Seven members made the trip up to Wongan Hills for the weekend to explore the region’s nature reserves. The weather was overcast, fairly cool and windy but there was no rain. During the weekend we visited the Wongan Wildflower Walk and Christmas Rock Walk, both close to town, and we also travelled out of town to Roger’s Reserve, the Reynoldson Flora Reserve and Dingo Rock. For reference we had the WA Naturalists’ Club publication, The Natural History of the Wongan Hills.

The Wongan Wildflower Walk is a relatively short walk near the Water Supply Depot on Quinlan Street. Many shrubs were in flower and we spent an enjoyable 90 minutes exploring this very accessible reserve. Flowering plants sighted during the walk included Boronia coerulescens subsp. spinescens, Honeybush (Hakea lissocarpha),Wells Dampiera (Dampiera wellsii), Diplolaena velutina, Drosera macrantha, Isopogon scrabiusculus, Synaphea spinulosa, and Keraudrenia velutina subsp. velutina. Orchid sightings included Cowslip Orchids (Caladenia flava), the Mini Donkey Orchid (Diuris recurva) and the Sugar Orchid (Ericksonella saccharata).

The Christmas Rock walk Trail is a 2,665m circuit around the granite outcrop from which it gets its name. The rock was once the source of water for the railways during the steam era, with run off now being harvested to water the town’s ovals and parks. The reserve has a total area of around 2000ha. At the entrance to the reserve a Box Poison (Gastrolobium parviflorum) was in flower. On the walk many orchids were in flower, including the Clown Orchid (Caladenia roei), Chameleon Spider orchid (Caladenia dimidia), Yellow Spider Orchid (Caladenia denticulate), White Spider Orchid (Caladenia longia sp.caud.), Lemon-scented Sun Orchid (Thelymitra antennifera), Cowslip Orchids (Caladenia flava) and Little Laughing Leek Orchids (Prasophyllum gracile). Stackhousia monogyna was flowering close to the rock.

On Sunday morning our first trip was to Roger’s Reserve, 8kms west of Wongan Hills on the Waddington/Wongan Road, which at 341 hectare is the second largest nature reserve in the Wongan Hills area. Here we found numerous spider orchids in flower including the Chameleon Spider Orchid and others for which the identity needs to be confirmed, possibly hybrids. Numerous plants of the Winter Donkey Orchid (Diuris brumalis) were spotted. The Pink Pokers (Grevillea petrophiloides) was also in flower. Several male Casuarinas were found to be in flower.

We then headed to the Reynoldson Flora Reserve, renowned for its displays of Verticordia in late spring. A few pink Verticordia plants were starting to flower, a taste of what is to come. Other flowering plants included large numbers of Prickly Toothbrushes (Grevillea armigera), the Prince of Wales Feather (Ptilotus polystackus), and Hibbertia sp. A large colony of Clown Orchids (Caladenia roei) was found under a Casuarina.

During a conversation with some fellow enthusiasts at Roger’s Reserve we learned that there were large numbers of orchids in flower at Dingo Rock so we added this reserve to our itinerary. We were certainly not disappointed. Having to park our cars short of the rock itself due to a muddy section of the track we found ourselves in an area where we found Blue Fairy Orchids (Pheladenia deformis), Pink Candy Orchids (Caladenia hirta subsp. rosea), White Spider Orchids (Caladenia longicauda sp.) and several that appeared to be hybrids. Up on the rock itself we found depressions containing one of the so called resurrection plants Pincushions (Borya sphaerocephala), Stackhousia monogyna and Chameleon Spider Orchids. At the base of the rock the Granite Kunzea (Kunzea pulchella) provided a colourful spectacle.

During our walks and during the drives between reserves we spotted the following birds: Raven, Galah, Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike, Singing Honeyeater, Black-faced Woodswallow, Welcome Swallow, Magpie, Magpie Lark, Black Duck, Grey Teal, Australian Shelduck, White-faced Heron, White-necked Heron, Weebil, Western Gerygone, Brown Falcon, Black Shouldered Kite and WillyWagtail

No native Mammals were spotted; two feral animals were sighted, a rabbit at Reynoldson Reserve and a fox on the road as we left Reynoldson Reserve.

Of the invertebrates one was an unusual beetle, with antennae resembling moose antlers found at Reynoldson Reserve. The species name has not been confirmed as yet.

In all it was a very enjoyable weekend. The number of like-minded people that we encountered during our walks is a testament to the reputation that the area has for its diverse flora.

Colin Prickett