nest site is often high in the upper canopy of a watercourse tree, where the species may nest singularly or in loose colonies.  The female incubates for 35 days the clutch of 2-3 eggs, while the male provides food.  The nest is a shallow, untidy dish of large sticks, lined with various debris, such as leaves, grass, bark, wool, and dung.  Black Kites often reuse the nest of corvids and other raptors.  The species is assumed to breed in Ballarat and district, but irrefutable proof of breeding activity has – at the time of writing – been surprisingly elusive.

Black Kite dispersion (i.e. social organisation) differs from many other raptors.  Where many raptors are solitary predators, the Black Kite (and Whistling Kite) are often gregarious, meaning they are “rarely solitary” but instead often occur in small groups.  It is also not uncommon for the species to gather in groups totalling hundreds and even thousands of Black Kites!

Vocalisations include stuttering trills, peevish mews and whinnies, and tremulous whistles of “see-err”.  Also, plaintive, quavering “kwee-ee-ier” and sharp, staccato “kee-ee-ki-ki-ki”.

The Black Kite is distributed throughout the vast majority of mainland Australia (with the exception of sections of inland WA and SA, while in Tasmania it is a vagrant, i.e. irregular visitor).  In its Australian distribution, Black Kites are sedentary (non-migratory), but may be nomadic and irruptive in response to locust and mouse plagues.  Black Kites also occupy Africa, Eurasia, and Papua New Guinea, where it is a widespread and familiar species.  This multicontinental occupation makes it arguably the most numerous species of raptor in the world.

Next time you wander through Woowookarung RP, Union Jack Reserve, or any of the Corridor’s forest patches bordered by farmland – remember to look up, look twice at ravens in case it’s a raptor that you passed off as a raven, and mind the territorial, mobbing behaviours of magpies – any one of these cues could score you an opportunistic sighting of Black Kite (or other raptor) that you might’ve otherwise missed!  And if you see that conspicuously forked tail, you’ll know you’ve been graced by the adaptable, loveable antihero that wears its Cleopatra makeup – what a beauty!

Author note: FoCC Committee member and co-admin of FoCC’s Facebook and webpage, Joel Ellis is the resident bird nerd, amateur Powerful Owl researcher, and editor of FoCC’s (co-funded) ‘Indigenous [Species] of Southern Ballarat’ brochure series.  Joel has studied birds up to Honours degree level, is a professional ecological consultant (ornithologist), and member of BirdLife Australia (Ballarat branch). 

12. Park Works

10000 Step Trail works
The final stages of the construction of the 10000-Step Trail is underway between Lavery Avenue and the Dementia Trail Rotunda area. Penny Leaf Track has been upgraded with washaways removed and surface topping applied.

New connecting trail
A new 390m long connecting trail from the corner of Dozed Tk and Katy Ryans Rd to the Dementia Trail has now been constructed. The final task is the installation of the bridge over Soapys Creek over the next few weeks.
South Gate (Bakers Rd) tree trimming

Preparatory works have been underway at the car park area beside the south gate on Bakers Rd. The car park area is to be formalised with nose in parking, better signage and a reduction in the hard clay surface area.

13. Urban Ripple 2026 program.
    FoCC community Tree Plantings for 2026.

• 28th June – Canadian Creek
• 12th July – Dozed Track
• 19th July – Lal Lal Drain
• 2nd August – Canadian Creek
• 16th August – Sailors Gully Creek
• 23rd August – Soapy’s Dam

2026 Tree, shrub and grass orders.

The FoCC has ordered 6500 trees shrubs and grasses for planting on the four selected sites. 4500 plants have been ordered from the Wadawurrung Indigenous Nursery at Bostok and 2000 from Wine Barrel Banksias Nursery Buninyong for delivery in June. 20000 tree guard stakes have been ordered from local supplier Ross St Building Supplies.

Urban Ripple – City of Ballarat walkover

City of Ballarat Parks and Gardens staff met with FoCC reps to finalise the Urban Ripple planting plans.

14. Brewery Tap Rd Intersection upgrade
    Planning for the upgrade of the brewery Tap intersection at Warrenheip has begun with community consultation. The FoCC has long had a view that an upgrade presents an ideal opportunity to connect north and south of the highway with a shared walk/cycle crossing over the highway. Plus, extensive revegetation beside highway where the Biolink crosses the highway. Ropeways for small animals and poles for gliding animal and birds. The FoCC made a submission to the Brewery Tap Rd upgrade on 8^th March 2026.
    

    

    After the submission the FoCC received the following message from the Highway Project Team

Dear Jeff
Thank you for sharing the Friends of Canadian Corridor’s (FoCC) submission to the Western Freeway and Brewery Tap Intersection Upgrade consultation.
We appreciate the time and consideration that went into your feedback. Your submission has been provided to the project team for review alongside all consultation inputs.
In particular, we’ve noted FoCC’s suggestions regarding the opportunity to enhance the biolink across the highway and a north–south active transport connection via a shared walk/cycle path.
These points will be considered as we progress design development.
If you have any further suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We will keep you updated as the project moves forward.

Kind regards
The Project Team

Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority

15. orest Fire Management York St Burn
    

    

    

16. Brown Hill subdivision outcome
    Last year the FoCC objected to a proposal to clear a substantial lot of Koala habitat at 76 Springs Rd Brown Hill. Recently the FoCC received the following letter from the Cities statutory planning team upholding our objection.
    Dear Sir/Madam,
    Re:  PLP/2021/788 76 Springs Road, BROWN HILL
    The Statutory Planning Unit has considered the above application and determined to refuse to grant a planning permit. The attached copy of the Notice of Refusal to Grant a Planning Permit sets out the grounds of refusal. Your attention is drawn to the appeal provisions, printed at the end of this Notice. Please call 5320 5640 if you have any enquiries.
    Thank you
    Statutory Planning Team

The FoCC main objection was that the project proposal breached Koala Plan of Management requirements, particularly the retention of Koala Habitat. Well done, City of Ballarat!

17. Union Jack Reserve walk
    The FoCC is holding a discovery walk around Union Jack Reserve on:

1pm Saturday 18^th April 2026
Distance 5.2 km
Meet at reserve entrance, Elizabeth St, Buninyong
Trail Condition – The trail is on formed trails and undulating bush tracks with occasional steep hills.
The walk takes between 2 – 2.5hours and requires reasonable fitness.
Solid footwear, rain and wind proof clothing is essential. Recommended to carry water and any other personal needs. There are no facilities along the way. Cuppa at the end.

18. A Goat on Water Reserve land

A goat appears to have made its home in the forest adjacent to the Central Highlands Water basin at the corner of Wilson St and Boundary Rd Canadian.  It appears to be undisturbed by people, which suggests it may be a domesticated goat. If anyone knows anything about this goat, they should contact City of Ballarat animal shelter services.

19. Rubbish dumpers, thieves and vandals

The FoCC urges Park friends to report vandals as well as rubbish dumpers, wood thieves and other suspicious activity to Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or email: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au

In emergency situations please call 000. If an offender is spotted, please note vehicle registration details as vehicle identification is most helpful, plus location and details. All information is treated by Parks Victoria Rangers professionally and confidentially.

20. Useful information
    Parks Victoria Woowookarung email address: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au

• City of Ballarat wildlife information:
  https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/me/pets-and-animals/wildlife

• Recommended Wildlife rescue: Wildlife Victoria (03) 8400 7300
• Koala spotting – https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/
• Ballarat Wildlife Hospital: https://ballaratwildlifehospital.org.au
• DEECA wildlife issues reporting information

Report wildlife crime to Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000. Report any wildlife at immediate risk of deliberate harm or neglect to 136 186. Other matters relating to wildlife and wildlife management should use the 136 186 too. The Help for Injured Wildlife tool will help you locate and contact the closest relevant wildlife carers and rescue and rehabilitation organisations to help the injured wildlife.

21. Membership
    Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. New members and renewals after July 1 are credited to the next year.

• • You can pay for membership via Trybooking at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1427368
    Cost is $20.50 via Trybooking. You can also make a donation of any size via this process.

• Bank transfer to details: Bendigo Bank Buninyong BSB   633 000    Account No 184147098

Note: Please add your name to the bank transfer and email  foccinfo@gmail.com your name and the date of the transaction. If your postal address has changed, please let us know.

• Payment to the Treasurer at a FoCC meeting

22. FoCC Facebook and webpage
    www.facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor/
    Rob is overseeing the webpage  webmaster@focc.asn.au
    The FoCC has over 1400+ friends following us on Facebook and growing. Welcome to all new friends. Feel free to pass on to other friends and press the Like button. 

23. 2026 Calendar
    The calendar is prepared by the FoCC committee.
    

24. FoCC Committee for 2026 is as follows:  

President	Jeff Rootes
Secretary	Hayley Inglis
Treasurer	Peter Darveniza
Committee members.	Jo Kelly, Tarn Kruger, Joan Brick, Rob Loveband, Jane Thompson, Bob Hartmann, Tracie Currie and Joel Ellis

Spikey News change of issue dates
Spikey news is now be published six times a year for the Friends of Canadian Corridor Incorporated. Registered No A0097535B.
The FoCC is an independent Landcare group registered with Landcare Victoria Inc.
Each edition aligns with one of the six seasons which reflect how the Wadawurrung people and the seasonal changes in the landscape interact.  

Season	Spikey issue date
Mid-summer	End of January
Late summer	End of March
Autumn early winter	End of May
Deep winter	End of July
Early Spring	End of September
Spring and Early summer	End of November

10000 step trail walk,
1pm Sunday 22^nd March 2026,
Distance 7.8 km
Meet at Dementia Trail Shelter, Katy Ryans Rd, Canadian.

Trail Condition – The trail is on formed trails, access roads, undulating bush tracks and trails with occasional steep hills.
The walk takes between 2 – 2.5 hours and requires reasonable fitness.
Solid footwear, rain and wind proof clothing is essential. Recommended to carry water and any other personal needs. There are no facilities along the way. Cuppa at the end.

