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Friends of Lord Howe Island Newsletter No.17 Summer 2006 Calling names for 2006 weed trips Several of the winter 2006 weed weeks are full already. If you haven’t booked yet and are interested in a trip please contact Ian Hutton as soon as possible as we need to finalise numbers. Phone 02 6563 2447 or Email: [email protected] Dates available June 10-17 June 25-July 2 July 22 to 29 Aug 19 to 26 Aug 26 to Sept 3 Friends President Des Thompson elected to the new Board on Lord Howe Island In the recent LHI Board elections held in February 2006, Friends of LHI President Des Thompson stood for nomination, and was successful in being elected as one of the four Island representatives on the seven person Board. Participation in valuable contribution to the weed problem on Lord Howe Island... Groups working to remove Asparagus fern from Transit Hill and the settlement area. Other Island members elected are Barney Nichols, Stan Fenton and Gary Crombie. Mainland member Helen Clements stood down after years on the Board, and Jeff Angel from the Total Environment Centre was appointed a community environment representative. Des hopes to see continuing care of the environment as one of the key focuses on the Island. OAM awarded to Ian Hutton In the Australia Day honours list for 2006, Friends of LHI vice president Ian Hutton was awarded the OAM for services to conservation and tourism on Lord Howe Island. During the weeding weeks the afternoons are spent exploring the island, discovering the flora, fauna, geology, marine life in the company of good friends. The conservation contribution was mainly for the promotion of the awareness of weeds as the biggest environmental threat to the Island; and along with Rymill Abell, the development of the Bush Regeneration tours to Lord Howe Island. 1 Presidents Report Congratulations to Ian Hutton for his award of OAM announced on Australia Day. I have talked to Ian and he is very appreciative of the opportunities the Island has given him and the support from all those involved in the Friends of LHI. I put my name in the ring in the recent LHI Board election and was successful in being elected by the community. I see some very important issues facing the Island in the coming years and will do my best to ensure the Island community views are put forward as strongly as possible. I believe for the Island to flourish it must have the community participating in management decisions as they are the people who know and treasure the Island and their way of life. $21,335.91 in our regular account. We have just pledged $5,000 to support a permanent display on weeds at the Lord Howe Island Museum. Hopefully this will be completed for members’ inspection during the weeding trips this year. The funding for this has been made possible by your generosity in supporting the Friends. Your continued support is appreciated in supporting weed eradication into the future. All donations over $2 to the FLHI are tax deductible; we welcome these on their own or with subscription renewals to P.O Box 155, Lord Howe Island, 2898. I will also be committed to the environment of Lord Howe Island, particularly the imperative of continuing the fight against weeds. I also hope to be able to encourage more local participation in the Friends of LHI. Good work continues on the weed front at Lord Howe Island, with the LHI Board’s weed teams now covering large areas on the ground removing the worst of our weeds. Des Thompson Treasurers Report Here we are again at the end of summer. As the heat fades and autumn approaches my thoughts turn to Lord Howe. Our winter escape to paradise and the satisfaction that comes with helping to preserve it. You may have noticed the additional trip at the start of Spring- this is an exciting addition to the line up of weeding trips and an opportunity to witness a different phase of the islands bird life. We have been a little delayed this year in getting membership renewals out. Indeed some of you may have just received yours. Many thanks to all those who have pre-empted this and sent in their cheque. Please remember to let us know if any of your contact details change. Don’t forget to take advantage of our multiyear renewals- Buy 4 years of membership and get the fifth year free! Our accounts are currently healthy with $3,994.02 in our gift fund account and Steve Gale Friends to fund weed display at Lord Howe Island Museum At the February meeting of the Friends of Lord Howe Island, the committee agreed to fund to $5000 for a display at the LHI museum on weeds. Weeds are the biggest environmental threat to the World Heritage values of Lord Howe Island. In the past ten years great advances have been made in dealing with the weed problem – the volunteer Friends of Lord Howe Island was set up, weed mapping has been done, a weed strategy has been drawn up, major grants have been available for employment of local and offshore workers to deal with weeds in a systematic way and a quarantine strategy has been completed for the Island. This is a start but the effort will need to continue for ten to twenty years. To outline the successes plus the task ahead, a display at the museum is seen as a tool to educate and enthuse the residents and visitors to the situation. The weeds display will be incorporated into a major section of the museum dealing with alien species and their effects on the Island, 2 LHI Board to commence Owl culling LHI Board Manager Nick Rigby has advised that a program will commence to cull Masked Owls from Lord Howe Island. Nick also said “I would rather see an eradication program in place, but in the short term the Board will cull Owls.” Masked owls are