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Great story here for all you Mums or Dads looking for a place to take your kids for a nature walk.. Terrys Creek walk offers some wonderful nature experiences...read more about it from one Mum who recommends this walk to be sutiable for small children from Vimiera Park Epping (Essex Street) to the Dence Park swimming pool in the link below 
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  Read the plan & submit your thoughts. Please note that not shown is the already existing walking track on the now Parramatta Council side of Terrys Creek, that runs in close vicinity & parallel to some of the areas of the planned track on Ryde Council side. For easy access for Ryde & Parramatta Council residents & all other visitors wishing to take the journey along Terrys Creek further north there is already some good existing access points & crossing points that could be improved. No real need to duplicate paths that hug the creekline & run parallel & in complete view of each other. A good & cooperative plan of management that integrate tracks on both sides of the creek & reduces impacts to wildlife is the best outcome in my opinion. Wildlife have a hard enough time already without introducing more threats into such a sensitive & fragile corridor. Good design should fix these issues so make sure you let them know your thoughts.
Vegetation mapping & Fauna survey October 2016 - April 2017 parramatta council Terrys Creek south of the M2 on the west side is now part of Parramatta Council. The Council recently completed mapping of the vegetation & a fauna survey of the part of Terrys Creek within its boundary (seem map below) for the period October 2016 to April 2017 (by Applied Ecology). If you would like a copy of the fauna survey it will probably be available on the Parramatta Council website or just send me an email via the contact to register your interest. .  pembroke Park Terrys Creek - bandicoot hard at work, night shift. Thanks anne Carey for letting us catch a glimpse of their secret world North Epping resident spotted an Echidna doing its rounds along Waterloo Road recently. Not a common site this time of year & how special it is to find such wonderful wildlife at your doorstep.
More wallaby sighting have been coming in. Thanks Janet & Richard for your records. It is truly wonderful to have wallabies using the corridor from the Lane Cove National Park through to Epping & northern Eastwood All the bushland, parkland, access to the water, wildlife friendly gardens & , fauna wise bushcare have provided a diverse range of wildlife species an opportunity to seek new territories. It will be interesting to see how the new territory established by Hornsby council along a section of Sommerville Park will be utilized. The ever increasing loss of habitat in our area makes the protection of wildlife corridors essential. Please let me know if you find any interesting wildlife but meanwhile check this youtube of a Lyrebird spotted along Terrys creek several years ago in an Epping garden which adjoins the corridor. This was a significant find as this species was thought to have become extinct in the area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLET0jHVZ6U This wallaby was spotted in a residential yard in Essex Street Epping recently. Wow what a lovely suprise for this family.! Being towards the southern end of the Terrys Creek bushland corridor....next stop Eastwood!! Please remind people to keep their dogs on leashes. Thanks Virginia for the photo  we need our trees The Terrys Creek corridor provides wildlife a critical resource during extreme hot weather. On a walk there yesterday you would have discovered the importance of tree canopy cover, shade, coolness, water etc. Many birds retreat deep into the forested areas to find refuge & it is common to find them on the ground here with their beaks open trying to cool themselves down. The forest floor can be anywhere between 5-10 degrees cooler in summer.
Why have they allowed so many trees to be chopped down in our suburbs. We are living in a hot climate & we too need the shade they provide - often reducing the temperatures around by around 5 degrees. WATER QUALITY TESTING WORKSHOP & MORE....Put this one in your diary. Dragons of Sydney workshop
Field of Mars Reserve | 21 March; 9am - 12pm. RYDE NSW Participate in a water quality testing workshop, engage in bush regeneration, and collect valuable data about the local Water Dragon population. Adults and accompanied children are both welcome. RSVP and more information: Contact Fran van den Berg (NPA citizen science officer) or call 02 9299 0000.  This Swamp Wallaby spotted yesterday during bushcare session Dence Park (Pembroke Road Bushcare Group). There seems to be more wallabies using the crossing under Epping Road to access the southern corridor. So important that people keep their dogs on leashes.
Reporting water pollution incidents: here’s what I have so far from various sources:
Pembroke Park supports a great diversity of flora & fauna of high conservation value. Michele a local resident recently spotted an Eastern Long-necked Turtle, a Sacred Kingfisher, Satin Bowerbird and Brown Cuckoo-dove and in June, a White-headed Pigeon, all at Pembroke Park. So lucky to live here and see all the wildlife!!
North Epping resident Simon, sent me this youtube of his encounter with a Goanna on the Terrys Creek Walk
https://youtu.be/CZg2hiNEw6o Catherine a local resident has alerted me to a pollution problem caused by a tree falling into the creek. A mountain of rubbish is piling & created a 'plug',. When it rains, storm water flushes the streets of all its rubbish and enters Terrys Creek via the street drains. Terrys creek sadly has become one of the most polluted creeks in our region. Thank you Catherine for caring to report this & for following up on it.. If you find the Creek heavily polluted or in trouble. report it to Sydney Water 24hour line & Council.
Jenny has reported that of the 2 breeding pairs of Powerful Owls in Terrys Creek only one pair was successful this year in breeding. We now have two more owlets in 2016. Congratulations to the new parents!
Simon also has a report of special note of a swamp wallaby in the North Epping corridor of Terrys in early October. Wonderful sighting for Simon! Residents living in the the now Parramatta council area have a new set of tree protection laws to adhere to. The unpopular decision by Hornsby Council to remove the protection of many species not considered indigenous to the Hornsby area, is no longer valid to the areas now under Parramatta's control. This is a good thing as it will result in more canopy cover & wildlife habitat trees being protected. Please make yourself familiar with the new regulations. I have been told that Parramatta Council take illegal tree removal very seriously.
 The Willie Wagtail is not a common visitor to Terrys Creek but this cutie was recently spotted by Jenny in the area near Epping Road.
Here are a couple of good photographs of the Powerful Owls - taken in Terrys Creek recently. They are roosting in a Turpentine tree with mum keeping a close watch over her new owlet. Thanks Simon!
Last Saturday I had a chance to get down to Somerville Park, Blaxland Road Eastwood- south of the sportsfield. I am going to enjoy watching this newly established corridor grow - its fantastic!!  News has it that we lost another important habitat tree in Maida Road recently (in the park on the corner of Essex Street). Sadly there has been a significant loss of trees in the area with reports of close to 30,000 in the Beecroft/Cheltenham/Epping area. The sound of chainsaws is never far away.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFyTvxYVfac
Watch the youtube of this little Southern Boobook Owl emerging from the tree hollow of the Sydney Blue Gum located on a street tree in the residential area near the Terrys Creek corridor. Tree hollows are critical nesting habitat for many species of our native wildlife including most parrot species. No tree.....no me! Update from Kylie McMahon of Ryde Council on the impacts to the new sandstone creek bank reinforcement work & plantings along Vimiera & Forrester Park. Thankfully they wore the brunt of the impacts with a couple of boulders loosing position, a few of the seedlings & one mature blue gum lost. The damage would have been a lot worse if this work had not been done. Huge thank you to Kylie who worked hard to achieve the grant that supported the majority of this work.
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