Ferns 101

When I was growing up I only knew two ferns, the Maidenhair (Adiantum aethiopicum) and Bracken (Pteridium esculentum). Both grew in the sheltered bush on our property and bracken grew in the open paddocks as well. We kids headed for the bracken clumps because we knew that we would find rabbit warrens there and in the pre-mixamytosis days of the 1950s we made a bit of pocket money trapping and ferreting for rabbits.

But that's another story. This blog is about ferns. About my ignorance of same. Over the years I have managed to build up a bit of knowledge about flowering plants, insects and birds. But ferns? No. Nothing. I've been on excursions in the Otways with experts and on field trips with knowledgeable amateurs. I've checked my own references and the internet after taking photos of ferns, in an attempt to identify what I've seen, and failed. Is it really so hard?

I've had a few successes. I now think I recognise the Screw Fern, the Kangaroo Fern, Coral Fern, Mother Shield-Fern, Pacific Azolla, Sickle Fern and Nardoo. But then I lose confidence when I'm faced with a choice: Is it a Mother Shield-fern or a Bristly Shield-fern? Is this a Rough Tree-fern of a Soft Tree-fern?

My knowledge of ferns was put to the test yesterday when we explored some of the delightful tall trees and ferny understories of forested areas near Beech Forest in the Otway Ranges. You go into sensory overload in these forests with the smells, the sounds and beauty in abundance.

Kangaroo Fern Microsorum pustulatum

Turtons Track, Otway Ranges

Aire River

Birds aplenty

In my suburban back yard the Burgan Kunzea ericoides is covered in seed and above it the Yellow Gum is dense with gumnuts that must be providing shelter for insects. The cafe is open for business.

On these two plants this morning I've seen two birds new to this garden as well as a bunch of others. It's been an amazing half hour. Here's my list.

Willie Wagtails (a breedng pair this year - for a decade or so we only had one resident)
Eastern Spinebills (rarely seen in my garden)
Crimson Rosellas
Yellow-faced Honeyeater (rarely seen in my garden)
New Holland Honeyeaters
Goldfinches
Yellow-rumped Thornbills
Grey Fantail (one)
Red Wattlebirds
Spotted Pardalotes (several)
Starlings
Sparrows
Blackbirds
Australian Magpies
Silvereyes (the beautiful Tasmanian form - maybe they've just arrived)
Spotted Doves

Which birds are new here, I hear you ask? The pardalotes (I've only seen Striated) and the Grey Fantail. I expect the pardalotes and the silvereyes will move on but it would be fantastic if the fantail decides to stay.

Restless visitors

A long weekend, a few quiet days on our farm at Homerton - apart from the welcome noise of a couple of young grandsons.

The noisiest bird in the house paddock is a Restless Flycatcher. I'm very fond of these birds' distinctive calls and their sleek lines, and am pleased that they still call our farm home. Their numbers generally appear to be dropping.

It's been a warm and humid day today, with a storm expected this evening, and large numbers of swifts are flying over the paddocks, both Fork-tailed and White-throated. I haven't seen them in such numbers for a long time. I tried following a few with the binoculars to get an idea of ratio but they were moving too 'swiftly'. All I can say is that the impression I got was that the Fork-tails were in the majority.

Our council complied with our request to grade the track that runs up the side of our property, which is good. But... the grader driver hasn't been to a training class on the value of roadside vegetation, which is bad. I don't think too much damage has been done - time will tell - but the formation of this particular drainage line has pushed a young tree to one side and right onto 'my' Diuris patch. I'll have to wait until spring to see if damage has been done here.

Also flying this week are numerous female Common Brown butterflies and quite a few Shouldered Browns Heteronympha penelope. All are flying low over the grassy woodland areas at the edge of the closed bush. Here's one male Shouldered Brown that I managed to photograph ...

... and a female Common Brown that almost appears to be laying eggs.

Vegie garden wildlfe

Yesterday I mentioned a skipper butterfly that 'got away' - I couldn't get a photo. Today I managed to get photos good enough to get a positive ID. And it turned out to be a species that I've found in my garden, in other summers, on grevilleas and lomandra. Today it was on garlic chive flowers, grass and tomatoes. It's a relatively common skipper species Greenish Grass-dart Ocybadistes walkeri.

And this little bee was on the garlic chive flowers as well. It's a resin bee Megachile leucopyga. On the BrisbaneInsects webpage it's called Gold-barred Resin Bee. Apparently they build nests in holes of hardwood timber, including man-made drilled holes. The entrance is usually sealed with a solid resin plug. They provision their brood with pollen and nectar.