It’s orchid time…and that’s not all

Posted on 14 September, 2026 by fobif

Spring! And it’s time to go and have a look around. In particular, orchids are coming out all over.

A highlight: Castlemaine Spider Orchids are observable in the Monk area, in the area of walk 3 in FOBIF’s publication, 20 Walks in the Mount Alexander Shire. You have to pay close attention to find them—but it’s fun to go searching, and even if you’re not successful, there’s plenty more to see on this walk right now: Billy Buttons, Fairy Wax-flower, native Buttercup, fields of Early Nancy, Downy Grevillea, Creamy Candles, Bitter Pea…

The orchids aren’t easy to see:

Castlemaine Spider Orchid, the Monk track September 12…

But they’re pretty cool when you get close:

Good luck searching!

Bernard Slattery

Posted in Nature Observations, News, Walks | 2 Comments

Fryers Ranges Walk: Sunday September 20

Posted on 14 September, 2026 by fobif

It is springtime and walkers will enjoy the forest and wildflowers of this area on this walk. We will explore the eastern slopes of the Fryers Ranges in the region of the Kangaroo Tracks, Upper and Lower and reach the main ridge. The walk will deviate off-track in sections, to investigate the enigmatic stone cairns, wildflowers and other indicators of the end of winter and early spring season. Expect some walking on forest vehicle tracks, minor indistinct tracks and off-track. The off-track has some fallen timber and rocks so wear sturdy shoes and walking poles may help with balance. It is a circuit walk of about 6 kilometres at a gentle pace, lead by Christine Henderson, who lives in this area and it is her favourite backyard. Bring water, morning tea and lunch. 

Meet at Community House at 9.30am or in Taradale main street opposite the Metro service station at 9.45am.

Enquiries: contact either Christine Henderson 0417 529 392 or Gen Blades 0431 371 065

 

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Comeback

Posted on 6 September, 2026 by fobif

Hardenbergia is flowering around the region—always a highlight of the approaching spring.

What’s extra good about the plants pictured below, though, is that they’ve more or less come back from the dead.

Hardenbergia violacea along the Coliban Channel near the Old Coach Road. The plant is coming back after an apparent poisoning episode.

Readers may remember our post from three years ago, deploring the fact that someone had methodically gone along the Coliban race poisoning the plants along the verge of the channel. If you want to see the results, grit your teeth and click here.

We couldn’t for the life of us see the rationale behind this bit of vandalism: the plants in question were unlikely to cause any damage to the channel—but enquiries to Coliban Water ran into a dead end.

Among the main victims were the extensive mats of Hardenbergia.

Well, they’re back: not yet as impressive as they were, but still pretty good. As a bonus: if you look hard enough you can see some flowering Narrow-leaf Wattles, unusual in our region.

Acacia aculeatissima, Coliban Channel, September 2026: a cute but unobtrusive plant, hard to see when not in flower.

Other victims of the mad sprayer—Grey Everlasting, Bush Peas, Dillwynia, Trailing Shaggy Pea—are mainly present as ghostly dead shrubs…but we can hope they can make a comeback, too. Watch this space!

Bernard Slattery

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Interesting discussion; available online and in person, 6pm 21/9/2026.

Posted on 2 September, 2026 by fobif


https://events.humanitix.com/rsv-burning-off-debate

Posted in Fire Management, News | Comments Off on Interesting discussion; available online and in person, 6pm 21/9/2026.

Report on Kalimna walk Sunday 16th August

Posted on 17 August, 2026 by fobif

It seemed that everyone who turned up for our FOBIF walk today commented on how beautiful the day was – glorious Central Victorian sunshine and a BOM promise of 17O. So it was a happy crowd who gathered in Kalimna Park for a short walk to explore and enjoy getting to know the Castlemaine bush better; to hone in on our observation skills of the bush around us – from the details of plants to the broader landscape.

Our guides, Chrissi and Frances, led us to three slightly off-road sites where ecological surveys had been conducted in 2019. At the first site we looked down and explored the bush floor, looking for plants we didn’t know or which just interested us. Chrissi introduced us to a wide range of reference material to aid our exploration and become familiar with the plants. We discussed the difference between Hovea and Hardenbergia, marveled at the mosses and lichens and tried to avoid treading on the abundant chocolate lilies from which, hopefully in a couple of months will provide an explosion of scent and colour. And still the sun shone….

At our second stop Frances gave us suggestions to help understand eucalypts, especially Red Box, Grey Box and Long-leaved box, by looking up at the foliage as well as wandering round the trunks to pick up leaves and buds for identification. Meanwhile a Scarlet Robin flitted amongst the branches keeping an eye on us. Generous discussions ensued about birds and plants and ecological influences.  And still the sun shone…

A broader landscape view of the bush was the focus of our last site. Chrissi invited us to think about the influence of such things as slope, aspect, vegetation layers and provoked us to question what might be the relationships between them. Such questions can increase our understanding of the bush we see and add to our enjoyment.

As we gradually wandered back to the cars the sun was still shining and it was wonderful to see the bush starting to bloom.  We should now be more attuned to the bush we love to explore on foot. Thank you, Chrissi and Frances for sharing your knowledge. And thanks to the sunshine – a perfect day for being introduced to the emerging Spring around Castlemaine.

Lesley Hodgson

Posted in Nature Observations, News, Walks | 2 Comments