The next Moss Identification Field Day is on Saturday 8 October at 10 am. The group will be meeting at Clinkers Hill Bushland Reserve. Bring hand lenses and record books. If you would like to find out more about this project, ring Beth Mellick on 5472 1316.
To assist in the identification of mosses for the proposed field guide, scanned diagrams can be downloaded here.
If you are interested in joining the Moss and Liverwort Field Guide group, ring Beth Mellick on 5472 1316.
Other common birds you are likely to see in the forests include the Silvereye Zosterops lateralis which frequents a range of habitats from town gardens to open forest. They often move about in flocks searching for food.
Silvereye, Castlemaine. Photo by Damian Kelly, 22 July 2011
A bird that is hard to identify, but is common wherever there are flowering eucalypts is the Musk Lorikeet Glossopsitta concinna. Often to be seen hanging from foliage as it searches for nectar amongst the trees.
Musk Lorikeet. Bells’ Swamp. Photo by Damian Kelly, 28 July 2011
When walking along Forest Creek recently we came across a series of freshly dug holes that varied in shape and size. Ones made by the hungry echidna (see below) were a delight to see as it meant that the rehabilitation work being done in this area was making this a healthier place for it to live.
August 2011, Photo by John Ellis
The other holes (see below) made by people who had heard about the increased price in gold made a mockery of a landscape in the process of recovering from previous gold diggings. Prospectors should have a license and follow the Code Of Practice that requires holes to be filled in. It would be even better if they dug up a gorse bush rather than a dianella!
August 2011, Photo by John Ellis
Fifteen people took part in a fascinating moss field day at Clinkers Hill Bushland Reserve on 27 August. This was part of the Moss and Liverwort project that is working on producing a brochure about local mosses and liverworts. The group spent two hours identifying, photographing and recording ten varieties of moss.
Beth Mellick from the Norman Wettenhall Foundation supplied magnifying glasses and recording materials for everyone.
The afternoon was led by postgraduate student Cassia Read. She wrote this summary of her background:
I’ve been studying and working in the field of ecology for the last 15 years, starting out with a botany degree at Melbourne Uni, followed by a mixed bag of jobs, including Fungimap coordinator, researching the evolution of plant architecture, and reporting on the impact of climate change on biodiversity in national parks. I’m currently doing a PhD at Melbourne Uni on biological soil crusts of the Mallee and Wimmera. Crusts are intriguing communities of moss, lichen and fungi that live at the soil surface in arid environments. These crusts have an important role in ecosystem function. I’m particularly interested in how they influence seed germination and survival and how they recover following livestock exclusion, as stock with hard hooves remove moss and lichens and expose the top soil to erosion. I’ve recently moved to Castlemaine. While my family and I are all enjoying the bush my two young daughters have quickly turned into ‘moss monsters,’ ripping up moss when we’re out walking so they can please mum with a handful of the precious green stuff.
Two of the mosses the group studied are pictured below in magnified form.
Breutelia affinist with male "flowers" (red/brown centre on the crown of the moss). Photo by Bronwyn Silver
Barbula crinita. This moss has a long golden hairpoint and the apex of the leaf meets the hair at an obtuse angle. Photo by Bronwyn Silver
The project is supported by Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests, the Norman Wettenhall Foundation and Connecting Country. If you would like to find out more information contact Beth Mellick on 5472 1316.
White Everlasting Daisy (Chrysocephalum baxteri)
Slime Mould
Dunns Reef
Tall Greenhoods
Gnat Orchid
Blue Caladenia
Downy Grevillea (Grevillea alpina)
Coliban river upstream of the Gibbons bridge
Coliban river upstream of the Gibbons bridge.
Coliban river upstream of the Gibbons bridge.
Sailors Gully ruin
Loddon River near Vaughan
Cortinarius archeri
Mycena subgalericulata
Cortinarius rotundisporus
Cortinarius cystidiocatenatus,
Ramaria sp.
Pink Heath
Mount Alexander
Mount Alexander
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Click on image for info/order page
Click on image for info/order page