The 10,000-step trail establishment began in 2018 with the

• FoCC “Pick My Project” funded Grasstree Nature Trail, completed in 2020 (4).
• The Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail opened in 2021 (1).
• The building of the Grey Motor Track (5) and Baileys Rd reconstruction (7) in 2024. The trail crosses Dozed Track and continues through to the Bunny Trail (8) and Lavery Av corner.
  

This year the final leg is being constructed from Lavery Av corner, along Penny Leaf Track (9) and Dozed Track (10), including a new Soapys Creek bridge (11) through to the Dementia Trail shelter.
More info foccinfo@gmail.com or 0408509591
Kind regards,
FoCC

 

1. 2026 to be a big year for the FoCC
   First Friends meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday 7pm 18th February 2026 at the Gorge adjacent to the Olympic Rd, Mt Clear turn around. Everyone welcome. Quick meeting and a short walk along the gorge. Easy for friends with restricted mobility.
   

   

   Walk the 10000-step trail on March 22^nd 2026 with Friends. Starts at 1pm at the Dementia Trail welcome shelter. More information at the end of February.

Celebrate the ten-year birthday of the Woowookarung Regional Park. Gazetted on August 5th 2016 by the Victorian Governor and declared open by then Premier Andrews. (Originally known as Canadian Regional Park).

Planting the 6500 trees, shrubs and grasses at Lal Lal Drain Reserve, Soapys Dam Reserve, Canadian Creek Reserve and Sailors Gully Reserve and adjacent Park and privately owned creek sides. Funded by the Victorian Governments Urban Ripple Project. First planting late June 2026. See calendar for dates.

2. Drinks at the Lookout
   The 9^th annual FoCC drinks and nibbles at the Lookout was held on Friday 5^th December 2025
   

   

3. FoCC membership for 2026 now due.
   Nearly 100 already paid. More to come!

Membership of the FoCC helps the FoCC in its advocacy, education and activities in support of the corridor.
All 2025 FoCC members have received an email notification that membership for 2026 is now due. (If you have already paid you will receive confirmation of your membership)

Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. Children of members are free.
To renew your membership, either:

• Bank transfer to details: Bendigo Bank Buninyong BSB   633 000    Account No 184147098 Note: Please add your name to the bank transfer and email  foccinfo@gmail.com your name and the date of the transaction. If your postal address has changed, please let us know.

• You can pay for membership via Trybooking at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1427368
  Cost is $20.50 via Trybooking. You can also make a donation of any size via this process.
• Payment to the Treasurer at a FoCC meeting on February 18^th at the Gorge, Olympic Av, Mt Clear.
  New Members: New members are most welcome:  Applications after July are credited to the next year. Membership via one of the three methods above.

4. Spikey News change of issue dates
   Spikey news will now be published six times a year.

Each edition will align with the six seasons of the Wadawurrung culture. The six seasons reflect how the traditional people and the seasonal changes in the landscape interact.
Publishing dates:

Season	Spikey issue date
Midsummer	End of January
Late summer	End of March
Autumn early winter	End of May
Deep winter	End of July
Early spring	End of September
Spring and early summer	End of November

“In European calendars there are just four seasons, but in Wadawurrung calendar there are six. Each season brings about subtle changes in the behaviour of birds, plants, and animals, as they respond to these seasonal changes. Just as the fauna and flora respond to the seasonal changes, so did the Wadawurrung. Moving around the region to take the best advantage of seasonal tucker (food). What and where animals were hunted or food was gathered, was governed by a deep knowledge of the seasons and the life cycles of the plants and animals. The Wadawurrung lived in perfect harmony with the environment.” Description courtesy of the “City of Geelong”

5. Lal Lal Drain Working bee

Lal Lal drain beside Burdeau St, Canadian was planted with 500 shrubs and grasses as part of the Urban Ripple project in August 2025. The late spring  rain created very heavy weed growth. Weeds growing in the tree guards needed to be removed and the grass around trimmed. A working bee was organised for 10am on Saturday Morning 13^th December with a large number of weeds removed.

6. CoB Heritage Gap Analysis submission
   The FoCC submitted the following sites a worthy of consideration for study in the CoB Heritage Gaps Analysis in December 2025.

• The Old Commonwealth Rifle Range known as the Canadian Rifle Range in Elsworth St Canadian.
• The Ballarat to Buninyong Railway embankments, cuttings culverts and bridges.
• The mining water races, dams and sluice workings within the Canadian Forest

After meeting with the CoB Heritage Officer, the FoCC  further nominated the following sites for Heritage Gaps Analysis also.

• The Cremorne Rifle Range between York St and Wilson St, Ballarat East
• The Mount Clear Horse Puddler in Lavery Avenue Mt Clear.
• The Mt Helen Water Scheme and dam on Mt Helen Creek, Mt Helen.
• Pearce’s Quartz Crusher, Elsworth St East, Canadian.
• The Quarry Master cottage at 145 Bell Avenue Mt Clear.
• The Remnant Warrenheip Bank old trees woodland across Strickland Parade and the Ballarat to Melbourne Railway. (See article below)

7. Warrenheip Bank Old Trees

8. Koala Sightings

October to March is Koala breeding season and peak sightings time. If you see, hear or find scat from a Koala, please send the information containing the when, where, and how to: foccinfo@gmail.com.  Images are gold (even if a little blurry). All Koala sightings are entered into the iNaturalist online data base. The complete list of sightings can be viewed at https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/

Koala heard but not seen by Tracie.  Recreation Rd., Mt Clear

9. Koala Monitoring Invitation

The Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group has been monitoring koalas in Ballarat and Moorabool over the past three years as part of the National Koala Monitoring Program (NKMP). The FoCC have been proud partners on the program.

Invitation:  Join us and learn how to perform transect and acoustic surveys all while contributing valuable data to the National Koala Monitoring Program (NKMP). The NKMP is a collaborative monitoring program across the Koala’s entire range. Locally we have been capturing data for four years and we hope we can involve the community as much as possible in the monitoring process.
Where: Meet at Canadian Creek Playground Reserve (Corner of Hocking Avenue and Hermitage Avenue)
When: Fri Feb 20, 12pm -2pm
What to bring: Sturdy walking shoes, water bottle, binoculars, iPhone (if available)
More info: Jackson Cass moorabool.landcare@gmail.com Ph: 497770075 NKMP: https://www.nkmp.org.au/index.php

10. The Koala Paradox

Ballarat is home to a small population of Koalas and have been sighted regularly since 1970 all along the Canadian Corridor from Brown Hill through to Buninyong and beyond. Translocating Koalas from French Island stopped in the 1990’s and now all of Ballarat’s Koalas are acclimatised to their patch and local eucalypt food trees. Elsewhere in Australia there is a Koala Paradox. Either over abundance or under threat. Ballarat’s Koalas fit into the threatened category. The Koala Paradox debate is best described in the following article:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/19/australias-koala-paradox-why-is-the-beloved-marsupial-endangered-in-parts-but-overabundant-in-others

11. Bird of the Month XLVIII (January 2026)
    Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna)
    Local First Nations names: yukap / yukip / yukuwitj 

For the full unabridged edition of BotM see the BotM page here…

A burst of bright colour – green synonymous with earthiness, organic.  A burst of energy – lively, darting flyovers, giving off the impression it lusts for life.  Activity heightened locally during spring and summer – a period of renewal and replenishment.  Is there an Aussie bird that more richly symbolises liveliness than our first BotM for 2026?  Read on, and decide for yourself.

Scarcely larger than a Budgerigar (20-23cm), the Musk Lorikeet is one of eight Australian lorikeet species.  Piecing together the evolutionary relationships of Australia’s lorikeets, including Musk Lorikeet, is a subject of debate (refer to Table 1).  One thing that defines all lorikeets is that they are brightly coloured parrots with a brush-tipped tongue, which is specialised for feeding on nectar (i.e. nectarivore’s sugar high!).  Musk Lorikeet, while still nomadic, is considered to be “more seasonal and predictable than other lorikeets in its search for nectar”.  They also eat lerp and scale insects.

Musk Lorikeets inhabit woodland, open forest, mallee, and cleared land with trees along watercourses and roads.
Breeding season is August through January.  As with all lorikeets, Musk Lorikeets are hollow-nesters.  The nest hollow is small, usually in a limb, very high off the ground, and lined with decayed debris and wood dust.  The female incubates for 22 days a clutch of 2 eggs.  Young fledge at 5-6 weeks.  Juveniles look similar to adults, but distinguished by their dark bill, absence of blue crown and bronze mantle, and duller patches of red.  Male and female are almost identical, but the male’s cap is bluer, and his bronze mantle is more pronounced.

In flight, Musk Lorikeet is bomb-shaped (very swift!), and the leading edge of the underwing is pale green.  The green underwing and belly help us to rule out other local lorikeets, Rainbow and Purple-crowned, while Little Lorikeet is much smaller and its flight call is buzzier.  The Musk Lorikeet’s call is metallic (‘tinny’), ‘jingling’, and higher-pitched than Rainbow Lorikeet’s vocals.  Refer below for the bonus tips on how to ID a flying lorikeet.

The Musk Lorikeet has a distribution concentrated in southeast Australia.  The species’ conservation status is ‘Least Concern’, with a ‘Stable’ population trend.  It ranges from uncommon to common.
Next time you wander through Woowookarung RP, or adjacent residential streets, keep an ear out for the tinny, screeching of the pocket rockets bursting with life – the Musk Lorikeet.

Author note: FoCC Committee member and co-admin of FoCC’s Facebook and webpage, Joel Ellis is the resident bird nerd, amateur Powerful Owl researcher, and editor of FoCC’s (co-funded) ‘Indigenous [Species] of Southern Ballarat’ brochure series.  Joel has studied birds up to Honours degree level, is a professional ecological consultant (ornithologist), and member of BirdLife Australia (Ballarat branch).

12. Urban Ripple 2026 program.

FoCC community Tree Plantings for 2026.
28th June – Canadian Creek
12th July – Dozed Track
19th July – Lal Lal Drain
2nd August – Canadian Creek
16th August – Sailors Gully Creek
23rd August – Soapy’s Dam

2026 Tree, shrub and grass orders.

The FoCC is committed to planting 6500 trees shrubs and grasses on the four selected sites. 4500 plants have been ordered from the Wadawurrung Indigenous Nursery at Bostok and 2000 from Wine Barrel Banksias Nursery Buninyong for delivery in June. The FoCC will be putting together the planting plan with meetings with City of Ballarat and weed spray contractors during February. More details in the next Spikey News.

