The Nature of Robertson

Datura ain't Datura anymore

2009-12-03T20:20:00.006+11:00

I went looking for the name of this plant which Celeste and Steve have growing in their garden.

It is a short-lived woody plant,
with these long, pendulous trumpet flowers

We all knew it under the name of Datura or "Angel's Trumpet". Trouble is, the taxonomists have been at work again, and this plant is now named as a member of the Brugsmansia genus. According to the botanists, the true "Daturas" are soft plants, mostly annuals, which hold their trumpet flowers erect, not pendulous - but similar in other respects.

They are in the huge family of Solanaceae - famous for fruit plants such as the Tomato, Chili and Eggplant, as well as the Potato. But it does not stop there, you can add things like the "Deadly Nightshade", and remember that even the humble Spud has poisonous features (which your Mum probably warned you about). And even Australia's Kangaroo Apples have a bad reputation. I should also mention the commercially important, but highly addictive and ultimately poisonous products of the plant Nicotiana tabacum - which is of course, the Tobacco Plant. These plants are all related.
So, it should come as no surprise that we are familiar with all sorts of stories about the dangers on growing "Datura" plants. This comes especially with warnings about not growing them close to bedroom windows. The flowers are night scented, but their famous heavy scent (which is why old-fashioned gardeners grew them in the first place) is reported (pers com) as causing headaches to persons sleeping in the bedrooms outside which the "datura" plant was flowering. Hardly surprising, as Brugsmansia is classed as being toxic in all its parts.

Celeste is well aware of the potential danger of this plant, and it is growing out in a breezy part of the garden, well away from the house.

When examined closely, you see that it is not just a "single" flower
but a double.

From what I can find, this cultivated plant is possibly Brugsmansia aurea.

Incidentally, I cannot resist using the word "vespertine" to describe the flowers which open in the evening. Reminds me of "Evensong" (for my High Church friends, or "Vespers" for my formerly loyal Catholic mates).

Vespertine - What a lovely word!

This word is more appropriate for this flower, than the other word "crepuscular", which is more familiar when used to refer to the browsing habits of Wombats and Kangaroos and Wallabies, which tend to feed late in the afternoon and evening, and again in the early morning.

Tree removal in the heart of Robertson

2009-12-02T21:00:00.001+11:00

The Robertson Pub is right on the main road through Robertson. There is a corner which is the favourite meeting point for people coming into or through the village. "Meet you are the corner below the Pub" is a popular phrase for groups of bushwalkers and others who I arrange to meet, before going out for the day.

Two weeks ago, somebody removed three huge Cedar trees (Cedrus species).
Admittedly these large, mature trees were planted directly underneath powerlines - so they were probably not suitable to be planted where they were.

However, I have written to one of my local Councillors asking the obvious questions, about whether an approval was required to remove those trees, and if so, was it obtained? If not, why not?

These trees were on public land - the Nature Strip ("roadside verge").

Yesterday a group of private tree loppers turned up at the bottom end of the block of land on which the Pub is located, and butchered 5 large Pinus radiata trees (Monterey Pines). They shaved several of these trees - leaving just a bare trunk. Several had their tops left untouched.
I photographed these trees yesterday morning, but as it was raining all day, the workers did not touch the trees at all, all day.
As these trees formed a wind break below the pub (western side is the prevailing wind direction in Robertson (for the nasty "August winds" ), I included this bit of tree butchery in my query to the Councillor.

These trees are on private property, and there is a DA going through for a proposed redevelopment of the hotel building. But given the location of these trees, right adjacent to the property boundary, it is highly unlikely that these trees would be required to be removed, in order to make way for any proposed building.

Again, I asked if any approval process or any consultation is required to remove these trees (which are on private land).

My reason? It has turned a reasonable streetscape in the middle of the village into a bloody eyesore! It is a disgrace.

Cloud Farm views (of Knights Hill)

2009-12-01T23:35:00.010+11:00

My friends Steve and Celeste live on Mount Murray at a property poetically named "Cloud Farm". From their hilltop one can look south towards Knights Hill, where the telecommunications towers for the Illawarra region are located.

Afternoon light shining on Knights Hill.
This was taken on the Winter Solstice.
The ocean is just visible in the background,
but it blends into the line of clouds out to sea.
The clifflines of the Illawarra Escarpment are highlighted
by the afternoon light.

Several weeks ago I went and had dinner at their house, after a big day out Orchid hunting with ANOS. Anyway, in a state of near-exhaustion I stayed over at their house, after dinner.

Next morning I woke just on sunrise - because they get so much light into their house.

I stumbled out of bed and looked outside and found them out and about already - rejoicing in the wonderful cloud and light effects of fog on the plateau near Carrington Falls and just topping Knights Hill.

This image was taken from the same place as the first image.
Its hard to imagine.
Check the trees on the left and foreground.

The TV towers are clearly visible protruding from the seemingly "flat" cloud of fog. In fact this hill is quite high, over the Illawarra Escarpment to the east (left) and it also drops away quite sharply (but nothing like as as severely) to the west (right) onto a sandstone plateau around Carrington Falls. One cannot see any of these details below the thick fog.

This image appears to me as something from Antarctica.
Two separate TV Towers (not quite in line - from this direction).
They are probably about 1 km apart, on top of Knights Hill.
Taken with the 300mm lens.

More interesting, to me, was the way in which the fog was behaving at the eastern edge of the escarpment.

The cloud was behaving as a glacier does, only with far greater fluidity. You can see the cloud breaking down (disintegrating), after it tumbles down off the cliffline.

Click to enlarge to see the full effect.

At the end of the plateau/cliff line, the cool mountain air was falling down over the edge, as the air on the coastal escarpment started to rise.

The circumstances created an almost circular pattern of air movement (the hot air rising, sucking the cold air (above it) down to fill the pressure imbalance thus created).

As the sun rose higher in the sky, it created this lovely effect of lighty behind the large Brown Barrel Eucalypt.
You will all be pleased to know that I then went back to bed for another hour, to "wake" at a more civilised hour. That comment is just for "Mick's" benefit, as she is always up and about early - looking for waders at "Sandy Straits and beyond". She knows that I am a night person. We often nearly cross over with our comments - me before I go to bed, and she as she starts the day.

