U3A field trip to "Track opposite Pony Club"

 The attached map shows the location of this walk. marked with green dots, and - to give context - how far along we made it in about 75 minutes (point A!).

Here are the observers getting down to work! 

Here is the list of species recorded on this site, both today and on our recce trip.  The first image is a melange of the flowers beside the track.  I commented on the walk that I thought this the best flowering season we have had at this site.  In view of the very dry season I felt this was (you should excuse the anthropomorphism) the plants seizing the last chance to produce seed rather reflecting good weather

There were several species of Acacia seen on the walk.  (My download for the District as a whole from iNaturalist includes 10 wattles.)  This one is A. oxycedrus.  Many of the other wattles have finished flowering.

The download includes representatives of 77 families.  The Family with the greatest number of subordinate taxa (species and subspecies) is the orchid family with 38 taxa.  Acacia is part of the Family Fabaceae together with a group of taxa in which the flowers show 'keels' and are commonly known as 'peas' as the group includes the green pea vegetable.   The next image is one of the commonest peas in the District Dillwynnia sericea.

The general nature of the vegetation here could be considered a heath, so it is not surprising to find the Common Heath, Epacris impressa here.  The pink form of this species is Victoria's floral emblem but most of those evident of the walk were white, with a few pink and red.

Pimelea linifolia

Another pea: Platylobium parviflorum.  This was once known as P. formosum, but that taxon has been split into several different taxa and is no longer accepted.

Another pea! Pultanaea hispidula.

A very common plant without the flamboyance of the peas.  The most noticeable feature of Xanthosia pilosa is the very lobed leaves covered with hairs (pilosa means hairy).  The yellow flowers can be difficult to pick out,

Lotsa photos: many of Animals without legs

 This is mainly about a trip we took to Merimbula, via Green Cape.  I shall begin by commenting on the title: I don't consider 'flippers' to be legs, so we begin early in the day with a few snaps of a seal swimming beside the Broome St Boardwalk.

Check the whiskers.

At the end of the Boardwalk I heard the call of an Australasian Figbird and with a little help from Photoshop Express, here is the male. The female was nearby, but I have too many photos in this post anyway.

So we headed off from home, with our first destination the Disaster Bay Lookout.  This first image is a reverse view of photos I took a few days ago on a trip to Nadgee.  It shows how the Bay Cliff could be considered a sea stack, if the encroaching sand was removed.

The pattern left by waves washing on the beach was intriguing,

Moving on to Pulpit Rock we were greeted by a large circle f white water, signalling that a cetacean (again flippers not legs), had just rejoined the water after a breach.  That didn't happen again but I did get a couple of snaps of parts of whales.

The view looking North.

We had hoped the Shearwater migration might have started but not so. The only ocean bird seen here was a solitary Gannet - by this time about 400 metres away.

I also snapped this Fairywren running around: it is fully off the ground and leaning into a curved path.

Rock platform with descending Frances!

The next photos were taken by Frances as went into the rock platform while I  continued to look for Cetaceans.  Looking back to the steps:

The Southern Wall.

An insertion in the wall.  No idea what it might be.

When the insertions fall out they leave these holes behind.

This shows the complexity of the rock here and a second type of insertion.

The underside of part of the wall.

When the geologising was done we headed off for a walk in the Heath.  Many New Holland Honeyeaters were squabbling in the bushes.

Grevillea lanigera 

Hakea decurrens showing fresh fruit (blue arrow); ripe but still green, fruit (orange arrow; and old dry fruit(red arrows).

Very old fruit and flower!

Euphrasia collina collina: Flora of Victoria notes 8 subspecies occur in Victoria with overlapping ranges.

According to the iNaturalist AI this daisy is Arctotis acaulis.  That has a common name of African Flat Daisy so a BIG HINT that it is not native here!  An expert has identified it as Argentipallium obtusifolium: part of the split of Helichrysum some years ago.

Definitely Bossiaea ensata: one of the few species I am certain of!

We ten moved to the Lighthouse area where a Nankeen Kestrel was taking 5.  The head looks grey, making this a male.

A good sized swell running and washing over the rocks.

Not kelp, but seal fins sticking out of the water

In the larger group I think there were at least 12 seals lounging around in the waves.

A view North from the Lighthouse.

While looking at the seals a young woman called out to us that there was a big Brown Snake between us and the lighthouse.  Frances soon spotted it.  A fine specimen: my guess is about 1.8m long and well muscled.  

It eventually took itself back into the veg so we left the area.  About 10m further up the track there was another of similar dimension.

At Pambula the first business was acquiring lunch at Wild Rye.  A 9.5 rated steak and kidney pie for me.  Despite closing the Cann River Cafe (and ceasing deliveries to Mallacoota) the Pambula operation will continue.  Apparently the problem is getting accommodation for staff.  Then to the small wetland to eat the pie and look for the (now resident) Magpie Geese.

Consistency in the Hinterland

10 September was Glossy Count Day, so I took myself off to Fern Gully Track, sort of in the Howe Range area.  Access is off the Fairhaven Freeway (a humourous name for a reasonable dirt road) which runs from the Johnson Bridge over the Wallagaraugh toward Fairhaven on Bottom Lake.  The drive (via Genoa) takes an hour, the same as going in a putt-putt rental boat to Dowell Creek.

Here is a map of Fern Gully Track: note the word "Track" which suggests it isn't going to be smooth.

It is interesting that the track has become a no through road because Parks have stopped - since the Black Summer fire - clearing the section indicated as overgrown and the alternate route .  has a locked gate into private property.  The next image proves the status as 'track', rather than road.  With sufficient incentive - eg being pursued by an angry mob, or possibly a bushfire - I could get up there in the Mazda, but lacking such incentivisation I was pleased I was in the Pajero.

The bush was not far off the road!

The track was in better nick, both state of the ground and freedom from vegetation at the far end

A general view of the forest with much flowering wattle.

Here is the wattle.  I have no idea of the species and neither the Plants of SE NSW app; Vic Flora nor (so far) iNaturalist are not helpful getting either species beyond Acacia sp.  Single ball flowers rules out A. longifolia, which seems to be the default in the area.  Consideration by an expert from iNaturalist has got this first species to A. genistifolia: much lusher than it grows on shale in the frosts o Canberra.

The second species.  This has been worked on by the expert and on the evidence of this photo can't be matched to any species.  A. subporosa is close but the the Plants of SE NSW app concludes this is rare in Vic and possibly hybridises with A. cognata (which has much narrower phyllodes).  So leave it at e Genus level.

iNaturalist suggests Daviesia ulicifolia for this pea which seems about right.  Confirmed on iNaturalist.

This is an Allocasuarina covered with cones.  Unfortunately there is a full complement on the tree, none having been removed by Glossies.

I noticed this large (close to 2m. nose to tip of tail) goanna sitting on an area of disturbed ground.  It was soon a little elevated.

It didn't seem unduly fussed by me!

I was hopeful of 3 species of birds on the outing.  Glossy Black-Cockatoo at this track; Black Bittern at the Wallagaraugh; and Brown Cuckoo-Dove at Gipsy Point.  I was consistent, on dipping on all three!