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Black Wattle (Acacia melanoxylon) seed pods
Orb Weaver
FOBIF walkers at Smiths Reef
Jacky Lizard (Amphibolurus muricatus)
Coarse Dodder Laurel (Cassytha melantha)
Sunset at Walmer
Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Milkmaid (Burchardia umbellata)
Shrub Violet (Hybanthus floribundus)
Yellow Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon)
Hypnum cupressiforme var mossmanianum
Gorse Bitter Pea (Daviesia ulicifolia)
Pyronema omphalodes
Young Rosellas in nesting box
Hoary Sunray (Leucochrysum albicans)
Cup Moth Caterpillar
Casuarina
Rock Isotome (Isotome axillaris)
Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus)
Stumpy-tailed Lizard (Tiliqua rugosa)
Monthly Archives: December 2011
Parasites aren’t always bad
The red box tree pictured below, on the east side of the Great Dividing Trail as it passes through the Spring Gully Mine site, is interesting for a couple of reasons. One is that it’s sprung up out of the … Continue reading
Posted in Nature Observations
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Connecting Country news
Landcare Facilitator Position Connecting Country will be hosting the newly funded Landcare position for the Mount Alexander Region. The position will be based at Connecting Country’s Office in Castlemaine and is a 12 Month 0.6FTE position, with the possibility of … Continue reading
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The migratory birds of the Box-Ironbark Forests
In the Box-Ironbark forests quite a few bird species come and go with the seasons. Over many years a lot of people have contributed to surveys for the Birds Australia Atlas or Birdline and similar. These records have now been … Continue reading
Posted in Nature Observations, News
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Scottish, but not Scotch
The plant below is Spear Thistle, Cirsium vulgare, the most widespread plant in Victoria and, according to naturalist Ern Perkins, by far the most common thistle in this region. It’s commonly but wrongly called Scotch thistle. That ‘honour’ belongs to … Continue reading
Posted in Weeds
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The uses of fire
FOBIF has written to Parks Victoria to clarify some questions arising from the Quartz Hill, Chewton, Asset Protection management burn of a few weeks ago. What interested us was that the burn was pretty severe on native undergrowth [as was … Continue reading
Posted in Fire Management
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Remnant Vegetation: the State Government responds to VEAC
The State Government has released its response to the Victorian Environment Assessment Council’s Remnant Native Vegetation report [see our May 24 Post on this]. VEAC made 13 recommendations, all designed to improve ecological connectivity between small parcels of land, encourage … Continue reading
Posted in News
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VCAT decides on Diamond Gully subdivision
Local residents supported by FOBIF went to VCAT to review a Council decision to grant a permit for a 7 lot subdivision in high conservation bush at Diamond Gully (on the western edge of Castlemaine). The development will involve the … Continue reading
Posted in News
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Sharing the same nesting area
Eroded creek banks, although a blot on the landscape in some ways, also have their upside. At this time of year two quite different species utilise the eroded walls to build their nests at the end of tunnels in the … Continue reading
Posted in Nature Observations, News
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Connecting Country to host new landcare position
Connecting Country is one of 60 organisations in Victoria that have been successful in their bid to host one of the new Landcare Facilitator positions. The new local facilitator will be part-time and will work with landcare groups in the Mount Alexander Shire. … Continue reading
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How good is the new Code of Practice?
DSE’s new Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land has been out for consultation for some time now. The document can be found here. As we signalled in a previous post, we have had preliminary misgivings about the … Continue reading
Posted in Fire Management
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