Our May meeting was a members’ night and we were pleased to have three visitors from the Main Branch come to visit us: John and Maureen Gardener and Margaret Larke.

The evening started with a computer-projector problem so we had to make do with the laptop.

Bob Goodale took the floor and spoke about a huge new development planned for a few years time at Keralup.  He discussed a sub-development called West Keralup which will have a significant impact on a future Serpentine River Regional Park.  He then showed us some photos of insects in great detail: ladybirds, praying mantis and some interesting caterpillars.  Next came a couple of wonderful photos of a wedge-tailed eagle in flight.  Then we had a tour of Lake Eyre. This huge lake is absolutely spectacular with its sand islands and aboriginal artifacts, especially as it has flooded three years in a row.  Some aerial shots showed the lake and pelicans breeding.

This was followed by some photos of our last field trip to Paganoni Reserve taken by Chris Punter, and very some interesting  photos by Margaret Larke taken during a Coates Wildlife Tours trip to Sri Lanka earlier in the year.

Later our members reported local sightings and Diana Hitchens had brought a large shovel-nose ray head.  Particularly interesting was to see the location of the gills being so close to its mouth, even if it was ‘a bit on the nose’.

The evening concluded with coffee and tea, biscuits and a chat. 

Chris Punter