EDIT:
Thanks to Mosura of Nature of Tasmania for a comment, in which he provided the technical name of the cloud behavour I was reporting.
Orographic Clouds
I knew there was a specific name for these louds, but could not remember it. The following extract - in red - describes the cloud movement I was able to witness.
.
"Orographic clouds develop in response to the forced lifting of air by the earth's topography (mountains for example).
"Air passing over a mountain oscillates up and down as it moves downstream. If the air lifts upward and cools through expansion as it rises to its saturation temperature during this process, the water vapour within condenses and becomes visible as a cloud.
"Upon reaching the mountain top, the air is heavier than the environment and will sink down the other side, warming as it descends. Once the air returns to its original height, it has the same buoyancy as the surrounding air. However, the air does not stop immediately because it still has momentum carrying it downward. With continued descent, the air becomes warmer than the surroundings and begins to accelerate back upward towards its original height. It is during the upper-most ascent phase of this cycle that clouds develop. In regions where air is descending, skies are clear."
Source: Cloud Structures: "Orographic Clouds"

Lees Road - above and below the escarpment

2009-11-29T23:20:00.006+11:00

Lees Road runs along the area of grey soil covering the sandstone plateau (below the Robertson Basalt), and runs out to the edge of the coastal escarpment. It leads out towards Knights Hill, the southern end of the Illawarra Escarpment.

Sandstone escarpment, with Knights Hill rising in the background.
Note the small sandstone gully with a patch of Coachwoods (in flower).

The bright green line of rainforest vegetation is markedly different
from the greyer colour of the Eucalypt forest.
This week, the Coachwoods were in flower
making them far more obvious than normal.

From the Lees Road lookout one sees down over the lower levels of tall wet Eucalypt forest, below the escarpment. There is also a "Warm-temperate Rainforest Gully" there, populated with Sassafras, Blackwood Wattles, Coachwood Trees, and Cabbage Tree Palms. These rainforest trees are largely covered with huge vines, especially Wonga Vines and Anchor Vines, both of which easily grow to the tops of the large rainforest trees - indeed they virtually smother some fo them. That results in what is called a "closed forest".

Click to enlarge this next image.
You can see the tops of Cabbage Tree Palms.
There are also sheets of vines covering some trees.
The Coachwoods flower on fresh growth,
which helps them stand out over other levels of forest growth.

The forest along the top of the escarpment is known as "Gully Gum forest". It grows in a very narrow band along the very edge of the escarpment. Along Lees Road, the original forest which was growing on the next layer of soil - the richer (than sandstone) black soil (Wianamatta Shale soils) has largely been cleared for grazing.

So, you will see in these few photos that there is a great habitat differential between the forest immediately below the cliff line and the open land above the cliffline (but less than 500 metres away from the cliff line).

To demonstrate this, I am showing photos of two "dry country" birds - a Pipit (a Grassland bird) and a Dusky Woodswallow which I normally only ever seen in drier country than Robertson. Neither would be expected to be seen anywhere near warm-temperate Rainforest (dominated by Coachwoods).

A Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus)
sitting in an Acacia binervata

A dull photo, but it shows the diagnostic white bar along the edge of the wing. This bird is common around Canberra, but not Robertson, which is generally to wet for them.And here is an Australasian (Richard's) Pipit - a bird associated with open grasslands and farmland.The Robertson district is a land of contrasts. All this within 500 metres distance.

Keep your nerve, Mr Turnbull.

2009-11-28T02:06:00.005+11:00

Edit - Tuesday 2 December 2009.

This afternoon I received the following email from Malcolm Turnbull, MP, Member for Wentworth.

Thanks Denis for your email and very much appreciate your feedback!

All the best

Malcolm

Given that Mr Turnbull was deposed as leader of the Liberal Party this morning, I was amazed, but gratified, to recveive his reply today.

He has a reputation for replying to his own emails (personally). But even if he hires someone to do it for him, clearly it is a personalised reply.

I wish him all the best.

***** ***** *****

This is a copy of a letter I emailed to Malcolm Turnbull late on Friday evening.

Dear Mr Turnbull

You are entirely right to stick to your guns and not cave in.

The Liberal Party needs to have a policy on Climate Change.

In all seriousness, how could it not?

As Chairman of the Save Water Alliance, in the Southern Highlands, I still recall with great respect your decision to declare the Upper Nepean (Kangaloon Aquifer) Borefield proposal by the Sydney Catchment Authority a "Controlled Action" under the EPBC Act.

Indeed it is that which has prompted me to write to you on this other matter, as many of the local "movers and shakers" (who personally lobbied you on our behalf re the Kangaloon Aquifer) speak very highly of you.

You did well then, and I am convinced you are on the right track now.

You supported us then, and for what it is worth, I am supporting you now.

*****

After all, as "Crikey" pointed out today, the policy you are defending now is pretty much that which you took to the last election, and which was developed under the Howard Government.

So what really were your opponents thinking, several years ago, when that policy was developed?

I conclude that they were not prepared to oppose Mr Howard (on anything).

Therefore, it is clearly not a matter of principle with them at all - but political point scoring pure and simple.

The Liberal Party cannot surely face the people without a policy on Climate Change?

Yours sincerely

Denis Wilson

Robertson, NSW 2577

Saturday, 28 November 2009

www.peonyden.blogspot.com

Misty Skies and sunsets

2009-11-27T23:28:00.000+11:00

Tonight I am showing some of the atmospheric events of last week.

As you will know, Robertson is prone to rain, mists and cloudy skies. But the sun has to set every night, hail, rain of shine. This gives some interesting "light effects" in the afternoons of late Spring evenings.

Here is the first glow of pink in a misty sunset.
I love the way the hills are sequentially hidden by the mist,
revealing the distances involved.As the clouds grew heavier,
I had to adjust the camera to capture the image.
The green fields are positively glowing.

By way of some variety, here is an image of a lovely Common Fringe Lily (Thysanotus tuberosus) which I saw when out looking at the Greenhoods and Onion Orchids of Tourist Road, Kangaloon.
And now for a sunset coloured by low-level smoke in the distant Shoalhaven Valley, from a fire below Bundanoon. This occurred on Wednesday evening.

I was rushing for Choir practice, but when this sky coloured up, unexpectedly, I could not resist waiting to try to catch the light. Note that the upper level sky is clear. You can see several thin whispy white clouds.

Suddenly, the thickness of the clouds overpowered the sun, and the light just faded to greyness. I turned up 5 minutes late for Choir practice, by Cathie, our Choir leader had seen the sky herself on the way in, and she understood why I needed to get the image.

4th blogging birthday, Greenhoods on Tourist Road

2009-11-26T16:24:00.011+11:00

It is four years today since I made a very tentative start in the world of Blogging - with a single photo of a Flying Duck Orchid.

Oh well, much has happened since then, but I still post about that most bizarre of local Orchids.

Thanks to Anni who helped me get started. And thanks to my loyal readers, without whose readership (and especially their comments) I would not bother to put myself through these daily challenges.