13. Urban Ripple works 2026
    Pine tree removal on Site 11 along Sailors Gully. The removal of pine trees will allow the replanting of the area beside the creek with trees shrubs and grasses.

    

    Contractors details:
    

 

14. Friends of Yarrowee

The Friends of the Yarrowee (FoY) are a peer organisation of the FoCC.

The FoCC’s purpose is:
“Linking the community with Woowookarung and the Canadian Corridor”
The Canadian Corridor is essentially south of the Yarrowee at Brown Hill, East of Geelong Rd and north of Buninyong.

The Friends of Yarrowee’s purpose is:
“The Friends of the Yarrowee River is a community group that aims to work actively to restore, protect and enjoy the Yarrowee River and its environs, between Brown Hill and Magpie, Ballarat, Australia.

Source: https://sites.google.com/view/friends-of-the-yarrowee-river/

Friends of Yarrowee activities: Contact: mailto:friends.yarrowee@gmail.com Ph: Calvin: 0466486265

Sunday 8th February at 10am	Bike ride along the Yarrowee River
Sunday 1st March at 10am	Clean up the Yarrowee River.

 

15. Grant to help platypus and threatened Species in the Yarrowee River.

More info: https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/news/helping-platypus-and-threatened-species-thrive-yarrowee 

16. Rubbish dumpers, thieves and vandals

The FoCC urges Park friends to report vandals as well as rubbish dumpers, wood thieves and other suspicious activity to Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or email: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au

In emergency situations please call 000. If an offender is spotted, please note vehicle registration details as vehicle identification is most helpful, plus location and details. All information is treated by Parks Victoria Rangers professionally and confidentially.

17. Useful information

• Parks Victoria Woowookarung email address: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au

• City of Ballarat wildlife information: https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/me/pets-and-animals/wildlife

• Recommended Wildlife rescue: Wildlife Victoria (03) 8400 7300
• Koala spotting – https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/
• Ballarat Wildlife Hospital: https://ballaratwildlifehospital.org.au
• DEECA wildlife issues reporting information

Report wildlife crime to Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000. Report any wildlife at immediate risk of deliberate harm or neglect to 136 186. Other matters relating to wildlife and wildlife management should use the 136 186 too. The Help for Injured Wildlife tool will help you locate and contact the closest relevant wildlife carers and rescue and rehabilitation organisations to help the injured wildlife.

18. Membership
    Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. New members and renewals after July 1 are credited to the next year. Bank transfer to details: Bendigo Bank Buninyong BSB   633 000    Account No 184147098 Note: Please add your name to the bank transfer and email  foccinfo@gmail.com your name and the date of the transaction. If your postal address has changed, please let us know.

• You can pay for membership via Trybooking at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1427368
  Cost is $20.50 via Trybooking. You can also make a donation of any size via this process.
• Payment to the Treasurer at a FoCC meeting

19. FoCC Facebook and webpage
    www.facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor/
    Rob is overseeing the webpage  webmaster@focc.asn.au

The FoCC has over 1400+ friends following us on Facebook and growing. Welcome to all new friends. Feel free to pass on to other friends and press the Like button.

20. 2026 Calendar

The calendar is prepared by the FoCC committee.

21. FoCC Committee for 2026 is as follows:  

President	Jeff Rootes
Secretary	Hayley Inglis
Treasurer	Peter Darveniza
Committee members.	Jo Kelly, Tarn Kruger, Joan Brick, Rob Loveband, Jane Thompson, Bob Hartmann, Tracie Currie and Joel Ellis

Spikey News is published monthly for the Friends of Canadian Corridor Incorporated. Registered No A0097535B. The FoCC is an independent Landcare group registered with Landcare Victoria Inc.

The purpose of “Spikey News” is to link the community to Woowookarung Regional Park and the Canadian Corridor

Circulation this issue is to 1324 1327 subscribers. Welcome to all new friends.
Any opinions expressed in Spikey News are made by the editors in good faith and do not officially represent Parks Victoria or the FoCC.

Previous issues of Spikey news can be found at our web site, here. 

We are proud to walk this land with the Wadawurrung people and all other First Nations people.
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1. FoCC 2025 Annual Meeting

The FoCC annual meeting was held at the Buninyong Community House on November 19^th 2025. Feature of the evening was the presentation by Peta Glenn Parks Victoria Ranger who outlined the progress and findings from a number of Citizen Science projects within the Park.

• FoCC Membership is at an all-time high of 140
• Subscribers to Spikey News are now 1324 and FoCC Facebook with 1300 plus followers.
• The continued success of the Citizen Science Koala sightings records, now over 400 sightings
• Successfully running several events including, a “Heritage Presentation” for the CoB Heritage Study, Mining Heritage walk and the pop-up Wildflower Walk
• FoCC stalls at the Buninyong Smart Living Festival and Ballarat Seniors Festival
• Successful application for a City of Ballarat community grant of $5200 for a tree planting resource trailer.
• A special thanks to “Lateral Plains” for the hosting of the FoCC website.

The treasurer reported a balance at the end of the financial year of $6212.75.

A vote of thanks was made for retiring Vice President Carolyn Barrie and a special thanks to outgoing President Bob Hartmann for his “tremendous efforts” over the past 12 years as Co Convenor and President.

2. Drinks at the Lookout

The 9^th annual FoCC drinks and nibbles at the Lookout will be held on Friday 5^th December 2024, beginning at 7pm. Please BYO nibbles, drinks, chairs and a jacket or coat (evenings at the lookout can be quite cool)  Only the view is provided by the FoCC. The new FoCC trailer will be on display. Forecast is 10 to 25 degrees for the day and partly cloudy.

3. FoCC membership for 2026 is now due.

Membership of the FoCC helps the FoCC in its advocacy, education and activities in support of the corridor. All 2025 FoCC members will receive an email notification that membership for 2026 is now due. (If you have already paid you will receive confirmation of your membership) Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. Children of members are free.

To renew your membership:

• You can pay for membership via Trybooking at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1427368
  Cost is $20.50 via Trybooking. You can also make a donation of any size via this process.
• Bank transfer to details: Bendigo Bank Buninyong BSB   633 000    Account No 184147098
• Note: Please add your name to the bank transfer and email  foccinfo@gmail.com your name and the date of the transaction. If your postal address has changed, please let us know.
• Payment to the Treasurer at a FoCC meeting
  New Members

New members are most welcome: Applications after July are credited to the next year. Membership forms are available online or email foccinfo@gmail.com

4. Lal Lal Drain Working bee

Lal Lal drain beside Burdeau St, Canadian was planted with 500 shrubs and grasses as part of the Urban Ripple project in August. The late rain has created very heavy weed growth. Weeds growing in the tree guards need to be removed and the grass around trimmed. A working bee has been organised for 10am on Saturday Morning 13^th December. Everyone welcome. Wear sturdy footwear, clothing and bring shears and weed removal gear. FoCC will provide gloves, shovels and cuppa etc. More info foccinfo@gmail.com or Jeff 0408509591

5. Koala Sightings

And a report from Linda in Geelong Rd, Mt Helen of three days of Koala rumblings amongst the trees.

October to March is Koala breeding season and peak sightings time. If you see, hear or find scat from a Koala, please send the information containing the when, where, and how to: foccinfo@gmail.com.  Images are gold (even if a little blurry). All Koala sightings are entered into the iNaturalist online data base. The complete list of sightings can be viewed at: https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/

6. Soapy’s Dam mulching

A small team of volunteers mulched the plantings beside Soapy’s Dam on the morning of the 11^th November 2025.

7. Ballarat Bus Review

The Victorian Government is reviewing Ballarat’s Bus services and routes. Local residents wishing to learn more should engage with the review at https://engage.vic.gov.au/ballarat-bus-network-review

Public responses close on December 7^th 2025.

The FoCC is interested in extending Route 20 (Canadian service) south along Kline St and Butt St before returning to Joseph St and the City terminal as the map below shows. The extension would bring a regular Bus Stop much closer to the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail.

8. Bus routes to the Park

The map below shows current bus stops and access walk routes to the Park

 

9. Bird of the Month XLVII (November 2025)

Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris)

Sing loud.  Sing proud.  Sing persistently.  This seemingly is the mantra that Rufous Whistlers, currently in full voice, live by.  Once familiar with the vocals of the Rufous Whistler, it becomes increasingly apparent how conspicuous they are at this time of year.  So if an uninhibited songster appeals to you, the Rufous Whistler might just be your spirit animal!

A medium-sized (16-17.5cm) passerine belonging to Family Pachycephalidae (which also comprises shrikethrushes and shriketits), the Rufous Whistler is one of two whistler species that occurs in Ballarat, and indeed the Canadian Corridor; the other local species being the Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis).  Typical of whistlers, the male Rufous Whistler is of plumage more flamboyant than the female.  Adorned with a white throat and black collar, both very reminiscent to the male Golden Whistler, the male Rufous Whistler’s plumage differs from its Golden counterpart in its lesser distribution of black, which forms an eye mask, while the rest of the head and upperparts are grey (male Golden Whistlers have golden olive upperparts), and of course the titular rufous of its underparts.  These rufous underparts vary in intensity, with our local race/ subspecies (the most widespread of the four subspecies) tending to be a considerably bright orange in the coastal and subcoastal regions, whereas inland it – again, the same race – tends to be a muted, pale buff-rufous.  The female Rufous Whistler is also similar to its Golden counterpart; the plainer, duller plumage of both is characterised by grey upperparts and whitish underparts, only the Rufous females set themselves apart with fine streaks on the underparts (whereas female Goldens have unpatterned underparts).

