Bushranger

Dragons

2012-01-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

Now here's something I didn't know. (Can you tell I'm not a 'sea' person?)

Like most fish, sea dragons swim horizontally rather than in a vertical position, like seahorses.

I discovered this in Museum Victoria's blog about dragons to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

The Stones

2012-01-12T01:43:00.000-08:00

Recently, a few thousand years ago, Mt Eccles erupted and lava flowed slowly to the south in a fairly narrow band that we now call 'the stones'. It's a very rocky area and the dominant trees are Blackwood Wattles and Manna Gums.

Geologically it's a very interesting area and there is a diverse range of flora and fauna found there as well. The most recent survey, based at Lake Condah, was done by the Bush Blitz team from Museum Victoria. A large part of the lava flow area is now reserved in Mt Eccles National Park or Indigenous Protected Areas (Caring for Country) on the Darlot Creek at Budj Bim (Lake Condah), Kurtonitj (Homerton) and Tyrendarra. Some, like the property above and below, is still privately owned and grazed.

A chance to read

2012-01-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Inclement weather? No worries. It's an opportunity to put a dent in my holiday reading pile.

Apart from the usual who dunnits I have with me a few recent journals that I have yet to catalogue for the Field Nat's library (there are a few perks to being their librarian!). And they have been an absorbing lot this month. Here's a sample. See if you can lay your hands on one or two.

Vic Babbler has several fascinating articles about Port Phillip Bay's penguins and Mud Islands.

Victorian Landcare has articles about the various individuals and communities who won the 2011 Victorian Landcare Awards. There's some fantastic work being done across the state.

Wingspan is excellent as usual but I loved reading about the individual kids who are birdwatchers even though none of their friends are.

Parkwatch has some very well-written and thought-provoking articles about Victoria's national parks.

Growing Australian is about growing Australian plants but usually has a strong conservation aspect as well. This issue has an interesting article about a plant survey at the 'neglected' Maam Water Reserve near Warrnambool.

The Victorian Naturalist is a special issue that publishes the papers presented at the 2010 FNCV Biodiversity Symposium. Presenters were asked to compare wildlife in Melbourne today with that described at the turn of the century (1900) by Spencer in The Handbook of Melbourne. Topics include reptiles, frogs, plants, marine molluscs, terrestrial invertebrates, birds, mammals and fungi.

Light and shade

2011-12-31T16:41:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a wet year in the far west of Victoria - compared with the decade or so of drought - so all the swamps and waterholes have been full to overflowing. And many still are.

With this in mind I've been on the lookout for Austral Ladies' Tresses along the bush tracks this summer. It likes damp areas, I haven't seen it for years ... and still haven't. I haven't given up yet - we're here for another week or so. Or maybe the thought of snakes will deter me. We've already had a Tiger Snake at the house.

The heathy woodland areas are awash with shades of yellow and cream at the moment. The Woolly Everlastings, Silver Banksias, Mitchell's Wattles and Tree Everlastings are all looking very healthy and in amongst the vegetation there are gems like Dwarf Boronia, Dwarf Wire-lily, Pale Grass-lily, Jersey Cudweed and, in the damp spots, Lesser Joyweed. All have pale flowers.

Mitchell's Wattle Acacia mitchellii

Woolly Everlasting Agentipallium blandowskianum

Jersey Cudweed Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum

Lesser Joyweed Alternanthera denticulata

Pale Grass-lily Caesia parviflora var. parviflora

A humble beauty

2011-12-29T04:08:00.000-08:00

A pretty but common plant can get a bit tiresome when really you want to see something else. Bent Goodenia Goodenia geniculata is brightly coloured and an interesting shape but it's really common and I keep checking to make sure it's not a Spur Velleia Velleia paradoxa or a different Goodenia.

Yay! Success! Today I was walking in a damp heathy woodland and found the beautiful little Swamp Goodenia Goodenia humilis in patches. I've seen it before but it was lovely to see it again.

My, what big feet you have

2011-12-28T14:21:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful summer's evening here at Homerton in western Victoria last night - temperature in the low 20s, no wind, no clouds. The landscape looked stunning in the late afternoon glow. Perfect.

I went to the Darlot Creek to see if anything exciting like bitterns, crakes or rails would show up. They didn't of course, but I enjoyed the company of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Silvereyes, a Swamp Harrier, Red Wattlebirds, Crimson Rosellas, Grey Fantails and Superb Fairy-wrens exploring the willows the infest the creek's banks, and several Dusky Moorhens and an Eastern Swamphen exploring the reeds. A koala bellowed his presence in a Manna Gum nearby.

And then, just as I was about to leave, two Black Wallabies (Wallabia bicolor) came out of the blue gum plantation to graze on the Calystegia, large bindweed, that is enveloping the creekside vegetation in places. (This particular genus of wallaby is unusual in that it will feed of higher shrubs, and that's exactly what these two were doing.) One of the wallabies looked quite old, the other young.

Marbled Xenica

2011-12-27T02:47:00.000-08:00

Many Common Brown males fly up from the grassy understory as I walk through the bush, and occasionally the smaller and darker Marbled Xenicas, also males (below). They perch on leaf mulch or exposed soil.

Happy Christmas

2011-12-23T21:21:00.001-08:00

Pelicans and butterflies

2011-12-09T23:13:00.001-08:00

It was a muggy and warm day today, with big black clouds blocking the sun and thunder rumbling in the distance. It was all talk though, because there were only a few drops of rain.

At one stage I went to find my binoculars to have a look at a flock of about 30 pelicans circling low in a thermal over my house. Never seen that here before.

And then I got distracted by the hundreds of butterflies fluttering at very high levels. Never seen that before either. They were all dark and flying randomly (i.e. not all flying in the one direction). As my garden has been populated by numbers of male Common Browns in the last week or so I'm assuming the high-flying butterflies were the same species.

A very large slug

2011-11-18T21:46:00.001-08:00

We're in the middle of replacing a section of floor in the old farmhouse at Homerton and found this resident beneath the floorboards. I believe it is the large introduced Leopard Snail Limax maximus. I now have the correct identification. It's the introduced nocturnal Yellow Slug Limacus (Limax) flavus. See comments. (Thanks Snail.) This one was about 6 cm long. We used to find slug slime tracks across the carpet so hopefully the new floor will keep this creature outside.

Limax maximus Leopard Slug Yellow Slug Limacus flavus

A plant survey (and more)

2011-11-14T02:20:00.001-08:00

I was helping with a plant survey on a private property near Bannockburn, west of Geelong, but I might have been a little distracted by the insect life.

Common Jassid Eurymela fenestrata

Caterpillar of the Senecio Moth (on what's left of a Senecio leaf)

White-banded Grass-dart Taractrocera papyria on Pink Bindweed

We found a few special plants amongst the flowering grasses. Now I have to get the microscope out to try and identify said grasses.

Pussy-tails Ptilotus spathulatus

Curved Rice-flower Pimelea curviflora

Harvey Street

2011-11-11T20:53:00.001-08:00

It was a beautiful morning and I was in Anglesea with some spare time. Perfect. The woodland off Harvey Street seemed like a good option and it proved to be a good choice.

The austrostipas, poas and austrodanthonias were flowering and waving in the slight breeze and as always look spectacular when backlit. There were a few plants flowering (pimeleas, peas, lomandras, an orchid or two, fringe-lilies, daisies and even a few violets), there were a few insects on the shrubs (dragonflies, damselflies, wasps, flies, ants, bees, moths and butterflies), there were one or two birds calling (but as it was midday I wasn't expecting too many) and I had the bush track all to myself. It was a delightful hour.

Thysanotus tuberosus subsp. tuberosus, Common Fringe Lily

Caladenia tentaculata Mantis Orchid

Spider

Day-flying moth. Family Crambidae, Corynophora lativittalis. Thanks MH.

Male Common Brown Heteronympha merope

Varied Sedge-skipper Hesperilla donnysa.

Metallic Jewel (Shield) Bug Scutiphora pedicellata

PS I'll update the IDs when I've done some homework. Any ideas?

Update: All sorted now. Thanks CT for help on the bug, MH for the moth and VWD and DM for the sedge-skipper butterfly.

Little desert wildlife

2011-11-09T01:05:00.000-08:00

Well, to be more exact, Little Desert National Park and south through Meereek State Forest.

Granny Moth Dasypodia selenophora

A damselfly caught on the sticky globules of a Drosera peltata.

Stumpy-tail Lizard Tiliqua rugosa

Emus. We saw a lot.

Eel obstacle course

2011-11-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hopkins Falls on the Hopkins River north of Warrnambool. We hadn't been there for years so we went to have a look. It's a lovely spot. I particularly enjoyed the patterns of rock, vegetation and water above the falls.

It wouldn't have been worth going during the drought unless you're interested in the geology - all the basalt rocks would have been exposed as can be seen in this photo. But we missed a spectacular show after rain events in the last year or so as can be seen in this photo.

Every summer the elvers of Short-finned Eels have to climb the 13m falls or the slopes on either side in order to reach the still water in creeks and lakes further upstream. They enter the Hopkins River estuary at Warrnambool after a long trip from the Coral Sea off Queensland and live in the fresh waters for many years before moving back to the Coral Sea to breed and die. You can read more about their story here and here. Apparently they move up the falls under the cover of darkness. It would be wonderful to see.

When I was a child growing up on a dairy farm in Western Victoria we used to go 'eeling' at night in the Darlot Creek. Dad was a genius at skinning an eel (they're very slippery critters) and my mother was a genius at cooking them. We kids loved it all, including the eating. And so did the local Gunditjmara people whose extensive eel traps in the lava swamps now have international protection and recognition. They really knew how to catch and smoke an eel.

A South African visitor

2011-11-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

In the Little Desert and Meereek State Forest south of Edenhope we found a plant we didn't want to find.

South African Orchids Disa bracteata were growing beside the road in several places. It's a robust plant that was introduced to Western Australia about 60 years ago and has since spread to South Australia, and Victoria only a decade or so ago. Apparently it seeds very readily and is self-pollinating.

I think it's here to stay unfortunately. And maybe we became vectors by walking around it observing and photographing, getting back into the car and then walking around different areas.

A little about the Little Desert

2011-11-07T00:44:00.000-08:00

The plant list for the Little Desert is very impressive and if you're there at the right time it can be spectacular fun searching for gems. We've been there when the floral display has been overwhelming in its beauty but that wasn't the case this weekend.

As we were there to give our cameras a workout it was disappointing but we found plenty of interest there and elsewhere. The heath was a sea of white - kunzeas, teatrees, melaleucas and grasstrees were all flowering. This is Creeping Muntries Kunzea pomifera which, as the name implies, is a ground cover.