Hello to Caroline, in the local Doctor's surgery - who told me today she reads my Blog! Its great to hear in person from readers.
She said she likes Peonies - she surely knows how to get my attention.

So this Peony is for Caroline.
This is one of the modern hybrid Peonies - "Flame".
Anyway, I haven't posted enough images of Peonies this season.

And now back to Orchids of the season.

Yesterday I went back to Tourist Road, Kangaloon, and took more photos of the Sickle Greenhood (Pterostylis falcata). Amongst conventional Greenhoods (the Pterostylis group), this is a quite spectacular species, with a large pointed "galea" (hood) and a very wide open sinus ("V" shaped front) and a long "labellum" (tongue) sticking out (when set).

I showed some photos of these plants last week, but I did not get one with the labellum "set" (poking out the front of the flower). That's why I went back yesterday.

These plants are growing in a small drainage line - a ditch - which periodically fills with water, but is dry at present. But quite lush, and I am always wary when in such fine potential snake habitat.

As soon as I found the open flower, I knew I was in luck.
You can see the protruding Labellum - at the front of the flower.
One has to be very careful though, not to accidentally kick a stick,
or a piece of grass which might be touching the plant,
as the labellum will pop back inside the flower.
The Labellum is movement sensitive.

Getting down into the ditch, I got this profile shot.

Closer yet.
What a striking Greenhood!
By the time I took this image, I had done some weeding
of extraneous grasses in the background
to clarify the image of the Labellum.
And here is the Labellum - set, ready to be triggered by any insect.

As I was leaving the site, I found these Microtis flowers. They are "Onion Orchids". The flower has a large swollen ovary behind (below) the tiny little "head" - which is the flower proper. These flowers are on a strong vertical stem about 30 cm high. But the flowers themselves are so small that the "ovary" is about the size of a match head.
I believe this to be Microtis parviflora but to be honest I have never been entirely sure about the species distinctions amongst the Microtis genus.
When the photo is fully enlarged (click on the photo) the image is approximately 20 times larger than life size.
Have a look at Colin's page for the two most common species in NSW - see why I cannot be absolutely sure?

From what I have since ascertained (from several different books), this plant is Microtis parviflora, as the labellum is "entire", not notched.

Frogmouths at Dalmeny (South Coast NSW)

2009-11-25T23:57:00.004+11:00

My brother Brendan lives amongst the Spotted Gum and Stringybark Eucalypt trees at Dalmeny, near Narooma, on the far South Coast of NSW.

Recently he found a nest of the Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigioides).

These interesting birds are nocturnal, but they are not Owls. They are insectivorous, with very large wide beaks, suitable for catching insects on the wing. They have weak feet (unlike Owls which pounce on their prey with their large claws). They are famous for their camouflage technique of blending in with the look of a short branch, in Eucalypt trees.

Several days ago, this bird arrived beside his 80 year old neighbour's window.

A rescue plan was initiated, of course.
The youngster was moved into a tree fork.
Here is it, sitting there, but looking unimpressed.
This is a cracker of a shot.

Brendan told me, in a later email that he stuck the bird up a tree were it stayed for the day and apparently till between midnight and three a.m.. It was calling periodically, but there was no evidence that it was being fed.

The next morning his neighbour went out and turned on some sprinklers - and the bird fluttered out from some low shubs. It had been at ground level and was not being looked after.

It seems that there were originally two young. The one that was photographed appears to have been the runt of the litter. He guessed that the parents moved on with the other young one.

There were then a couple of phone calls to WIRES, into a cardboard box and in to the local vet. He is expecting to get a report back on the bird either late this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

So, let us hope that the WIRES people have some success with this youngster.

More odd little things which happen around Robertson

2009-11-23T21:04:00.007+11:00

My very first post on this Blog involved the Flying Duck Orchid, (Caleana major). It was called "Odd little things which grow around Robertson".

Two weeks ago, at the end of the ANOS (Illawarra Branch) field trip, several of us found this little Orchid. If you look at the "head" of the flower, and see the "duck head" - then the mystery of the name will reveal itself.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Not only was the Orchid in flower., but there was a Mosquito attempting to pollinate the flower - hence the slight variant in title from the original Blog Posting.

In fact the Mozzie was too small to trigger the labellum of the Orchid (in this case the "head of the duck") to snap closed. You can see the pollinia are still in place, at the very base of the flower. But clearly the Mozzie had the "right idea".

Click on the photo to see the Mosquito and the flower parts - in detail

For those of you not familiar with pollination in many of Australian Orchids, the plants have evolved a system of emitting highly specialised scents which mimic the pheromones produced by certain female insects. This drives male insects (of the right species) into a sexual frenzy, and the insects attempt to "mate" with the flower. This process is called "pseudo-copulation". It is well reported, in the world of Orchids and insects.

This link will take you to other photos of this species, one with a flower spider in a web spun across the open section of the flower - obviously waiting for an insect such as this one, to arrive.

Black Cocky - close enough to get a photo

2009-11-21T23:53:00.005+11:00

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) are commonly seen around Robertson, but usually they are high in the tops of old Pine Trees (Pinus radiata) and are either in the heavy shade, or silhouetted against the sky. Either way, they are not worth trying to photograph.

Several days ago I heard a young bird making its incessant creaking and groaning sounds, from relatively low down in a Eucalypt tree.

I stopped to take a photo (from out the car window).

Once I had got my shot, three birds flew away. I had only seen the one on the open branch, but clearly the other two were in dense cover of a low-growing Blackwood Wattle.

Female Black Cocky has a white beak
and dark skin around the eye (not a red eye ring)

My bird is an adult female, and so I assume the others included at least one juvenile bird, for their noise is diagnostic.

EDIT:
Dear reader - Please do yourself a favour and read the Sequel to this post, on my Colleague "Mosura's" Blog - The Nature of Tasmania.

Frankly it is a hilarious "comedy of errors" - but Mosura recognises the folly of his impromptu response to grab a few photos - in retrospect.

It is nice that I inspired him to try to photograph some Black Cockies of his own. He ends up giving us some stunning Insect photos, though.

Hope the Ant Bite has stopped throbbing, Mosura!

Cheers
Denis

Do you get Migratory Waders in your area?

2009-11-21T01:00:00.000+11:00

I have received this notice from "Birdpedia".

Just as well somebody is watching what the DEWHA is up to.

A Latham's Snipe at Kangaloon

This "Policy Statement" review will impact upon most major wetland sites in Australia, but particularly Ramsar Sites, notably the Coorong, and Lower Lakes, other wetlands in the MDB, and the Victorian coastline, especially Gippsland, and the Great Sandy Straits area, within the Mary River estuary, south of Fraser Island.

