After many years of ongoing work at the Silcock Street Park, REF Inc. and the Moreton Bay Regional Council are one step closer to seeing the approval, design and construction of a boardwalk and pathway, which will provide local residents and visitors with the chance to see some of the Hays Inlet’s remaining natural wonders.
 
The walk from Silcock Street will take visitors through Melaleuca forest, stands of Eucalypt and Casuarina as well as the opportunity to see saltmarsh plains, mangrove forests before arriving at a platform allowing them to take in the sights and wildlife of Hays Inlet including a panoramic view of the Great Dividing Range and Glasshouse Mountains.
 
The area teems with birdlife and is home to some of Moreton Bay’s remaining koala population as well as providing roosting sites for international wading birds including the critically endangered Eastern Curlew. The project aims to provide a community asset that raises awareness of the value of our remaining wetlands, not only as a site of significant biodiversity but also for the environmental services it provides such as improved water quality, storm surge protection and a nursery site for commercial and recreational species of fish and crustaceans.
 
The site has also been a community focal point with 3 Green Army projects having conducted significant habitat restoration in the surrounding wetlands and forest areas, 3 community engagement days and the formation of the Hays Inlet Bush Care Group. During the next year we can look forward to a fourth Green Army team working on habitat restoration as well as the design and commencement of the Ecopath.
 
Yesterday, committee members of REF including president, Chris Joyce inspected the site and looked at some of the potential design elements and issues for the pathway and boardwalk. At this time of the year, the weather is perfect to take in some of the sights and sounds of the Reserve. The wildlife and views at the end of the walk underlined what a valuable asset the path and boardwalk will provide for many generations to come.  The immediate challenge will be in the design and incorporating a safe pathway that provides views of the differing habitats and their associated wildlife for the enjoyment of visitors.

Australia is an unusual place in terms of its wildlife and in particular birds. The prevalence of honeyeaters is remarkable. From our urban backyards, parks and reserves to the wetlands, eucalypt and paperbark forests to our mountain and coastal rainforests you will find honeyeaters.

Australia is the land of sugar and nectar. The country’s generally poor and ancient soils lack a number of nutrients suitable for plant growth. Many of our native plants including eucalypts, melaleucas, banksias and grevilleas produce large amounts of excess sugar. These sugars are a product of photosynthesis and due to the lack of soil quality including some amino acids, many plants have diverted these excesses into the production of high amounts of nectar in order to attract and exploit animals as pollinators and seed dispersers.
  
The general absence of arboreal mammals in Australia has provided opportunities for honeyeaters to diversify and take advantage of this bounty and there are over 75 species in Australia. They range from the large and noisy friar and wattlebirds, the small and busy brown honeyeaters to the mob forming minor birds.

You can see many of these honeyeaters taking advantage of our backyards especially where people have planted “bird-attracting” gardens. If you take a look at the remaining forests of paperbark and eucalypt around Moreton Bay you will also see many different types of honeyeaters along with lorikeets feeding on the seasonal waves of flowers. They also take advantage of the insects associated with these plants and in particular psyllids which produce honeydew shelters on the underside of leaves known as lerps. Late winter and early spring provides an opportunity to see other species of honeyeater including the scarlet honeyeater.

Further reading:
Tim Low (2015) Where song began: Australia’s birds and how they changed the world.