an introduced species that are having an impact on the birds of Lord Howe Island. They are known to take Woodhens, White terns, Black Noddies, Black-winged petrels, Providence Petrels and probably other bird species on the Island as well. Seabirds are vulnerable to predation by owls, because they are used to breeding on this and other islands that are free of predators and thus they have no instinctive behaviour to avoid predation. White terns are particularly vulnerable because of their white colour, and are easily observed at night when owls hunt. Black-winged petrels are vulnerable because their habit is to come into breeding colonies at night and sit on the surface, outside their burrows. Black-winged Petrel attacked by Owl. Owls could also be implicated in the demise of breeding populations of Kermadec Petrels and White-bellied Storm Petrels on the main Island in the 1920s. This is often attributed to rats arriving on the Island, but the introduced Owls may be also involved. Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae Masked Owls were brought to the Island by the NSW government in the early 1920’s to combat the rats that were accidentally introduced in 1918. Most of the Owls were Masked Owls from Tasmania (Tyto novaehollandiae ssp castanops) but colour variations amongst the Lord Howe Island birds indicate some from mainland NSW or Victoria were also shipped over. While the Owls did and still do eat rats, they also prey upon birds including Woodhens, White terns, Black noddies, Black-winged petrels, Providence Petrels and probably other bird species on the Island as well. Ornithologist Dr Ben Miller lived on the Island in 1978 and 1979 and was convinced that the Owls were a major predator on Woodhens, and recommended that Owls be removed from the Island. For many years throughout the 1980’s LHI Board staff did shoot the Owls. Masked Owls are not and never have been part of the natural ecosystem of Lord Howe Island and should be regarded as feral pests, just the same as cats, goats, pigs and rats. While the Owls may be a protected species on mainland Australia the birds are they are killing on Lord Howe Island are listed as vulnerable or endangered. LHI Board to set up laboratory to test and monitor ground water. The LHI Board has put out expressions of interest from suitably qualified Island persons to set up a water quality test system in the Island Research laboratory. This will be to test for Biochemical Oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH and presence of coliform and E-coli. It will also involve setting up a computer generated database to record test results. Barrie Rogers, the LHI Board Technical Services Manager said “This work will identify problems with the Island’s groundwater and go a long way towards developing a groundwater strategy.” 3 Formosan Lily Most Friends of LHI would be aware of the presence of Formosan lily on the Island. The LHI Board has committed funds to research into the weed and ways to control it. TROUBLE BLOOMS IN PARADISE A beautiful invader is threatening one of Australia's most precious and beloved natural wonders - the World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island, off the coast of NSW. A Taiwanese native bulb, Formosa lily or tiger lily (Lilium formosanum), has spread across the island from the coastal dunes to the high mountain slopes, raising the spectre of previous invaders like the rat which had catastrophic impacts on the unique Lord Howe ecology. "Since establishment it has spread across the island, colonizing virtually every ecosystem and habitat from the beach, to the forest, to the upper slopes of Mt Gower and Mt Lidgbird," she says. "It has become well established over large areas both in the open and in the forest, displacing native plants." The lily has also naturalised along the east coast of mainland Australia and could emerge as a major problem there too. "Although Formosa lily is perennial, during the winter it dies back to an underground bulb whose size varies with the age of the individual. On Lord Howe, aboveground growth begins in July and plants produce a single shoot between then and mid summer. "Around January, this shoot produces multiple large white flowers tinged with purple, and each of these gives rise to a large capsule containing many hundreds of tiny seeds which are easily scattered by the wind." Lord Howe faces a number of threats from invasive plants including Crofton weed, bitou bush and cherry guava, and in 2004, the Lord Howe Island Board secured a NSW Environmental Trust Grant to tackle some of the island's environmental weeds. Susie Warner's PhD project is one component of this work. Formosan lily Lilium formosanum Lying 700 km north-east of Sydney, Lord Howe has a global reputation for its spectacular native flora - including its famous cloud forest - and the fact that over 40 per cent of its 241 native plants are found nowhere else on earth. However, this unique assemblage of plants and animals that has arisen from both Australasian and Pacific island ancestry over millions of years is under threat from invasive plants. Over 300 introduced plant species have been recorded on the island - exceeding the number of native species. The Formosa lily is an emerging problem, says Weeds CRC doctoral researcher Susie Warner. The bulb is native to Taiwan but has been widely cultivated as an ornamental around the world. The first herbarium record for the plant on Lord Howe was in the early 1970s and is another of Australia's now-notorious "garden escapes". "My research is examining key aspects of the population biology of Formosa lily, including its germination requirements, soil seed-banks, seed production and habitat