Chasing the dog!

I came across a dog in the bushland on Sunday - looked like a Jack Russell - white with brown patches - ran off before I could take a photo. Not sure whether it was with a person - will need to keep a look out.
Continued on with weeding freesias - which are very easy to find at present. Did a walk around the path and found more freesias along the southern path - will concentrate on that area next week.

The bushland appears to be continuing regnerating 2 months after the hail storm.

 The Zamias have an actively growing core to replace the damaged outer fronds.

The alocasuarinas which were very badly hit in the storm (lost virtually all of their leaves) are now producing epicormic growth. You can see the damaged bark on the stems.

The banksias are likewise producing epicormic buds to replace the damaged foliage. Note the damaged stems.

The Jarrahs have been most prolific in regnerating and rebuilding their canopy.

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.

Visible weeds

One side effect of the storm is that weeds are very visible at present - they are virtually the only green to be seen at ground level. We are taking advantage of this to remove as much Freesia as possible before it is hidden by 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.

A merry band of banders

Rob Davis and his team of bird banders were in the bushland this morning. I wondered whether there would be anything for them to band after all the birds disappeared following the hail storm in March.

However, they caught a few silver-eyes (Zosterops lateralis), a rather sick Yellow Rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoea), and a Western Warbler (Gerygone fusca). They also saw, but didn't catch a Mistletoe Bird (Dicaeyn hirundinaceum).

I went off looking for weeds emerging from the rain following the storm. Lots of Black Flag and Freesia are already up.

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.

After the storm - monitoring signs of life

I spent a couple of hours walking around the path, taking photos at our monitoring sites. We usually take the photos in October, so the bushland is much dryer now than usual, but even so, it looks dramatically different.

Signs of life are returning to the bushland  - this Banksia is putting out new shoots. Notice the damage to the bark from the hail stones! Most Jarrah trees are shooting as well.

The Rainbow Lorikeets are back as noisily as ever. I heard a few wattle birds and some honey eaters, but the bushland is still very quiet.

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.

After the storm

We came to the bushland today to look for the endangered Graceful Sun Moth. However, the storm on Monday evening has had a tremendous impact on the bushland. The upper canopy of the bushland has been stripped off the trees. Most Banksias and Casuarinas have very few leaves left. The Jarrahs have a few more leaves, but many of those leaves are damaged, so the canopy looks a little like it might after a fire. The middle storey shrubs have partly disappeared, giving the bushland a very open look. The ground covers, grasses, and sedges have been pulverised. Many of the Jacksonia serecia look dead. The sedges and lomandras are not too bad. The only green in the bushland comes from the somewhat shortened leaves of the grass trees.

The banksias have been hit really hard. Most of their leaves have gone.

The bark of the Banksias bears the marks of the hail stones which left orange scars on the grey bark.

The bushland is almost silent. Few birds can be heard, or seen. Even the Rainbow Lorrikeets have gone. I heard a few Robins in amongst the canopy of one of the Eucalypts that seemed to have escaped much of the damage.

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Will we find it again?

John, Dorothy, and I continued our survey of Graceful Sun Moths in the bushland. It was a bit windy, and quite hot. Despite walking very carefully and vigilantly, we did not spot any moths. We did come across a Flinders Ranges wattle to remove before it comes into flower (not long !)

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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.