Samford Eco-Corridor

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Samford Eco-Corridor

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Come and join us! Funds went towards the cost of equipment, plants, landscaping materials, signage and promotion.

The Samford Eco-Corridor is a community-based project working to re-establish local plant species in the Samford Parklands and to create a beautiful natural area for the benefit of people as well as wildlife. This long-term project involves clearing areas of invasive weeds, replanting with species originally found in the district, creating a natural corridor for wildlife and protecting the river from erosion. The first community planting in 2014 was of endangered gallery rainforest near the South Pine River; the second, on Earth Day 2018, was a grassy eucalypt woodland on the adjacent hillside. The Eco-Corridor can be used as a revegetation model by local landowners (whether on a creek or hillside) and for educating the community and schools about Samford's wonderfully diverse flora and fauna. The project was originally funded by a grant from the Queensland Government ‘Everyone’s Environment’ initiative, matched by a contribution for Moreton Bay Regional Council. We are managed by a sub-committee of the Samford & Districts Progress & Protection Association and our main partners are Moreton Bay Regional Council and the Samford Branch of Native Plants Queensland (SGAP). The project team, who are volunteers themselves, rely on other volunteers donating time to work on the Parklands site (our 'regulars' come from as far afield as Paddington, Petrie and Mount Nebo, as well as members of the Samford community). The work involves controlling weeds, re-mulching, lopping and planting. Additional volunteers are always needed for our regular working bees, held on the second Sunday of each month from 2pm to 4pm (excluding summer holidays) and for community planting days. We carry out monthly bird surveys in conjunction with members of Bird Queensland. We also undertake periodic surveys of other fauna, such as butterflies, spiders and fish, at which we encourage community participation. If you would like to become a volunteer at one of our working bees, please first contact the Council bushcare team at [email protected]. They will send you a volunteer agreement and a link for an online induction, which will greatly speed up the process on site.

25/10/2026

Guided bird walks 2026
This long-overdue rain is very welcome for our gardens and to reduce bushfire risk, but the timing has been lousy: it affected the whole of National Bird Week. We had to cancel the Monday walk at the Eco-Corridor and the Wednesday walk at QUT SERF beforehand and the Friday walk at the Eco-Corridor was aborted after about an hour when the small group got soaked by a heavy shower that came out of nowhere. However, our 3 guests who had braved Friday's forecast were rewarded with 47 species seen and/or heard. Highlights included Long-billed Corellas foraging on the road verge (and able to compare them with Little Corellas nearby) and hearing the spontaneous calls of Pale-vented Bush-hens on the far river bank. The only bird photo, taken by Paul Jackon, was of a Pacific Black Duck near the carpark, which seemed very appropriate: this week has certainly been great weather for ducks!
On Sunday, just 2 guests took part (they effectively got a bird guide each) on what turned out to be a fabulous morning, with just the tiniest drizzly shower that didn't spoil things at all. Those who didn't turn up might be kicking themselves to learn that we recorded 66 species in under 3 hours and we didn't get wet at all. Highlights included a White-eared Monarch near the waterhole, 2 Rainbow Bee-eaters posing on a fence, Superb and Red-backed Fairywrens on the hillside, a Rufous Fantail at the top of the hill and good views of a family of White-browed Scrubwrens (a pair and a juvenile) foraging in mulch below the track to the archery. Summer visitors included Sacred Kingfisher, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Sahul Cicadabird, Brush Cuckoo and Pacific Koel.
We thank everyone who expressed an interest in, or attended, the walks.
People have been asking about the bunches (panicles) of green fruit along the Ecotrail: they are the unripe fruit of Deep Yellowwood (Rhodosphaera rhadanthema), which are not edible. They will ripen to a glossy brown in the coming weeks.

17/10/2026

Bushcare 11 October
On a hot Sunday afternoon, just 2 volunteers turned up at our Council-assisted afternoon bushcare session (thanks Trevor and Doris!). With very dry conditions persisting, the main focus was on watering the new understorey and infill plants in rainforest revegetation zones P1 and P1 many of which were wilting like the Hairy Psychotria in the photo. Meanwhile, Doris worked in the shade of rainforest zone P1 removing mainly Climbing Asparagus and Madeira Vine. We cancelled afternoon tea due to the low attendance. To make up lost ground, we will need a much bigger turnout at our final Council-assisted bushcare session for 2026 on Sunday 8 November.

