Leader: Dean Heinze. Jan 21, 2006.

To Mt McKay. The trip to Falls Creek was accompanied by commentary from Leon Costermans on passing flora and included information that the Blue Gum in this area is Victorian Blue-gum.

After Falls Creek we were driven to Mt McKay, walking the last short distance to the top. The road we were told, is the highest navigable public road in Australia.

Dean outlined his activities with the marsupials, telling us where the isolated populations of Pygmy Possums occurred on the nearby mountains.

Bush Rat. He then produced an animal from a cage trap which we expected to be a Pygmy Possum but instead it was a native Bush Rat. It is a small terrestrial animal common in the South-east.

"Old rats" appeared some million years ago, and diversified into different species e.g. the Hopping Mouse and Mitchell's Mouse.

"New rats" appeared twenty to a hundred thousand years ago. They too diversified and so we have Swamp, Bush and Longtail Rats developing over time. Recent arrivals are the House Mouse, and Black and Brown Rats.

Bush Rats play an important ecological role in South-eastern forests. They are fungi eaters, and scratch in the ground layer, moving fungi around. This is beneficial to the plants.

Dusky Antechinus. Second trapped animal presented was the Dusky Antechinus. It was a dark brown furred animal commonly caught in the alpine area after Christmas. Usually the mature females are caught. These animals do not hibernate but must put on large amounts of fat to sustain them through the long winter.

The specimen caught was a young female, probably born in November, and weighed 30 grams. At maturity she would weigh 100g. They have particularly long claws and nails used for digging in the undergrowth.

House Mouse. Next trapped animal was a tiny mouse, the common House Mouse. Dean told us that few had been collected prior to 2003 fire, but now with the proliferation of native Ledge Grass, there was a mouse plague. The numbers will decline as the food supply declines.

Alpine Grasshopper. Next item was an Alpine Grasshopper, with Orange-black stripes. Males have large wings. Females have hardly any wings and cannot fly. In summer their colour intensifies and their abdomen becomes a brilliant blue.

Mountain Pygmy Possum. Next, the one we had all been waiting for, was the endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum. It was a delightful creature that Dean held in his hand while it was being photographed.

Much of the information he gave us about the possum had already been covered in his talk. He did however mention the food items other than the Bogong Moths. These were seed plants e.g. Plum Pine, Bossiaea, Alpine Mint-bush and several others. These tiny possums have been found nesting in clumps of Mother Shield-fern.

Dean demonstrated radio tracking techniques, showed us a sample of a transmitter and ear tags used. The Pygmy Possum caught was about two years old, and weighed about 35-45g. It had probably just left its young to fend for themselves. She had four swollen nipples indicating that she had successfully reared four infants.

Alpine Stonefly. Also shown was an Alpine Stonefly, and aquatic predator. This one was in nymph stage and was quite a large animal. Trout have decimated their populations, pushing them higher up the mountains over time.

Snakes. The most common snake in the alpine area is the White-lipped Snake. The Highlands Copperhead occurs lower down and is often found near aqueducts.

Lunch at the Ruined Castle. Lunch stop was on the Ruined Castle area. After lunch the Ruined Castle was examined and the flowering heaths admired and photographed.

The lunch stop was extended until about 3.30 or so, while Graeme, the owner/driver, rescued the other bus carrying ANN members, which had developed a fuel problem. We finally arrived at Feathertop Chalet at 6 pm with the rescued group arriving half an hour later.

Thanks to Dick Southcombe. A great day during which a vote of thanks was unanimously given to Dick Southcombe for his hard work in the formation and continuing success of A.N.N.

Marion Simmons

1: On the summit of Mt McKay with Dean and the ANN members.
2: Basalt pavement near the Ruined Castle.