Please feel free to send this on to other persons who might be interested to comment.

Dear Shorebirds 2020 volunteers & friends,

The Commonwealth Government has been developing an EPBC Act Policy Statement for Migratory Shorebirds, to provide guidance in relation to actions that may impact migratory shorebird populations in Australia. An important element of this policy statement is the adoption of criteria to identify nationally important sites for migratory shorebirds in addition to internationally important sites, to increase the amount of habitat protected for shorebirds nationally (see pages 9-10 of the draft policy statement).

I would encourage you to take a look and make comments if required.

See the following Birdpedia Notice for full details.

>> http://www.birdpedia.com/au/bi.dll/bipu01?m=550&id960=9756653697_0001&id509=ALL

Regards,

Jo Oldland & Rob Clemens.

DJW note:

I found the links suggested by Birdpedia (within their article) did not take me where I needed to go.

This one will:

http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/migratory-shorebirds.html

I would point out that not all "Migratory Shorebirds" are restricted to Australia's ocean shores. This is acknowledged in regard to the Latham's Snipe (only) in the relevant papers.

Public comments are now being sought from interested parties on the draft policy statement, particularly in relation to its usability and suggestions for improvement. We would also be interested in any new research or information on these 36 migratory shorebird species to contribute to future policy revisions.

Comments will be accepted until COB Monday 14 December 2009.

At the end of this comment period the policy will be finalised, taking into consideration any comments received. The policy will be updated as substantial new information becomes available.

Comments should be sent to:

Email: speciespolicy@environment.gov.au

Mail: Species Information Section
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601

Fax: 02 6274 2875

This might be the required strategy for Snipe - FLEE!
Only sites where 18 Latham's Snipe of more gather regularly
are regarded as worthy of protection - under their proposed policy.

Cheers

Denis Wilson

Two Greenhoods - a hybrid mystery solved

2009-11-20T01:00:00.004+11:00

Two years ago, when the Illawarra Branch of the Australasian Native Orchid Society came up to Tourist Road, Graeme Bradburn spotted a Greenhood in a tiny drainage line. I was pleased and cranky at the same time - as I had regularly checked this drainage line looking for - you guessed it Greenhoods - and I had never found one!

Anyway, on the ANOS tour this year, Graeme struck again.

Pterostylis x ingens

Not only did he find the "supposed hybrid" Pterostylis x ingens, but there then followed some discussion about how this "hybrid" was here, when we had not seen either "supposed parents" (Pt. nutans and Pt. falcata) in the area.

Labellum of Pt. x ingens

***** ***** *****

Suddenly another member of the group called out: "Here is Falcata".
Indeed it was there - a mere 30 metres away from the hybrid plants.
I guess that solved part of the riddle.

The "Sickle Greenhood" Pterostylis falcata
(my first ever).
You can see the extremely long, pointed hood (galea).
The "hood" consists of 3 parts, the dorsal sepal and two petals.
The dorsal sepal far exceeds the petals
(which are bent down - on this specimen).

Here is the rear view of the plant.
One of the two plants in flower on that day
had a slightly damaged petal which was "drooping".
However, this image was taken to show the labellum.
It is nearly closed. Normally it should be protruding.
Here it is seen from very low down, to show the labellum.
By then, it was closed off (in the "triggered) position.
Note the very widely spaced dorsal sepals
and the deeply notched "sinus" (the "v" shaped part).
This is a "labelled" image,
as Greenhoods are very different from most other Orchids,
and the "experts" use specific words for the parts of the plant.

Yellow Leek Orchid at Penrose

2009-11-19T00:19:00.004+11:00

Two weeks ago, a sharp-eyed member of the Australasian Native Orchid Society spotted several spikes of a yellow Orchid growing amongst some Stringybark Eucalypts opposite the Penrose cemetery.
I went back two weeks later to confirm what we thought they probably were - namely Prasophyllum flavum - the Yellow Leek Orchid.

One of the diagnostic features of this plant is
the crinkled edges to the labellum
(which in Leek Orchids is above the column)
Click to enlarge the image, to see what I am referring to.

The books refer to this plant having a preference for deep forest litter. That's exactly right for the habitat shown in this photo. The only slightly odd thing is that the region is dry sandstone soil. Alan Stephenson has shown me this plant growing in the Nowra region, in deep sandy soil, on sandstone. Colin Rowan reports that this plant grows in wet forests in the mountains of Victoria.
This plant is regarded as widespread but not common.

As a matter of interest, the Sun Orchids we had seen here two weeks before had finished flowering.

More West Wyalong photos

2009-11-17T23:58:00.010+11:00

Several days ago I showed a few birds "up close and personal". They were photographed during a bird banding session near West Wyalong, with a senior, registered bander, Mark Clayton. The Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme is administered by the Federal Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The scheme operates on a "trap, band and release" protocol.

Two Pacific Black Ducks (Anas superciliosa) were caught on the last morning, just before we packed up. They were swimming on the dam, and as we approached the net near the dam, the birds flew away from us and straight into the net. They were quickly removed from the net and banded. Such a perfect strategy - you would think we had planned it! Although Black Ducks are well known from this site, it turns out that these were the first of this species to be banded at this site, where banding has been conducted since 1986. Something of a thrill.

Mark about to release the two Pacific Black Ducks together.

The wing panel on the Pacific Black Duck has a panel of feathers
which produce what is known as a "structural colour".
The colour is caused by optical interference owing to
reflection of light between very fine barbules in the feathers.
The colour is not caused by pigment.
In this case, the colour appears to vary
between green, blue or purple, depending upon
the angle of the sunlight and the position of the viewer.
My Blogging colleague "Snail" has written about this before.

And in another link, my Blogging colleague David Young has just published some very nice images of a Goanna he found near Bermagui.

This Goanna - a "Lace Monitor" (Varanus varius) had climbed up a Mugga Ironbark Tree (Eucalypt). It was very close to a net, and we were keen not to allow it to find any birds in the net, nor to get caught itself. Fortunately it departed the scene peacefully.David's blog shows the powerful claws on his Goanna. Mine has its claws partially hidden in the deeply furrowed bark of the Ironbark Tree.
Note the large amount of "spare skin" on the neck of this animal. Does this mean it was desperately in need of a good feed? Quite possibly - the country was very dry. The most obvious food supply around for them was Meat Ants nests, many of which had been dug into - either by these guys or possibly Echidnas.

This next bird is an Inland Thornbill, (Acanthiza apicalis) which is a close cousin of the Brown Thornbill. It is a tiny bird. It has the dark red eye, typical of this group of Thornbills. It has fine scalloped markings on the forehead, and a strongly coloured brownish rump.

