On Friday, 27 October, six (6) Club members, including a new member, met with excursion leader Jolanda at the Wongan Hills Visitor Centre. After introductions, the convoy set off for the Reynoldson Reserve, north of town.
This reserve is renowned for its display of Verticordia, and the group was not disappointed, finding many examples of five out of seven types in the reserve: pink V. monadelpha, purple V. venusta and V. pritzelii, the local pink V. wonganensis and White Cauliflower, V. eriocephala all flowering to their best. The differences in the pollinated and un-pollinated flowers were noted. Other plants seen in the reserve included a Hibbertia species, the Dysentery Bush Alyxia buxifolia, the Black Toothbrush, Grevillea armigera, the Woody Pear Xylomelum angustifolium and the various forms of Eucalyptus rigidula. Birds sighted included Zebra Finches and Willy Wagtails.
On the road towards Ballidu, we made stops to view Grevillea pterosperma, with a nearby tree full of Zebra Finches and a colourful salt lake.
After lunch at Ballidu, we headed to the Ballidu water catchment area. We viewed an abundant variety of flowering plants: Darwinia purpurea, Dillwynia sp., Grevillea paradoxa, Gastrolobium calycinum, a native hibiscus, Alyogyne hakeoides, Melaleuca conothamnoides, a native foxglove, Dasymalla terminalis, Dampiera teres, a Hibbertia species, a field of Yellow Daisies (Erymophyllum ramosum) and the Tall Mulla Mulla, Ptilotus exaltatus. We also saw and heard a Tree Martin overhead.
Heading back towards Kondut, we found Verticordia brachypoda, another big Bobtail, and lots of Zebra Finches.
Verticordia brachypoda and Flower Wasps
We then headed to a dam. Unfortunately, there was no water, but we spied a Bobtail (very large and very fast). Many birds were singing, and we heard and saw a Rufous Whistler.
Don and Trish Phillips
The next day (Saturday, 28 October), we first went to the local sewage pond, where we found six water bird species, including Pink-eared Ducks, Australasian Grebes, and Grey Teals.
We then went to Gathercole Nature Reserve, a 141-hectare granite outcrop 10km east of Wongan Hills. The reserve was a gift from the Gathercole family to preserve the area. It is noted that Aboriginal people used this site to provide food, water, and shelter in the past and currently provide access for families to reconnect to the Country. We arrived in a convoy and quickly set off on the walk with Jolanda in the lead. As we walked the trail, we observed multiple informative interpretive panels. These refer to the outstanding points of interest surrounding the flora, fauna, and granite rocks.
We stopped at Eucalyptus caesia – Gungurru or Silver Princess. The panel told us, “The elongated leaves of this Eucalypt hang down to minimise exposure to the sun, while powdered white surfaces (of the branchlets) reflect sunlight to reduce water loss. The unusual ‘minni ritchi’ (a type of reddish-brown bark that continuously peels in small curly flakes) bark peels away from the trunk exposing the new living bark underneath. Evidence can sometimes be seen of kangaroos which had lain underneath the “Gungurru” seeking shade.”
Jolanda then pointed out Hakea petiolaris (Sea-urchin Hakea), Santalum acuminatum (Sweet Quandong), flowering Calothamnus quadrifidus (commonly known as One-sided Bottlebrush), Kunzea pulchella (Granite Kunzea) and Melaleuca fulgens (Scarlet Honey Myrtle) which is a compact to straggly shrub with a round shape and slender branches.
We found a beautiful Bark Mimicking Grasshopper (Coryphistes ruricola) on an Allocasuarina huegeliana (Rock Sheoak).
It was tricky to photograph as it was very aware we were there and constantly moved around the opposite side of the bark to ‘disappear’ from our view.
Other panels told us about the granite rocks:
- Rock slabs are formed by a process of “uplift and unloading” when overlying rock is removed through weathering. Layers of the surface rock then split along horizontal stress fractures. Heating and cooling also stress the rock, causing thin slabs to peel away like onion skin. These slabs provide shelter for animals such as the Dragon Lizards.
