Rosella Feathers 29 August 2008

Armchair Twitch™ 2008. It’s only a month to go to the Armchair Twitch™. This year the Twitch is on 28 September, the last Sunday of the month. Have you got your team ready? Is the wine cooling, and the picnic in the hamper? Don’t miss out on the laziest day birding you’ll ever have!

Check out the rules on the BASQ website, and if you have any queries contact Lesley Beaton, or PO Box 38, Harlaxton 4350.

Birds Australia National Campout 2009 . We have decided to go ahead with the National Campout from Sep 29 - Oct 4 next year. This is the last week of the Qld school holidays. The campout will be based in the Karara Hall, which has kitchen facilities, toilets, and hot showers. Plenty of room for swags inside, and tents and vans outside (limited power points outside - but refrigerators inside). The nearby Karara Hotel has 4 motel units, and the Warwick Motels are 50 km away. Leyburn is 24 km north, and Inglewood 60 km west.

As well as a lot of fun birding, activities will include location of calling male Lyrebirds, searches for Regent Honeyeater breeding sites, searches for Glossy Black-Cockatoo feeding sites, and bird surveys along stock routes.

the Stock Routes Coalition. We have distributed 7000 postcards, and there are very few left. If you still have a card, please give it to someone who will send it to the Premier. If you know someone who wants to be involved, suggest they send an email version. The open letter from over 400 scientists to Premiers Anna Bligh and Morris Iemma was released on Thursday, with a lot of good publicity. It and the suggested email is available on www.basq.org.au/stockroutes/TSR.htm.

The coalition has responded to the Stock Routes Assessment Panel Report. The response can be downloaded from the website. Response can be made by email up until 31 August

A group of drovers and graziers formed the Mates of the Stock Routes in Dubbo on Wednesday. As far as we can tell the only people who are opposed to our proposals are a very small minority of stock route neighbours who have been getting free grazing.

Threatened Species Week 7-13 Sep. Activities include Family Fair at Downfall Creek Bushland Centre, Sunday 7 September 10am-2pm, Contact Julie Meles 07 3403 8888; and Community Expo, 9am - 2pm Sunday 7 September, EcoCentre, Griffith University

SEQ Water Surveys. The bird surveys of the Wivenhoe and Somerset area are tentatively scheduled for 18-19 October. Plans are not yet final for the next phase of the project, so the dates may have to change. Contact Eric Anderson 07 5445 7965 for more information.

BOCA Maps. Have you looked at the BOCA birding maps yet? A brilliant concept: still under development, a bit slow and a bit hard to find, but great potential. Look for it on the BOCA website as a submenu of 'Come Birding'.

The National Waterhole Count is a scheme designed to allow everyone of all ages to be involved in Conservation. Currently we have almost no idea how many of our birds remain in the wild. There are undoubtedly species requiring help, but their numbers will continue to decline because their plight is not being monitored.

All you have to do is donate one morning of the year. On the 11th October 2008 we will be conducting the first National Waterhole Count and we need your help. We need volunteers to sit for 3 hours and count birds as they come to drink. It does not matter if it is a bird bath in your backyard, a farm dam or a pristine waterhole at the tip of Cape York. Your help will be an important step in understanding how we can improve the future for Australian birds. Contact Milton Lewis.

The National Parks Association of Queensland Romeo Lahey Memorial Lecture. Protected Areas in a Time of Change. Penny Figgis AO. 29th October. For more info.

Minutes of the most recent meeting of the BASQ Committee are on the members page of the website. Rosella Ramblings Vol 5, No. 3 is on the website.

Grahame Rogers Secretary BASQ, PO Box 224, CROWS NEST, QLD 4355