We explored a small area of the park where there is an active Malleefowl nest. We didn't see the birds at the large nest, below, or in the bush (of course) but we could see where they've been. Their scats are huge and absolutely full of seed husks.

Pink Bells

2011-10-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

Pink Bells or Black-eyed Susan, common names of a small shrub of the heath, Tetratheca ciliata. Usually the flowers are bright lilac-pink but occasionally I see white ones in the Annya forest at Milltown. Whatever their colour they never ever show their faces.

Darlot Creek photopoint

2011-10-25T02:53:00.000-07:00

This blog is the next in a series of photos taken from the same photopoint on the Darlot Creek at Homerton. I've posted in previous years here and here. I'm recording changes over time.

When I started the project I wasn't really expecting to see much difference but in the last six years the blue gum plantation was planted and has grown very quickly, the creek flooded, there have been several years of drought and the tree in the middle background seems to be having a second lease of life. The willow on the left is also getting bigger which is a concern.

April 2011

October 2011

Homerton

2011-10-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Question. Why do blowflies congregate on tree debris on sunny days? The photos aren't great but in one you can see that there are thirteen in one small area. When I disturb them they buzz about noisily for a few seconds and then land again in the same area.

Yesterday we came down to our farm at Homerton for a few days but I'm a bit wary because today we've seen two Tiger Snakes and a leech has had a good feed of my blood!

The Wiltypolls (hairy sheep) we bought to keep the grass down around the house have pushed through the electrified fence into the farm paddock so the grass is rather long. They are very cute sheep but ... Hmmm. Plan B?

But my bird list is good so far. Forty-one species around the house paddock, including a Swamp Harrier. Haven't seen one of those here for years. And the Blue-winged Parrots are back in the same spot as last summer.

I'm amazed at how many White-necked Herons there are at the moment. There were one or two in nearly every swamp in the 300 kms between here and Geelong. I think that on the way home I'll gps each sighting and atlas them.

Collingwood forever

2011-09-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

This might be my first and only blog on a subject that's not true to theme - although, when I think about it, it is about magpies.

My new grandson came home from hospital this morning wrapped in his father's favourite colours! We cat supporters don't stand a chance.

A surprise visitor

2011-09-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

'There's a baby parrot on the garden path.' So I went to investigate of course. And there he was, eating seeds from the weeds that have overtaken our gravel pathway - short-tailed with brilliant blue wings and head. I'm still wondering what it is when he turns around to show off his bright red chest. A juvenile Red-Chested Parrot. And he has an orange leg band. Definitely an escapee.

We captured him and put him in the empty chook shed while we worked out what we were going to do with him and then took him to the Jirrahlinga wildlife centre at Barwon heads. At least he'll survive there because he would have had no chance in the wild.

Brisbane Ranges

2011-09-26T04:05:00.000-07:00

I went out to the Brisbane Ranges to look for orchids but, although there were lots of other plants flowering (see a selection below), I found very few orchids. I don't know whether I was too early, too late, looking in the wrong spots or the orchids just aren't prolific this year. I'll have to talk to have a chat to some of the 'friends' to find out - their wildflower show is on 9 October. The only ones I could find were Nodding Greenhoods, Pink Fingers, Wax-lip Orchids and a small patch of Rabbit-ears Thelymitra antennifera.

Rabbit-ears Thelymitra antennifera

Blue Squill Chamaescilla corymbosa, white form

Soft Millotia Millotia tennuifolia

Dwarf Wire-lily Laxmannia orientalis

Cowies Creek, again

2011-09-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I explored a creek that runs through the northern suburbs of Geelong, Cowies Creek, and blogged about it here. One statement I made in the blog came back and bit me - I said I'd be recommending the walk to the Mid-week Bird Group (of the Geelong Field Nats) so of course Polly, the leader, asked me to lead the walk:)

Today was the day. We enjoyed the good company of knowledgeable birdwatchers, lovely sunshine tempered by a very, very strong wind and about 34 species of birds in an environment that was new territory for most. In the blog I had commented on the darter that I'd found on the lake and today we found two, a pair ( or at least, a male and a female). If they choose to breed here, on the island in the trees that overhang the lake, it will be an extension of the breeding records in the Geelong area. There's the female in a likely spot, below. Something to keep an eye on. We were also delighted to find two juvenile White-necked Herons and, later, two adults flew over.

Stories in amber

2011-09-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Nine beautiful photos of feathers in amber - dinosaur feathers!
http://t.co/QJvGLUV5

Old friends

2011-09-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

We've been home two weeks and today was the first time I could escape suburbia and head to the bush for a couple of hours. Where to go? It's early spring so something (in the flora world) is happening everywhere but I went to the Inverleigh Flora Reserve. What a delightful place it is. I found several orchids, a greenhood (that's actually a maroonhood) and the rather special Little Golden Moths. I found the tiny Scarlet Sundew. And I found plants that are like old friends - familiar and lovely to see.

Where will I go next week? Choices, choices.

Little Golden Moths Diuris basaltica

[Edit: I've had another think about this ID. It's more likely to be the more common Diuris chryseopsis Golden Moths orchid even though the plants were shorter and more delicate than those I've seen before.]

Maroonhood Pterostylis pedunculata

Scarlet Sundew Drosera glanduligera

Early Nancy (a male, despite the name) Wurmbea dioica

Red Parrot-pea Dillwynia hispida

Hedge Wattle Acacia paradoxa

Creeping Bossiaea Bossiaea prostrata

Blue Squill Chamaescilla corymbosa

Lake Boga

2011-08-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, when Victoria was still in the grip of a severe drought, I posted a photo of Lake Boga when it was bone dry. When we saw it on Sunday it was full. It must be a relief to the numerous residents who live on its shore but we noticed that quite a few houses had 'For Sale' notices.

Murphy's Laws

2011-08-27T05:18:00.000-07:00

So, now that we are nearly home and can officially call ourselves grey nomads having been on the road for nearly eight weeks, I feel confident enough to advise future travellers.

1. Dust will get into the van no matter what measures are taken to prevent same.
2. If there is a bad pothole in the road you won't be able to avoid it because there will be an oncoming car.
3. If you are towing a van or camper trailer it is mandatory that you wave to all oncoming drivers of same. (A full wave, not just a lifting of a finger - and no, a trick hand stuck on the dash doesn't count.)
4. Trucks own the roads, especially b-doubles and road trains. Don't argue.
5. If the bitumen narrows there will be an oncoming car at that exact spot.
6. There will never be a safe pullover spot at any interesting swamp or wetland that's covered in birds.
7. And re #6, if you do spot an interesting something-or-other there will be no chance to do a u-turn withe the van in tow for at least 5 km.
8. Birds show their backsides only as they fly, never front or profile in good light.
9. The wind will pick up as soon as you set up to taken a macro flower photo.
10. If there is a photo op for a beautiful landscape the sun will be in the wrong spot and you won't have time to hang around.
11. Chat to a couple in the Broken Hill caravan park and they will be camped next to you at Cloncurry for sure.
12. Willie Wagtails are everywhere.
13. It never rains in QLD, NT or SA.
14. Grey nomads know which station in town sells the cheapest petrol.
15. People are friendly everywhere.
16. Make sure you have fuel in the spare container.
17. Australia is big.

Varied interests

2011-08-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my interests coincide. Proof?

Bottle-nosed Dolphins when I was chasing up the Matthew Flinders story at Port Augusta.

A beautiful salt lake at Locheil (and the Loch Eil Monster) when I was chasing a geocache.

Sadness at the amount of the weed Patersons Curse when we visited the old Ghan railway station at Quorn. It might look pretty but ...

I used to be a cemetery walk guide and old isolated graves like that of Jimmy Finn in Pitchie Ritchie Pass are hard to resist. Never seen one like this before.

Unexpectedly a bearded dragon in a senna bush when we were checking out an old rural school site near Port Germain.

At the School of the Air in Longreach we discovered that Southern Cross windmills have three legs and Comet windmills have four. So we've counted windmill legs ever since and pondered on the importance of artesian water in the outback.

Arid lands

2011-08-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Flinders was here before me. In 1802 the Investigator dropped anchor in Spencer Gulf near where Port Augusta is today and while Robert Brown led a group from the ship to climb a nearby hill Flinders and another group rowed further up the gulf to see if it turned into something interesting. They climbed a small, red sandy cliff to get a better view but the water narrows to a muddy tidal mangrove and samphire swamp rather than a big inland strait or lake or river so they returned to the ship.

We also had a look at the view from the top of the cliff by driving to it through the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, and this morning we went up to the same area by boat. We were told that the Grey (White) Mangroves are gradually encroaching naturally on the area and parts of the cliff are collapsing (as cliffs do) so in the future this area will not look as dramatic as it does now.

At the lookout on top of the cliff a group of plants have been planted to commemorate those that Robert Brown, Ferdinand Bauer, William Westall and Peter Good found when they were climbing the mountain that now bears Brown's name. They found, collected and drew many new plants and 200 years later the climb was commemorated by a repeat climb and collection. What a great idea.

We read all about it in a display at the Arid Lands garden and then bought quandong-flavoured icecreams to eat as we explored the eremophila walk. There are longer walks to explore as well as bird hides but we'll have to do that another time, and of course it would be great to revisit in a different season.

South to Port Augusta

2011-08-22T03:45:00.000-07:00

According to the map we've been driving in a prohibited area even though we were on the Stuart Highway. There is a good little museum at Woomera, the town where all residents have a job - you're not allowed to rent a house from the owners, the Defence Department (I think) unless you're working. So there aren't many elderly people in Woomera. We met one volunteering at the museum but he's only there because he lives with his son. The museum details the huge areas put under restriction when the rocket testing programs started after WW2, it details the lives of the highly educated community that lived at Woomera in the 50s and 60s, it has collections of photos and maps and memorabilia and in the park outside there are real rockets. We enjoyed our visit and stayed longer than we had intended.

Then today we travelled south to Port Augusta. It's not very far but it took us all day because the landscape is so interesting. At one stop we met an interesting resident, a cross and brilliantly-coloured stumpytail looking wonderful on the red sand.

Gibber plains

2011-08-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

The gibber plains between Coober Pedy and Woomera are covered in very low saltbush and other small shrubs. Is it always like this? They've had some good rains here the last couple of years so it could be unusual. At a glance the vegetation appears a uniform dark grey but actually the colours are varied and subtle, and many of the shrubs are flowering as well. We stopped for a coffee break in a group of sheoaks and sat and watched Budgerigars, Red-capped Robins, Grey-crowned Babblers, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes and woodswallows all around us and threw crumbs to the ants at our feet.

