What to see in the bush

The common and widespread orchid Parson’s Bands, are flowering now but they may be tricky to spot. The flower is about a big as a five cent piece. The leaf is usually not fully developed at flowering, but appears later. The flowers are pollinated by native bees. There are lots of crane flies in the local forest too and they belong to the largest fly family in Australia with over 800 species.

Parson’s Bands Eriochilus cucullatus

Moss growing in a section of bone

Headless Beetle

a dying flower amongst the leaves

Crane Fly

February Flowers

The last site on our February Skipton excursion, was to where the rail trail crosses Spring Hill Road. We went for a short stroll and looked at a wetland that is virtually invisible from the nearby highway but may be glimpsed by cyclists. Running Marsh-flower edged the wetland and the Magenta Stork’s-bill and Yellow Rush-lily were almost hidden in the thick grass.

Yellow Rush-lily

Running Marsh-flower

Ballarat Rail Trail

Magenta Stork’s-bill

hidden dam

Naked Ladies at Clarkesdale

Did you know that the Belladonna Lily is also known as Naked Ladies? We came across a few at Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary after our last club excursion.

We popped in to have a quiet cup of tea beside the lagoon on the way home. One lily was coming up in the middle of the lawn but there are a few clumps near where there used to be  an old cottage. The pink flowers emerge well before the foliage and many people don’t even notice the leaves, hence the reference to nakedness.

Clare Miller Environment Centre

A multitude of Magpie Geese

There were plenty of Magpie Geese at Serendhip Sanctuary near Lara in mid February but yesterday near Bacchus Marsh there were reportedly over 26oo feeding in a stubble paddock. A big thank you to my photographer friend who let me tag along for this special sighting. Magpie Geese are widespread in northern Australia but in Victoria they are listed as endangered. Read more on the BirdLife site.

Magpie Geese at Serendhip

Magpie Geese at Serendhip

Bathing at Serendhip

Feeding in the stubble near Bacchus Marsh

Feeding in the stubble near Bacchus Marsh

In a stubble paddock near Bacchus Marsh

Magpie Geese taking flight near Bacchus Marsh

A different view of Skipton

Our February excursion was to the Skipton area and began at the common and also included several sites we hadn’t been to before. The full report is in our newsletter. Here are some photos from Jubilee Lake, which many people would drive past, when instead they could stop and have lunch as we did and take a stroll around the lake.

Corellas

Field Nats enjoying the view of Jubilee Lake

Jubilee Lake

One of the viewing platforms

The next photos are from the Skipton Historical Precinct which also includes good signage, a walk and a lookout with large red gums. Both sites are just off the main road through the town and easy to find.

The sparkle still at Spargo

A trip to Spargo Creek Mineral Springs for a drop of mineral water is just the thing to do on Christmas Day. Here are some photos from a recent trip. This is a lovely reserve managed by the Shire of Moorabool. It has very diverse ground flora.

Dwarf Boronia

Blue Pincushion

Blue Pincushion

Milkmaids seed head

Chocolate Lily

cicada shell

Button Everlastings

Billy Button

Trailing Goodenia

Dwarf Brooklime

Small Scurf-pea

Murnong

Murnong

Showy Podolepis

Trailing Shaggy-pea

Prickly Starwort

Trigger-plant

Tall Fringe-lily

Slender Speedwell

 

A word from the VNPA

As we all struggle to come to terms with what is happening with so many fires burning across Australia here is a message from the Victorian National Parks Association. It contains some useful references for those who want ‘measured commentary’ in preference to some of the more prevalent rhetoric currently circulating.

Peregrine Family in the Devil’s Kitchen

We hope you enjoy this beautiful series of photos of a family of Peregrine Falcons taken by our club member Carol Hall. After discovering that the Peregrines were nesting last spring, these photos are taken over the period October 23-December 16, on  regular visits to Devil’s Kitchen, near Linton.

From the female incubating eggs to the three youngsters feeding, fledging and flying, this series shows the family “at home” high on the escarpment of rocks. On December 16 Carol only found one youngster – they had stopped gathering together and were presumably  learning how to catch their own prey.

Putting the shine on La Gerche

We held our final excursion for the year in the Creswick area yesterday. The first stop was at the indigenous area that is part of the Park Lake Botanical Reserve. Most of us were unaware of the existence of this area. We were met by Kevin and Rosemary Tolhurst and were led on ‘an indigenous walkabout’.

The history of the reserve dating from 1869, was outlined by Kevin and then we investigated the replanting of the northern end of the reserve and learnt about the ongoing restoration plan and how the plantings are laid out. Thanks to Kevin and Rosemary for taking time out of their weekend to show us around.

It is interesting to see the variety of native grasses and other plants are gaining a foothold on the harsh site. The plantings have been chosen for the site with care and most are making good growth.