This is the well-named White-browed Babbler.
(Pomatostomus superciliosus)

Here it is as seen from the rear view.
Note the white tips to the tail.

Babblers are noisy birds, which tend to hang around in family groups, they build large domed nests of sticks reminiscent of the "drays" which the little Ring-tailed Possums build. But these are inland, dry country birds.

Here is the bird I most wanted to see, in the hand, last weekend.
It is a typical bird of the inland, dry country scrub,
especially where Callitris ("Cypress Pines") are growing.
It is a spectacular male Red-capped Robin - (Petroica goodenovii).
From the rear, you can see the distinctive wide band of white in the wing (adjacent to the body) as well as the white horizontal flash, typical of most of the Petroica group of Robins.
Here is the female Red-capped Robin.

She is much paler than her partner, but I guess that
makes her better camouflaged when on the nest.Normally the female Red-capped Robin has a tinge of red on the forehead, but this individual did not. She was very keen to take off, and so we let her go as soon as possible.

Another Thornbill - this time the
Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa)
They are sometimes known (informally) as "Butter-bums"
as that is the colour you see as they fly away.
This bird shows the black forehead and white spots
which are typical of this species of Thornbill.

For a change of subject, I could not resist photographing this tiny caterpillar which was hanging from a tree above me, via a fine thread of silk. The caterpillar was swaying around my eyes, swinging back and forth on the breeze. It was quite small, about 2 cm long.

Here is a lovely small parrot, the Red-rumped Parrot,
(Psephotus haematonotus)
or "Grass Parrot" as I knew them when I was younger.

The image on the right shows the bird flying away,
which is when the red rump is seen best.
The green head and chest of the male bird
is a really bright emerald colour.
It has a bright lemon yellow belly.
Females are drab, and nearly invisible on the ground.
This is a bird of the treetops - sitting on its nest!
It is the Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera).
It is a lovely little bird which typically
works its way down tree branches - in opposite direction to
Tree Creepers, which go up trees.
Click to enlarge the image.
The nest is made of cobwebs and fine grey bark.
It is a beautifully constructed deep cup placed on a forked branch.
The bird has an orange eye ring which is visible in this image.
Its brown head is pointing away but the bird was looking back at me.
The heavy striations on the under-tail coverts are visible
poking over the right hand side of the nest.
When flying these birds have an orange stripe visible in the wing.

A birding weekend away.

2009-11-16T09:13:00.007+11:00

The following birds are DEFINITELY not from Robertson.

A family of Emus being led away by Dad (right)

I went to West Wyalong with Mark Clayton and some other bird banders from Canberra. My association with Mark goes back further than most people have been alive, so I shall not bore readers with the details, save to say that Mark was a youngster (as was I) when he first teamed up with my father and myself and a bunch of other young enthusiasts, and started to learn about bird banding. Mark has had an entire career in CSIRO in the intervening years.

Mark invited me to join him at one of his favourite haunts at The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve, near West Wyalong. Mark has banded there since about 1986, so he has established some very valuable bird life-history data over those years.

Mark preparing to band an adult male Common Bronzewing Pigeon.

Here he is taking the "head/bill" measurement.
And now the bird is about to be released.
You can see the large patch of cream feathers on the forehead.
That indicates it is an adult male.An Eastern Yellow Robin - prior to release.

The weather at West Wyalong was very hot.

Sunrise at 6:00am.
The temp was already 21.6 degrees Celsius.

It reached 38 degrees Celsius at 3:00pm, on Saturday,
with just 9% humidity.

The temperature meant we had to be very vigilant with the birds in the nets, particularly the small birds, which are potentially subject to heat stress.

Here is a Peaceful Dove -
a close-up view of the colouring of the soft tissue
above the beak and the around the eye.
The same bird, with the wing held out
to show the lovely chestnut colour on the under-wing coverts.This bird is one of Mark's favourite species.
The White-plumed Honeyeater.
He has established good life-history data of this species
through re-trapping many banded birds at Charcoal Tank.
This next image is a portrait of the Yellow Thornbill.
This specimen lacks the typical colouration.
The fine marks behind the eye are about the only distinguishing features.

This image of the bird in the hand shows the size from which it was previously known by the name of the "Little Thornbill".

I have a number of other photos which I shall publish over the next few days.

More rare plants from Mt Rae forest

2009-11-11T21:51:00.007+11:00

Readers will recall that I have a friend, Mark Selmes, who is campaigning to protect the forests of Mt Rae, near Taralga (north-east of Goulburn).
Mark had been promising me to let me know as soon as the rare Diuris aequalis (the Buttercup Doubletail Orchid) started to flower.

These plants are a lovely colour of clear golden yellow.
By contrast with Diuris sulphurea
which was also in flower on the same day,
these flowers were distinctly golden, not lemon yellow.
Even the lovely yellow D. chryseopsis had a different colour,
and grows out in the open grasslands
and has very different shaped "ears".

This plant is listed on the NSW Threatened Species list.
It is endangered because of the threat from clearing of the Wet sclerophyll forests (grassy sub-formation).
Anyway, Mark was as good as his word. I went there on Monday and we saw only 5 of these plants, but that's just the start of the season. Hopefully many more of these plants will be seen and their locations recorded before the season ends for them.

You can clearly see the labellum of the flower,
the beautifully rounded dorsal sepal (above the column).
You can clearly see the two callus ridges
divergent, at the top of the labellum.
The labellum itself has a prominent ridge towards the lower edge.

But it is less pronounced than some other species of Diuris.

It is worth remembering that these plants grow only amongst grasses and bracken ferns on the floor of the forest. But the forest needs to be there, for the plants to survive. These plants are not found in open cleared areas close by. They grow only under the canopy of the forest.

That is why Mark Selmes's campaigning to protect the Mt Rae forests is important - for these rare, threatened plants to survive.

Note how tightly the lateral sepals
(the so-called "double-tails")

are tightly held under the flower.

Mark Selmes will be the guest speaker at the forthcoming meeting of the National Parks Association, (Southern Highlands Branch) on Wednesday, 18 November, at the Moss Vale CWA Hall (adjacent to the Wingecarribee Shire Council chambers) at 7:30 PM.

Kangaloon Sun Orchid - an endemic rare plant

2009-11-08T23:29:00.006+11:00

This is the famous Kangaloon Sun Orchid, Thelymitra kangaloonica.
Haven't heard of it? Shame on you, dear reader. It has been written up here, before.

It is one of those "Threatened Species" things which we managed to use to convince Malcolm Turnbull to declare the SCA's Upper Nepean (Kangaloon) Groundwater project to be a "Controlled Action" under the EPBC Act.

