• Home
    • About Us
    • About the Park
    • Contact Us
    • Merchandise
  • News
    • Newsletters
    • News Archives
    • Reports
    • Albury Wodonga Field Naturalists
  • Biodiversity
    • Acknowledgement of Sources
    • Birdlist Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
    • Galleries
      • Beetles of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Birds of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Butterflies of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Flora of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Frogs of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Fungi of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Insects of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Mammals of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Mosses and Lichens of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Moths of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Orchids of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Reptiles of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Spiders of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
      • Scats of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
    • Flora of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP
    • Search
  • Friends
    • Membership
    • News on Facebook
    • Documents
    • Friends Login
Chiltern Valley No 1 Dam
Chiltern Valley No 1 Dam

Great bird watching spot. Enter via Pit Road. Photo E Collins

Woolshed Falls Track
Woolshed Falls Track

Photo E Collins

View from Mt Pilot in spring
View from Mt Pilot in spring

Photo N Bartlett

Brittle Gums Old Coach Road Mt Pilot
Brittle Gums Old Coach Road Mt Pilot

These magnificent gums are only found the Mt Pilot section of the park. The understorey is bracken. Photo E Collins

Stone wall  Old Coach Road Mt Pilot
Stone wall Old Coach Road Mt Pilot

A relic of the past which has stood the test of time. Photo E Collins

Tuan Track Walk
Tuan Track Walk

Guided walk through different habitats with leaflet provided.All season walk but excellent in spring. Photo E Collins

Bartley Plaque Sept 14th 2013
Bartley Plaque Sept 14th 2013

The plaque tells some of the history of this block.Funded by Friends group. Photo R Collins

Frogs Hollow revegetation
Frogs Hollow revegetation

A willing band planted over 300 shrubs and trees in August 2013.

Albino Swamp Wallaby
Albino Swamp Wallaby

A delightful portrait of this unusually coloured animal. Photo N Bartlett.

Grey Grass Tree Xanthorrhoea glauca ssp angustifolia
Grey Grass Tree Xanthorrhoea glauca ssp angustifolia

This species has recently found to be confined to Chiltern, Killawarra and the Warby Ranges. Photo E Collins

Sunburst Lichen Xanthoria sp
Sunburst Lichen Xanthoria sp

A spectacular lichen which can bee seen on the old fruit trees in Bartley's block. Photo E Collins

Speckled Warbler
Speckled Warbler

This delightful little bird is most easily seen at Bartley's block. Best spot to look is at the southern end. Photo N Bartlett

Amazing balance
Amazing balance

Just one of the many interesting rocks in the park. Photo E Collins

Chiltern Valley No 2 Dam
Chiltern Valley No 2 Dam

Another good bird watching spot. Pleasant picnic spot with good viewing site. Picnic table provided by Friends group. Photo E Collins

Barnawartha Bushfire
Barnawartha Bushfire

After crossing the freeway the fire entered the park along Barnawartha Depot Road. Ridge Track and a large area of the reference area was burnt. Photo by R Pritchard

Grasstree Track
Grasstree Track

Life beginning to return. Springtime will be interesting where the ground has been lightly burnt. Photo B Pritchard

Aerial attack
Aerial attack

Water bombing over the Chiltern Reference area. Parks crew cut a firebreak through this area..

Pilot Reference Area and Hartigans Gap
Pilot Reference Area and Hartigans Gap

This aerial shows the extent and pathway of the fire. The Pilot reference area suffered badly with 11,000 ha being burnt. Many large old trees were lost. Photo B Pritchard.

Woolshed 27th July 2016
Woolshed 27th July 2016

Photo N Blair Another spectacular cascade of water.

Magenta planting June 3rd 2016
Magenta planting June 3rd 2016

In 2016 Parks redesigned the Magenta Mine carpark and barbecue area to improve the area,The surrounds were ripped and mulched and in June Friends planted 200 understorey species.

Interperpretive plaque, Rutherglen N F Reserve
Interperpretive plaque, Rutherglen N F Reserve

Photo M Webster. The Great Southern and Chiltern Valley mine is situated in the Rutherglen Natural Features Reserve. Friends obtained a grant to restore the reserve and mine site. This was completed in 2016 by an enthusiastic group with support from Parks Victoria.

Clear Creek Cascades July 2016
Clear Creek Cascades July 2016

Photo M Webster. The rains have produced some spectacular sights. This waterfall brings the rock formations to life.

Friends of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP Newsletter #323 December 2022

FRIENDS OF CHILTERN MT-PILOT NATIONAL PARK, Inc.

Correspondence to: Tony Murnane Secretary/Treasurer: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Newsletter: Neville Bartlett:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Christmas Gathering at the Grasslands Block – Neville Bartlett

A group of us assembled at the top of the hill at the Grasslands Block for a Christmas get together to mark the end of another year. The weather was very pleasant and the location a delight in the shade under a large eucalypt.

