The weekend started with the arrival of the first visitors, Margaret and Stan Telford, always the early birds.  People continued to come during the day and the last arrival turned up after dark.  The weather was very mixed with a lot of rain in the morning so some people cancelled.  There were eight of us who fires and afterwards we watched a brush-tailed possum and a quenda, both at close quarters. We had intended to do some night spot-lighting but the rain put paid to that  We were keen to check on a large, dead spearwood (Kunzea ericafolia) that exhibited a considerable amount of shavings down the trunk, emanating from a small hole.  These are the characteristics of a Phascogale nest and we were optimistic.  Viewing the next night resulted in nothing but we live in hope.

During the day we wandered around the block of nearly 100 acres.  The biggest surprise was the great numbers, variety and colours of fungi. There was a lot of water in the ‘big’ lake but there was a lot of damage to trees from the storm the previous week.  Particularly noticeable was the large amount of debris under the jarrah trees where the top branches with lots of buds could not withstand the blow.  The christmas trees looked as though someone had taken a trimmer to the softer branches which now lay beneath in heaps.  A large, healthy marri was uprooted and smashed to the ground.  Hopefully the cleared space will cause other plants to thrive in the future.

On Sunday we were a total of 18 people, including six photographers from a Riverton Camera Club, a couple of whom belong to the Nats.  The weather was clear and the sky a brilliant blue.  There were some wonderful photos taken of birds, especially the scarlet robin and golden whistler.  The fungus was even better than on the Saturday.  A treat was the red basket stinkhorn fungus in the middle of the firebreak.  It came up in the morning and by dusk it had dwindled to an insignificant pile, and clearly attracted flies. There were very large ghost fungi all over the block in good condition and these contrasted with lots of tiny, coloured fungi of reds, yellow, white and more. Near the basket fungus a big pile of feral bee wax lay beneath a large tree which held the hive.  Nearby were a number of Menzies banksias in flower, laden with visiting bees.  One keen admirer had a sting to prove it.

There were large numbers of the white flowers, especially the tiered mat rush with its strong sweet perfume and the autumn leek orchid.  The hibbertia was beginning to flower and the calytrix were beginning to finish.  The red of the basket flower glowed in the bright sunlight all over the block and the holly-leaved banksias were covered in the yellow, orange and red flowers..

Some of the Fungi

Ghost fungi; a red cap; a white cap (gilled); a slime fungus; brown-topped white-gilled on Kunzea ericafolia; a frilled wood  fungus; puff ball; golden wood; banded wood fungus; rainbow type (pored); scarlet bracket; tiny, round  white on wood; tiny finger type; Scotsman’s beard; basket stinkhorn (Clathrus ruber).

 Birds

Australian Shelduck; Black Duck; Wood Duck; Twenty-eight Parrot; Marsh Harrier; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Scarlet Robin; Grey Fantail; Brown Honeyeater; Western Spinebill; Red Wattlebird; Rufous Whistler; Western Gerygone; Inland Thornbill; Splendid Fairy-wren; Weebill; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Laughing Kookaburra; Striated Pardalote; Grey Butcherbird; Magpie; Raven; Grey Shrike-thrush; Golden Whistler; Black-faced Woodswallow; Welcome Swallow; Mudlark; Boobook Owl; Mistletoe Bird; Tree Martin; White-fronted Chat; Red-tailed Black Cockatoo; Carnaby white-tailed Black Cockatoo; Common Bronze-winged Pigeon

Plants in flower

Autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum sp); Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata); Snail orchid (Pterostylis nana); Holly-leaved banksia (Banksia ilicifolia); Menzies banksias (Banksia menzieii); Basket flower (Adenanthos obovata); Tiered mat rush (Lomandra nigriscens), Calytrix fraseri; Pearl flower (Conostephium pendulum); Matted trigger plant (Stylidium repens); Leucopogen sp.; Hibbertia sp..

Other sitings

Moaning frog; Brush-tailed possum; Quenda or southern brown bandicoot; Western grey kangaroo; Bird of paradise fly; Fence skink; various Lichens

Lynette Davies 

Photos: Colin Pricket, Bob Goodale