Peter noticed that both species of local cordylines were flowering: Cordyline stricta with narrow leaves and petiolaris with large leaves (see photos).

Reminder bird walks commence Monday. There are still a few places available most days if you are interested.

12/10/2026

Citizen science project
On 24 September, our birders carried out the latest quarterly bird survey of 2 woodland plots at QUT SERF in Camp Mountain using the BirdLife 2 hectares in 20 minutes protocol. We recorded 27 species in the first plot, including 3 new species: Rufous Fantail, Little (Rufous) Shrikethrush and Variegated Fairywren. We recorded 21 species in the second plot, with 1 new species: a flock of 14 Australasian Darters was circling overhead (a phenomenon that none of our birders had seen before). The only summer migrant recorded was Leaden Flycatcher, which was found in both plots. This citizen science project in collaboration with TERN has now been going for 5 years and, to celebrate, we were joined on this survey by our team leader, Dr Katie Irvine from the University of Adelaide who was in Brisbane for a conference. Dr Irvine said: “this long-term data set collected by the Eco-Corridor team will be very valuable to our researchers at TERN. We are extremely grateful to these citizen science volunteers”.
Peter's photos of a Rufous Fantail and Variegated Fairywrens were not taken during the survey.

04/10/2026

REMINDER

Free Guided Bird Walks are Back!
Bookings now open

As part of our community engagement program, we will hold a series of free guided bird walks during National Bird Week 2025, which runs from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October. All walks will start at 7 am sharp. To ensure the best experience, the number of participants on each walk may be capped. Subject to demand, our four proposed dates and venues are as follows:

- Monday 19 October: Samford Eco-Corridor (allow 2 hours+)
- Wednesday 21 October: QUT SERF, Camp Mountain (allow 3 hours+)
- Friday 23 October: Samford Eco-Corridor (allow 2 hours+)
- Sunday 25 October: Samford Eco-Corridor (allow 2 hours+)

Please send your expressions of interest to [email protected], nominating two days of the week in order of preference (e.g. ‘1. Sunday 25 October. 2. Monday 19 October'). We will try to accommodate as many requests as we can on a first-in, first-served basis.

Also provide the name of each person attending if there is more than one. Confirmations and further details will be sent by email.

Upon confirmation, please arrive at the relevant venue by 6.45 am for signing on and briefing, so we can start birdwatching at 7 am sharp. We recommend you wear a hat, sunscreen and insect repellent. Binoculars are essential for this activity: birdwatching is extremely difficult without them. Please ensure you have access to at least one pair per family.

In the meantime, we also recommend downloading two free apps: eBird (for recording sightings) and Merlin (for bird ID and calls), both published by Cornell University.

We look forward to seeing you there.

18/09/2026

On 15 September, our birders recorded 68 species and counted 254 birds in about 3 hours following the usual route, which another solid total for this time of year. We were mesmerised as we watched an Azure Kingfisher fly back and forth across the waterhole, from a prominent perch on one side to a more concealed location within foliage on the other. Other notable highlights were watching a Brown Goshawk harassing an adult White-bellied Sea-Eagle in the sky to the east and getting very close to a covey of 6 Brown Quail foraging quietly on seeding grasses by the road to the SCHub. We recorded all 3 local species of fairywren (Variegated, Superb and Red-backed) and 2 of the ‘little brown jobs’ (White-browed Scrubwren and Brown Thornbill). The only winter visitor still hanging around was a Spotted Pardalote near the waterhole. Our only early summer migrant was Sacred Kingfisher heard beyond the waterhole. We added a new record for the site, with a Eurasian Coot seen in the South Pine River below the Bowls Club, which brings the site total to 167 species. Full details of the survey can be found on eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S393012706. The photos were kindly supplied by Tom Tarrant: Little Black Cormorant, Varied Triller, Brown Quail.

16/09/2026

Bushcare
During our Council-assisted afternoon bushcare session on Sunday 13 September, our volunteers split into 2 teams. With site conditions now very dry, one team watered the new understorey and infill plants in rainforest revegetation zones P1 and P1 using watering cans filled at the tennis centre. Most plants were given about half a can of water, but our 20 precious Richmond Birdwing Vines planted during the People for Nature Biodiversity Workshop received a full can (up to 9 litres). A second team weeded the lower section of riverbank planting P4, bagging any weeds that were running to seed, and removed numerous young Climbing Asparagus plants from rainforest zone P2. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed socialising over another delicious afternoon tea kindly provided by Karen on behalf of Samford Progress. We thank all attendees for a job well done.