Rufous Whistlers are distributed continent-wide (also occurring in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and New Caledonia), and occupy a wide variety of habitat types from coast to arid inland interior.  These include eucalypt forests and woodlands, scrublands, mallee and mulga communities, riparian communities, exotic pine plantations, and gardens.  Taller, denser humid forests are also inhabited (avoiding only the wettest forests), with Far North QLD having its own race/subspecies (P. r. pallida), while northern WA/NT have a race (P. r. falcata), and the other northern race (P. r. minor) is confined to Melville and Bathurst Islands (off the north coast of NT).  The rest of the continent is occupied by our local race (P. r. rufiventris).

Rufous Whistlers forage singularly or in pairs, as they methodically scour the tree and shrub canopy, and occasionally hover, in search of insect prey.  Mixed species feeding associations are another known social mannerism, at least during non-breeding season.  Upon the onset of spring and early summer, “loud outpourings of song” erupt, and – typical of whistlers – rival males and even females engage in “see-saw” displays (i.e. bobbing and bowing head and tail skyward) and chasing each other.  Males are conspicuously vocal during such time.  These antics are evident right now in the forests of Canadian – you’ve probably heard their whistled song before, but perhaps didn’t know the identity of the songster!

It is with the vocalisations of poorly seen or unseen whistlers that distinguishing between Rufous and Golden is the most difficult, given their similarities of vocals (not to mention habitat and behaviour).  Refer to the table below for call ID assistance.

Breeding season is September through February, during which time up to two broods may be raised.  Incubation (14-15 days) of the clutch of 2-4 eggs is shared between both parents.  The nest is an open cup, constructed rather flimsily out of long, fine twigs and grass, and lined with finer material.  The nest is usually supported by an upright fork or multi-stemmed fork, and situated at heights of 1-5m but may be up to 15m or beyond to 18m off the ground.  Some nests are apparently so thinly put together that the eggs can be seen through the nest’s floor by observers underneath them.

The local population of southeast Australia are typically present as spring/summer migrants, arriving in August-September, and departing for inland and northern Australia by March/April.  Elsewhere, it may be sedentary (i.e. resident year-round), nomadic or migratory.

The entire species population of Rufous Whistler has a conservation status of ‘Least Concern’ (global), but it is classified as having a decreasing population trend.  The Rufous Whistler does not qualify as a threatened species according to Federal and Victorian state government listings, i.e. considered ‘Secure’ in both jurisdictions.  It is considered common and widespread.

Next time you wander through Woowookarung RP, or the Corridor’s other forest patches, take some time to familiarise yourself with the conspicuous vocals of the unabashed songster – and consciously admire the irrepressible Rufous Whistler!

Author note: FoCC Committee member and co-admin of FoCC’s Facebook and webpage, Joel Ellis is the resident bird nerd, amateur Powerful Owl researcher, and editor of FoCC’s (co-funded) ‘Indigenous [Species] of Southern Ballarat’ brochure series.  Joel has studied birds up to Honours degree level, is a professional ecological consultant (ornithologist), and member of BirdLife Australia (Ballarat branch).

10. Recreation Rd Mt Clear upgrade news

Last year it was announced that a grant had been received by the City of Ballarat to upgrade Recreation Road, Mt Clear. Council staff have been busy this year surveying the road and identifying all the services and issues for the road upgrade. Originally it was thought the planning may take around a year or two. There are a number of issues to be resolved and the latest estimate is that the process will be later than expected.
Some of the issues are:

• Dealing with CHW main water pipes
• Tree removal permits
• Cultural and heritage issues.
• And fitting the road into the gazetted road reserve. At the moment some of the road is in the Park and some sort of land swap may be necessary.

The conversations the FoCC has had with Council officers have been very convivial. They are understanding of the environmentally sensitive nature of the area in which the road traverses. Traffic calming measures and other ways to protect the wildlife and the ambience of the Park have been received positively.

11. Rifle Range still for sale

The future of the Rifle Range is a regular question at FoCC meetings. The property is listed with Core Land, South Melbourne for sale as follows:

 Expansive 38.68ha (95.59 acres) allotment
• Just 4km from Ballarat’s CBD
• Directly abutting residential development
• Multiple Road frontages and excellent connectivity to Geelong Road and Midland Highway, providing easy access to Geelong and Melbourne CBD.
• Existing dwelling on-site provides immediate-term lifestyle opportunities (with upgrades/replacement)
• Currently under Rural Conservation ‘placeholder’ zoning, pending a proponent-led rezoning process (STPA). Ref: Core land website

What is not mentioned is the Bushfire Management Overlay, Koala Habitat Overlay ES05, the 1998 Commonwealth Government Environmental report which included lead contamination and the long history of failed attempts to change the zoning of the property. The property even has its own special Ballarat Planning Scheme clause schedule 35-06s01 RCZ Schedule 1, gazetted on 5^th September 2013.  Anyone wanting a unique block of land for lifestyle and conservation purposes should look at the property. It has a Boer War era heritage rifle range infrastructure and some of the best-preserved forest in the Corridor.

12. City of Ballarat Trailer Grant

The FoCC received a City of Ballarat “Ballarat Community Impact Grant Program” for the “Purchase of Community Tree planting Resource Trailer” in August 2025. The grant of $5200 was to purchase a closed tradie style trailer including signage and registration. The trailer will be used to transport the FoCC tree planting equipment including shovels, mattocks, hammers, BBQ, gloves vests etc to FoCC tree planting events. The trailer was constructed by Eureka Trailers in Ballarat and has now been handed over to the FoCC. Images below show its painting during construction and then the final Forest Green at delivery. The signage for the trailer has been organised and will be installed over the next week or so.

13. Late Rains

Autumn and winter this year were very dry. The past weeks has seen quite a bit of rain fall and for the first time this year the creeks within the Corridor are flowing again.

14. Nefarious activities

The bush around Ballarat has been used for many purposes, some good, some not so good. A close inspection of this rotting tree near Red Hill on Boundary Rd, Ballarat East, showed it to be heavily pock marked with round shot (ball). This suggests the tree was target practice a long time ago. Some of the shot had degraded to powder (lead oxide). The ball and fragments shown below are around 11mm or 7/16 inch in diameter.

15. Roger Thomas awarded “2025 Australian Natural History Medallion”

The Ballarat Courier reported on the 11^th November 2025 the following award. “Ballarat naturalist Roger Thomas has outshone professionals to win the 2025 Australian Natural History Medallion.

Over four decades, Mr Thomas, 72, wrote more than 2070 weekly Nature Notes articles for The Courier from 1983 to 2024.  During that time, he changed jobs several times, but never thought of giving up writing Nature Notes. His contribution to public education, conservation, birds and botany earned him national recognition at the Australian Natural History Medallion presentation on November 11. Nominated by the Field Naturalists Club of Ballarat, Mr Thomas never expected he would win the national honour. “I was very shocked, very surprised,” he said.”
Article courtesy of the Ballarat Courier, 11^th November 2025.

16. Neighbourhood Safer Places

Neighbourhood safer places were established after the 2009 Black Saturday Fires. Also called “Bushfire places of last resort”. There are four sites along the Canadian Corridor.

1. Ballarat central – Sturt St
2. Canadian Springs Boulevard
3. Mt Clear – Midvale shopping centre car park
4. uninyong – Midlands Highway in the centre of town.

   

Canadian Springs Boulevard Safer Place

17. Sparrow Ground Regrowth

The Wadawurrung Traditional Owners in conjunction with the City of Ballarat, CFA and Forest Fire Management Victoria completed the first traditional burn in Ballarat on Friday 20^th June 2025 at Sparrow Ground in Canadian. Traditional burning involves a slow and cool fire across the top of the land. A recent visit showed the regrowth of native grasses and flowers to be very healthy. The purple flowers in the foreground are chocolate lilies – a native wildflower.

 

18. Rubbish dumpers, thieves and vandals

The FoCC urges Park friends to report vandals as well as rubbish dumpers, wood thieves and other suspicious activity to Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or email: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au

In emergency situations please call 000. If an offender is spotted, please note vehicle registration details as vehicle identification is most helpful, plus location and details. All information is treated by Parks Victoria Rangers professionally and confidentially.

19. Useful information

• Parks Victoria Woowookarung email address: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au
  City of Ballarat wildlife information:
  https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/me/pets-and-animals/wildlife
• Wildlife Victoria (03) 8400 7300

 DEECA wildlife issues reporting information
Report wildlife crime to Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000. Report any wildlife at immediate risk of deliberate harm or neglect to 136 186. Other matters relating to wildlife and wildlife management should use the 136 186 too. The Help for Injured Wildlife tool will help you locate and contact the closest relevant wildlife carers and rescue and rehabilitation organisations to help the injured wildlife.

20. Membership

Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. New members and renewals after July 1 are credited to the next year. https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1427368 or email foccinfo@gmail.com

21. FoCC Facebook and webpage
    www.facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor/ 
    Rob is overseeing the webpage  webmaster@focc.asn.au

The FoCC has over 1300+ friends following us on Facebook and growing. Welcome to all new friends. Feel free to pass on to other friends and press the Like button.

22. 2025 Calendar

The calendar is prepared by the FoCC committee.

A 2026 calendar will be published in the next Spikey News 

Spikey News is published monthly for the Friends of Canadian Corridor Incorporated. Registered No A0097535B. The FoCC is a Landcare group registered with Landcare Victoria Inc and a member of the Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group. The purpose of “Spikey News” is to link the community to Woowookarung Regional Park and the Canadian Corridor

Circulation this issue is to 1306 1324 subscribers. Welcome to all new friends.
Any opinions expressed in Spikey News are made by the editors in good faith and do not officially represent Parks Victoria or the FoCC.

Previous issues of Spikey news can be found at our web site, here.