As we neared Pimba we saw the first of a series of salt lakes, the water brilliant in the sunshine. Those of you who have travelled this road, and some will have done it many times, will know these lakes and the gibber in various guises - all equally beautiful I'm sure. And we crossed the one and only railway line, the one that goes to Perth and branches off to Darwin. The scale of the landscape is humbling.

Facets of Coober Pedy

2011-08-20T05:24:00.000-07:00

I can't get excited about opals but I quite like opalised fossils. These shells are in the wall of a museum we visited in Coober Pedy - about four metres underground. And we've seen other fossilised marine animals and plants as well as trees and plants.

We drove around Coober Pedy to see what the real estate is like, and decided that we'd quite like to live (for a little while you understand) in a large and comfortable underground mansion dug into a north-facing hill that overlooks the plain below. It would be interesting to know if they are freehold and what they're worth. It takes a while for the visitor to actually recognise what they're seeing - the cars and mining equipment are parked on the flat apron in front of the houses which are only evidenced by a front door and a window or two or a verandah.

Of course the environment is cactus, both underground and above ground. Mullock heaps everywhere.

Water is a precious commodity here. It's piped in from the artesian basin, desalinated and filtered through a reverse osmosis filtration system so it tastes very sweet. We needed to top up our water containers so we went to the only water-filling station in town and paid 20c for 30 litres. Imagine what it was like here in the 'olden days' when water was even more precious.

We also drove out of town on the road to Oodnadatta to see the dog fence. After watching a farm dog at 'Melrose Station' near Winton walk across a cattle grid, slowly and carefully placing all four feet on the grids, I'm not convinced that this one would stop a determined dingo from crossing to the south side.

Following the Ghan south

2011-08-19T04:39:00.000-07:00

In Alice Springs we sat at a railway crossing on Larapinta Drive while the Ghan slowly pulled into the station - 22 carriages and somehow looking very majestic. We could see passengers eating lunch, chatting to each other or watching Alice Springs pass by. I wonder if any of them got on at Marla. I wonder if any realise that the countryside is blooming.

Further down the Stuart is the opal town of Coober Pedy where, to escape the heat of summer like all sensible desert creatures, the humans live underground. Only the vents indicate their presence. In theory. Actually mullock heaps, rusted machinery, take-away shops, signs to attract tourists and a convoluted street system are also very much in evidence.

Late this afternoon we drove out to the Breakaways - unexpectedly beautiful and the flat, flat horizon a reminder that this land is big. And even in this distant place there is room for political graffiti.

MacDonnell Range

2011-08-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

This is the original Alice Spring (that isn't really a spring) in the Todd River near the old Telegraph Station. The following are all rocky places in the MacDonnell Ranges east and west of Alice Springs. Imagine the forces involved in moving vast sheets and layers of rock from a horizontal position to near vertical and then the wearing down in the millions of years since. Fascinating. And every one of these places is still culturally significant to the local indigenous communities.

Ochre Pits

2011-08-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

A visit to the West MacDonnell National Park west of Alice Springs includes the gorges (Ormiston, Glen Helen, Stanley, Simpson and Ellery) that are all very beautiful. And it also includes the Ochre Pits.

These pits are in a short section of a river cutting, the sides of which have been mined for thousands of years for the ochre that is present in a variety of colours. Aboriginals used ochres in ceremony, weapon and utensil decoration and medicine. It was traded across the country and some ochres were more valued than others. The red ochre (with a high percentage of the iron oxide) was most valuable and the white (which has a high kaolin or clay content) the most versatile. And there are yellows, browns, creams and oranges as well. Ochre pits are common across the country but some are more special than others.

The patterns of the swirls of colours of the ochres in this spot are impressive and it is humbling to stand in the creek bed and ponder on the long geological history as well as the long cultural history.

As I was walking back to the car I saw another section of a creekbed where the geology is exposed - layers of smooth pebbles above a layer of clay or ochre. Everywhere I look in central Australia I see interesting land formations, most of which I barely understand.

Now I think it's time to upload some more pretty flower photos. These are some I've seen in the MacDonnells.

Hakea sp., a Corkwood.

Pale-leaf Mistletoe

Ptilotus sp., Silver Tails

Swainsona sp. (possibly flavicarinata). This was a stunning little plant with many coloured flowers from cream through red to deep purple.

Leaves of a pond plant floating on the water surface (with reflections of a red gorge).

Palm Valley

2011-08-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

A highlight of our trip so far - Palm Valley. We were warned that the drive in is a bit torrid, and it was. Bitumen all the way to Hermannsburg so that's great but the next 24 km took us almost two hours. But it was worth it. What a valley.

I'd been there before, 40 years ago on a guided tour, but this time I'm old enough and wise enough to appreciate what I was seeing. Several years ago rangers and volunteers counted every Red Cabbage Palm (almost 3000) and noted that the majority are young trees. Some are up to 300 years old and several older than that. Long may they continue to thrive.

There are a lot of fires around Alice Springs at the moment, in fact several houses had to be evacuated a couple of days ago and Larapinta Drive was closed for a while. Today views on the drive west were obscured by smoke and as we returned to Alice after dark we could see stumps burning close to the road.

And here's a little dragon we met at Palm Valley. We saw several others but they ran away very quickly. They sure can move.

Reptiles

2011-08-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

I'm always a bit wary as I walk around in the sandy or rocky environments in central Australia. And it doesn't make any difference if it's vegetated or not. Snakes could be anywhere and at any time of the day. This as an Desert Death Adder curled up in a clump of spinifex.

Ha, I'm glad it's behind glass. Actually we've seen very few reptiles - one dead snake on the road and a few lizards and dragons scurrying quickly away. So we went to the Alice Springs Reptile Centre to have a look at the reptiles that live around here and listen to a knowledgeable and personable guide. She showed us goannas, lizards and an Olive Python and allowed us to hold them as well. And we were able to see quite a few snakes, lizards and gheckos on display in nicely landscaped and heated enclosures. An excellent spot.

In the pink

2011-08-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

The Olive Pink Botanic Garden in Alice Springs is a peaceful place, nicely designed. The plants are labelled and there are interpretive signs so the self-guided walks are interesting. And we climbed the little hill to get a good view over the town as well as the garden.

It's also a good spot for a spot of birdwatching. A Western Bowerbird scratched around in the mulch and the Grey-crowned Babblers appeared as well. There are several art installations in the garden and one of them is activated by pushing a button to start water flowing through the pipes and nozzles. So we pushed the button, the fountain started ... and the babblers arrived immediately to have a shower. They know a good thing when they hear it!

Steve Anderson's sculpture is called 'Rex Reticulous' and made out of recycled irrigation pipes and drippers, wire and hose fittings. In 2008 it won the Peoples' Choice Award at a kinetic sculpture exhibition in the gardens.

Surveyors

2011-08-09T03:25:00.000-07:00

Today in Alice Springs we visited a site that's not in the tourist brochures. It's surrounded by a high barbed wire fence and there aren't any explanatory signs. It's an old calibration range for survey chains.

The following is a quote from a geocache page:

The theodolite gave you accurate direction and vertical angle. The chain gave distance. The chain is like a 100m long thin steel band (older ones where chains), and was dragged along the ground as distance was measured. For accurate measurement the temperature and pressure (how tight the chain was held at one end), were calculated into the chains reading. Each chain had to be standardized at a set temperature and pressure. The range behind this cache was one such range, last used in the early nineteen eighties. The base consisted of concrete pillars with a wooden rail in between. Metal plugs were inserted into the tops of the pillars at intervals of 00, 50, 66 and 100 feet distances. When a standard chain was laid on the ground, the thermometer registered the heat of the ground and not necessarily the heat of the chain. By building piers, the chain when tested would be suspended in the atmosphere. Then by suspending the thermometer from a tripod placed close to the chain, a reading would be obtained which would accurately show the temperature of the chain - the thermometer and chain being suspended in the atmosphere under identical conditions. On flat surfaces the chain would be held suspended, a fish type scale at one end indicating pressure the chain was held at. When chaining downhill on the incline, the lower chainman would often hold the chain up over his head to get it level and then use a drop plumbob (no string) and let it spear into the ground at his feet. Wouldn’t the chainmen have loved a GPS!

As we travel long distances over good roads I marvel at the work done by the early surveyors in really tough conditions.

Karlu Karlu

2011-08-08T05:38:00.000-07:00

We're tourists, right? So we did the tourist thing and turned off the highway to see the Devils Marbles. To say I was surprised is an understatement. The site is awesome. Awe some. And I think they should be called their original name, Karlu Karlu.

I've seen photos of the rock formations but I had know idea that the boulders are scattered over such a large area or that they are so large. They must be a fantastic sight in the late afternoon light or sunrise and next time I'm on the Stuart I'll be staying nearby so that I can see that.

I love you Karlu Karlu.

The flora of Australia has been modified and defined by centuries of fire. For the last three days we've been driving through country that has been burnt recently, patches of green and black because the fires have burnt slowly and some areas have escaped, and today we saw the live action and heard the spinifex crackling as it was consumed.

And this one's for W. Phil thinks the road ahead is OK.

Info shelters

2011-08-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

Information shelters often hold more than information. This one at Tennant Creek had a number of these longhorned grasshoppers in the shade under the roof. Look at the length of those feelers!

And another shelter gave us a geocache and some very interesting information about an aboriginal sacred site called Kunjarra (The Pebbles) that a mining company wanted to destroy. The women of the local aboriginal community held a protest camp there until they succeeded in having it protected. So many crazy things have happened in this world.

And we found some information boards of a different kind as we entered the town from the north. Talk about visual pollution. It could be such a grand entrance.

At dusk we drove to the lookout anticipating a spectacular sunset because of the clouds around. It turned out to be a fizzer but the scenery made up for it.

Barkly Highway

2011-08-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

We covered a bit of distance today along the Barkly Highway between Camooweal and Tennant Creek but, if you look at a map, there aren't any towns. The road is good and it would be tempting to drowse off (when in the passenger seat!) or concentrate on a DVD, talking book or podcast. But I found the vegetation fascinating and we stopped a few times along the way to have a closer look. The photo above was taken from the road and to all appearances is blue-grey, nothing special. But actually nearly every shrub was flowering. They've had two good wet seasons here and the plants have responded well. I have no idea what most of them are apart from 'grevillea' or 'ptilotus' but that doesn't matter - they were all beautiful. Sorry if you're tired of looking at pretty flower pictures but here are some more :)

Lawn Hill plants

2011-08-05T05:14:00.000-07:00

Wattle

Orange Mistletoe Dendrophthoe glabrescens

Grevillea dryandri

Psoralea balsamica

Boodjamulla

2011-08-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Lawn Hill is certainly scenic. Sandstone gorges and spring-fed rivers lined with fig trees (Ficus racemosa), tall paperbarks, cabbage palms (Livistona mariae rigida) and pandanas, views from the stacks and lookouts, entertaining canoeists, birds, reflections, interesting walks, aboriginal heritage, fish, wildflowers, freshwater crocodiles, turtles, beautiful weather - what more could you want.

