What’s that on the ground?

Posted on 14 August, 2011 by fobif

After the success of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists folder guide to the indigenous plants of Castlemaine and surrounds, FOBIF has embarked on a project to produce two more guides in the same style, this time on fungi, mosses and lichens. In view of the complexity of the subject matter, we’re aiming for a careful timetable, and a planned launch in Autumn 2013. The project has the support of the Norman Wettenhall foundation.

Ceratodon sp, Mcay reservoir road: You need to get down on your knees

An initial meeting to plan the project was held on August 12, and a field day to survey local mosses is planned for August 27. Members interested in having some input to the project are encouraged to contact us. Commitment to diligent and systematic observation and recording will be necessary—and a willingness to spend some time on the knees in the bush.

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This bridal is creepy

Posted on 14 August, 2011 by fobif

FOBIF is following up its initial 2010 attack on bridal creeper around the giant yellow box alongside the Great Dividing Trail, with another shot at making an impact on this unpleasant weed. The site is a hundred metres from the point where the GDT crosses Forest Creek, and is a veritable wilderness of every imaginable bad weed in this area.

Our efforts are clearly very modest, and a more coordinated effort will be needed taking into consideration the values of the area, the extensive revegetation work done by landcare groups from Golden Point right through to Castlemaine, and the important issues of flood mitigation and fire risk minimisation. Tentative efforts to devise a coordinated plan for Forest Creek have been mooted in recent years, and now Max Schlacter, a Melbourne University post graduate student, has undertaken to prepare such a plan, in cooperation with Connecting Country and interested other groups. We will update on this project as it develops.

The Friends of Kalimna Park have also embarked on an ambitious bridal creeper clearance program along Moonlight Creek, on the eastern edge of the Park.

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Where there’s water . . .

Posted on 14 August, 2011 by fobif

Two FOBIF members went to Walkers Swamp on the Moolort Plains recently. They wanted to observe the abundant wetland birdlife Geoff Park has been documenting on his blog, Natural Newstead, for the past year or so. It was a still and sunny morning so the swamp with its reflections of Red Gums looked at its best.

Walkers Swamp, Moolort Plains. Photo by Bronwyn Silver, 11 August 2011

Most of the birdlife was fairly distant but we did manage to capture a White-necked or Pacific Heron Ardea pacifica sunning itself and a Striated Pardalote Pardalotus striatus in a nearby tree.

White-necked or Pacific Heron. Photo by Bronwyn Silver, 11 August 2011

Striated Pardalote. Photo by Damian Kelly, 11 August 2011

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Small birds – how to identify them

Posted on 8 August, 2011 by fobif

At this time of year, the Box-Ironbark forests are alive with birds – you can hear lots of different calls and see movements in the trees – but what are the common birds in the forests?

Throughout the Box-Ironbark forests there are a range of small birds – the “Little Brown Jobs” – that are tricky to identify, but worth the effort as they are fun to watch.

Robins

These birds tend to be on lower vegetation and are easy to see. Their colours help a lot in identifying them, especially the males.

The Scarlet Robin Petroica multicolor is the brightest coloured and can often be seen foraging for insects from low branches.

Scarlet Robin (male), Mount Tarrengower. Photo by Damian Kelly, 27 July 2011

The female has a much less striking plumage.

Scarlet Robin (female) Mount Tarrengower. Photo by Damian Kelly, 27 July 2011

At first glance, the Flame Robin Petroica phoenicea appears a bit like the Scarlet, but its rich flame-coloured breast extends all the way up to the bill, unlike the Scarlet which has black at the throat.

Flame Robin (male), Walmer South Nature Conservation Reserve. Photo by Damian Kelly, 7 August 2011

A more subtly coloured member of this family is the Hooded Robin Melanodryas cucullata. Quite a distinctive colouration.

Hooded Robin, Muckleford, Pullens Track. Photo by Damian Kelly, 7 July 2011

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Hurry–season ends soon!

Posted on 4 August, 2011 by fobif

From a few feet away they just look like vivid splashes of various shades of green. Close up, mosses are very different from each other. The Rosalubryum below has characteristic nodding capsules, for example. They’re barely visible to someone standing up–but well worth getting down for a close look:

Rosulabryum sp, Cobblers Gully August 3: the stalk is only one or two centimetres tall, but close up, with its red colour and drooping capsule, it's very distinctive. Photo, Bernard Slattery

The moss itself is also distinctive, shaped like a tiny green rosette:

From a distance the Rosulabryum is just a dark green satin surface. The delicate rosettes are clearer if you get down and peer at them. This moss--with and without capsules-- is prolific along the track in the Walmer South Conservation reserve, where this was taken on August 4. Photo: Bernard Slattery

Now is the time to get out and have a look at the wonderful moss carpets in our bushlands. We had great rain last year, and through the summer, but since March, our rainfall has been about 15% below the long term average. Already some of the mosses are starting to look a bit dry in the early August warmth–so maybe the season won’t last much longer. Of course, with a new burst of rain they can recover remarkably…but why wait?

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Pollution monitors

Posted on 29 July, 2011 by fobif

Spring is around the corner, with spectacular flowering of Hardenbergia, and emergence of many other flowering plants like Hovea, Daviesia and Hakea.

