Sun Moth search successful - at last

We have been searching for this elusive creature for the past five years! Last Sunday Vicki's sharp eyes saw one flitter from one sedge to another. We got a net over it, but it got away before I could take a photo. We will look again next weekend. At least we know where to look now.

Also last weekend I borrowed Dorothy's Garmin Etrex GPS unit to see if I can connect it to my Macintosh (OSX Snow Leopard). Whilst Garmin has now introduced support for USB connections to Macintosh computers, I have not been able to connect to the older serial cable models. I had bought a cable via eBay, connected it to my Keyspan serial to USB converter, and finally found software (LoadMyTracks) that will download from the Etrex. It worked perfectly!

x	Click here to view live map Click here to download the GPX data for this map. Note, this data is an XML file - change the name to .GPX to upload to your GPS.

Week 1 of sun-moth search

Dorothy and I spent two hours looking for lomandra and associated sun moths on Sunday - found lots of Lomandra. No sun moths.
Went to the Cottesloe Sculpture by the Sea afterwards - found a couple of sculptures that I liked.

Click here to view live map Click here to download the GPX data for this map. Note, this data is an XML file - change the name to .GPX to upload to your GPS.

Cleaning up

John and I did some cleaning up along the front verge - there is so much rubbish dumped by people parking there, and blowing off vehicles going to the rubbish transfer station. Then we went to Dorothy's area to remove remnants of veldgrass.

Click here to view live map Click here to download the GPX data for this map. Note, this data is an XML file - change the name to .GPX to upload to your GPS.

Rainbows everywhere!

The bushland was alive with the distinctive sound of Rainbow Bee Eaters - a throaty excited chatter as they whizzed through the air chasing various flying insects. They were everywhere!

Whilst weeding veldgrass in the bushland I visited an area we planted out in 2006. It was nice to see so much surviving despite the fact that we never water our plantings - about 10% survive long-term, but they are the best ones that do survive - which is what we need for this bushland to be resilient to climate change.

Click here to view live map Click here to download the GPX data for this map. Note, this data is an XML file - change the name to .GPX to upload to your GPS.

The long dry continues

As the long dry spell continues the plants are beginning to look quite stressed - leaves curled and hanging limply. All of this makes the grassy flowering spikes of veldgrass easy to spot, so we continue searching for it ...
We also picked up some weeds left in bags near the front fence - added them to our pile of weeds and rubbish near the front fence.
Had a pleasant surprise last weekend - Vicki had organised to have the front door and flooring of 'the shed' fixed (the floor had been partly eaten by termites).
Thanks Vicki!
I didn't publish a post last week because my GPS stopped working - I don't think it is water proof enough for kayaking ... Have borrowed one from Vicki (thanks again!).

Click here to view live map Click here to download the GPX data for this map. Note, this data is an XML file - change the name to .GPX to upload to your GPS.

On spiders, fox holes, and mulla mulla

Whilst John and I went on a veldgrass hunt I came across this spot where someone has been getting stuck into a whole lot of beer - filled the bag up with bottles instead of veldgrass.

There were lots of spider webs about (which I tried to avoid). Mostly they were Jewel Spiders, but there were a few golden orb web spiders - including this big one - its legs were as long as my fingers. The spider is female - there is a tiny male spider on the back of the web - near the female's abdomen.

Also came across this bunch of Mulla Mulla (Ptilotus drummondii)which seemed to be flowering unusually late in the year ...

This fox hole seems to be currently used - there was a dead bird nearby, and fresh paw-prints.

Later in the day we had our committee meeting down by the river at Matilda bay. It was very hot. John went for a swim. We discussed strategies to raise our profile in the community and attract more volunteers - thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

Click here to view live map Click here to download the GPX data for this map. Note, this data is an XML file - change the name to .GPX to upload to your GPS.

On the way home

John and I continued with our veldgrass removal this morning. On the way home I stopped at Lake Jualbup and observed a number of visitors to the drying lake: Pacific Heron, Sacred Ibis, Yellow-billed spoonbill, and Black-winged stilt. My apologies for the poor quality of the photos - they were a bit too far away for hand-held photography.
Pacific heron, Sacred Ibis, and Yellow-billed spoonbill.

Pacific heron.

Black-winged stilt.

Click here to view live map Click here to download the GPX data for this map. Note, this data is an XML file - change the name to .GPX to upload to your GPS.