requirements. "I'm also exploring the possible impacts the lily is having on native Lord Howe plant species with the aim of providing some recommendations about how best to control it." The challenge is enormous. As a bulb, the lily hides most of its mass safely underground where it is hard to get at with physical or chemical control - successfully enabling it to compete with native plants for nutrients and water. Its tiny, light seeds mean it will be almost impossible to prevent it from spreading. More information: Susie Warner, Weeds CRC and University of New England Phone: 02 6773 5213 Email: [email protected] 4 Report on August 6 to 13 2005 weed trip Elizabeth Brown was leader on this trip and we had a mix of regulars including Gwenda Lister, Peter and Joan Brown plus Ian and Margaret Parsonson. We also had quite a few first timers, including Judith and Bruce Tressider. Bruce said he and his wife were not fanatical weeders, but had heard of the program and just had to come along to see what it was all about. At this time of the year the Lignum vitae tree Sophora howinsula is in flower and it put on a good display for the group. Highlights of the week were the Boat Harbour walk, North Bay AND we got a round island cruise in. Report on August 28 - September 4 trip. Bill McDonald from Queensland Herbarium led this trip and quite a few Queenslanders did join him including Keith and Jo Weir, Mike and Elizabeth Russell, and Jim and Jennifer Peat. Also farmer John Zyla from Goulburn on his 8th trip! We also had two international visitors – John Millett and Maureen Young from New Zealand who were most impressed by the Island and the weeding program. August 6 to 13 2005 group Sue Stevens enjoyed the week immensely and wrote: Little did I imagine, when I gazed down at this magic Island from Air New Zealand 32 years ago that I would one day be getting up close and personal digging asparagus fern under a beautiful rainforest canopy with a bunch of dedicated Lord Howe Island Lovers whose dream is fulfilled with so much fun and hard work. The sandwiching of work, environmental adventures, food and bonhomie is a perfect mix for each and every day. The group had to tackle a particularly difficult block on Transit Hill- one that had a fairly open canopy and hence a lot of Smilax vine to crawl through. Still they came to the task and completely cleared the block. Aug/September 2005 group The group started work on the ground asparagus above Pinetrees. On Wednesday, as a break we had a group at Gai Wilsons removing climbing asparagus, while another group tackled a Madeira vine outbreak in Stevens Reserve sighted by the previous group in August. This outbreak proved bigger than first seen and this group felt compelled to tackle this, so the remainder of the week was taken up removing many bags of Madeira vine, leaves, tubers and roots. September group removing Madeira vine Lignum vitae in bloom 5 Kew palm study released In past issues of the FLHI Newsletter we have reported on the research into Howea palms by botanists from Kew gardens in England. Their findings have just been published in the prestigious Nature Magazine February issue. Following is the press release. Evolutionary experts have found two of the best examples yet for cases of sympatric speciation, which is when two species diverge from a single ancestor without geographical isolation. This issue has been a bone of contention among evolutionists: many suspect that such speciation is possible, but it has been fiendishly difficult to prove. Botanist Vincent Savolainen and his colleagues offer convincing evidence in the form of two sister species of palm tree on Lord Howe Island, a remote outpost almost 600 kilometres off the eastern coast of Australia. As they report in a study published online by Nature, genetic studies of the two species show that they are indeed sisters, and diverged much more recently than the island's creation. This shows that the two species have always lived side by side, making their speciation almost certainly sympatric, the authors explain. Species generally diverge when they become reproductively isolated - usually through geographical isolation (giving rise to allopatric speciation). But here the two species seem to have diverged after they began flowering at different times of year, probably as a result of differing soil 25th Anniversary program of Woodhen recovery As reported in FLHI newsletter 16, the Island museum held celebrations in November 2005 for the 25th anniversary of the first captive bred Woodhen hatching in the Woodhen recovery program. Key people involved in the recovery program attended the celebrations. John Disney was Curator of birds with the Australian Museum in the 1970’s and commenced studies over a ten year period into the surviving Woodhens on the top of Mount Gower. He was joined by Dr Peter Fullagar who was then with CSIRO Division of Wildlife. The pair made treks at least once a year throughout the 1970’s to the top of Mount Gower where they camped and surveyed the Woodhen population across the whole summit of the mountain. The camp on the summit of Mount Gower Their studies recommended that a full time ornithologist be appointed to the Island for two year to further study the Woodhen and make conservation recommendations. Bill Baker and Dave Springate on LHI Big drought on Lord Howe Island The Island is facing severe water shortage, and many rainforest plants are wilting and have leaves dying. In summer 2002 we reported in the FLHI newsletter No 8 of a drought affecting the plants; this current drought seems even more severe on the forest. The average rainfall for January to March on Lord Howe Island is 403 mm and for 2006 the