One intriguing thing was the tufa. It looks and feels like stone and is wrapped around tree trunks and rocks in parts of the river bed. Apparently it's calcium carbonate deposited due to high water turbulence caused by rapids (a greater level of carbon dioxide out-gassing). I'm not a chemist but I am good at reading pamphlets and info boards.

Riversleigh

2011-08-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

Part of the Lawn Hill National Park is a World Heritage site. For twenty years scientists have been searching the fossil deposits at Riversleigh that document terrestrial fauna and ecosystems 15-25 million years ago. One section is open to the public and is well worth the effort of getting there. We drove south from Lawn Hill gorge for about 50 kms on a dusty and rocky road with several river crossings. There were several other cars there when we arrived but after they left we had the entire place to ourselves. What a vast unpopulated country we live in.

From the road the information centre is almost invisible - it's been designed to look like a pile of rocks - and is formed like a cave inside. The information panels in the cave and on the 800 m walk are excellent. We read the illustrated panel and then saw the exact same fossil in the rock 'in situ' alongside. This is the turtle and there were about eight other animal fossils on the walk as well as information about the rocks and geology.

Fairy Martins had taken possession of the centre's ceiling and when we were inside we could hear a gecko clicking somewhere above us.

The drive down was really interesting as well. Huge termite mounds, cattle, the changing geology, river crossings, many birds including numerous flocks of budgies. There's always something of interest to look at.

We had our lunch at a little river crossing, flowing quite swiftly from a spring upstream, and ended up staying there all afternoon. It was so peaceful and I counted over twenty species of birds without moving from my deck chair. Many were coming down to the water to drink (Double-barred Finches, Crimson Finches, Painted Button-quails, White-gaped Honeyeaters, Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters, Rufous-throated Honeyeaters) and others were feeding in the trees and shrubs - some of which were flowering (Great Bowerbird, Black-chinned Honeyeater, Buff-sided Robin, Red-winged Parrot, Rufous Whistlers, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike). A Brolga waded down the creek towards us before veering off into the grass, Budgerigars and Black Kites flew overhead, the ubiquitous Willie Wagtails and Magpielarks were entertaining as usual and the noisiest of all were the Restless Flycatchers. The Brown Quails were a delight, walking in a little covey of about seven to the water to drink - of course the camera was in the car but then I don't generally do bird photos.

Termite mounds

Our lunch site. Magic.

Bauhinia cunninghamia Bauhinia (Bean Tree), a semi-deciduous tree flowering near the creek.

Road to Boodjamulla

2011-08-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

Leichhardt River

We've returned to a land where communication is possible! Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park has been our base for the last few days, and what a fascinating place it is. But more on that later. First, we had to get there.

There's a lot of money in mining, evidenced by the excellent condition of roads that lead to the mines. The sealed roads north from Cloncurry to the Burke and Wills pub and then west to Gregory Downs were some of the best we've been on, and even when we hit the dirt after that they must be regularly graded and formed. It was only when we were within 50 km of Lawn Hill that we had to cope with large stones and corrugations. Of course the price we pay for all this is having to stop or slow down for the road trains to pass.

The Leichhardt River is a delightful spot but since the new high bridge has been built it's a bit tricky actually getting down to water level. A pair of Rainbow Bee-eaters were patrolling their patch near the bridge, flashing orange as they swooped to pluck insects off the water, and the martins have taken advantage of a new nesting site. Butterflies were taking advantage of flowering Cattle Bush, fluttering past us as we made our way down to the water - I suspect the two below are male and female of the same species (Valda, can you dig out your Braby and let me know?).

Gregory River is totally different. It has a wide gravel bed, it's fast-flowing and it's lined with palms and pandanas - delightful, especially when you add Crimson Finches. Our camping book states that camping beside the river banned but there were many, many campers there. The rule should be enforced because that section of this river is going to end up ruined. The free facilities opposite the pub are excellent and it's only a short walk to the river from there.

Cloncurry

2011-07-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

I knew I was in the tropics when we pulled into the caravan park at Cloncurry and heard the sound of Varied Lorikeets and Brown Honeyeaters in the flowering eucalypts.

We're moving on tomorrow but we've had time to look at the original QANTAS hanger at the airport, to learn all about John Flynn and the Flying Doctor Service that started here, to picnic out at the dam close to town and chase down a couple of geocaches (I've discovered they take us to interesting spots we would never go to otherwise). As well as doing a bit of birdwatching.

Scarlet Percher Dragonfly

Little Corellas sharing the hay at Cloncurry sale yards.

Cattle Bush Trichidesma zeylanicum

Cloncurry River, after a flood. Many quite mature trees have been pushed over by the water.

Who'll come awaltzing matilda with me?

2011-07-29T04:11:00.000-07:00

In Winton we visited the excellent Waltzing Matilda centre and read all the various theories about the origins of our national song, and then as we drove north to Cloncurry we called in to see Combo Waterhole on the Diamentina River near McKinlay. The claim is that Banjo visited the waterhole on Dagworth Station while he was staying there in 1895, and he would have also heard several stories around the big shearers' strike several years earlier. Anyway, it's a nice spot with some good information boards along the walking track.

At McKinlay itself we found this delightful little building, the smallest library in Queensland. Maybe that makes it the smallest in Australia! Unfortunately it's only open on Thursdays so we couldn't go inside.

Although we didn't see any signs saying so (and there should be) just north of McKinlay we passed out of the Eyre catchment into the Gulf of Carpentaria catchment because now all the rivers are running north(ish) instead of south(ish). For most of our 3000 km trip north we have only been in two river catchments - the Murray Darling and the Eyre. Amazing when you think about it.

Desert life

2011-07-27T03:27:00.000-07:00

Ctenophorus caudicinctus Ring-tailed Dragon, Lark Quarry south of Winton.

Male Scarlet Jezebel Delias argenthona, in garden near Winton.

As spinifex ages the centre dies and provides nutrients to the soil - and the perfect spot for other plants to start growing. Enlarge this photo to see a young eucalypt tree in the middle of an old spinifex.

Dinosaurs

2011-07-27T03:18:00.000-07:00

Lark Quarry is a World Heritage site about 100 km south of Winton so went went to see what all the fuss is about. The road is sealed more than half way and the rest wasn't too bad so it was a good trip. The signs above had us confused because the road is wide, straight and flat but then we realised that the overtaking sections are sealed so it's much safer to pass where there is no dust or flying stones. Good idea - if all drivers are patient enough to wait for the next sealed section.

Lark Quarry is the site of dinosaur footprints - not just any old footprints, but three species of dinosaurs involved in a stampede. Scientists have measured and analysed and decided that the little species were minding their own business on a muddy spit in a lake or slow moving river when a very large dinosaur attacked them, causing them to run back past him on the spit.

The guide was good, the information boards excellent, the building impressive, the environment stunning. The excavated layer containing the prints are now covered in a state-of-the art and environmentally friendly building. The whole was awe-inspiring.

Bladensburg National Park

2011-07-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

Today we drove west over gibber and mitchell grass plains to the boundary of 'Melrose' and then into Bladensburg National park which used to be a station property. Much of the park is a range of hills that must be capped with a more resistant rock than that of the surrounding plain.

Some sections of the park are quite accessible from the Winton side, with designated picnic spots and tracks, but on this eastern side there is just a track of sorts that climbs to a tower. We elected to leave our car at the bottom and hiked up. I'm glad we did because we were in a different world up there on the plateau - spinifex, flowering shrubs, flowering eucalypts and splendid views of the plains to the north and east.

After returning to our car we boiled the billy while we ate lunch under a shady tree contemplating the 180 degree view and the big sky. And a bonus on the way home - a male Crested Bellbird (first I've seen), dozens of Crimson Chats and flocks of budgies.

Flowering eucalypts and spinifex on top of the range.

View north towards Winton

View to the east, 'Melrose' airstrip and homestead in the centre.

Solanum sp.

Emu Bush Eremophila sp.

Apple Bush Pterocaulon sp.

Grasshopper, camouflaged.

Reptile, also camouflaged.

Update: Blotch-tailed Earless Dragon (Pebble Dragon) Tympanocryptis cephala

Click on photos to view large.

Melrose

2011-07-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

Road to Melrose, Bladensburg NP on the horizon.

Spinifex Pigeons

Snake skins (appeared to be about five) and kangaroo scats in the old shearing shed toilet.

Twitching

2011-07-24T05:43:00.000-07:00

We're visiting family on a station property near Winton that backs onto Bladensburg National Park. I had time for a wander near the house this evening and found a pair of Mistletoebirds, White-plumed Honeyeaters (they have been everywhere I've looked this trip), Willie Wagtails, Magpielarks, lots of Zebra Finches, Masked Woodswallows, Crimson Chats (a new bird for me) and a flock of about twenty Spinifex Pigeons (another new bird for me). I'm on a roll - Night Parrot next!

Isisford

2011-07-23T03:29:00.000-07:00

It's only a metre long but the scientists at Queensland University think it's the ancestor of all the modern crocodiles, and it was found at Isisford south of Longreach. It's called Isisfordia duncani because Ian Duncan found it in a rock on the edge of town. It lived about 100 million years ago when Isisford was 3000 km closer to the South Pole. We went down to have a look at a replica and the story of the crocodile at the Outer Barcoo Interpretation Centre in Isisford, not expecting very much, and came away very impressed with the centre and the town itself.

We were told that there are 80 caravans parked along the Barcoo River at the moment and I'd quite like to join them - it'd be very peaceful sitting for a week or two in the sun doing nothing much. We had lunch beside the weir and watched a number of White-necked Herons enjoying the environment as well. Major Mitchell, with an aboriginal guide, was the first European to explore the Barcoo area, in 1846, and it was in the vicinity of Isisford that he turned south and headed home to Sydney. He raved about the area as well. We went out to see the marker erected by the local council.

We left the town just before dusk and drove back to our base at Ilfracombe at full alert. Mr Boobook was driving and watching for the numerous dead kangaroos and potholes and I was watching for anything that might choose to commit suicide by jumping in front of our car.
"Wild goats on your right!
Watch those wallabies.
Kangaroo alert.
Bull ahead! A big one!
More kangaroos.
Kangaroos.
Choughs. Choughs? I thought we were too far west.
Kangaroos on your left.
Let's let the B-Double have all the road.
Don't run over the Peaceful Doves.
More cows.
Emus.
More emus.
A Bustard. And another. Three!! How nice.
Kangaroos.
Kangaroos."

