Carapooee West, Vic - Mid Winter

åIt’s on again- the season turns

Out on Border Track today 13th July 2023 to check on orchid cages and re-emergence of plants, I found a very early Long-leaf Early Nancy (Wurmbea latifolia).

This is an ordinary Early Nancy- female plant- note the purple band.

Below is the very early Early Nancy- Wurmbea latifolia (today) with female flowers- no purple band.

Also flowering was Clematis microphylla.

Like Wurmbea, this species has separate male and female plants so the 3 that I know of out here in the National Park are either too far apart to pollinate or are all of the same sex . I have never found either seed or new plants- a case for a bit of a replant to boost the chances.

Near the last of the orchid cages was a small colony of Pterostylis robusta, protected from the busy mouths of the wallabies by fallen branches.

Large Striped Greenhood,

On 7th July my Golden Wattle was flowering-this is about the earliest I have recorded.

That’s all from Carapooee West and the Kara Kara National Park north end

Anne.

Round the Traps 2024

Some sightings here at Carapooee West over December 2023 and the start of the New Year

Old palm trees have their use- female Mistletoebird collecting the fluff from stem for her nest- several visits but I only managed one photo.

The male was escorting her and dangling off the end of the fronds, scolding me for being too close.

Clear winged fly of some sort on cactus flower Dec 2023- any entomologists about?

And on our main dam- we have always had Australasian (Little) Grebes on the dams but the only place they seem to breed is up on the wetland. However, this year, because the dam has been full to overflowing for months- here we are, just the one baby though, making heavy weather of the wake from its parents.

The Mallee has come to Carapooee West

This morning 7.25am at the bird feeder (for the magpies and white-winged choughs- and the crested pigeons and the magpie-larks!), a sole Pied Butcherbird, denizen of the Mallee.

I believe he or she has been around for a couple of days , observing.

It's not only humans who observe other species and their behaviour.

Having worked out the routine, the bird followed me to the next feeder, then the next but was a little overwhelmed by the numbers of other birds including belligerent and raucous cockies.

After 3 days of gale-force southerly winds, this bird is unlikly to have hitched a ride that way.

The last sighting of a Pied Butcherbird, 7 or 8 years ago, in the area was after several days of strong northerlies.

Will this bird stay? Will it be joined by others fleeing the no-food situation further north?

What will our resident Grey Butcherbirds think about this?