Nine members turned up for the April field trip, a walk in Paganoni Reserve on a beautiful autumn morning. Paganoni Swamp Reserve is part of the Rockingham Lakes Regional Park and is a Bush Forever site. It is a large reserve, around 680ha, and has a number of different types of vegetation communities.
Our walk started at the Bridle Trail entrance and followed the fire breaks around the block that was subject to a fuel reduction burn in autumn 2011. Situated in this area are a number of fenced off plots where the regeneration of Tuarts (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) after fire is being studied. Other evidence of the research being undertaken in Paganoni were the funnel shaped collectors installed to sample the quantity of seeds falling on the soil.
As we walked in along the north – south firebreak we observed a change in the types of woodland. Near the gate there are many fine Tuarts on either side of the track but these are replaced by Swamp Paperbarks (Melaleuca rhaphiophylla) in the swampy area on the west of the track. Further along the track we found Swamp Banksia (Banksia Litoralis) in flower. In this first part of the walk huge numbers of dried skeletons of the Blue Lace flowers (Trachymene coerulea) still stood, testament to the beautiful display that was seen in January. All had dropped their seeds, so it is hoped that a similar display will be seen early next year if the weather conditions are favourable this winter and spring. To our surprise we also found some plants that were still in flower.
This wasn’t the only plant that appeared to have an extended flowering period this year; we also spotted two Woody pears (Xylomelum occidentale) that were still flowering, this is well outside the typical flowering period for this species. Other plants seen in flower were Prickle Lily (Acanthocarpus preissii) and Menzies Banksia (Banksia menziesii). As we progressed around the burned section we noted that the Hibbertia hypericoides was recovering well. Banksia saplings were also emerging as new life replaced that destroyed during the burn.
Bird species sighted during the morning included a flock of 12 Forest Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos that were feeding in a Tuart tree and a flock of 8 – 10 Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos. Other sightings included Red Wattlebird, Grey Butcherbird, Kookaburra, Red Capped Parrot, Ringneck Parrot, Corellas and Galahs. Of the smaller bird species, Western Gerygone, Splendid Fairy Wren, Spotted Pardalote, Brown Honeyeater and Silvereye were seen. A Grey Currawong was heard calling in the eastern section of the reserve.
The tracks of Grey Kangaroos were seen everywhere in the sandy tracks and two were spotted bounding off through the woodland, after being disturbed by our group. We followed the tracks around until we arrived back at our starting point where we had a well earned cuppa and snacks and reflected on what a wonderful treasure Paganoni Reserve represents. A few of our group had not explored Paganoni before and they were very impressed with the quality and diversity of the vegetation communities that we saw. Colin Prickett