1. FoCC Annual Meeting 

The 2025 FoCC Annual Meeting will be held at the Buninyong Community House on Wednesday 19^th November beginning at 7PM. The purpose of the meeting is to receive the annual reports and elect the committee of management for 2026.
Guest Speaker: Peta Glen, Project Officer Parks Victoria
Presenting: “Woowookarung Citizen Science Bioscan Report”

The Woowookarung Citizen Science Bioscan Project Report is the culmination of 18 months hard work by Peta, friends, Ballarat community groups and the Nature Glenelg Trust. The report is described as: “This multi-year program is underpinned by research questions co-developed with the community. Focus areas include the condition of the vegetation across a range of Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) and Floristic Mapping Units (FMUs) within the park, the biodiversity and ecological health of regenerating forest areas, the condition of the ephemeral waterways and creek lines, and the diversity and health of plant, animal, and fungal communities.”  Ref: Page VIII Woowookarung Citizen Science Bioscan Program. Attendees are requested to register for catering purposes at: https://www.trybooking.com/DGZYZ

2. Wildflower walk attracts 700 walkers
   700 visitors walked the wildflower walk over the week of October 12 to 19^th.  New visitors to the walk were surprised at the variety and randomness of the flowers in bloom. Locals commented on the effects of a dry winter on the size and flowering times of some the wildflowers. A large patch of common bird orchid was found just inside the Welcome Wander trail.
   

The wildflower walk featured in interviews on local Radio Stations; ABC Ballarat, 3BA and Voice FM during the week. The walk was the tenth year of the FoCC and Field Naturalist Club Ballarat hosting the event. Visitors to the trail included the South East Australia Naturalists Association. The group was in Ballarat for a gathering and the visit to the wildflower walk was part of the agenda.

3. Rotary Urban Ripple tree planting volunteer thankyou and sausage sizzle.

The FoCC and the Ballarat Rotary Clubs are holding a “Thankyou BBQ” and get together for the 700 Urban Ripple Tree planting volunteers

Where:  Beside the Canadian Creek Reserve Playground in Hocking Avenue, Mt Clear.
When:  5pm to 7pm on Friday 7th November 2025
Who: All “Urban Ripple” tree planting volunteers from the July and August community tree planting days at Canadian Creek, Dozed Rd, Lal Lal Drain, Sailors Gully Creek and Soapy’s Dam.
The wonderful Rotary Clubs of Ballarat are hosting the free Sausage Sizzle and Cuppa. Please bring own chairs, nibbles, footies and cricket bats and see how the Canadian Creek plantings are thriving. Bookings essential for catering:     https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1492581

4. Ballarat Gardens for Wildlife host community walks

A well-attended walk was held at the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail on Monday October 27^th 2025. The focus was on the wildflowers and plants along the trail.

The Gardens for Wildlife run monthly walks and the next walk is as follows: Gardens For Wildlife – November walk
Slaty Creek Picnic Ground, Creswick Regional Park,
Date: Sunday 30 November, Time 2.00 pm – 3.15 pm
Bookings essential. Link to book; https://www.ballarateastnh.org.au/social-connection/backyard-biodiversity 

5. Murnong Yam Daisy fields.

Murnong yam daisy is a small plant which grows in local native bushland areas. It is characterised by thin leaves and a long stem of up to 30cms and a small yellow flower on top. The plant has a small edible tuber underneath. Murnong was a staple food for the Wadawurrung people until the mid-1840s, when the introduction of sheep grazed the yam almost to extinction. Murnong has been found growing in patches of up to 100 plants along the south side of Grasstree Creek in Woowookarung Regional Park. The flowers are the giveaway.

Urban Ripple Murnong Plantings. Over 100 Murnong Yam Daisies were planted at Soapy’s Dam beside the Canadian Creek in August as part of the Urban Ripple plantings. Spikey News will be keeping an eye of the plantings for progress.

6. Soapy’s Dam mulch spreading working bee.

A mulch spreading working bee will be held on Tuesday 11^th November, beginning at 9.30 and concluding 11.30, at the dam on Elsworth St E.
400 trees, shrubs and grasses were planted along Soapy’s Dam on Sunday 31^st August. Mulching around the plantings will help keep weeds at bay and provide ongoing plant protection.  The mulch is being sourced directly from Ballarat Garden Supplies next door and our task is to spread the mulch between the plants. Please bring, garden rakes, wide mouth shovels and wheelbarrows. All welcome. Gloves, vest and a cuppa will be provided by the Friends. Solid footwear and protective clothes recommended. Mulch can be dirty and dusty. Some people may wish to use masks when dusty conditions are encountered.  

7. 2025 Backyard Bird Count

Many FoCC friends participated in the Back Yard Bird Count between Sunday 19^th to Sunday 26^th October. According to the Birds Australia app 702 checklists were submitted, 147 species sighted and 24885 birds spotted for the Postcode 3350 (Ballarat). The results help Birds Australia to gauge the distribution and numbers of birds in our area.

8. Bird of the Month 2025)
   Blue-winged Parrot (Neophema chrysostoma)

Everyone loves our colourful Australian parrots, but after a while the usual local suspects of, with all due respect, Crimson Rosella and Rainbow Lorikeet tend to saturate our local parrot encounters, leaving variety to be desired.  That is why, when Blue-winged Parrots arrive during its spring/summer breeding season, it is a novelty well worth the targeted search and admiration session.  Cute, shy, little pocket rockets (at 20-23cm, scarcely larger than a Budgerigar), with an assortment of flattering pastel greens (powdery bluish green and olive), rich blues, and vivid yellow – it’s a parrot for which you cannot help but have your spirits uplifted upon experiencing its sweet charm!

Blue-winged Parrots are one of six species belonging to the Genus Neophema, which are colloquially referred to as the ‘Grass Parrots’ (however, be cautioned that the same colloquial moniker is often applied to one of rural Greater Ballarat’s other parrot varieties, the distantly related Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haemotonus)).  Five of the six Neophema species occur in Victoria, but Blue-winged Parrot is the only one that occurs in Ballarat, making the species unmistakable here.  The closest its congeners have come to our local area was an isolated sighting of nine Elegant Parrot (Neophema elegans) in Ararat (circa 1996), and a pair of Turquoise Parrot (Neophema pulchella) in Bendigo Regional Park (twice recorded, circa Dec 2023).  On that evidence, Blue-winged Parrots are a rare representative of its genus in our parts, and their presence here is to be cherished!  Adding to the significance of Neophemas is the fact that arguably Australia’s rarest parrot, the Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrystogaster) is a flagship species among its congeners (be cautioned that some male Blue-winged Parrots have orange bellies).

Despite the colloquial moniker of ‘Ground Parrot’, Blue-winged Parrots are considerably flexible by Neophema standards, in terms of the vegetation communities in which they are able to occupy.  They are often associated with cleared agricultural land, and it is in such environs where I often see them.  But also, they breed in well wooded eucalypt forests, with Union Jack Reserve and Ditchfield Bushland Reserve being local examples.  The full array of habitat types includes grassland, farmland, orchards, saltmarsh vegetation, coastal/ subcoastal woodland and forests (breeding season), sand dunes, wetland edges, alpine meadows, airfields, and semi-arid inland mallee and mulga (non-breeding season).  The species is a granivore, i.e. it feeds on grains and seeds, taking a selection of both native and exotic grasses and herbs.

Breeding season is October through February.  Typical of parrots, the Blue-winged Parrot is a hollow-nester.  The breeding hollow is small and may be high up in a live or dead tree, or alternatively in a low stump, hollow fence post, or log.  The female incubates a clutch of 4-6 eggs over the course of ~20 days, leaving the hollow several times daily to be fed by the male at a nearby perch.  The male helps care for the young, which fledge and have their maiden flight at 4-5 weeks old.  Several pairs may nest nearby, indicating the species is not territorial towards its own kind.

The population is one species (i.e. no races/subspecies) throughout its entire distribution, which encompasses much of southeast Australia; breeding in coastal/subcoastal Victoria (inland as far north as the Grampians), southeast SA, and Tasmania, and wintering in inland NSW, southwest QLD, and east SA up to the NT border.  The Tasmanian population (again, not genetically distinct), breeds in the island state, where it is a listed threatened species, and migrates to the mainland from March to Sep-Oct.  In Victoria, it does not qualify as a listed threatened species, but globally the Blue-winged Parrot has a conservation status of Vulnerable (V), with a decreasing population trend.  The species is considered uncommon.

Given its conservation significance, it would be advisable to ensure any encounters are accurately identified and recorded (if you’re so inclined, I’d encourage you to submit your sighting details to any of the free citizen science database, available on smart phone and desktop web browser, e.g. eBird, Birdata, iNaturalist, Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, Atlas of Living Australia.  As always, FoCCers are invited to reach out to us with ID requests!).  In scenarios where plumage detail is indeterminate, such as fleetingly glimpsed small parrots in flight, and auditory observations of vocalising birds, the following cues could be helpful:

• Voice:
  • • • ‘thin and high-pitched’
      • ‘more likely highest squeaks of a thornbill or fairywren than a parrot’
    • • ‘In flight: a repeated tinkling two-note “tsleet tsleet”
    • ‘When flushed: a staccato burst “tsit tsit tsit tsit”
• Flight behaviour:
  • ‘Swift, direct, with little undulation’
  • ‘Flies high, with quick, wader-like hesitation in wingbeats’

Next time you wander through Woowookarung RP, Union Jack Reserve (particularly the northwest of reserve), and the Corridor’s other forest patches (e.g. Ditchfield), be sure to give yourself every opportunity of a chance encounter with the cute, novel parrots that vocalise like thornbills and fly like waders – no guarantees you’ll find a Blue-winged Parrot, but what can be guaranteed is, if you are treated to clear views, it is a species thar will have your spirits instantly uplifted!

Author note: FoCC Committee member and co-admin of FoCC’s Facebook and webpage, Joel Ellis is the resident bird nerd, amateur Powerful Owl researcher, and editor of FoCC’s (co-funded) ‘Indigenous [Species] of Southern Ballarat’ brochure series.  

9. Koala Sightings 

October to March is Koala breeding season and peak sightings time. If you see, hear or find scat from a Koala, please send the information containing the when, where, and how to: foccinfo@gmail.com.  Images are gold (even if a little blurry). All Koala sightings are entered into the iNaturalist online data base. The complete list of sightings can be viewed at https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/

10. Federation University Studies

Federation University TAFE Conservation and Ecosystem Management students have been busy involved in the “Woowookarung Citizen Science Bioscan Program” over the past year. On Monday 27^th October students were busy establishing new long-term vegetation monitoring plots across the park’s diverse habitats. Despite the cool Ballarat spring weather, students were enthusiastic to spend two full days in the field, and their plant ID skills were outstanding! The survey methodology was developed in collaboration with Nature Glenelg Trust and refined with input from the Parks Victoria Science & Knowledge Team. This program has now been embedded into a core TAFE subject, creating an ongoing opportunity for students to contribute to real-world biodiversity monitoring while helping track vegetation change to inform park management.

