HIGHLIGHTS...
MEET IMPORTANT LOCALS
Here are some of the local friends we met... scroll down...
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Some photos are clickable for larger size and info
FEBRUARY 20, 2022
All images by Vicky Shukuroglou unless otherwise stated
MARCH 6, 2022
APRIL 30, 2022
The complexity of Box-Ironbark forest is evident throughout the year. We focused on the bark and leaves of various eucalypts for species identification. Top right - Yellow Box (Eucalyptus Melliodora) has roughly fibrous/finely tessellated bark at the base, to smooth, variably patterned upper trunk & limbs.
Red Stringybark
Eucalyptus macrorhyncha
Red Ironbark
Eucalyptus tricarpa
Long-leaf Box or Bundy
Eucalyptus goniocalyx
NOVEMBER 26, 2022
Blue Pincushion - Brunonia australis
Murnong/Yam Daisy - Microseris lanceolata
Dampieria - Dampiera stricta
Common Wedge-pea - Gompholobium huegelii
Button Everlasting - Coronidium scorpioides - photo Michael Smith
Also seen were: Chocolate lily - Arthropodium strictum; Dianellia - Dianella revoluta; Longhorn moth (genus, not sure of the species) were also seen, along with Common Brown Butterfly, Forester moth - Pollanisus viridipulverulenta, Net-winged Beetle, Chequered beetle (genus, not sure of the species)
FEBRUARY 2023
TOP IMAGE:
Lampides boeticus
Long-tailed Pea-blue Butterfly
SECOND:
Hypochrysops delicia
Moonlight Jewel Butterfly
THIRD:
Chrysolopus spectabilis
Botany Bay Weevil
FOURTH:
Nacaduba biocellata
Two-spotted Line-blue Butterfly
BOTTOM:
Runcinia acuminata
Pointy Runcinia (amazing camouflage!)
MARCH 25, 2023
Musk Lorikeet - Glossopsitta concinna. These beautiful birds are endemic to south eastern Australia.
These amazing little constructions are made by the
nymphs of some type of tube spittlebug.
This is home!
Mushrooms - probably a type of Inkcap
The eggs of a Katydid
The egg sac of a Jewel Spider
JUNE 10, 2023
Wonderful diversity of fungi are found with careful looking. We have noticed a correlation between the health of the environment (greater diversity and abundance of locally-appropriate species) and the diversity and abundance of fungi. The relationships are innumerable and complex.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2023
All images by Vicky Shukuroglou unless otherwise stated
OCTOBER 28, 2023
A busy and terrific time at Moor-rul Grassland. Learning and so MUCH weeding!
Pink flowers of indigenous Convolvulus used to be relatively common through Nillumbik. We care for their return!
A bunch of common weeds found in Nillumbik. These displace indigenous grasses, herbs, and other plants. This then applies pressure to the relationships between plants, insects, other animals, and the soil.
We were fortunate that Dean Stewart joined us for some of the time and shared his perspectives. One of the images he showed can be seen here - it depicts a grassland with its diverse flora and a scattered group of women bent over with their digging sticks. These women would have been harvesting edible plants such as Murnong (yam daisy), Bulbine and other lilies, and various orchids. It was a common practice carried out by Wurundjeri women, and helped maintain the health of ecosystems. Introduced animals & land clearing devastated these staple foods.
Carefully weeding, ensuring minimal disturbance and maximum root removal. By holding the base of the weedy vetch, it is gently and firmly pulled up, without breaking the stem and with minimal soil attached. The same technique is used for weedy grasses including Sweet Vernal and Quaking grass.
Here we can see how MANY vetch seeds are ripening... so we prevented the spread of thousands of weedy seeds. Great work!
Dandelions filled the lower section of the grassland.
Two of us returned with a scythe (great for fitness, no petrol, no plastic)... and got to work.
We collected all the flower heads to prevent seed spread.
Before and after!
We carefully worked around indigenous grasses such as Themeda triandra (Kangaroo grass), seen here, before and after.
NOVEMBER 20 & 27, 2023
Equipped with headtorches and warm clothes, we were ready for night wonders...
What joy! So many incredible creatures - a giant grasshopper carrying dew drops, paper wasps with their eggs in the safety of their stunning architecture, two native bees sleeping head down in a half-closed flower, critters with engaging eyes, gown-like wings and whacky hairdos, Powerful Owls and Frogmouths, and so much more! We are so fortunate.
They deserve our love and care.
Common names of some creatures we saw:
Scarab beetles, Net-winged Beetle, Hanging fly, Pine looper caterpillar, Frogs – Pobblebonk, Southern Brown Tree Frog, Peron’s Tree Frog and Spotted Marsh Frog - Boobook Owl, Powerful Owl, Tawny Frogmouths (two juvenile and one parent feeding them), White-striped Free-tail Bat (heard), Brushtail Possums, Lasioglossum bees.
Thanks to Tim Handfield for the photos of the Powerful Owl and Tawny frogmouth family
JANUARY 20 2024
It's the season .... !
All images by Vicky Shukuroglou unless otherwise stated
FEBRUARY 18 2024
The very beautiful Green Grass-dart, Ocybadistes walkeri, graced us with its fluttering presence.
It was happily feeding on various plants including Goodenia and Persicaria sp.
You can see its proboscis in the photos below, one showing it curled up, the other extended into the flower as it feeds.
And LOOK at those 'eyelashes' and rather fancy shoulder fuzzies!!
A fantastic diversity of creatures live here.
Mature trees are incredibly valuable for many reasons. They offer particular types of habitat that are not found in young trees. We were watching various kinds of native wasps - some barely visible to the naked eye - entering tiny holes in the tree trunk. The holes had been made by other insects for their own reproductive purposes.
With much excitement, we observed two Imperial Hairstreak Butterflies mating in the grass. We made sure we did not disturb them. So vulnerable...
The female lays eggs on nearby Acacias, where the larvae grow and undergo their astonishing transformation into larger caterpillars (that are attended by certain ants), pupae/chrysalis and emerge as butterflies.
Pics coming soon...
Here are photos of a Robberfly and what we think is a kind of Sawfly.
MAY 5 2024
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At the end of one of our walks, a dead Antechinus was found. We do not know what caused its death, but we worry that rat poison may have been a cause.
Many of our native animals suffer sickness and death as a result of ingesting rat poison or from eating another animal that has died from the poison (known as secondary poisoning). We urge everyone to explore alternatives such as live traps. Introduced species and environmental management give rise to significant ethical issues. No matter what, it is critical that we do everything we can to eliminate and reduce animal suffering.
Here we can see the incredible foot pad of the Antechinus. No doubt highly sensitive and capable in just the ways it needs, adapted to the local ecosystem that supports it.
These little creatures, which are often mistaken for introduced mice, mostly eat insects.
They need our love!
More pics from the day coming soon
All images by Vicky Shukuroglou unless otherwise stated
JUNE 8 2024
AUGUST, 2022
Fungus commonly known as White Punk (Laetiporus portentosus), usually growing on Eucalypts, often high up the trunk. Used as a fire carrier/tinder by Indigenous people in many areas.
Last season's fruiting bodies/seed capsules from a Sun Orchid. These have dried, split open to release seed, and remained standing.
A Nodding Greenhood, in earlier stages of flower formation.
The immature fruit of Exocarpus Cupressiformis, commonly known as Cherry Ballart, Bush Cashew or Ballee. The darker green upper part will swell and turn red, with the seed remaining on the outside. Fantastic habitat for owls and others.
One of the many Bitter Pea (Daviesia) species of the area. Daviesia