The highlight of the day for me was a dam at what they call the Twelve Mile, a camp/picnic spot at the site of a hotel twelve miles south of Ilfracombe. In one bush I found three finches, Double-banded, Zebra and (a newie for me) Plum-headed. And no, I don't mean just one of each - there were dozens.

All about snails

2011-07-22T03:21:00.000-07:00

Before we left on holiday I dashed into a secondhand bookshop and bought a dozen books for reading material while we're away - the usual mixture of whodunnits and light reading, nothing too intense.
I started reading one slim book yesterday and haven't been able to put it down. I'm exaggerating. Today we did the obligatory visit to Longreach's highlights (QANTAS Founders and Stockman's Hall of Fame) - both excellent value by the way.

Stockman's Hall of Fame

Part of the display in the original QANTAS hanger.

We've also done the School of the Air tour, walked some of the delightful botanical walk and checked out the Powerhouse Museum. And we've sampled the rather yummy vanilla slices at the Merino Cafe. There's plenty to do in Longreach.

But I digress. I've finished reading the book. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey is described by Tim Flannery thus: 'This book makes us see the natural world afresh'. And it does. Bailey writes very well about her own circumstances and how she came to be so well acquainted with a snail. It was published last year and is an intriguing read. Do yourself a favour.
And I think I may have more respect for those snails in my garden now.

PS Inside photos take on 2 second exposure rather than flash.

Birds on the Matilda

2011-07-19T04:04:00.000-07:00

Magic day. At breakfast we were entertained by a noisy flock of Red-wing Parrots overhead, a quiet Spotted Bowerbird in the undergrowth and a bunch of Double-barred Finches in shrubs. As we drove north of Charleville there was not a lot of particular interest to stop and look at along the way but of course we made sure our coffee breaks were in spots potentially good for birdwatching. At one stop there were Jacky Winters, Red-capped Robins, Rufous Whistlers and a family of Painted Button-quail (and I heard them calling!) At another stop, a lake at Tambo, there was an amazing number and variety of birds - Restless Flycatcher, Striated Pardalote, Brolgas (they do look odd flying with their legs dangling), Great Egrets, Darters, White-necked Herons, White-faced Herons, Grey Teal, Pied Cormorants, Masked Lapwings, Eastern Swamphen, Hoary-headed Grebes. Again we saw numerous emus and at one spot near Blackall they were sharing their patch with two Australian Bustards.

Vortex guns and the cosmos

2011-07-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Clement Wragge? I hadn't either but we visited a park in Charleville and found out that he should be more famous. On display are two of the original thirteen Steiger Vortex Guns (invented in Austria to protect vineyards by preventing hailstones from forming - or something like that, don't take my word for it) set up to break the drought. It was a cloud-seeding project, the idea being that gunpowder would be a catalyst for rainfall. It failed. In fact some failed dramatically because they exploded instead of fired!

But Wragge himself turns out to be an interesting man. He was the Queensland Government's first meteorologist. He set up a heap of weather stations and was the first to use data for long-range weather forecasts. He founded the Meteorological Society of Australia and he was the first person to give names to cyclones.

And while we were in Charleville we rugged up and went to the Cosmos Centre at 9.00 at night where we saw cyclones and vortexes and heavens of a different variety - the Milky Way through the telescope. It was a fantastic experience, very well organised and an absolute delight. We saw Saturn and her rings, we saw Alpha Centauri that appears to the eye as a single star but through the telescope its binary nature is clear, we saw the 'jewel box' cluster of stars and we saw the craters and seas on the moon. The three telescopes are controlled by GPS systems and pre-recorded computerised coordinates so the show is very accurate and quick and we all had a chance to look through the eyepiece for each display.

Mud and opals

2011-07-17T04:20:00.000-07:00

They've moved the lizard but not much else has changed in the delightful little town of Eulo since we were last here eight years ago. (The lizard 'statue' celebrates the annual lizard race.) We called in to the General Store that really is a general store.

The mud springs west of Eulo, built over thousands of years through a fissure above the artesian basin, are no longer active. The name is a bit deceptive because they are (normally) neither muddy or springy. We didn't walk in to have a good look because after all the rain around here this week the entire countryside is a sea of mud - it looks solid until you step into it or drive over it. And we didn't think to pack our gumboots!

We decided to explore further west to an opal town called Yowah. Which I'd never heard of. But obviously others have because there's a sealed road all the way in and when we got there we discovered it was a special weekend for gem collectors and there was a market on in town. The permanent residents are few in number but they have a splendid school (for the three students who attend), a golf course (which can't be used this year because it's covered in long grass because of the wet), a gallery, a library and an airstrip. We enjoyed our visit very much but couldn't pretend even a passing interest in the beautifully polished gems, rocks and opals or even the apparently famous 'Yowah Nuts' which look like rocks but when split have an opal inside. The stall holders were a friendly bunch.

I especially enjoyed seeing flowering emu bushes, beautiful Leopard Trees and, unexpectedly, Brolgas on the way. And just on dusk we stopped at the bore east of Eulo which is a known birdwatching spot and I saw my first Hall's Babblers on the sand hill next to the dam. Magic.

Click on photos to view large.

The Mitchell Highway

2011-07-15T03:19:00.000-07:00

Cunnamulla, and it's raining again. The forecast is good but there are a lot of roads closed. We may need to change our plans again.

Yesterday as we drove east then north in sunshine we were entertained by the changing scenery, by numerous Black-shouldered Kites and Nankeen Kestrels wheeling, diving and propping to hover, by emus in numbers as well as kangaroos and goats and by meeting up with the same travellers in wayside stops and the bakery at Bourke.

At our lunch stop today, north of Bourke, a Spotted Bowerbird perched just above my head and stayed long enough for me to have a really good look. Pied Butcherbirds called all the time we were there and a pair of Pink Cockatoos preened each other. The Fairy-wrens were all in brown plumage and I couldn't tell whether they were Splendid or Variegated.

The living desert

2011-07-13T01:38:00.000-07:00

It's rained today in Broken Hill. Nice for the locals but a bit of a dampener on the spirits of travellers. I overheard a discussion in which one lady said she'd been to buy a doona and a waterproof coat and the other lady said she'd bought gumboots and the shopkeepers were happy with the extra sales. We also took the opportunity to stock up on items we had forgotten to pack or found we needed and visited a couple of galleries. We also checked out some of the local architecture - houses built with corrugated iron.

This afternoon the showers eased so we went out to the Living Nature Park and found it to be most impressive. It's very well maintained and a lot of the plants, many of which were flowering, were labelled. We only did the arboretum walk but I think the cultural walk would be well worth doing if the standard is the same.

Eremophila

Pearl Bluebush

Sturt's Desert-pea

Curly Mallee

Because of the rain we've been forced to change our plans. We were going to go to Tibooburra and Camerons Corner but the road is closed, and so is the road to Mutawintje NP. We've already been to White Cliffs and Cobar so we're going to do a full driving day tomorrow and go to Bourke instead.

Lake Mungo

2011-07-11T05:49:00.000-07:00

We've been to Lake Mungo before but it's a magnet really. You cannot be anywhere near the place and not go there, so we called in on our way to Broken Hill and ended up staying the night. Pink Cockatoos and Apostlebirds entertained us while we ate breakfast, Mallee Ringnecks searched for seeds on the ground near our campsite and a Pied Butcherbird serenaded beautifully. We have plans to go back with friends in spring (one day) to explore the park properly. It deserves more than a fleeting visit.

On the way in we drove though Lake Arumpo (don't worry, it's been dry for thousands of years) and then drove over the highest lunette in world (if the tourist brochure is to be believed) that embraces the eastern side of the lake.

And wasn't the mallee a 'sight for sore eyes'! It's looking good. Some of the plants are flowering, including several of the mallee eucalypts, a ballart and a senna. I breathe in deeply and feel like a real Aussie.

Then today we met the Darling at Pooncarie and drove north on the floodplain to Menindee Lakes and then to Broken Hill. We saw quite a few emus north of Menindee so they've managed to survive the drought or breed up quickly since it started to rain again. The plains are covered in saltbush of various colours and we carefully crossed the grids that separated each large paddock and avoided several mobs of sheep along the way. North of Pooncarie we tuned our UHF to a light plane pilot guiding several motorbike riders as they mustered sheep for shearing - one guy kept leading his mob off in the wrong direction and had to be corrected several times. We agreed that the pilot's language was a lot less 'colourful' than that of the truckie we'd heard earlier in the day!*#^@

Geocaching

2011-07-11T03:40:00.000-07:00

This one's for Uncle Arthur and cousin Julie. They'll get a laugh out of this because they're geocachers and I said I might have a go at it while I was on holiday.

Most caches are hidden and have to be found using a GPS reference. This one was part of a trail set up by Museum Victoria to commemorate the Burke and Wills anniversary and it's a virtual cache, meaning you just have to be there and take a photo to prove it.

I've discovered that quite a few of the geocache webpages have some very interesting information attached and some follow themes. I could get interested in following the geology-based geocaches. Oh dear! Not another 'interest' - I already haven't got time to do everything I want to.

http://geocaching.com.au/cache/ga2336

Town Swamp, Kerang (again)

2011-07-09T03:45:00.000-07:00

On 16 May this year I wrote a blog about the Town Swamp at Kerang and mentioned the bird hide there. Well it no longer exists. I was planning to do a quick walk there this morning before we crossed the Loddon and my plan was thwarted when I read in the local paper that it was burnt down last week. The article didn't say so but I presume it was vandalised - a perfectly harmless bird hide attacked for no reason. Hopefully it will be rebuilt because it's in a very good spot for birdwatching.

Today we drove through Swan Hill to Balranald in New South Wales and knew I was on holidays when I saw mallee scrub, and callitris on the sandhills. The number of trees were flowering and the River Red Gums had lots of new growth - the wet year after years of drought has been very beneficial.

We're camped in a lovely spot next to the Murrumbidgee River. We didn't get here until almost dusk so I haven't had time to explore yet but it should be worth a look in the morning. Tomorrow I may even get my binoculars and camera out!

Off to the centre

2011-07-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

OK, we've got the 4-wheeler (a Pajero), we have a window of about seven weeks (our grandchild is due in September), we've managed to clear the decks of all those little and big commitments, we've delegated, I've charged the camera batteries and downloaded some podcasts, we're almost packed and tomorrow we head off to explore the red centre.

We have no plan as such but will probably go to Broken Hill then north through the Sturt National Park to Cameron Corner, the Dig Tree and Birdsville then through Boulia to Mt Isa, across to the Stuart Highway and down to the Alice Springs area (Newhaven, Kings Canyon, Palm Valley, Uluru, the Macdonnells east and west) and home through the Flinders. What we actually do will depend on the weather, what roads are open (there are still roads closed because of floods and flood damage) and what, along the way, tempts us to change direction or stay longer.

