life bdrop life page lead quote motif

Changes came early to Enoggera Creek. With the town of Brisbane needing a reliable water supply, work on the Enoggera Reservoir got underway in late 1864.

Once the new engineering works opened up improved access to this previously remote rainforest area, settlement of the riverbank areas downstream of the new dam soon followed.

Today bush regeneration programs underway along the length of Enoggera Creek are seeking to re-establish these river bank locations as the valuable wildlife habitat they were in the past.

The largest reserve areas along the creek are the Banks Street Reserve and the Corbie Park – Davisdon Street section. These larger areas provide a haven for many species of animals. Some of these are introduced below with notes provided courtesy of Christine Galbraith.

motif

Resident birds

Red backed wrens

Resident and breeding.

Vulnerable to predators and will not venture more than 10 metres into the open. Require good cover. Tall cane/elephant grass works well. Experience has shown that it takes around two years for planted bushes and grasses to provide cover acceptable to the wrens.

red backed wren

Pale vented bush hen

Creek edges and adjacent banks where vegetation cover is good.

Breed in dense grass. Bush regeneration target species. Common in supportive habitat. Very secretive. Avoids people and dogs.

Pale vented bush hen

Black duck

Common. Breed in grasses near creek. Use creek edge vegetation for protection of young.

Black duck

Brown quail

Very private. Will flush from dense grasses. Breed some years. Not present where there is not excellent cover.

Brown quail

Dusky moorhen

Common. Nest and spend much of their time concealed by grassy creekside vegetation, especially when they have young.

Dusky moorhen

Wood duck

Very common. Breed in nearby trees, and spend much of their time on the creek. Use creekside vegetation for cover when they have young.

Wood duck
motif

Visiting birds

Crakes and rails

Creek edge cover. Apart from bush hens, are occasional visitors.

Buff banded railSpotless crake

Waterbirds - regular visitors

Royal spoonbills. Little egret. Intermediate egret. Great egret. Little pied cormorant. White faced heron.

Work through creek edges to find macroinvertebrates and small fish. Cormorants dive for fish in deeper pools. Often base themselves along the creek for months at a time.

Waterbirds

Waterbirds - occasional visitors

Royal spoonbills. Little egret. Intermediate egret. Great egret. Little pied cormorant. White faced heron.

Work through creek edges to find macroinvertebrates and small fish. Cormorants dive for fish in deeper pools. Often base themselves along the creek for months at a time.

Waterbirds

Birds hunting creek and creekside fauna

Sacred and azure kingfishers are visitors that perch on and fish from immediate creekside trees. Kookaburra, Collared sparrowhawk and Brown goshawk hunt reptiles and small mammals breeding in revegetated creekside areas.

Waterbirds
motif

Resident mammals

Bandicoots and Water rats

Northern brown bandicoots require quiet places with ground litter to shelter in during the day. Common. Nocturnal. Avoid people.

Rikali - water rats liver along lower creek banks. Burrows obvious. Recent increase in numbers. Presence is obvious when sites are improved, and burrows are quickly abandoned when vegetation is disturbed and cover lost. Populations encouraged as they are one of the only two native species which eat cane toads.

fauna
motif

Retiles

Snakes

Keel back snake/Fresh water snake. Creek edges with cover. Common. Safe (no fangs or venom). One of two native species which eats cane toads.

Carpet pythons. Common. Require cover. Tend to avoid open areas.

snakes

Water dragon

Will sun in the open, but require good cover to lay and protect eggs. Will not lay eggs in open grassy areas or near pathways.

snakes
motif water by design logo

Web portal produced by Healthy Land and Water as part of a collaborative project supported by the Australian Government, Brisbane City Council and Save Our Waterways Now

FURTHER INFORMATION AND CONTACTS: Water by Design / Healthy Land and Water.

Level 19, 160 Annne St BRISBANE 4000

ph: 07 3177 9100

web:waterbydesign.com.au

SITE DESIGN–CONSTRUCTION–CONTENT: Nature Tourism Services