Riddells Creek Excursion

Ballarat field naturalists at Conglomerate Gully

Plants List observed during excursion of Field Naturalist Club of Ballarat, 3 November 2019.

Scientific name	Common name	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Acacia genistifolia	Spreading Wattle		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Acacia mearnsii	Late Black Wattle	Conglomerate Gully
Acacia paradoxa	Hedge Wattle	Conglomerate Gully
Acacia stricta	Hop Wattle	Conglomerate Gully
Acacia verticillata	Prickly Moses	Conglomerate Gully
Acaena echinata	Sheep’s burr		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Acaena novae-zelandiae	Bidgee widgee	Conglomerate Gully
Acrotriche serrulata	Honeypots	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Adiantum aethiopicum	Maidenhair	Conglomerate Gully
Aira caryophyllea	Silvery hair grass		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Amyema pendula	Drooping mistletoe	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Arthropodium strictum	Chocolate lily	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Asperula scoparia	Prickly Woodruff	Conglomerate Gully
Astroloma humifusum	Cranberry heath	Conglomerate Gully
Billardiera mutabilis	Common Apple-berry		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Bossiaea prostrata	Creeping Bossiaea		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Bracteantha viscosa	Sticky everlasting	Conglomerate Gully
*Briza maxima	Large quaking grass	Conglomerate Gully
Brunonia australis	Blue Pincushion	Conglomerate Gully
Burchardia umbellata	Milkmaids	Conglomerate Gully
Bursaria spinosa	Sweet bursaria	Conglomerate Gully
Calochilus robertsonii	Purplish Beard-orchid	Conglomerate Gully
Cassinia longifolia	Shiny Cassinia	Conglomerate Gully
Cassytha glabella	Slender Dodder-laurel		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia	Rock Fern	Conglomerate Gully
Chiloglottis valida	Common Bird-orchid	Conglomerate Gully
Clematis aristata	Mountain Clematis		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Comesperma volubile	Love Creeper	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Correa reflexa	Common correa		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Coronidium scorpioides	Button Everlasting	Conglomerate Gully
Daviesia leptophylla	Narrow-leaf Bitter-pea	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Dianella revoluta	Black-anther Flax-lily	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Dichondra repens	Kidneyweed	Conglomerate Gully
Dillwynia sericea	Showy Parrot-pea	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Diuris sulphurea	Tiger Orchid	Conglomerate Gully
Drosera auriculata	Tall Sundew	Conglomerate Gully
Eucalyptus dives	Broad-leaved Peppermint	Conglomerate Gully
Eucalyptus obliqua	Messmate	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Eucalyptus radiata	Narrow-leaved Peppermint		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Exocarpos cupressiformis	Cherry Ballarat		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Gahnia radula	Thatch Saw-sedge		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Galium gaudichaudii	Rough bedstraw	Conglomerate Gully
Goodenia ovata	Hop Goodenia	Conglomerate Gully
Hardenbergia violacea	Purple Coral-pea		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Hydrocotyle hirta	Hairy Pennywort	Conglomerate Gully
Hypericum gramineum	Small St.John’s Wort	Conglomerate Gully
Leucochrysum albicans	Hoary Sunray	Conglomerate Gully
Lomandra filiformis	Wattle mat rush	Conglomerate Gully
Lomandra longifolia	Spiny-headed Mat-rush	Conglomerate Gully
Microlaena stipoides	Weeping Grass	Conglomerate Gully
Microceras walteri	Yam daisy, Murnong	Conglomerate Gully
Olearia argophylla	Musk Daisy-bush		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Olearia lirata	Snowy Daisy-bush		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Ozothamnus obcordatus	Grey Everlasting		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Pelargonium rodneyanum	Magenta Stork’s-bill	Conglomerate Gully
Pimelea humilis	Common rice flower	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Poa sieberiana	Grey Tussock-grass	Conglomerate Gully
Pomaderis aspera	Hazel Pomaderis	Conglomerate Gully
Poranthera microphylla	Small Poranthera	Conglomerate Gully
Senecio glomeratus	Annual fireweed	Conglomerate Gully
Senecio odoratus	Scented Groundsel	Conglomerate Gully
Solenogyne dominii	Hairy Bottle-daisy	Conglomerate Gully
Stylidium armeria subsp pilosifolium	Hairy-leaf Trigger-plant	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Thysanotus patersonii	Twining fringe-lily		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Triptilodiscus pygmaeus	Dwarf (Common) Sunray	Conglomerate Gully
Viola betonicifolia	Showy violet		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Viola hederacea	Ivy-leaf violet		Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Wurmbea dioica	Early nancy	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk
Xanthorrhoea australis	Austral Grass-tree	Conglomerate Gully	Gap Rd, Riddells Crk

Leucochrysum albicans Hoary Sunray

Stylidium armeria subsp pilosifolium Hairy-leaf Trigger Plant