But by far the most prolific forms of life in the bush at the moment are the mosses and lichens, forming curious carpets and even aerial displays almost everywhere. The pics below show lichens of the Cladonia genus which form part of a group known loosely as squamulose: that is, they don’t cling to the surface, but send out independent, definitely three dimensional bodies off leaf like bases called squamules. Cladonia are normally found in damp, sheltered spots:

Cladonia sp, Smutta's Track: they don't look much from a distance, but have a strange fascination if you get down on your knees for a close up look. Photo: Bernard Slattery

Another three dimensional group are called ‘fruticose’. An example is the Usnea genus, or ‘beard lichens’, which can be seen on dead and even living twigs around our bushlands:

Usnea sp, 'beard lichen', Tarilta gorge July 29, 2011 Photo Bernard Slattery

The microscopic strangeness of these combinations of alga and fungus should not blind us to their importance: they play a crucial role in creating and binding soil. On a more mundane level, lichens are indicators of air quality: they take in nutrients directly from

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Beautiful weeds

Posted on 25 July, 2011 by fobif

The lovely foliage in the picture below belongs to the Cootamundra wattle, Acacia baileyana, which is in prolific flower in our region this month.

Unfortunately, the Cootamundra is a good example of the rule that most weeds are quite beautiful. The problem with weeds isn’t that we don’t like them, it’s that outside of their native environment they become botanical bullies, displacing local plants and creating a less healthy environment.

Acacia baileyana, Poverty Gully Race, July 25 2011: a native of southern NSW, this tree is a weed in our region--but it's not the worst. Photo: Bernard Slattery

The Cootamundra is a minor player on our weed scene, however. The big villains in our part of the world include blackberry, gorse, boneseed, willow, bridal creeper and others in the category ‘Weeds of National Significance.’ Local groups, including FOBIF, Parks Victoria, Landcare and the Friends of Kalimna Park, have been active in trying to combat these pests.

You can find more info about local weeds and ways to fight them in the Catchment Management Authority’s just published North Central Invasive Plants and Animals Strategy 2010-2015.

This document naturally aims at eradication and control. It does acknowledge, however, that some weeds are well and truly out of control, and these cases adopts a policy of trying to protect ‘priority areas’. The only area thus nominated in our region is Mount Alexander State Park.

The document also sensibly puts community involvement as a key goal: it’s important for locals to be able to recognise weeds, and ‘have opportunities to participate as partners in all aspects of invasive species management.’ This is the point we were making in our post of July 20 on broom infestation on Mount Alexander.

The Strategy can be found online at www.nccma.vic.gov.au

 

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More than wildflowers

Posted on 22 July, 2011 by fobif

Two FOBIF members recently visited the south end of the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park to see what was in flower. Common Heath Epacris impressa in its pink and white forms was everywhere.

Common Heath. Photo by Bronwyn Silver

Downy Grevillea Grevillea alpina, Bushy Needlewood Hakia decurrens and Rough Wattle Acacia aspera were also in flower.

We spent some time observing a Black WallabyWallabia bicolour that was browsing on a Bush-pea shrub next to Porcupine Ridge Road and also found a profusion of bright orange Bracket Fungi Pycnoporus coccineus growing on a fallen log next to the Wewak Track.

Black Wallaby. Photo by Bronwyn Silver.

Bracket Fungi. Photo by Bronwyn Silver.

 

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Nuggetty Walk

Posted on 22 July, 2011 by fobif

Thirteen people braved the cold, foggy and wet conditions on the July FOBIF walk to the Rock of Ages. This magical site is situated on top of Mount Moorul which is a couple kilometres north of Maldon. It is part of the Nuggetty Ranges.

Some of the walkers on 17 July. Photo by Bronwyn Silver

At first fog prevented us from seeing the normally magnificent views from the summit. However the weather cleared and while walking along Nuggetty Track you could see north for miles. The Hedge Wattle Acacia paradoxa pictured on the right in the photo below was growing throughout the area.

View from Nuggetty Track, Photo by Bronwyn Silver, 21 July 2011.

Miles Geldard led the walk and provided an entertaining and informative commentary about the geology of the area and its fauna and flora. Two of the few plants in flower were Purple Coral-pea Hardenbergia violacea growing on granite bolders on the Rock of Ages and Small-leaf Clematis Clematis microphylla.

Purple Coral-pea. Photo by Genis Wylde.

Small-leaf Clematis. Photo by Genis Wylde.

Rock Ferns Cheilanthes sp. had clearly benefitted from months of regular rain.

Rock Fern. Photo by Bronwyn Silver.

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CMA responds on creek clearance

Posted on 22 July, 2011 by fobif

At the FOBIF AGM a question was put to the Catchment Management Authority’s Damian Wells about vegetation clearance along Barkers and Campbells Creeks. We’ve had the following response from the CMA this week:

‘The CMA inspected sites in the region in response to community/stakeholder enquires following flood events.

‘Any sites that contained accumulated flood debris i.e. loose vegetative material such as sticks, logs, branches, leaf material were targeted for removal. At almost all blockage sites the accumulated flood debris was positioned against in stream ‘live vegetation’, therefore it actually was contributing to the blockage. Predominately, this in stream ‘live vegetation’ consisted of exotic vegetation, mainly willow but may have included hawthorn, ash and poplar species.

Campbell's Creek, July 2011: the stumps visible here are willows; the CMA says its works have had a 'negligible' effect on native vegetation.

‘At some sites live native vegetation (canopy) species such as red gum and wattle were amongst the accumulated flood debris sites. Therefore the act of accessing and removing the debris and live exotic species at the identified blockage sites with large mechanical machinery was unavoidable.

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