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.

Summer colours

With the arrival of summer most of the colours that enchanted us during spring have faded, and left us with subtle gold and green. However, a few brave flowers continue, especially the intense mauve of the fringe lilies (Thysanotus sparteus) and the pale Prince of Wales Feathers (Ptilotus polystachyus) and gold of the local grasses (Stipa compressa (or variant)).

Prince of Wales Feathers (Ptilotus polystachyus)

Local grasses (Stipa compressa (or variant))

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.

City of Nedlands - summary of weed control

Vicki has sent me summary information of weed control activities the City of Nedlands has engaged in during 2009.

	This map shows a miscellany of weeds noted - fountain grass, flinders ranges wattle (to remove), lachenalia, and vetch. 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.
	There is quite a bit of African Love Grass (Eragrostis curvula) in the Health Department land. This was sprayed this year to stop it spreading into the bushland. 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.
	This is the lachenalia sprayed by City of Nedlands contractors this year.
	Black flag is a major concern for us - not least because there does not appear to be any herbicide to control it. Vicki had it sprayed with Dalapon this year 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.
	This shows areas of black flag identified.

Searching for those elusive watsonias

It is one of those facts of life all bush regenerators face - the more successful we are in reducing the population of a particular weed, the more difficult it becomes to find those last few plants that we really need to find in order to eradicate an infestation.
Fortunately,Watsonia plants are pretty easy to spot from a distance, especially when they are big enough to flower. We found a few plants on sunday, and in between searching for Watsonia we removed any perennial veldgrass we came across.

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.