A transect has a line of pegs at 5 metre intervals along a 25-metre line. The vegetation and canopy above the line is recorded. Future studies will be able to return as see whether the vegetation and canopy have changed over time. This is a very effective method of tracking forest growth or decline

11. York and Wilson St grasstree skirt burning 

Fire Management Victoria have begun fuel reduction burns in the York St and Wilson St block. The firsts step is to burn the grasstree skirts this year and follow up with a second burn next year. Burning the Grasstree skirts first is a cool burn approach and reduces the heat involved in the next years burn. Expect some spectacular grasstree flowerings in a couple of years.

12. Garden escapees in the Park.

Blue Bell creeper is pest that is found throughout the Park. It is an escapee from gardens and spreads easily. The only good thing about blue bell creeper is that it is easily pulled out. Just grab it and pull it out! It has very shallow roots.

Other plant pests in the Park are pine seedlings, gorse, broom, blackberry and other plants, some from garden dumpings.

13. Rubbish dumpers, thieves and vandals

The FoCC urges Park friends to report vandals as well as rubbish dumpers, wood thieves and other suspicious activity to Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or email: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au  In emergency situations please call 000. If an offender is spotted, please note vehicle registration details as vehicle identification is most helpful, plus location and details. All information is treated by Parks Victoria Rangers professionally and confidentially.

14. Useful information
    Parks Victoria Woowookarung email address: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au
    City of Ballarat wildlife information: https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/me/pets-and-animals/wildlife
    Wildlife Victoria (03) 8400 7300  

DEECA wildlife issues reporting information Report wildlife crime to Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000. Report any wildlife at immediate risk of deliberate harm or neglect to 136 186. Other matters relating to wildlife and wildlife management should use the 136 186 too. The Help for Injured Wildlife tool will help you locate and contact the closest relevant wildlife carers and rescue and rehabilitation organisations to help the injured wildlife.

15. Membership

Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. New members and renewals after July 1 are credited to the next year. Membership is available online or email foccinfo@gmail.com

16. FoCC Facebook and webpage www.facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor/ Rob is overseeing the webpage  webmaster@focc.asn.au The FoCC has over 1300+ friends following us on Facebook and growing. Welcome to all new friends. Feel free to pass on to other friends and press the Like button.

17. 2025 Proposed Calendar
    The calendar is prepared by the FoCC committee.
    

 

Dear Friends
The Field Naturalists Club of Ballarat and the Friends of Canadian Corridor are hosting a self-guided pop-up wild flower trail walk along the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail in Woowookarung Regional Park beginning at 11am on Sunday 12th October 2025.
The 1.2 km walking trail start point is at the Car Park and the trail is a gentle uphill on formed track with the return gentle downhill. Good footwear is recommended Signs will identify the start and the path will be marked with information signs identifying the diversity of wildflowers along the trail. A description of the wildflowers can also be found at: www.focc.asn.au/flora
2025 has been dry year for wildflowers. They are smaller and flowering at slightly different times. An excellent opportunity to view the flowers in dryer conditions. The pop-up trail will be open daily from Sunday 12th October until 4pm Sunday 19th October 2025.
Further walk information: E: foccinfo@gmail.com

 

1. 10^th Annual Wildflower Walk
   When: 10am Sunday 12^th October to Sunday 19^th October.
   Where: At the Dementia Forest and Sensory Trail in Woowookarung Regional Park.
   The trail starts at the Rotunda at the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail on Katy Ryans Rd. The Field Naturalists Club of Ballarat and FoCC have organised the self-guided pop-up wildflower trail signage. This year wildflowers have already begun to bloom with traditional favourites such as “Eggs and Bacon” bush pea colouring the forest. The walking trail is a gentle walk uphill on formed track. Good footwear is recommended.

   

   The walk is now in its 10^th year and is a joint FoCC and Field Naturalists Club Ballarat project. Last year 800 visitors walked the wildflower path along the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory trail in Woowookarung Regional Park.

   

Afternoon tea To celebrate the end of the Wildflower Walk, a BYO afternoon tea will be held at the Rotunda at the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail Rotunda at 4pm Sunday 19^th October 2025. All friends welcome. Just turn up and bring a chair! Part of the celebration is to pick up the signs from the trail!!!

2. Seniors Festival Wildflower walk promotion.
   

   

3. “City of Ballarat” Wildflower Walk Seniors Festival promotion. 

4. 4. Bird of the Month XLV (September 2025)
      Flame Robin (Petroica phoenicea)

Another month, another unprecedented record of a species at a location within the Corridor! The location? Mount Buninyong Scenic Reserve. The species? Flame Robin (honourable mention to Brown Quail, also observed at Mt Buninyong for the first time!). The context? Following a bushfire in March, Mt Buninyong had been closed to the public for safety reasons, and upon its reopening in early September, multiple Flame Robins of both sexes and different ages were observed foraging about the charred understorey. Now, if the ‘Flame’ name, its plumage of fiery orangey red and ashy grey, or its scientific name being a derivative of phoenix (you know, the mythical bird that rises from the ashes) – don’t all evoke fire symbology, then perhaps the following excerpt from the Australian Bird Guide (Menkhorst et al. 2019) will solidify its affinity with fire:
“… [Flame Robins] readily, but temporarily, colonises cleared or burnt areas.”
That theory certainly seems to be the case here, given the fact the Flame Robin, previous to the bushfire, was not known to Mt Buninyong, and now its presence is strongly concentrated on the burnt side of the mount. What needs to be considered, however, is the possibility that the Mt Buninyong Flame Robins may be representative of the species colonising other areas within the Corridor. If there are Flame Robins newly present elsewhere in the Corridor, I want to test that theory!

Adult male Flame Robin Image Rob Loveband

You may have heard the colloquial moniker “Robin Redbreast”. This is a generic term for reddish-breasted robins (e.g. European Robin, American Robin) in the northern hemisphere. In Australia, we have our own reddish-breasted robins, the Petroica robins, which total five species. All five Petroica species occur in southeast Australia (also southwest WA, in the Scarlet Robin’s case), indeed including Victoria. Ballarat’s, and certainly the Canadian Corridor’s, most common Petroica is the Scarlet Robin (refer to Bird of the Month XX May 2023), with the Flame Robin being the second-most common, and the other species (Rose, Pink, and Red-capped Robins, in order of most to least common) all being recorded at irregular intervals, and either localised or on the extreme outskirts of Ballarat.
The Flame Robin, by Petroica standards, tends to be associated with open country – particularly during autumn/winter (non-breeding season) – which lends itself to the Flame Robin’s western-leaning distribution throughout Ballarat (e.g. Lake Burrumbeet). By comparison, the Scarlet Robin is usually resident at Woowookarung Regional Park, Union Jack Reserve, Mt Buninyong, and other forest reserves throughout the eastern biolink that is our beloved Canadian Corridor. To help with distinguishing between the two very similar-looking species, please refer to the table below.

 

A small (11-14cm) insectivorous passerine (songbird), Flame Robins are typically viewable owing to their habit of persistently pouncing from a low perch to the ground, in habitats characterised by an open understorey or clearings (i.e. grassy ground covers). Their disposition is generally not flighty, providing encouragement that if they are occupying an area, their habits in theory are conducive to their presence being revealed.
Flame Robins breed in uplands/ high country, in eucalypt forests (including wet forest/ rainforest), woodlands, and scrubland. An altitudinal migrant, most individuals depart the breeding habitat in autumn/ winter (there’s also an annual migration to and from the mainland by Tasmanian Flames), for open woodlands and farmland, where – unique among Petroica robins – it flocks in groups of up to 20 individuals (another characteristic conducive to high visibility). The Flame Robin’s flexibility is typified by the wide-ranging conditions in which it can occupy, from sea level to altitudes of 1,800m; closed canopy overstorey communities in breeding season to open or absent canopy in non-breeding season; and pristine, undisturbed reserves to intensive agricultural contexts.
Breeding season is August through February. Adding to their flexibility, the nest sites vary widely, ranging from tree hollows (often charred or burnt out) or hollowed stumps; behind peeling bark; a deep-forked branch (up to 20m off the ground); amongst exposed roots; woodpiles; a cavity in earthen embankment or rock fissure; mineshafts; and even sheds. The nest is an untidy bowl or bulky rough cup of bark, grass, moss, lichen, fur/ hair, loosely bound together by spiderwebs. The female is responsible for nest-building and incubation duties – the clutch size being 3-4 eggs, and hatching occurring ~14 days after laying.
Flame Robins have a geographic distribution endemic to southeast Australia, plus Tasmania, with a northern limit of southeast QLD, and a southwestern limit of Kangaroo Island (SA). The species-wide (granted, there are no subspecies/ races) conservation status is ‘Least Concern’ (global) with a decreasing population trend. Federally and in Victoria, the species’ extinction risk is classified as ‘Secure’.
Next time you wander through Woowookarung RP, and the Corridor’s other patches where forest meets open farmland – please run a watchful eye over the grassy ground covers and low perches, ready for any opportunistic sightings of the avian symbol of fire that is the Flame Robin!
Author note: FoCC Committee member and co-admin of FoCC’s Facebook and webpage, Joel Ellis is the resident bird nerd, amateur Powerful Owl researcher, and editor of FoCC’s (co-funded) ‘Indigenous [Species] of Southern Ballarat’ brochure series. 

 

4. 4. 5. Soapy’s Dam

The Urban Ripple plantings at Soapy’s Dam have been a huge success. Originally the plan was to plant 1000 trees, shrubs and grasses at Soapy’s Dam during 2025 according to the Urban Ripple project plan. Due to some problems at other sites an extra 1200 plants were available for planting, making a total of 2200 planted. Of these 1800 were planted by students from Damascus College, Mt Clear College, Mt Rowan College and Woodmans Hill College, all along the south side of Soapy’s Dam. Next year the students are set to continue planting to complete more of the reserve’s habitat restoration.