And last year, Peter Garrett deemed this plant to be "critically endangered" and put it on the Threatened Species lists of the EPBC Act.

The problem for this plant is that it lives only at 3 known locations in the Southern Highlands - all of which are under the control of the SCA.

Wildes Meadow Swamp was flooded by the SCA to build the Fitzroy Falls Reservoir - so that registered swamp habitat (for this plant) is now permanently under water.
Stockyard Swamp is off limits to everybody except Coal Miners, Power Company workers, Drilling Rigs and all those other sensitive souls who work for the SCA. That is right in their best source of water for the SCA in trying to develop the Kangaloon Borefield - well, so they believe anyway. Orchid enthusiasts, even authentic researchers are denied access. It was where this species was first found, and "voucher specimens" collected. It was identified at that stage as belonging to a different species (Thelymitra grandiflora). Those herbarium specimens have since been re-examined and found to belong to this species.
That leaves Butlers Swamp. Fortunately, the SCA has continued to recognise as legitimate the interests of the Australasian Native Orchid Society, Illawarra Branch, which has conducted surveys of Butlers Swamp for some 30 years. Butler's Swamp is the "type locality" for this plant. In other words, the specimen from which this plant was formally described and named came from Butler's Swamp.

So there they were, flowering happily last weekend.

(Click to enlarge image)

Here are two flowers on a multi-flowered stem.
You can see the rich blue colouring (with a hint of purple)
and the strong veining.

And here is the distinctive column and "post-anther lobe"
(the hooded bit over the column)
The "column arms" are held relatively flat in this species
(they do not bend or curl upwards as some others do)
and are well separated from the yellow section of the "hood".
The lobe is "notched" and "toothed.
These are diagnostic features of this species.It was gratifying to see that these plants are doing quite well this year.

Lets hope that the SCA does not resume pumping from the Kangaloon Aquifer, for when they did their trial pumping, they dried the swamp out terribly, despite their denials to the contrary. We have photographic evidence of that.

Another Sun Orchid variant

2009-11-07T14:54:00.007+11:00

Clearly this is a form of Thelymitra ixioides - the "Spotted Sun Orchid", or a hybrid derived therefrom.
Here is a close-up of the column of this (or a similar) flower.
To refresh your memory, this is the standard form of Thel. ixioides as found in the NSW Southern Highlands.
The "column arms" are right, but there is a difference (in the previous flower) in the "post anther lobe" the ring of tissue at the top of the column. This one is tipped yellow. The other is brownish-red and much more warty ("pappilose").
My Victorian colleagues publish images of Thel. ixioides with dark rims to the "post anther lobe". Here is a link to JL's images from Great Western (in the Grampians). Her photos match Colin Rowan's (taken at Anglesea).

In the same area, at Penrose, there were many of these lovely unspotted forms of the same plant.

I say that with some confidence, as this species is renowned for its variant forms, including an unspotted form of the "Spotted Sun Orchid". Confused? Don't worry - so am I.

Here is a closer image of one of the flowers.
It was a lovely blue specimen (without spots).
And here is probably my best image of the column
and the column arms.
So, what have I got here?
It might be the hybrid form of Thel. ixioides,
which is known as "Thel. x truncata".
That hybrid form has been named,
but the photos of that hybrid which I can find
do not seem to me to be truly diagnostic of the hybrid form.

Or, should I say, if their photos (from NSW and Victoria)
are true hybrid forms of "Thel. x truncata",
then these plants (in my photos from Penrose)
are of something else entirely.

Fine.
But what?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Stegostyla testacea (a "Caladenia"}

2009-11-06T23:05:00.005+11:00

Stegostyla testacea was formerly classed as a Caladenia testacea.
It carries the name "Honey Caladenia", but my nose is not sensitive enough to detect that, but it is said to be most noticeable on warm days (and I don't get a lot of those!). There are a number of similar species of Stegostyla (Caladenia), including Steg. hildae and Steg. transitoria (this last one reported by my colleague Gouldiae - from the Latrobe Valley in Victoria).

This shows the tendency of this species to carry several flowers on the one stem - unlike the early flowered Stegostyla species I showed before.

This image is not good, but I was trying to look inside the flower, to detect any marks on the column, which are just visible.These plants were located in Kangaloon, just on the side of Kirlkland Road, where the Illawarra Branch of ANOS had permission to enter, from the SCA. Many thanks to them for that.

They were growing in dense closed Eucalypt forest on loose grey sandy soil, over sandstone. They were not growing in the open habitat along Tourist Road.

More Sun Orchids from Sunny Sunday

2009-11-05T23:20:00.005+11:00

Here are some more of the wonderful Sun Orchids which I photographed when on tour with the Illawarra Branch of ANOS on Sunday.

One of the few Thelymitra carnea (Pink - or Tiny - Sun Orchid) plants we found in flower. Most had long since been pollinated and were standing proudly with swollen ovaries (not yet ripe seedpods, but heading that way). That species is a very early flowerer.

This one is very pale compared to others I showed two weeks ago.Here is a close-up of the column (seen from above/front)
You can see that this species lacks the "column arms"
which many species in this genus have.
The prominent structure in the middle of the
encircling yellow bit - the "post-anther lobe", is the Anther.Here is the "Spotted Sun Orchid", Thelymitra ixioides
This plant is very common in Kangaloon along Tourist Road.
It is a strong growing Sun Orchid and the buds have a distinctive mauve tinge on the reverse of the petals, with a pale creamy edge.
Even when the flowers are closed they look lovely.
Here is the column of Thel. ixioides.
When Thel. ixioides and Thel. carnea are cross-pollinated by the bees they sometimes produce a natural hybrid plant,
which is common enough to have been named:
Thelymitra x irregularis - the "Crested Sun Orchid"
From the Thel. carnea parent it takes the yellow colour
(on the column top) but it still lacks "column arms".
From the T. ixioides parent it has this "crest"
- the fringed top of the post anther lobe
instead of the fleshy structure of T. carnea.
The spots, of course come from T. ixioides.
From the side you can see the unusual column arrangement,
the "crest" which helps identify this plant.
Here is the close-up view of the column from that angle.
And from above/front view you can discern
the shape of the full post anther lobe.
And now to complete the set,
here is a pink version of Thel. ixioides.
This plant is a colour variant of the true species, not a hybrid.
The colour is more reminiscent of the mauve/pink colour
I mentioned before as being seen normally on the back of the flower.
This one does have fewer spots than normal,
but again, this species sometimes produces plain flowers.
In other words it is incredibly variable in form.
But the column details show this is a
true member of the T. ixioides group
complete with white column arms and brushes.
That Pink Hybrid form seen above had no such structure
(reflecting its T. carnea parentage)

As I mentioned, the sun was shining beautifully on Sunday, and so many Sun Orchids were flowering closely together, cross pollination is almost inevitable. So hybrids and odd colour variants are relatively common in such circumstances.

