Category Archives: Nature Observations

Launched!

Posted on 30 April, 2018 by fobif

Close to 100 people turned up on Saturday morning to see Castlemaine Field Naturalists’ president George Broadway launch FOBIF’s Wattles of the Mount Alexander Region. The guide was produced as a tribute to Ern Perkins, for many decades the leading … Continue reading →

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Red Gums: good news vs bad news

Posted on 13 November, 2017 by fobif

So, what’s going on with our River Red Gums? We noted last year how lots of them were looking pretty dire, and this year is, if anything, worse: whole roadsides and paddocks in this region and beyond are looking pretty … Continue reading →

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Gold kicks off

Posted on 12 August, 2017 by fobif

It’s not just on the stock markets that gold is doing well. The wattle season is now well and truly on. Although we have interesting variations around the shire, patches of wattles in bloom are pretty well everywhere. As usual, … Continue reading →

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Winter–and a backward look

Posted on 3 July, 2017 by fobif

So it’s been the driest June on record around much of Victoria. Castlemaine weather station recorded 7 mls of rain for the month, compared to long term average of 56 mls. The previous lowest June rainfall was 13 mls in … Continue reading →

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Small group of walkers braved the heat

Posted on 20 March, 2017 by fobif

Despite the unseasonably warm weather a small but select group of nine kicked off the 2017 walks season by visiting Mt Alexander. Starting from Coopers Lane we climbed to Roxanne Pass, then off track we contoured above Laytons Quarry and up … Continue reading →

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Looking back to 1770 and beyond…

Posted on 16 January, 2017 by fobif

The beetle below is quite famous, and worth considering for a few reasons. One is that it’s a handsome creature. Another is that it’s played a modest role in the history of science. It’s a Botany Bay Weevil [aka Diamond … Continue reading →

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Luvverly, but…

Posted on 19 December, 2016 by fobif

There are two basic truths about weeds. First, they’re often pretty [and maybe even useful in some way], and second, they’re bullies that shoulder aside other plant species to create boring monocultures. Both things are true of St John’s Wort, … Continue reading →

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Call for photos!

Posted on 7 November, 2016 by fobif

The theme of the next FOBIF photo exhibition is Mountains and Waterways. TOGS Cafe in Castlemaine will host the exhibition in November 2017. So if you have a favourite photo/s of Mount Alexander, Mount Tarrengower or other mountain in Mount Alexander region (you … Continue reading →

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Update to FOBIF Chewton walk

Posted on 26 September, 2016 by fobif

Elaine Bayes and Damien Cook who were the leaders on our recent Chewton bush walk showed us that by looking closely at a small area you can often see an amazing number of plants. They identified 25-30 in the square metre they selected. … Continue reading →

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OK: Now it’s a lake, sort of…

Posted on 14 September, 2016 by fobif

Another 40 millimetres of rain on Monday, added to the previous week’s drop, gave a bit of extra push to local waterways, which at the time of writing had approached, but not quite reached, the levels of the flood years. … Continue reading →

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