Want to know more about Soapys Dam? A draft brochure has been produced by the FoCC telling the story of Soapy’s Dam as the FoCC knows it. It has been posted on the FoCC website. At: https://www.focc.asn.au  

The FoCC welcomes new information about Soapys Dam or feedback on the brochure. The FoCC is keen to document as much as possible about the reserve’s history. Hopefully some of the information will be incorporated onto public information signage at the reserve.

4. 4. 6. Surprise grasstree find.

Much to the surprise of students and staff at Soapys Dam Reserve two small grasstrees were found growing in the middle of the designated schools planting area. In the 1960’s the land was covered in shallow mine holes. These were filled in around the late 1960’s and are shown on the FoCC’s 1970 aerial Images as disturbed land. Since then, grasses and weeds have grown across the area leading to the reserve being regularly mown by the CoB for fire fuel reduction reasons. Fast forward to August 20^th 2025 and two small Xanthorrhoea Minor grasstrees were found growing in the middle of the reserve.

Yep! The arrows point to two small grasstrees growing in the middle of a mown reserve. Further searching around the reserve site discovered three more older and larger grasstrees, one in amongst the gorse along Soapy’s Creek.

4. 4. 7. Koala Sightings
         

         

A koala spotted by Maggie on the west side of the Fern Walk between York St and Wilson St Ballarat East. 23^rd September 2025.
October to March is Koala breeding season and peak sightings time. If you see, hear or find scat from a Koala, please send the information containing the when, where, and how to: foccinfo@gmail.com.  Images are gold (even if a little blurry). All Koala sightings are entered into the iNaturalist online data base. The complete list of sightings can be viewed at https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/

4. 4. 8. Great Aussie Bird Count 2025 Woowookarung Regional Park spotting locations
         The FoCC map of suggested bird count sites in the park is below.
         

To participate download the app: https://aussiebirdcount.org.au

4. 4. 10. Murnong
          Murnong is traditional food of the Wadawurrung people. Before the squatters and gold rush, Murnong was widespread in the Ballarat region.

          

      11. ‘WETLANDS RESTORATION: Prescriptions and Practice’
          

          

Invitation to a presentation by:
Peter Gell, Emeritus Professor, Federation University
On Tuesday 14th October 2025 at 7.00pm
At Lucas Community Hub, 17 Coltman Plaza, Lucas. (Enter via Coltman Plaza)  Tea/Coffee and light supper Enquiries: Friends of Mullawallah Wetlands
Email: mullawallahwetlands@gmail.com

4. 4. 11. Rubbish dumpers, thieves and vandals The FoCC urges Park friends to report vandals as well as rubbish dumpers, wood thieves and other suspicious activity to Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or email: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au

In emergency situations please call 000. If an offender is spotted, please note vehicle registration details as vehicle identification is most helpful, plus location and details. All information is treated by Parks Victoria Rangers professionally and confidentially.

4. 4. 12. Useful information
          Parks Victoria Woowookarung email address: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au
          City of Ballarat wildlife information:
          https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/me/pets-and-animals/wildlife
          Wildlife Victoria (03) 8400 7300
          DEECA wildlife issues reporting information Report wildlife crime to Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000. Report any wildlife at immediate risk of deliberate harm or neglect to 136 186. Other matters relating to wildlife and wildlife management should use the 136 186 too. The Help for Injured Wildlife tool will help you locate and contact the closest relevant wildlife carers and rescue and rehabilitation organisations to help the injured wildlife.
   5. 13. Membership Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. New members and renewals after July 1 are credited to the next year. Membership is available online or email foccinfo@gmail.com
   6. 14. FoCC Facebook and webpage
          www.facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor/
          Rob is overseeing the webpage  webmaster@focc.asn.au
          The FoCC has over 1300+ friends following us on Facebook and growing. Welcome to all new friends. Feel free to pass on to other friends and press the Like button. 
   7. 15. 2025 Proposed Calendar

Spikey News is published monthly for the Friends of Canadian Corridor Incorporated. Registered No A0097535B. The FoCC is a Landcare group registered with Landcare Victoria Inc and a member of the Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group. The purpose of “Spikey News” is to link the community to Woowookarung Regional Park and the Canadian Corridor. Circulation this issue is to 1278 1306 subscribers. Welcome to all new friends.
Any opinions expressed in Spikey News are made by the editors in good faith and do not officially represent Parks Victoria or the FoCC. Previous issues of Spikey news can be found at our web site, here. We are proud to walk this land with the Wadawurrung people and all other First Nations people. Friends wishing to add articles to the FoCC update may do so by emailing foccinfo@gmail.com

 

 

Soapy’s Dam Brochure (click to download)

1. 6300 trees, shrubs and grasses planted by 716 enthusiastic volunteers over 22 days. 

FoCC volunteers, including students, planted 6300 trees, shrubs and grasses, using 6 tons or 18900 stakes and 6300 guards. 2200 leaflets were letterboxed in neighbourhoods adjacent to sites by enthusiastic walkers. And 50 kgs of rubbish was collected whilst preparing sites. Hundreds of sausages cooked by the wonderful Rotary Clubs of Ballarat. Numerous friends shared their emails and Facebook posts and encouraged others to join in.  Those individual actions helped make the plantings successful. The 200 remaining plants will be planted on October 4^th by the “Natures Stewards” volunteers bringing the total plantings to 6500.
A big thanks to these organisations in making the plantings happen.

• Ballarat Courier
• Ballarat Garden Supplies
• Ballarat Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation
• Ballarat Times
• City of Ballarat
• Damascus College
• Hands on Learning teachers
• Mount Clear College
• Mount Rowan College
• Woodmans Hill College
• Ross St Building supplies
• Smart Pix signs
• Rotary clubs of
  • Alfredton
  • Ballarat
  • Ballarat East (planting day was cancelled)
  • Ballarat South
  • Ballarat West
  • Wendouree Breakfast
• Voice FM
• Wadawurrung Indigenous Nursery Bostok

Soapy’s Dam 31st August

Sailors Gully 17^th August

Canadian Creek 10^th August
57 Volunteers planted 700 trees shrubs and grasses in a 2-hour session.

Lal Lal Drain (Site 2) August 3^rd FoCC images

2. Rotary support and sausage sizzle.
   The Rotary Club of Ballarat South catered for the Canadian Creek planting, the Rotary Club of Alfredton catered for the Dozed Tk planting and the Rotary Club of Wendouree catered for the Soapy’s Dam planting. Rotarians ran the on-site volunteer registration and provided support for the plantings. Many thanks to the wonderful Rotary volunteers who helped make the planting go exceptionally well.
   

3. School plantings – 2065 trees, shrubs and grasses planted by 295 students 

The FOCC hosted 13 school planting days involving 295 students from four schools between June 17^th and August 27^th. The largest group was 80 students and the smallest group was 4. Participating schools were Damascus College, Mount Clear College, Mount Rowan College and Woodmans Hill College. A total of 2065 trees, shrubs and grasses were planted by the students on Soapy’s Dam and on the east side of the Bunny Trail in Woowookarung Regional Park. The FoCC volunteers assisting, praised the students and teachers for their wonderful work and interest in landscape restoration activities. Special thanks to Jo for unstinting dedication to providing sausage sizzles to the students. Ably assisted by Judith, Tracie, Chris, Ric, Mark, Tarn and Peter working in wet and windy conditions on some days. Some students were also involved in the FoCC’s community tree plantings as well.

4. The Urban Ripple restoration project
   The restoration project is funded from the Victoria Government’s, Green Link fund. A total grant of $701000 has been awarded to the Bunanyung Landscape Alliance, and in partnership with the Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group to revegetate waterways in Ballarat. As part of the project the FoCC agreed to plant 6500 trees, shrubs and grasses on four sites in the Corridor.

5. Official launch of the Urban Ripple Project
   Michaela Settle MP officially launched the Urban Ripple project on the FoCC Canadian Creek site near Hocking Avenue Mt Clear on Friday 8^th August 2025.
   

   

Ms Settle said, “It was wonderful to be at the launch of the Urban Ripple Project today — a community-led effort to restore Ballarat’s waterways.  Backed by the Victorian Government’s Green Links Program, this project will see 39,500 indigenous plants established across 13 sites, rejuvenating 80.5 hectares and nearly 10 kilometres of the Yarrowee River and its tributaries. A huge thank you to the Bunanyung Landscape Alliance, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group, local Landcare groups, and the passionate volunteers making this happen. Together, we’re restoring our precious waterways, supporting local biodiversity, and caring for Country. ” Source: M Settle Facebook page.

6. Bird of the Month XLIV (August 2025)
   Brown Falcon (Falco berigora)
   Any time, especially after 120 bird-walks along a favourite trail, one encounters a species for a site’s first time – that is a worthy cause for excitement!  Take into consideration also the fact this encounter represents the site’s (in this case, Union Jack Reserve, Buninyong) first record of the species in 145 eBird surveys (inclusive of my fellow eBirders’ checklist), and it is all the more a notable sighting, which is rewarding to increase the site’s species tally!  To top it all off, Bird of the Month is yet to feature a falcon species.  All this considered, it would be remiss of me to not take inspiration and write about this species.  So without further ado, behold the Brown Falcon…!

   

At 40-50cm, the Brown Falcon is a medium-sized falcon, and one of the most common and widespread raptors in Australia.  Another attribute which ranks it most distinguished among Australia’s raptors – or any Aussie bird for matter – is the species’ widely variable plumage colourations.  Despite its rather misleading name, the Brown Falcon comes in a light morph (whitish underparts; upperparts varying shades of darker brown), dark morph (uniformly sooty brown, almost black), and rufous morph (orangey brown upperparts) – each of which pose identification challenges with other raptors (refer to the below infographic for an ID guide).  The light morph is most common in southeast Australia, dark morph most prevalent in the tropical north, while Rufous morph predominates in arid climes.  Interestingly, they are all the same species (not even separated into subspecies/races), meaning theoretically all different colour morphs could appear in the same clutch of siblings.  Convoluting matters is the fact that colouration alters in transition from juvenile to adult plumages, while the oldest adult also become paler.  Common denominators present in all colour morphs – and therefore useful in ruling out other species – include the following: (1) the ‘double tear drop’, i.e. a dark-brown vertical stripe either side of the eye, enclosing pale cheek patch; (2) short trousers, always dark-brown or red-brown (never pale!); (3) pale underwing; and (4) conspicuous barring of wings and tail.