We were surprised to find that a young Creek Sandpaper Fig (Ficus coronata) only a couple of metres high was already producing fruit (see photo).

23/08/2026

Bird survey
On 19 August, our birders recorded 70 species in about 3 hours following the usual route, which is an impressive total for late winter. An early highlight was seeing a platypus swimming across the river, which surprisingly was still there at 10.15 am on the return leg. Other notable sightings included a pair of Pacific Bazas soaring fairly low to the south, an Azure Kingfisher fly past to land of a branch overhanging the river, a pair of White-eared Monarchs near the waterhole, and all 3 local species of fairywren and all 3 ‘little brown jobs’ (White-browed and Large-billed Scrubwren and Brown Thornbill). We also heard the spontaneous 'motorboat call’ of a Spotless Crake by the track to the waterhole. Winter visitors included a female Rose Robin and a Spotted Pardalote. Full details can be found on eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S384824801. The photos were kindly provided by Peter Cabral Photography: Platypus, Australian Pipit, Bar-shouldered Dove, Little Pied Cormorant, Rainbow Lorikeet, Red-backed Fairywren (female), and Little (Rufous) Shrikethrush.

13/08/2026

Bushcare
During our Council-assisted afternoon bushcare session on Sunday 9 August (immediately following the Echidna workshop), most volunteers worked in the riverbank planting P4, which hadn't been weeded for a couple of months. We welcomed new volunteers Patrick, Kathy and Neil who undertook a site induction with Council Environmental Officer Debbie McQuattie. We bagged any Madeira Vine and seeding weeds for removal, but other weeds were dropped in situ as mulch. Some Creeping Inch W**d was left in large piles to break down or dry out. Lesley worked in rainforest zone P2 where vine weeds are starting to appear as a result of the May/June wet spell. A couple of volunteers watered the young grasses we planted at the top of hillside planting P3 last month (conditions over the past few weeks have gone from wet to very dry, just like a tap being turned off). Watering was a slow process involving wheelbarrow runs back and forth to fill up water containers at the tennis centre. Afterwards, our volunteers enjoyed a sumptuous afternoon tea kindly provided by Joy and Bill on behalf of Samford Progress. We thank everyone who came along.

07/07/2026

Bushcare
On Sunday 5 July, our wonderful volunteers (welcome John and welcome back James) focused on the hillside planting P3 during our Council-assisted afternoon bushcare session. We began by weeding around the grasses we planted in June, which were already getting encroached by various weeds after the recent rain. We also pruned and weeded the eastern boundary of P3, which had long been neglected owing to our previous focus on riverbank rainforest planting P4. During the previous week, Peter and Ken had pre-dug over 50 holes (using our new Ego 56V auger kindly funded by Samford Progress) ready for planting Lomandra longifolia along the boundary and Pittosporum multiflorum and Dodonaea viscosa as infill shrubs. This preparation greatly speeded up the planting process, which was important given that the water had to be ferried from a tap at the tennis centre. The plants were funded under our CMB Healthy Environment Grant and purchased from Kumbartcho Community Nursery at Eaton's Hill. Afterwards, our volunteers enjoyed another delicious afternoon tea provided by Karen on behalf of Samford Progress.

26/06/2026

Bird survey
On 18 June, our birders recorded 69 species in about 3 hours following the usual route. Silvereyes were again the most numerous species (about 40, including a few of the Tasmanian subspecies with brownish flanks). Other notable sightings included flocks of Topknot Pigeons and Long-billed Corellas flying over, 5 White-headed Pigeons in a wattle at the top of the hill and a couple of White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes by the track towards the NPWS buildings. Roger managed to get a recording of the Lewin's Rail by the track to the waterfall, including growls and a clip clop call. We also heard Pale-vented Bush-hen along the river bank below the Ecotrail. Winter visitors included a Rose Robin and Spotted Pardalotes. Hirundines were well represented Welcome Swallows and Tree Martins hawking over the paddocks and soccer fields. Full details can be found on eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S358953941. Peter's photos are of a Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Little Pied/Little Black Cormorants, Superb Fairywren (dull male and female), Brown Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike and Golden Whistler.

Address

Plantings Behind The Netball And Tennis Courts, Mt Samson Road
Samford, QLD
4520

Telephone

+61404169826

Website

http://samfordprogress.org.au/

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