I'll keep you posted.

Town Swamp

2011-05-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Kerang is bordered on one side by the Loddon River and by swamps on the other sides. In fact the town itself was probably built on a swamp. They have such imaginative names too - Back Swamp, Fowlers and Town.

Yesterday I explored Town Swamp again because the floods and heavy rains earlier this year have filled the swamps and they are a birdwatchers delight at the moment. Town Swamp has several well-maintained walking tracks, information boards, seats, picnic spots and a bird hide. Perfect. A section of the swamp abuts the Loddon River so there are two environments to explore - the treed river and the lignum swamp. And it is less than a kilometre from the town's centre. I saw an assortment of herons and ducks, a kingfisher (I think Sacred but I was too far away to be sure, and should it be here still anyway?), one Black-tailed Native Hen, and there were honeyeaters and pardalotes calling.

The Kerang Primary School maintains this picnic area on the Loddon River. Other service groups in town are responsible for particular areas along the path.

Kerang Weir on the Loddon

2011-05-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

The weir is on the Loddon River just north of Kerang and has been there for a while. My husband remembers camping out there when he was a scout, and that was quite a few decades ago!

I've seen it in many moods but today it was a torrent, comparatively speaking - for the last decade it has been almost dry because the Loddon stopped flowing in the drought. After the floods in January the water is gradually draining off the land so there was a strong current running today.

There is a new addition to the weir. It's a fishway. You can see it in on the left the picture above. It was installed a year or so ago and was the first on the Loddon. It allows fish such as Murray Cod and Golden Perch to move upstream and downstream along 46 kilometres of river whereas in the past the weir was a barrier. There are now better opportunities for spawning migrations, genetic diversity, feeding, shelter, and safety. Fish swim upstream through the fishway and exit above the barrier.

The flood plain

2011-05-16T00:44:00.000-07:00

Kerang sits on a flood plain between the Loddon River and the Murray River and in mid-January this year the 'flood' part became a reality. All roads to the town were closed for over a week. Do you remember seeing aerial photos of Kerang as an island surrounded by an ocean of water? My parents-in-law elected to stay in their home in the town and luckily the levee banks held.

Amazingly some areas of the district are still flooded. The plain is flat and the man-made levee banks, roads, bridges and channels so disruptive of the natural flow so the water is taking a long time to drain into the Murray. There is a lot of angst here because properties, houses and incomes have been badly effected.

We drove out to Murrabit and Benjeroop to have a look at some of the damage. (Prince William's helicopter landed in the oval next to the Murrabit school when he visited a few weeks ago.) There was a giant temporary levee built on the Murrabit-Benjeroop Road that locals nicknamed 'The Great Wall' but when we saw it yesterday all of the soil has been pushed to the side of the road and levelled. It all looks very messy, muddy and bedraggled still. We could see many, many bales of hay that have been spoilt. Swamps that have been dry for decades have water in them, the lignum bushes are growing madly, birds are prolific. I've never seen so many White-faced Herons. It will be interesting to revisit in spring because the land has had a good drink and I imagine the vegetation will respond.

Cowies Creek, Part 5

2011-05-02T00:36:00.000-07:00

Thompsons Rd to Corio Quay

I was getting more and more depressed as I walked downstream alongside Cowies Creek in North Geelong. The sun was shining, the track well maintained, the lawns mown, the trees shady, even a few birds singing - so what was the problem? The creek itself. The section between Thompsons Road and Morgan Street is in very poor condition because of weeds such as Arum Lilies, Kikuyu Grass, rubbish, big storm water pipes directing who-knows-what straight into the creek and low water flow. The walking track is on the north bank and industries line the southern bank. Damsel flies were patrolling. Helen S. has been checking the salinity of creek in this area under the Waterwatch scheme and last week they looked for macroinvertebrates in the muddy water. They found leeches, diving beetles, midge larvae, backswimmers, boatmen and damselfly larvae and dragonfly larvae. She noted that they didn't find caddis fly, sonefly, mayfly, beetle larvae, snails, water mites or crustaceans such as freshwater shrimps.

But then I crossed Morgan Street and everything changed. In the section between Morgan Street and the old Princes Highway/Melbourne Road Cowies Creek here opens up to a lake in a reserve called Seagull Paddock or Deppeler Park. I've lived in Geelong for 25 years and have to admit that I've never been to this lake. It's about 500 metres long with several islands and a walking track all around. Very pleasant despite the noise from the highway nearby. I saw an Australian Pelican, Silver Gulls, Pacific Black Ducks, Dusky Moorhens, Purple Swamphens, Masked Lapwings and, amazingly, a female Darter. The latest Geelong Bird Report lists these as 'moderately common' but actually they are reported from few places beyond the Barwon River where they started breeding a few years ago. Maybe this is a new breeding site. I think the lake is regularly stocked with trout.

Downstream from the lake the creek again narrows and when it reaches the Princes Highway/Melbourne Road the footpath stops and I couldn't go any further. Here the creek has been directed into a pipe for a short section under the highway and a railway and flows out to sea at Corio Quay. In 1909 the creek's mouth was highly modified and is now a ship-loading port closed to the public. On the map, above, it shows as a rectangular shape. It would be interesting to look at an old map to see what it used to look like. I drove down Langdon Street to Crowle Street, past the heavy industries associated with a port, to a vantage point on the south side of the quay. Geelong's port is a busy port and this is only a small part of it.

Cowies Creek, Part 4

2011-04-14T03:23:00.000-07:00

Ring Road downstream to Thompsons Road.
It was a lovely autumn day today so I walked several kilometres of Cowies Creek. I walked from the Ring Road, crossed over Anakie Road and followed the creek to Thompsons Rd - and then walked back again. It was a very pleasant walk.

There is a sealed footpath on the northern bank of the creek and the entire length is very well-maintained and mown parkland. The creek banks have been planted with a variety of Australian plant species most of which appear to be those that grow locally - Acacia, Bursaria, Lomandra, Poa, Eucalyptus, Goodenia, and Cassinia. The creek bed is very weedy and numerous drains from the surrounding suburbs and industries enter the creek, especially downstream of Anakie Road. I saw a bit of rubbish but on the whole I was surprised by the cleanliness of the creek and the surrounding area.

Thompsons Road

Now for the good news. It was early afternoon but I counted 15 species of birds - the usual introduced species (Common Myna, Starling, Spotted Dove, Sparrow and Blackbird) as well as some nice locals including a White-faced Heron standing in some shallows, New Holland Honeyeaters and White-plumed Honeyeaters, Dusky Moorhens, Magpielarks, Red Wattlebirds and, best of all, a number of Grey Fantails. Dragonflies and damselflies were patrolling and I saw five species of butterflies (Cabbage White, Common Brown, Yellow Admiral, Common Grass-blue and Meadow Argus).

Yellow Admiral

Meadow Argus

Common Grass-blue (attracted by a piece of foil)

Prior to walking this section I had read Aboltins' report on the Growling Grass Frog survey (referenced in the last blog). The frogs and several other species were found in several small dams constructed during the building of the ring road, in the creek upstream from Anakie Road and in a dam near the council depot of Anakie Road. The dams have been planted with water ribbons and other aquatic vegetation.

This section of the creek looks to be in good condition and it was here that I also heard some frogs calling today. There is a weir under the road leading into the depot and Aboltins reports that this prevents the introduced fish, including Eastern Gambusia Gambusia holbrooki, from moving upstream into the dam. The fish are known to predate on tadpoles and must be kept excluded if the frog population is to survive. This is a section of the creek that I will be recommending to the Mid-week Bird Group for their monthly excursion.

Construction dam

Creek near depot dam

Council depot dam

Click on photos to view large.

...to be continued

Cowies Creek, Part 3

2011-04-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Ring Road

Geelong's Ring Road crosses Cowies Creek just west of Bluestone Bridge Road. Marcus Wong's photo on Flickr shows the construction of the double bridge in June 2007. I don't know what it looked like before but the creek itself must have been completely reshaped and lined during the process.

The banks of the creek between the bluestone bridge and the ring road, as well as the area under the bridge, have been landscaped and planted and there is a wide concrete footpath/bicycle path incorporated into the design. The plants are still young but it looks quite attractive - I haven't had a good look yet to see what species have been planted.

Unfortunately there is a scouring problem that will need to be addressed promptly - most of the damage would have been done during the January 2011 flood and maybe in the future the more mature plants will bind the soil more effectively but I'd like to see more aquatic vegetation planted immediately.

Because of the presence of Growling Grass Frog in the creek downstream Aboltins, in a commissioned report last year, recommended the following:

High quality habitat for the Growling Grass Frog would include the presence of still or slow flowing wetland habitats (e.g. creeks and ponds) with extensive submerged and floating vegetation, as well as emergent and fringing aquatic vegetation...At the Geelong Ring Road bridge, the planting of shade-tolerant aquatic species may also improve frog habitat here. Any revegetation or landscaping works should be undertaken using native species of local provenance with follow up weed control essential. A large number of trees or large shrubs should not be planted within 20 metres of Cowies Creek or nearby water bodies, as the shading of wetlands can render them unsuitable for Growling Grass Frog. The provision of terrestrial habitat around the banks of the creek should also be included. For example, small scattered rock piles and large woody debris (hollow branches/logs) could be provided as terrestrial shelter for frogs. Large rocks could also be added to pools within the creek to provide emergent rock habitats for frogs. Cowies Creek Amphibian Study and Targeted Growling Grass Frog Survey, Summer 2009-2010, Annette Aboltins (Commissioned by City of Greater Geelong)

Click on photos to view large.

...to be continued

Cowies Creek, Part 2

2011-04-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Downstream to Bluestone Bridge Road and Cowies Creek Railway Bridge No. 1 (Victorian Heritage Register H2240).

As referenced in the previous blog, Cowies Creek Part 1, the creek itself was realigned to allow this railway bridge to be built at a convenient angle. The bridge has a heritage classification and was built in 1860 as part of the Geelong-Ballarat line opened in 1863. It spans both the creek and a roadway, Bluestone Bridge Road.

This section of the railway line is being widened too to allow a second line, and there is still a lot of work to be done (see last picture). Hopefully the creek itself will get some attention after that because it's in a terrible state. Weeds everywhere, especially kikuyu grass. Cowies Creek, for a short section downstream of the bridge, was channelled (in 1860) by basalt training walls and a weir to reduce flow velocity but in January this year the road was closed due to flooding and in the next blog I'll show you where the velocity of the water has scoured the creek bed. Landscaping associated with the Geelong Ring Road abuts this area (see image immediately below) and could easily be extended to the bridge area after the rail works are finished.