total so far has been just 98 mm Dr Ben Miller was the NSW NPWS Ornithologist at the time and he lived on the Island in 1978 and 1979. Together with local rangers Paul Beaumont and Bruce Thompson, Ben Miller continued monitoring the summit Woodhens plus others in more remote areas of the Island. His recommendations included ridding the Island of feral cats and pigs, a task done by local residents and rangers in 1979. Then a captive breeding program was established on the Island, taking three pairs of Woodhen off the top of Mount Gower and relocating them in a special compound constructed in Stevens Reserve for this purpose of captive breeding. New Zealand aviculturists Glenn Fraser was employed to oversee the project, and he successfully raised 6 93 Woodhen chicks at the centre, for release around the Island. Today there are approximately 300 Woodhens on the Island. Function at the LHI Museum for the Woodhen None of this could have taken place without the funding of $250,000, which was raised by the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. The Foundation continues its commitment to conservation on Lord Howe Island today – funding such projects as rodent cost benefit analysis, and research into Currawongs. The Foundation also funded a new display for the museum on the Woodhen story. The Woodhen recovery program still ranks as one of the most successful endangered bird recovery programs of the world, and demonstrates that captive breeding is a solution to recovery of bird endangered bird populations. John Disney and Peter Fullagar were overjoyed to see Woodhens across the lowlands where they had not seen them during their ten years study in the 1970’s. The LHI Museum published a book on the Woodhen, with funding by the LHI Board. The book costs $12 and is available from the Island museum – Friends of LHI can order through FLHI PO Box 155 Lord Howe Island NSW 2898. New ranger for Lord Howe Island. In February LHI Board ranger Sean Thompson transferred to the DEC near Myall Lakes. The new ranger is Meg Lorang, who commenced work on 27 February for a one year term. Meg has spent the last two years as a DEC ranger in the Tenterfield area in the NSW Northern Tablelands. Prior to that Meg had worked in the western NSW based in Bourke. Meg also has five years experience as an Environmental Officer for local and State government. Meg has an arts degree majoring in Geography from Sydney University, a Graduate Diploma of Environmental Science from Murdoch University and a Master of Wildlife Management from Macquarie University. She also has a boating license, SCUBA diving certification and a firearms license. Meg will be based in the Board’s Environmental Unit and will be involved in a range of projects including threatened species recovery, noxious weed, pest species eradication and community consultation and education. We welcome Meg to LHI and look forward to working with her on the winter weeding program. Children from the LHI Central School made a great display to celebrate the Woodhen storythere were posters, dioramas, poems and stories which provided great interest for tourists through summer. 7 Unusual Bird Sightings November 2005 to February 2006 Black-winged stilt at North Bay On 11th November 2005, two Black-winged stilts turned up at North Bay. In a strong southerly gale on 13th one moved off the Island, and the other stayed around the Old Settlement creek until 15 December before disappearing. The last record of this species at Lord Howe Island was in October 1888 when a pair was collected. The Black-winged stilt occurs over all of Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand at inland swamps, lagoons and saline lakes, where they are often found in large numbers. Some regularly breed in swamps near Sydney. On 10th and 11th November and again 19, 20, 21December a single Caspian Tern was on the Moseley Park swamp opposite the airstrip. The Caspian Tern is easily recognised by its size - much larger than the Sooty tern; white body, light grey upper wings, a shaggy black cap and a large red bill. It is a widespread species around tropics and subtropics of the world. It is known from all parts of Australia, coastal as well as inland, but is seldom common and usually seen in single pairs or alone. A vagrant to LHI, with the first record only in 2000; now one is seen most years about the same time. Caspian Tern Black-winged Stilt An immature Kelp Gull was on the Island 22nd at North Bay, and found dead at Old Settlement Beach on 23rd. A rare bird for Lord Howe Island, with just four records here. -------------------------------------------------------2006 weed trip booking form. Friends of Lord Howe Island newsletter compiled by Ian Hutton. Friends of LHI PO Box 155 Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Email [email protected] -----------------------------------------------------------Please book me on the Lord Howe Island bush regeneration tour Included is my deposit of $200 per person Please send form and deposit cheque to: Lord Howe Island Nature Tours PO Box 157 Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss______________________ ------------------------------------------------------ ____________________________________ Full price $1775 ex Sydney or Brisbane, twin share (Sole rooms subject to availability - $1930) Deposit $ 200 (cheque made to PINETREES) Balance $1575 (twin share) or $1730 (sole use) 45 days prior to trip. ----------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________ Address ____________________________________ Phone _____________________ Email _______________________ QANTAS Frequent Flyer number ________________________ I prefer to go on dates: Caspian Tern 8