Sunny Sunday of Sun Orchids

2009-11-04T18:51:00.005+11:00

On Sunday the Illawarra Branch of ANOS came for a tour of the highlights of the Southern Highlands. The weather was perfect for orchid hunting. Hot, and sunny, and a bit humid. The Sun Orchids were out in force.

Of course, the schedule is not accidental, for the ANOS people from the Illawarra know this area very well, and have collectively been visiting here for some 30 years, so they know when is a good time. But this year, the weather really Gods smiled on them. So did the Orchids.

I have no idea which type of Sun Orchid this plant might be.
The perianth segments (petals and sepals) were strongly reflexed back.
The column is pale blue at the base, dark purplish-blue at the top,
with a white section at the front, where they are normally yellow.

Here is a small image (only 400 pixels high)
showing the column details.
The little fluffy bits in the front are called "column arms".
Different species of Sun Orchids have
different arrangements of column arms
as well as variations in the lobes at the top of the column.

This is my next "puzzle".
There is no plant that I can see in David Jones's excellent book
which I can match with this flower.

The flower was a light powdery blue colour, with just a hint of mauve wash.
The flowers are lightly veined.
The column arms are very fine, and are slightly upcurved.
There are no other branches or structures on the column arms
apart from the fine fibrous brushes.

The column hood appears nearly black,
but on close examination it is a dark reddish-brown.
There is no sign of any yellow - which is normal on the front edge.

Here it is in close-up.
Not a hint of yellow to be seen.
Very odd.

I will publish more images over the next few days of different species of Thelymitra (Sun Orchids) which we saw.

Any advice on IDing these two plants would be gratefully received.

Flower Spiders love Orchids

2009-11-03T23:37:00.000+11:00

HAVING SEEN HOW SLOW MY BLOG IS TO DOWNLOAD ON A FRIEND'S COMPUTER (EVEN THOUGH HE IS ON BROADBAND) I HAVE DECIDED TO UPLOAD IMAGES AT MUCH LOWER COMPRESSION, BUT STILL AT THE STANDARD SIZES I HAVE BEEN USING FOR A LONG TIME, WHICH IS 1000 PIXELS WIDE, OR 600 PIXELS FOR SMALLER IMAGES. THE FILE SIZES WILL BE ABOUT 100 Kb.

HOPEFULLY THIS WILL ALLOW REASONABLE VIEWING, WITH MUCH FASTER DOWNLOAD SPEEDS.

***********

On Sunday, when out with the Illawarra Branch of the Australasian Native Orchid Society, I twice saw specimens of the Pink Flower Spider Diaea evanida.

The first was sitting very boldly on a lovely specimen of a white form of Diuris punctata, the Purple Donkey Orchid.

Here she is, front on.

Much later in the day, we found one sitting, with bee it had captured.

It was on a specimen of the Kangaloon Sun Orchid, at Butler's Swamp. I did not see it on the flower, but someone brought the spider, complete with its "lunch", for the group to admire.
The Spider (still with its prey) was put back on the plant.

A rainforest rock Orchid on the Plateau

2009-11-01T00:21:00.007+11:00

Sarcochilus olivaceus is a plant which I have previously only seen in wet rainforest gullies, deep within the Shoalhaven Valley. And I have only seen the leaves, not the flowers (previously).

So, when exploring a gully just on the edge of the Upper Kangaroo Valley, near Carrington Falls, several months ago, I recognised the leaves of this Orchid. It was growing on moss-covered rocks in a dark gully, close to a small waterfall. It was, in a geographical sense, at the "top" of the Plateau, NOT down in the valley (a more natural habitat for it). Technically, it is just below the sandstone scrub on top of the plateau, but the gully is marked by creek-bank trees, such as Coachwood, Possumwood and some huge specimens of the "Water Gum" (Tristaniopsis laurina).

The flowers of this species of Sarcochilus are held semi-pendantly.
The bright reverse of the flowers are flat,
leaving the flower "face downwards".
The manner of its presentation of flowers is very different
from the relatively common Sarcochilus falcatus which holds its flowers
open and facing outwards.

Inside this gully, below a 15 metre waterfall, there are many rocks thickly covered with soft mosses. On one particular rock there are 3 plants of Sarcochilus olivaceus growing. This plant is called the Green Tree Orchid, but my specimen is growing in moss on rock. In fact, I have only ever seen it on rocks, elsewhere in the Shoalhaven Valley system (which includes the Upper Kangaroo Valley - where this plant is growing).

This flower has been lifted up from its semi-pendant position for viewing.
The "cup-shaped" Labellum is very prominent in this view.

One of the plants had several sprays of flower buds on it, when I first saw it, several months ago. Eventually the buds opened this week. It has taken me three separate trips to this site to find it in flower.

The parts of the flower are labelled here.

From the side, the sharp angle at which the labellum is held is obvious in this photographic angle. You ought remember that in nature, the flower is pendant, with the green back of the flower uppermost. That would mean that the labellum would be at the bottom of the flower, and basically, "upside down".Here is another flower, seen more or less in its natural position

- as a pendant flower.
You can see what I meant about the flower being more-or-less upside down.

,
.

Blogging Milestone, or Millstone?

2009-10-30T21:27:00.011+11:00

Today I publish my 1000th blog posting.

My favourite photo
Lena had just given me a "welcome back" lick on my nose,
after my extended absence in Canberra, for Chemotherapy treatment.
This image is on my "desktop" on my 'puter.

So, is the one thousandth Blog a milestone, or is Blogging a millstone around my neck? Sometimes I resent the burden of "having to blog" every day, or nearly every day.

But in truth, I find the discipline extraordinarily useful and I am in a sense writing the natural history of the Southern Highlands, day by day, picture by picture. It might never be published as a book, but that probably does not matter, as it is already published (admittedly without the helpful hand of a skillful editor to tell me what to cut out as "rubbish"). But I am confident that there is a lot of information in these 1000 web pages. Hopefully people will find some of it to be useful, informative and even, occasionally, entertaining.

Blogging is also very satisfying, and for me, it is much better than a personal "diary", because I am basically a communicator. Hopefully I fulfill a role, also, as an educator, and a part-time entertainer.

I know that a lot of people read my writings or have looked at some of the 3750 photos I have published since I started out on this little adventure.