The view upstream from the bridge is equally depressing. But some native fauna seem to like living there, judging by the sign on a resident's fence, and there are possibly frogs there as well because the endangered Growling Grass Frog has been found about 100 metres downstream (of which more later) and fish (native and introduced) live further downstream as well.

The view west of Bluestone Bridge Road shows that Cowies Creek valley is now quite deep and wide.

Click on photos to enlarge.

...to be continued

Cowies Creek, Part 1

2011-04-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

There's a sad little creek, called Cowies Creek, that runs through the northern suburbs of Geelong. It's only a few kilometres long and runs east from farm land in Moorabool to the industries at North Shore on Corio Bay. When Europeans first settled in the area after 1835 it would have been a lovely little ephemeral stream but that can't be said today. The Ballarat-Geelong train line also runs down much of the creek valley.

It is named after James Cowie, a saddler from Scotland who settled in the area in 1841, amassed a fortune doing business during the gold rush and went on to become Geelong's third mayor and a member of parliament.

Over several blogs I'll be exploring the creek. Yesterday I started at the beginning near Lovely Banks Rd in Moorabool then had a look where Warners Rd and Evans Rd cross the creek further downstream. I've marked the spots on the map above.

Firstly, Lovely Banks Road.
Cowies Creek drains some relatively flat farming land north of Lovely Banks Road and it is at about this point that you could start calling it a creek. It is not fenced off from farm animals and no attempt has been made to revegetate. I could only see weeds and pasture grasses but a proper flora study might yield a few rush or reed species. This is the view south from Lovely Banks Road.

Secondly, Warners Road.
In the photo above you can see the railway embankment just below the horizon. The Geelong-Ballarat line was opened in 1862 and it crosses Cowies Creek several times. At both places the creek was diverted to cross the railway alignment at a more convenient angle for bridge building. We haven't improved much - the same thing happened downstream when the new Geelong Ring Road was constructed several years ago, but I'll discuss that in another blog. The quote is from The Victorian Heritage Register entry for 'Cowies Creek Rail Bridge No. 2', H2241. This pretty bridge crosses the creek at Warners Road and is significant for several reasons to do with railway history and the people who designed it as well as the architecture and design of the bridge itself. (The arch style is rare, the stonework and detailing elaborate.) If you want to know more you can find it on the web. I'm more interested in the creek underneath.

We drove down Warners Road to get a closer look but couldn't get very close because there was an orange fence around the general area with signs saying that it was an 'rail upgrade site, no go zone'. Again, not much in the way of natural vegetation. The single line is being upgraded to a dual line. They haven't put the extra line in this section yet and I've no idea how they'll manage with a heritage-listed bridge in the way but they've already done a lot of the earth-moving to widen the embankment. The photo below (from railgeelong.com) shows the widening process in October 2010 and it appears, at this stage, that the creek area is untouched. You can just see the bridge corners half way along.

This is the view of the creek from the bridge at Warners Road looking north. A DSE (Dept of Sustainability and Environment) map for the area shows salinity levels to be high for the entire length of the creek and I'm sure this bit of farm land is salt damaged.

We then drove east to Evans Road that crosses the creek in a dip. The creek has cut itself a valley here because it is still nearly 50 metres above sea level and has only a short distance to run. On the west side of the road the farmer has fenced off both sides to allow the natural vegetation to recover...

...but on the east side grazing cattle are allowed free access. The railway line runs along the side of the valley and some houses on large blocks line up along the northern bank

Click on photos to enlarge.

To be continued.

Mistletoes

2011-04-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

There was a bookstall at the plant sale I went to yesterday. With remarkable restraint I only bought one book but it's a beauty.

At last we have a field guide to mistletoes - Mistletoes of Southern Australia by David M Watson and beautifully illustrated by Robyn Hulley. Each species has it's own page and there are chapters on cultural significance, biology, ecology and management, all complemented by superb photos.

Every mistletoe in southern Australia is described (46 in all). This leaves scope for the 45 found in northern Australia in a second book (although the Flora of Australia, Volume 22 is an excellent reference in the meantime).

Add it to your shopping list.

A Sparshall's Moth

2011-03-27T01:08:00.000-07:00

I was looking for orchids near Anglesea today and found Parson's Bands flowering in the heathy woodland. Also found a lovely female Sparshall's Moth Trichiocercus sparshalli resting on grass stalk. She doesn't look anything like the caterpillars I found a while ago.

An Otways fern gully

2011-03-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

A lovely day yesterday at Sheoaks Picnic Ground near Lorne, with Field Nats friends for company.

We didn't walk very far but we saw a lot and honed our listening skills. The trees there are very tall so any birds in the canopy were long way up and any birds in the middle story were hidden behind treefern fronds. We heard or saw Golden Whistlers, Yellow Robins, White-throated Treecreepers, Laughing Kookaburras, Olive Whistlers, White-browed Scrubwrens, White-naped Honeyeaters, Eastern Spinebills, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Grey Fantails, Silvereyes - nearly thirty species in all. We dipped on King Parrot, Satin Bowerbird and Bassian Thrush.

Mosses, fungi, ferns and lichens at ground level were fascinating and we also got distracted by blue gum fruits, insects and spiders, flowers and geology. It's been such a wet summer this year the forest floor was still damp enough that you'd almost think it was winter.

Cladonia lichen

Podoscypha petalodes Rosette Fungus

Blue Gum buds on moss

Dog Lichen

Hypocrea sulphurea

The highlight of the day for me was the number of butterflies, especially at Teddys Lookout in Lorne. They were moving so fast we were having trouble identifying them but with the wonders of digital photography we were able to look at them on the computer screen. A special one, identified by Barry, was the local subspecies of the Shouldered Brown Heteronympha penelope alope.

Harps and elliots

2011-03-18T02:15:00.000-07:00

Another new experience for me today - microbats caught in a harp trap. Yesterday Trevor had set the trap on a bush track in the stony rises at Stonyford and we checked them this morning. Result? Two sleepy little microbats, Large Forest Bats, that were weighed and measured and placed in a calico bag. (They'll be released after dark tonight.)

Then we checked the elliott traps set up amongst the rocks on the stony rises. Result? A house mouse and about eight cute female Bush Rats. (Does the word cute reveal my gender?)

A fossiliferous quarry

2011-02-20T03:48:00.000-08:00

Today, armed with our knives and screwdrivers and geology hammers, we visited Batesford Quarry on the outskirts of Geelong.

The quarry is the type locality of Batesford Limestone, a biocalcarenite consisting of broken skeletal remains of bryozoans, echinoides and bivalves. It accumulated in a clear water marine environment with a sandy sea floor in the Miocene period. We went there to look for the fossils.

It's a very large and deep quarry, no longer operating (although there are several smaller mining industries on site). The Moorabool River runs down one side of it but no longer is on on its original course. The quarry managers diverted it in order to access the limestone. The industrial archeolgy is very interesing too, but we weren't concentrating on that. We wanted to find sharks teeth.

It's astonishing to think that you can chip off a limestone chunk and expose almost intact fossils of marine creatures that were alive 15 million years ago, creatures that look like those we find on sea shores today like sea urchins, cowie shells, bivalves, sponges and coral. And yes, we found a few shark teeth. It was a most interesting excursion.

A geologist called David Williams has written an interesting blog about finding a new species of barnacle in the wall of a building in Melbourne that is faced with Batesford Limestone.
http://stories-in-stone.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html

Summer bird count

2011-01-23T01:58:00.000-08:00

Grace and I were directed to count waders today at Begola Wetlands in suburban Ocean Grove and Freshwater Lake near Point Lonsdale. So we went, but without success because the water levels are too high following the recent rains. Not a wader in sight.

Both places are well worth a visit though. We saw some lovely birds at Begola Wetland, including Little Wattlebirds (not often seen this far east) and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, and Clamourous Reed-warblers serenaded us all the way around.

At Freshwater Lake we waded through the shallows towards the one roosting area but the most reward was in the journey because there were no waders roosting. There were hundreds and hundreds of damselflies and dragonflies on the vegetation, flying up in clouds before us as we walked. There were many dead ones in the floating detritus and a lot of discarded exoskeletons still clinging to the reeds. I managed to grab a few photos (I was meant to be bird-counting remember?) but I should go back and spend more time there to get a better record of it all.

Many of the reeds and other vegetation had snails on them as well. This one had a bonus spider. If it can't swim it's there until the water levels drop.

Alpine flora

2011-01-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

At Falls Creek we were able to search for alpine plants in various communities - bogs, pasture, under snow gums and lower down the mountain in a mixed forest. In the alps spring arrives in summer so most of the plants were flowering. It was all looking beautiful.

Alpine Orites Orites lancifolia

Mueller's Snow-Gentian Chionogentias muelleriana ssp. muelleriana

Sky Lily Herpolirion novae-zelandiae

Alpine Leek Orchid Prasophyllum tadgellianum

Silver Ewartia Ewartia nubigena

Stiff Dislaspis Dislaspis hydrocotyle

Carpet Heath Pentachondra pumila

Flax Linum marginale

Common Billy Buttons Craspedia sp.

Insects of the high country

2011-01-17T20:43:00.000-08:00

These are a few of the insects and spiders we found in the alpine pastures around Falls Creek last weekend. Identification pending at the moment, except for the brilliant Spotted Mountain Grasshopper Monistria concinna.

High country

2011-01-17T04:23:00.000-08:00

With damaging floods in Queensland and northern New South Wales, and the forecast of very high rainfall in west and central Victoria we decided to head for the high country.

No, the truth is the Geelong Field Nats' camp at Falls Creek in the alps had been organised weeks beforehand. We drove up to the ski lodge on Thursday, an extremely humid day, and on Friday it rained continuously so we couldn't get out into the field at all. It's the first time I've played board games at a camp!

Saturday and Sunday were perfect. The Snow Gums are recovering from the fires that went through several years ago but the sculptural beauty of their skeletons was breathtaking. We thoroughly enjoyed looking for plants and insects we never see in our patch.

Sky Lily Herpoliron novae-zelandiae

Yellow Kunzea Kunzea muelleri

Alpine Trachymene Trachymene humilis

To be continued...

Weather forecasters

2011-01-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

1. What do the earth worms know that I don't. Yesterday morning we discovered that they've moved up inside our compost bin in numbers - sitting above the compost on the wall of the bin and up to where the lid sits on the rim. We've never seen them do that before. And yesterday and today we experienced a heavy rain event with associated high humidity. It rained (not showered) steadily all day. The clouds are moving from north-west to the south-east instead of the more normal south-west to north-east and we usually get heavy rain when that happens.