Brown Falcons are strongly associated with open farmland.  I have visited many a farm during my time as an ornithologist, and Brown Falcons have been observed (at least once) on every one of them.  Farms aside, Brown Falcons also inhabit plains, open woodlands, forest clearings, tree-lined watercourses, roadsides, alpine meadows, coastal dunes, and gibber/mulga deserts.
By falcons’ standards, Brown Falcons are oddballs with a few points of difference.  Where most falcons are highly aerodynamic, often with considerably specialised diets (i.e. many falcons are formidable predators of birds, while Nankeen Kestrels concentrate largely on mice and locusts) – the Brown Falcon is described as “sluggish” and “clumsy” by field guides, and its diet is very generalist.  Brown Falcons possess the pointed wingtips (i.e. primaries or ‘finger’ feathers clasped together) typical of all falcons, and even join Nankeen Kestrel as a surprising exponent of hovering (i.e. flight where the bird maintains a fixed height with no movement in the three-dimensional space, a rare aerialist skill done only by a select few Aussie birds) – albeit in doing so its wingbeats are “slow and laboured”.  However, its broad, bluntly pointed wings with convex trailing edge, contrast markedly with other falcons’ sharply points, crescent-shaped wings, designed for swift flight.  Brown Falcons have a widely varying diet of snakes (including Eastern Brown), lizards (i.e. skinks, dragons), small mammals (i.e. House Mouse, young rabbits), birds (e.g. starlings, parrots), insects (e.g. locusts, beetles, dragonflies), and carrion (often scavenging roadkill or kills pirated from other raptors).  Brown Falcons are versatile in their foraging methods, which encompasses gliding, soaring, hovering, diving, ambush from perch start, aerial attacks and tail-chases, flushing prey out of cover, and even stalking prey on-foot.  Pairs engage in cooperative hunting.

Breeding season here in the south is August through October.  As with all Australian falcons, Brown Falcons do not build their own nests.  Pre-existing nests of corvids (in our case, Little Raven) or that of other raptors are adopted or usurped.  Exceedingly rare alternatives include the nest of Australian Magpie, tree hollows, or termite mounds.  Both sexes incubate the clutch of 2-3 eggs (sometimes up to 5), but feeding duties of hatchlings are carried out predominately by the female alone.  Young fledge at ~30 days of age.
Brown Falcons are a considerably vociferous species, and indeed ‘The most vocal of Australian raptors’.  Vocalisations are characterised by screeches, shrieks, and hoarse chuckles.  Interestingly, two field guides liken its high-pitched cackling to a ‘laying hen’, only ‘louder and harsher’, as follows: ‘“karairk-kuk-kukkuk”, the first part raucous, rising, the following “kuk-kuk” as a low clucking’.  Also, ‘“karark”, “kar-r-rak”, “kairrrrk”, as single calls a few seconds
apart’.

Brown Falcon at Union Jack Reserve: Sighting Significance
This sighting was significant, not least because it was the first record in 145 eBird checklists arising from the sight, but also for the following reasons:

1. Canadian Corridor Raptor Infrequency: Aside from a handful of sightings of various raptors in (or above) residential neighbourhoods (Tandara Estate), and two Brown Falcon sightings in open farmland (adjacent to Geelong Rd), and perched on a powerline (Midland Hwy), it is, in my experience, difficult to come across raptors east of Ballarat where forests abound (much easier in the agricultural west of Ballarat!). Most raptor species (including Brown Falcons) are advantaged by land clearance, and open country raptors often patrol the skies, and perch on a powerline or an exposed branch – conspicuous behaviours, offering unobstructed views for the human observer.  Raptors of the forests, however, tend to be much more secretive and elusive, preferring a concealed perch on well-foliaged limbs.  Granted, my Union Jack Reserve sighting was not a forest raptor, it was nonetheless a reminder there is raptor presence in the Corridor.  Raptors don’t read the field guides, meaning the theoretically frequented habitat types may have blurred lines – as shown by this sighting of the open country-preferring Brown Falcon in a forest reserve.
   2. Behavioural Context – Possible Breeding activity: My observation, earlier in August, was intriguing for the unmistakable vocalisations that were noted.  The unsighted Brown Falcon was flying at a scarcely visible, great height, and engaging in a territorial or courtship display.  The species is renowned for its noisy aerial courtship displays.  This behaviour may be suggestive of the new arrival of a breeding pair, and quite possibly a nearby nest.  Bear in mind, August marks the first month of breeding season.  Watch this space!

Brown Falcons are geographically distributed continent-wide, including Tasmania, and also occur abroad in Papua New Guinea.  The species is common throughout, and generally considered sedentary (i.e. non-migratory), but it can be irruptive in response to plagues of House Mouse and locusts, while some populations may demonstrate north-south, and altitudinal, migration.  Despite its commonness, a decreasing population trend is in effect, according to IUCN.
Next time you wander through Woowookarung RP, particularly around its clearings (e.g. former plantations), or the exterior where forest meets open farmland – be sure to scan the sky and leafless branches of dead trees, to try for a chance encounter with the variable-plumaged, versatile predator, and hen-sounding, oddball that is the Brown Falcon!
Author note: FoCC Committee member and co-admin of FoCC’s Facebook and webpage, Joel Ellis is the resident bird nerd, amateur Powerful Owl researcher, and editor of FoCC’s (co-funded) ‘Indigenous [Species] of Southern Ballarat’ brochure series. 

8. CoB Tool Trailer Grant
   The FoCC has received a City of Ballarat “Ballarat Community impact Grant Program” for the “Purchase of Community Tree planting Resource Trailer”. The grant of $5200 is to purchase a closed tradie style trailer including signage and registration. The trailer will be used to transport and store the FoCC’s tree planting tools and equipment. A private lock up home has been found for the trailer. Expected delivery is late October.

   

9. Friends of Union Jack Creek Desoza Park – Tree planting

The Friends of Union Jack Creek is a small group in Buninyong working to restore Creekside habitat along Union Jack Creek in Desoza Park.

The Union Jack group is a subgroup of the Upper Williamsons Creek Landcare group. The FoCC is committed to providing support.

9. Forest Fire Management Planned Burn
   A planned burn is to be held in the York St Boundary Rd Wilson St Long St block in the near future. The first burning is to burn the skirts of the grass trees so as to reduce the intensity of the final burn.
   More information at: www.ffm.vic.gov.au

10. Koala Sightings
    

    

October to March is Koala breeding season and peak sightings time. If you see, hear or find scat from a Koala, please send the information containing the when, where, and how to: foccinfo@gmail.com.  Images are gold (even if a little blurry). All Koala sightings are entered into the iNaturalist online data base. The complete list of sightings can be viewed at https://www.focc.asn.au/koalas/

12. Proposed Koala habitat removal at 76 Springs Rd. Objection lodged
    An application to clear 0.75 hectares of Koala Habitat has been lodged with the City of Ballarat Statutory Planning department.

    

    Map of the Site courtesy of the Courier August 1 2025. Annotation by the FoCC. The FoCC has lodged an objection to the planned destruction of Koala Habitat. The application is at odds with the City’s Koala Plan, native vegetation removal regulations and the City’s recently adopted “Biodiversity Strategy”. An article of the application was published in the Ballarat Courier on August 1^st 2025. The article can be found at the Courier website. https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/9029323/brown-hill-subdivision-plans-threaten-koala-habitat-in-ballarat/  The FoCC believes the land can be subdivided into a lesser number of lots safely leaving the Koala Habitat shown in Yellow in a single lot. Nearby residents concerned about this development should lodge their own objections to the proposed destruction of Koala Habitat. The council does take notice of objectors. Feel free to contact the FoCC foccinfo@gmail.com for information about the proposal and objection processes. 

13. Rubbish dumpers, thieves and vandals The FoCC urges Park friends to report vandals as well as rubbish dumpers, wood thieves and other suspicious activity to Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or email: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au
    In emergency situations please call 000. If an offender is spotted, please note vehicle registration details as vehicle identification is most helpful, plus location and details. All information is treated by Parks Victoria Rangers professionally and confidentially.

13. Useful information
    Parks Victoria Woowookarung email address: woowookarung@parks.vic.gov.au
    City of Ballarat wildlife information: https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/me/pets-and-animals/wildlife Wildlife Victoria (03) 8400 7300 

DEECA wildlife issues reporting information Report wildlife crime to Crime Stoppers Victoria on 1800 333 000. Report any wildlife at immediate risk of deliberate harm or neglect to 136 186. Other matters relating to wildlife and wildlife management should use the 136 186 too. The Help for Injured Wildlife tool will help you locate and contact the closest relevant wildlife carers and rescue and rehabilitation organisations to help the injured wildlife.

14. Membership Membership runs from 1^st January to 31^st December each year, Membership fee is $20 per year. New members and renewals after July 1 are credited to the next year.  Membership is available online or email foccinfo@gmail.com

15. FoCC Facebook and webpage www.facebook.com/friendsofcanadiancorridor/ Rob is overseeing the webpage  webmaster@focc.asn.au  The FoCC has over 1300+ friends following us on Facebook and growing. Welcome to all new friends. Feel free to pass on to other friends and press the Like button. 

16. 2025 Proposed Calendar The calendar is prepared by the FoCC committee.

Spikey News is published monthly for the Friends of Canadian Corridor Incorporated. Registered No A0097535B. The FoCC is a Landcare group registered with Landcare Victoria Inc and a member of the Yarrowee Leigh Catchment Group. The purpose of “Spikey News” is to link the community to Woowookarung Regional Park and the Canadian Corridor.
Circulation this issue is to 1278 1301 subscribers. Welcome to all new friends.
Any opinions expressed in Spikey News are made by the editors in good faith and do not officially represent Parks Victoria or the FoCC.
Previous issues of Spikey news can be found at our web site, here.
We are proud to walk this land with the Wadawurrung people and all other First Nations people.