The nature of Robertson Site Summary

VISITS

	Total	80,691
	Average Per Day	148
	Average Visit Length	1:23
	Last Hour	6
	Today	138
	This Week	1,035

I started on 26 November 2005, approaching 4 years ago.
That is 1435 days, so I am averaging a post on just a fraction under 70% of days - better than 2 days out of 3.

This image shows Zoe standing in the yard below my house,
on 17 May 2004, the day when we planted
all those Wattle Trees as a wind break.
My how things have changed since then.

I must say a word of thanks to Anni, without whose encouragement and assistance I would never have started blogging. She hosts my "Peony Diary", in fact she started it for me, in my absence in hospital, so I could see what was happening with my Peonies, while I was away from Robertson. How generous was that?My first post, and a very experimental one it was, was entitled "Odd little things which grow around Robertson", and it was about an Orchid - the Flying Duck Orchid, in fact.

My first "lucky shot"
This was the first image I took in which I realised
after I had developed it on the computer,
that I had captured something unexpected.
In this case, a flower spider inside her web, inside a Flying Duck Orchid.
She is waiting to catch an insect attracted to the Orchid.My second Post was entitled: "And what's this about Peonies?"

I note that from the statistics on the "labels" (prior to tonight) I have referred to Robertson 323 times; Kangaloon 167 times (that would be about friends of mine who live there, or the Waratahs and other interesting native shrubs which grow there, or about Orchids, for which the area is justifiably famous); Ground Orchids 117 times, birds 97 times; the SCA 92 times (of which 91 would have been somewhat critical, or negative, but I do remember saying something nice about them once!); I have mentioned the Sandstone cliffs and the underlying sandstone soil structure of the area 58 times; I have written about the Community Technology Centre at Robertson (the CTC) 47 times; I have written about Fungi 35 times; moths 26 times; fog (in Robertson) 22 times; and I have referred to my nemesis in the bush, the Leech, 7 times.

I have frequently written about the social and environmental events which occur in Robertson. In this case, the naming of the Laurence Langley Memorial Redwood Grove (in Robertson). A team of volunteers (as usual) from REPS, helped cut back a lot of privet bushes and also erected the memorial sign.

Another feature of the social life of Robertson is the Robbo Show,
and so also is the irrepressible Taz, with Lena.
Lena is wearing a Show Ribbon which she did nor really earn.
But that's all part of fun of the "Kids and Pets Parade" at the Robbo Show.
When out in the bush I occasionally find an interesting insect,
and if I have been lucky enough to get a good photo I will publish it.
My personal nemesis - in the bush - a Leech.

I love fungi, and this image, and logo, is as close as I go to declaring a position on "creationism". I am NOT a creationist, but I do have a great sense of Wonder, triggered by what I cannot help as see as fantastic impulse within Nature to solve problems by means of wonderfully elegant design solutions - such as this gorgeous little Fungus (the size of my little fingernail).
The Blind Watchmaker theory does not satisfy my need to understand Nature.
I do not believe in the great Bearded Designer in the Sky either.

Instead I look at Nature with a sense of Awe. It makes me wonder why is Nature so beautiful? Does that make me a "Pantheist"? I truly do not know, but I do tend to see God in Nature, and Nature is all around me.

Wikipedia's article on Pantheism concludes with these comments:
"some pantheists hold that the pantheist viewpoint is the most ethical viewpoint; Neo-Pantheistic ethics are based on the belief that any action initiated resonates throughout all of existence. What is good and evil is not mandated from something outside of us, but is a result of our interconnectedness. Instead of consideration based upon fear of divine punishment or hope of divine reward, the better Pantheistic ethical decision comes from an awareness of mutual interrelation."

Certainly, when I look at what I believe to be going wrong with the World (I mean - politically) I can ascribe that to a breakdown of "awareness of mutual interrelation". In my mind, that applies as much to day-to-day politics as to the Natural Order of things.

But I can console myself, when nobody listens to me, that, at least there are orchids to admire!

Surprises at Tarlo, north of Goulburn.

2009-10-29T23:00:00.006+11:00

Today I went with Alan Stephenson to hear a lecture by Mark Clements, a CSIRO expert Orchid researcher from the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research. It was an interesting talk, about the challenges ahead in managing the CSIRO/ANBG Orchid Collection. One of the issues he raised was the possibility of having a self-sustaining commercial operation where they might grow and sell Orchids. That will scare the conservative management of the Dept of Environment which is the ultimate manager of the Botanic Gardens (ANBG). He also spoke about the work he has been doing for years, reclassifying Orchids (what is seen as simply re-naming Orchids), but it is obviously much more than that. There were several people in the audience who spoke critically of the "new names".

After the lunchtime lecture, Alan and I headed back up the Highway, to Goulburn and then on the Taralga Road to a district named Tarlo. We had been invited there by Lynette, a local property holder who had found some unusual Greenhood Orchids at her place.

From a photo which she had sent us, it was clearly one of the "rufa group" of Greenhoods, or "Rustyhoods" as they are known.

Indeed they are in the "rufa" group.

A quick look at the labellum revealed this.
The shape of the labellum and the lateral sepals
indicates it is Oligochaetochilus squamatus
This plant was previously known as Pterostylis squamata
Click to enlarge the photo and see the diagnostic bristles on the labellum.
Here is a flower with the labellum "triggered"
From directly in from, this is what the flower looks like
(with the labellum snapped closed - up inside the flower).
This is what the plants look like, in situ.
This plant was about 8 inches tall (approx 200 mm).

Here are two plants growing close together (amongst grass)
Here is the leaf rosette.
the leaves are dying off,
which Alan explained is normal once these plants start to flower.
This was very satisfying as it was a new species for all of us.
Lynette (who had found the plants, but didn't have a name for it)
and myself and Alan and also it was new for
Mark Selmes, from Mt Rae, had joined us to inspect these plants..
So it was a genuine thrill for all concerned.

For the record, these plants are 15 kms north-east of Goulburn, growing on sandstone and shale hillside, in dry stony conditions. This is well outside the previous recorded range for this species.

*****
*****

After studying these flowers, we went off to see a "dead bird" which Lynette had also found.
This was the thing which had interested Mark Selmes most of all.
All she knew was that it was a large grey and silver bird.
It had been suggested it might have been a Tawny Frogmouth.
A quick glance showed it was a very large Owl
Almost certainly a Powerful Owl.
The talons are immensely powerful.
I am convinced it is a Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)
The bird had been dead for a long time, and was quite dried and "leathery".
I estimate it might have been dead for several months,
and had seemingly died in natural circumstances.
The body was more or less intact.

As it is an Endangered Species, Mark is very keen to get the remains positively identified and the record formally reported.

Too much excitement for one day!