Friends of Fred Caterson Reserve

05/09/2026

Not all great dads are human.

Powerful Owls are among the remarkable wildlife found at Fred Caterson Reserve, and the males take fatherhood seriously.

When breeding, he prepares the nest in a large tree hollow. While the female incubates the eggs and broods the young, he hunts and brings food back for her and the chicks. Even after the young fledge, they remain dependent on their parents for several months.

His work doesn’t stop once the chicks are raised. Powerful Owls mate for life, and the male helps defend the pair’s permanent territory all year round. It’s their long-term home, providing old hollow-bearing trees, roosting sites and hunting habitat.

This Father’s Day, here’s to one of Fred Caterson Reserve’s better dads.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures in our community.

01/09/2026

It's National Wattle Day!

We have 16 species of Wattle (Acacia) living in Fred Caterson Reserve, including the threatened Downy Wattle (Acacia pubescens).

Learn more on our 'Acacias in Fred Caterson Reserve' page https://www.friendsoffredcatersonreserve.org/flora/acacia

Photo: Acacia longifolia

01/09/2026

05/08/2026

Bird flu can leave us feeling powerless, but there are things we can do to reduce its impact. This article outlines 8 ways to help protect Australia’s birds and mammals.

https://theconversation.com/powerless-against-bird-flu-not-entirely-here-are-8-ways-to-help-protect-australias-birds-and-mammals-288909?

As a lethal bird flu spreads in Australian wildlife, it can be easy to think nothing can stop it. That’s an error – much can be done.

02/08/2026

16/07/2026

Such valuable work by Hills - Hornsby Rural Koala Project. It’s great to see the community reports supported by the drone detections, and to learn more about where these koalas are being found.

29/06/2026

Upcoming local event

Join Mark Schmidt, exploring what a coordinated community effort tackling the growing Indian Myna problem could look like, through education, humane trapping, and the development of a mobile euthanasia aviary to protect native wildlife and improve public spaces.

When: 6pm, Thursday 2 July 2026
Where: Uniting Hall, 116B Jones Rd, Kenthurst
Cost: Free

13/06/2026

The platypus is an Australian icon, but it is also a freshwater species that relies on healthy creeks and rivers, stable banks for burrows, good water quality and connected habitat.

This article examines the uncomfortable knowledge gaps around this distinctive species, the race to understand it well enough to protect it, and the major role citizen scientists can play in bridging those gaps.

The platypus is an evolutionary anomaly. This duck-billed, semiaquatic mammal is both unique and rare. It’s just one of five egg-laying mammals on the planet. It nurses its young. And it also has reptilian traits: It has a cloaca, maintains a low body temperature (32° Celsius, or 90° Fahrenheit)...

04/06/2026

It's World Environment Day.

At Fred Caterson Reserve, nature has already done the hard work: the shade of mature trees, the hollows that take generations to form, the creek line that connects this bushland to the Hawkesbury, and the wildlife that still finds refuge here despite everything happening around it.

Healthy ecosystems are worth understanding before they are changed, because it's easier to protect what is already functioning than it is to replace it.

Today is a good day to pause, look closely, and value what is still here.

03/06/2026

ABC News has reported on growing community concerns about wildlife being killed, injured and displaced at Fred Caterson Reserve since works began.

A sports development in Sydney's north-west has been accused by residents of killing and displacing wildlife.