- Signs of chemical and physical weathering are everywhere. Some boulders have split under their weight. Rainwater is slightly acidic and has dissolved minerals in the rock surface to create a wrinkled texture that looks like elephant skin.
- Ornate Dragons (Ctenophorus ornatus) are extremely agile and fast dragons that usually live amongst granite outcrops. They often run on their rear legs at incredibly high speeds! They are an extremely common species in many areas.
As we walked through the last section of the walk, we observed a Comptosia magna (Bee Fly) land in the shade of a dwarf Sheoak. This Bee Fly is the second largest fly in the world. Bee Flies are Flower Flies and live on pollen and nectar. They do not bite humans.
An interesting fact: Females gather sand in their pouch under the abdomen. The sand is released slowly when the female lays eggs around grasstrees and shrubs. The sand helps to give the eggs weight to prevent them from being blown away.
This Bee Fly was identified through the Facebook page – “Insects of Perth and Southwest Western Australia”. Once the photo was posted, we only waited a short while before we had an ID—credit to Jean Hort for the identification and interesting fact.
We had a much-anticipated rest and lunch at Gathercole Reserve and returned to Wongan Hills to recharge for our afternoon trip to Mt Obrien. We stopped as we arrived at the entrance of the final drive-up Mt Obrien. Jolanda pointed out the red-flowering gum Eucalyptus armilata buds and fruit and a Gum Planthopper laying eggs on smooth-barked Eucalyptus trees. We then worked our way up the track with frequent stops.
We came across Banksia bella (Silver Banksia), a dense, sprawling shrub typically growing to 1.5–2 m in height and B. wonganensis.
This occurs within a small area in the vicinity of the Wongan Hills. It grows on lateritic soils in open woodland or amongst dense shrubs. It is rare but does not appear to be endangered.
Don Phillips spied a Lappet Moth (Pernattia chlorophragma) sitting quietly in a juvenile Petrophile shuttleworthiana. It continued to do so, providing a good photo opportunity for members. We finished our day by driving through the AG Research Station Reserve and the old Army site amongst the large Salmon Gums.
Vanessa Jokovich
We went for a night stalk on the Christmas Rock walking track on Saturday evening. We spotted some Wolf Spiders, Mitchel’s Diurnal Cockroach (Polyzosteria mitchelli) and a Wheatbelt Stone Gecko (Diplodactylus granariensis granariensis).
On Sunday morning, two of our participants went home whilst the remaining 7 set off at 8 am to assist Jolanda with a search for a prostrate plant in burnt areas in the Conservation Park (Androcalva fragifolia). By 11 am, we had to admit that we could not find the plant in the areas searched. However, we did find many other interesting species, including lots of the Flannel Flower, Actinobole superbus and Trachymene anisocarpa (a native Parsnip), which is only known from the Southern Wheatbelt (i.e. east of Hyden and east of the Stirling Range out to Cape Le Grand). Granny Bonnets (Isotropis cuneifolia) and a Fringed Lily (Thysanotus sparteus) were also seen. A highlight was a colourful Scarab Beetle that showed rainbow colours in the sun but was black in the shade. We went back to the caravan park for lunch.
We visited the Wongan Hills Museum in the old hospital building in the afternoon. The museum showed us how life in the early pioneering days was in Wongan Hills with displays of school life, hospital, dentistry, early accommodation, cooking equipment, an early home/shelter and many agricultural machines stored outside and in a large shed. It was well worth visiting.
We then went to the Christmas Rock walk but turned back when we reached the granite rock as it was getting hot without any wind cooling us down. This was the last excursion of this long weekend, and we went our separate ways from there. Even though this year hasn’t provided much rain and most plants had already flowered and were on their way out, it was a very enjoyable time, with the highlight being the visit to the Verticordias in Reynoldson Reserve.
Jolanda Keeble
All photos by Jolanda unless noted otherwise