Grasslands Block in December 20221 - Friends gathering (2141) - Neville Bartlett

 Photo: Neville Bartlett

2 - Grasslands Dec 2022 - Tony Marsh

Photos: above and below Tony Marsh

3 - Grasslands Dec 2022 - Tony Marsh

Now that I have stepped down as President of the Friends group, I would like to thank all of those who have made a contribution to the group and its activities.  The changes in my life over the last year or so have made me more aware and appreciative of the contributions made by others often when they have substantial commitments in other aspects of their lives.  There are also many people who make more modest contributions that add up to be important to the group as a whole. All of these contributions matter and we are very appreciative of them.

Helen Carse deserves a special mention for all of the work that she did to get plants organised for the various plantings during the year. Helen stepped up to the challenge and was supported by several others, including Margaret Considine, Jennifer Davidson, Tony Murnane and Simon Bennett, who made sure that everthing was ready for the planting days. The team work involved and the outcome was most impressive.

We wish all of our members and supporters a great festive season and all the best for 2023.

Powerful Owls (Ninox strenua) – January image in the 2023 calendar

The image in the 2023 calendar was taken in October 2006 in the Park near Pine Road (opposite the HVP pine plantation). The parents of these juvenile owls were also photographed on the same day. The juveniles are a very similar size to the adults and must require enormous amounts of food to meet their requirements before they become independent.

This area in the Park has been popular with Powerful Owls as there are occasional reports of sightings by field naturalists in the same general area. Closer to Chiltern, Simon Bennett has reported seeing and hearing Powerful Owls in the Park near his place in 2017 and more recently observed an owl pellet and further calls while listening for Barking Owls. This means that Powerful Owls are certainly present in the Park.

Ranger’s Report – Brian Pritchard

Thank you to the Friends Group for their efforts in the park this past year and recognise the challenges of using Park Connect and Parks Victoria’s requirements for Working with Children’s Checks.

The recent weather has caused significant damage to road network in the park.  We are trying to access and undertake assessments of damage as part of an insurance claim to fund repairs but many roads are still closed by fallen trees and other damage.

Many of our usual preparations for summer including slashing and mowing of key sites have been delayed by responses to floods and we are expecting a busy visitor season particularly with many popular sites along the Murray River impacted by flood closures.

Recent checks have revealed infestations of the Regionally Prohibited noxious weed Illyrian thistle (Onopordum illyricum L.) in the park. Details of the plant can be found here https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/IllyrianThistle

The locations will be added to DJPR’s watch list until deemed eradicated, absent for at least 15 years or there is a change to policy. It is one of thirteen known sites in the North East CMA region and if you see them please let us know.

Compliments of the season from all our rangers and we are look forward to catching up with the committee early next year to plan next year’s program.

Friends 2023 Calendars

The 2023 calendars, in A3 and A4 format, are still available from.

  • Chiltern Post Office, 54 Main Street, Chiltern Vic 3683
    [Thank you very much to Emma and Matt Williams at the Chiltern Post Office for their
    great support in selling our calendars].
  • Rutherglen Wine Experience, 57 Main Street, Rutherglen Vic 3685
  • From Tony Murnane

(Secretary/Treasurer – Friends of Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park)

69 Conness Street, Chiltern Vic 3685

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you very much to the photographers who have contributed images: Jan Palmer, Leshya Perkins, John Hawker, David Skinner, Mick Webster, Philip Dubbin, Brian Pritchard, Neville Bartlett and Robert Boehm.

4 - Chiltern 2023 A3 calendar

Rainfall  November 2022: 154mm. Total for the year-to-date 2022: 1,171mm. This is the wettest year since 1939 and the second wettest since records have been kept (137 years).
The corresponding total to the end of November 2021 was 816mm with the full year 2021 being 887mm.  The average annual rainfall for Chiltern is 689 mm.

Data supplied by Mick Webster.

NEXT MEETING – SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY 2023

Activities that are expected include (i) weeding at Bartley’s Block followed by a walk around the area and (ii) olive removal and mammal nest box checking at the Rutherglen Natural Features Reserve.

More details will be available closer to the day.

Meet at the Chiltern Post Office at 9:00am.

Dates for 2023

For 2023: Sunday 5th February, Saturday 4th March, Sunday 2nd April, Saturday 6th May, Sunday 4th June, Saturday 1st July, Sunday 6th August, Saturday 2nd September, Sunday 1st October, Saturday 4th November and Sunday 3rd December 2023.

Rule of Thumb: For even months, the field day is held on the first Sunday of the month and for odd months, it is held on the first Saturday of the month.


Joomla template created with Artisteer.