2. Last week my father, an amateur beekeeper, noticed some bees going into a hole in the top of an old disused hive he had stored in his shed. He kept an eye on it and the activity continued. That evening he expected to see, and did see, increased activity. There were a large number of bees flying about in his suburban back yard and they settled in the old hive (presumably the queen was with them). Next day he moved the hive out to a better spot in the garden and set it up properly and the bees are now busily constructing new honeycomb. The mystery is how the exploring bees found the hive in the first place.

Watching a wasp

2011-01-03T00:53:00.000-08:00

Last year a new limestone track for the dairy cows was formed on our farm and it hasn't totally compacted as yet. The wasps know it. There were quite a few digger wasps flying low over the track and the surrounding pasture, some digging test holes, some digging real holes.

The wasp buzzes very noisily whilst in the hole then backs out quickly and deposits the excavated soil a short distance from the hole. This one had several paralysed caterpillars stashed on grass clumps close to the hole, ready to bury when the digging is complete.

Unfortunately I didn't have the time to stay and observe the end of this particular event - we had to pack up to go back to Geelong.

Time

2011-01-02T17:16:00.000-08:00

Our holiday/farm house has always been a popular spot for our city-based extended family and some Christmas holidays we've accommodated up to 25.

One Christmas, twenty years ago, all eleven cousins from one side of our family were there, all under 13 years old. They decided to bury a time capsule. Each child contributed a drawing, three of them co-authored a poem and the papers were then rolled up and placed in a Fowler preserving jar which was covered in a plastic supermarket bag. They capsule was buried near the house fence in front of the verandah and they marked the spot with a rock.

This Christmas eight of the cousins, including our son on a visit home from Switzerland, were at the farm again - all adults now. They decided to dig up the capsule.

Just one small problem. Where was it??? The fence had been pulled down, the rock moved by a mowing contractor and each cousin had a different memory about where they'd buried it. They probed the ground for a while without success and then started digging. Several square metres later the capsule was found, opened and the contents viewed with much amusement. The lengthy poem in particular was a delight. Here's an extract.

One by one all the kids came out and saw the presents, with a shout,
but the presents couldn't be opened because Kay and Det
hadn't arrived yet.
...
Kay and Det did arrive
in their excellent 4 wheel drive.
We could finally open the presents we were anticipating.

For a few days our grandson Geoff had a great time in the hole and on the mound of dirt before it was filled in.

Now, dear readers, I haven't forgotten that this is a nature blog. I tell this tale to let you know that the contents of the time capsule had survived in perfect condition for twenty years because the plastic bag had not deteriorated at all. Doesn't that speak volumes?

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T21:22:00.000-08:00

Jezebels and painted ladies

2010-12-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

In my suburban garden a butterfly or two occasionally wander through but here on the farm it's lovely to see them in numbers flying low over the grass.

The most common are the male Common Browns and the Cabbage Whites but I've seen a few Painted Ladies and several Spotted Jezebels on the Agonis in the garden (see below). The flowering Agonis is attracting a lot of native bees, flies and beetles.

And this Mantis Fly arrived inside with the washing off the line. I took it outside to have its portrait taken and then let it go.

Colourful cloud

2010-12-22T00:50:00.000-08:00

Phew! Holidays at last. It's six weeks since I last blogged. The last few weeks have been busy but now we're down at our farm near Heywood for a couple of weeks. Lots of family will be coming and going and its going to be a busy but in a different way and there will still be lots of time to get out into the bush.

As we left Geelong this afternoon I saw this cloud over Highton. The rainbow colours only lasted a few minutes and then the colour was gone. It was very warm and sunny, no showers, and the photo was taken almost looking into the sun. I seem to remember reading in my cloud book that this phenomenon has a name but that book's at home and I only have limited internet access here. [Update: My friend Marilyn tells me it's an iridescent cloud http://www.atoptics.co.uk/droplets/irid1.htm ]

Bryophytes

2010-11-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Victoria's unofficial extra long weekend because of the melbourne Cup, we went down to the Otways to explore the wet forest.

Our main aim was to relocate the Thismia rodwayi that we found last year, which we did, and a specimen will be collected for the herbarium - and then we explored around the Forrest area for the following day or so. Then we went home to dry out.

We found some lovely plants and animals but these are some of the lichens and liverworts from that area. It was lovely to see the wet forest actually wet.

Moth caterpillars

2010-10-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

While Trevor, Craig and Grace poked around the rocks looking for lizards and snakes I took a break (from the tension!) and poked around under the bark of some eucalypts - and found this interesting caterpillar. It's Oenosandra boisduvalii Boisduval's Autumn Moth. Apparently it lives in southern Australia, including Tasmania, and the male and female moths look quite different from each other and were thought to be separate species at one stage.

But it doesn't do as much damage as another species that is in plague proportions around the coast at Anglesea at the moment. Painted Cup Moth caterpillars, Doratiphora oxleyi, are everywhere, chewing on leaves of various species of shrubs and trees. They're doing a lot of damage but presumably the plants will recover. I'll be down there again soon and will look for the cup-shaped cocoons on twigs.

Spring in the Common

2010-10-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

The reserve at Inverleigh, known as the Common, has been very dry for the last decade or more. But we've had something like average rainfall this year and the plants in the Common have responded. On a short visit this week we found a lot of orchids, dozens of a few species in a small area. And that's just the orchids. It was looking spectacular.

Hornet orchid Diuris sulphurea

Thelymitra sp. Sun-orchid. Possibly T. peniculata

Spotted Sun-orchid Thelymitra ixioides

Thelymitra sp. Sun-orchid. Possibly T. malvina

Above and below: Thelymitra rubra Salmon Sun-orchid

Skinks

2010-10-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

First we checked the twenty mammal traps that had been set out amongst the stony rises in Floating Island Reserve (one Swamp Rat and nine Dusky Antechinus). What's the plural of antechinus?

Then we tagged Trevor, the reptile expert, who led us into some pretty scary spots. There's no way I would have walked where we did if I'd been alone. Big rocks, long grass, lots of nooks and crannies - perfect for a reptile.

Apart from the White-lipped Snake that Trevor had found the day before under a piece of corrugated iron we only saw a Tiger Snake, but probably didn't see numerous others. But we did find some skinks basking in the sun on the dark rocks in the reserve, and were especially pleased to find the special Dreeite (or Corangamite) Water Skink, that only lives in that area, when we drove north on Hawksnest Road.

I think I'm done with reptile-hunting.

Black Rock Skink Egernia saxatilis

Dreeite Water Skink Eulamprus tympanum marnieae

Eastern Three-lined Skink Acritoscincus duperreyi

The lake really is a lake

2010-10-25T04:37:00.000-07:00

What a different year this is. Water everywhere. Several years ago I was blogging here about the lakes in the western district being totally dry. Today we drove by Lake Colac, Lake Corangamite, Lake Beeac and many others on the volcanic plains that this year have water in them. It's a sight that makes my heart sing.

Lake Beeac, above, was looking brilliant today - almost pure white, shallow and salty. And in the Floating Islands Reserve at PirronYallock we did some reptile-hunting on the rocks above a beautiful little lake in the reserve (below).

Yay!! It's orchid time.

2010-10-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was on my ownsome, but not feeling lonesome, exploring the bush around Anglesea. At one stage I ran into a bunch of friendly fellow-enthusiasts, the Ringwood Field Nats on a weekend camp, and piggy-backed on some of their discoveries. (Many eyes are better than just two.) There is a lot of bush around Anglesea but some of the best spots to see orchids are right in town.

The area is well-known for its orchids and there have been several useful references published* to make the life of an amateur much easier. The common orchids were there, Rabbit Ears, Mayflies, Pink Fingers, Waxlip Orchids and Donkey Orchids, but there were a few special ones as well. Of course I always fail to photograph the one identifying feature of whatever I'm trying to identify but I think I'm in the right ball park with these. (Click on photos to view large.)

Caladenia australis Southern Spider Orchid

Caladenia parva Small Spider Orchid

Calaadenia venusta Large White Spider Orchid

Pterostylis sp. aff. plumosa Bearded Greenhood (This one only grows in this area.)

Caladenia cardiochilla Thick-lip Spider Orchid

*Flora of the Otway Plain & Ranges 1, Enid Mayfield
*Orchids of the Anglesea District, Everett Foster & Margaret MacDonald

Corridors

2010-09-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

We've been a bit busy this week and I'm feeling my age. With 400 trees to plant in a corridor on our farm we enlisted some family helpers, including our grandson. We did it the old-fashioned way - dug a hole for each tree and installed a shelter. The shrubs and trees we planted are the same as those that grow naturally in the surrounding bush and hopefully the local birds, reptiles, koalas, possums and insects will find it a good place to live in the future.

This is one of the corridors we planted out, a space created when the farmer leasing the property wanted to narrow the laneway so that the dairy cows could be moved faster.

Churchill Island

2010-09-13T00:51:00.000-07:00

The first European to visit Phillip Island was George Bass in 1798. His mode of transport was a 27' whaleboat. He and six seamen rowed down the coast from Sydney and in the process proved that Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) was separated from the Australian mainland by a strait (now called Bass Strait). (As an aside, they discovered seven escaped convicts on an island in the strait and took them back to Sydney - it must have been a squash, and they were on very limited rations.)

On Friday 5th January 1798, Bass reached Phillip Island and wrote;

I have named the place from its relative situation to every other known harbour on the coast, Western Port.....The land around Western Port is low but hilly. The grass and ferns grow luxuriantly and yet the country is but thinly and lightly timbered. The gum tree, she and swamp oaks, are the most common trees..little patches of brush are to be met with everywhere. The island is but barren. Starved shrubs grow upon the higher land, and the lower is nothing better than sandy beaches, at this time dried up...we saw a few brush kangaroo, the wallabah, but no other kind. Swans may be seen here, hundreds in flight, and ducks, a small but excellent kind. There is an abundance of most kinds of wildfowl.

(From Journey of a Whaleboat Voyage, Bass' own account)

Phillip Island is very different now. Agriculture, tourism, and a race track are all important components but the natural environment is protected in certain areas. We didn't have time to explore Cape Wollamai but it would be good to go there in the summer when the shearwaters in their hundreds fly back to their burrows.

We visited Churchill Island, joined to Phillip Island by a causeway. We found a Cape Barren Goose and family of chicks beside the causeway road.

Churchill Island is a historic working farm now but there are important protected mudflats and revegetation projects on the island itself. There are still some old and gnarled Moonahs Melaleuca lanceolata, maybe 500 years old, with trunks that look like twisted rope, growing among the 50 million-year-old basalt rocks on the shore and cliffs. So they would have been growing there when Bass visited and Grant planted his crops. In 1801 Lt. James Grant landed on Churchill Island and planted the first crops in Victoria but his residence was only temporary. It was over 40 years before a pastoral lease was taken out on the whole of Phillip Island and sheep introduced.