Midsummer Joys

The bush is looking pretty dry and desolate now- no rain and a month of extreme heat has knocked all the freshness out of the plants and trees.

Birds are congregating in the lower parts of the landscape- around the creeklines and in gardens where there is water and some respite from the excessive temperatures.

On a recent visit to Dalyenong Nature Conservation Reserve, a large area of Heathy Dry Woodland, to carry out a quarterly bird survey, I was heartened to see Bulokes festooned with the "dayglo" red flowers of Buloke Mistletoe- Amyema linophylla, an obligate on Buloke and thus a threatened species along with the Buloke- and the gorgeous firecracker flowers of the Harlequin Mistletoe- Lisiana exocarpi.

Buloke Mistletoe

Harlequin Mistletoe flowers

I was not the only person interested in the flowering mistletoe; birds of every sort (well, nearly) were attracted to the plants - Honeyeaters, White-plumed, Black-chinned and Yellow-tufted; Rufous Whistlers, Hooded Robin and Dusky Woodswallows were all enthusiastically searching through the mistletoe clumps or hovering over them (maybe that should be "hoovering" as there were lots of insects there too).

On the sector of the survey site where there were no Bulokes, there were no birds!

In the Box-Ironbark areas the mistletoes are Drooping or Box Mistletoe- Amyema miquelii and Fleshy Mistletoe- A. miraculosa- miraculous because it parasitises another mistletoe rather than the tree.

These two species are also flowering at the moment but are much less spectacular than the Buloke and Harlequin varieties.

Mistletoe is a vital bird and insect food especially during summer, providing nectar, berries and cool roosting places during the heat of the day.

The leaves contain more moisture and nutrients than the host plants and when they fall, return those extra nutrients to the soil thus benefitting the host.

I was not the only person interested in the flowering mistletoe; birds of every sort (well, nearly) were attracted to the plants - Honeyeaters, White-plumed, Black-chinned and Yellow-tufted; Rufous Whistlers, Hooded Robin and Dusky Woodswallows were all enthusiastically searching through the mistletoe clumps or hovering over them (maybe that should be "hoovering" as there were lots of insects there too).

On the sector of the survey site where there were no Bulokes, there were no birds!In the Box-Ironbark areas the mistletoes are Drooping or Box Mistletoe- Amyema miquelii and Fleshy Mistletoe- A. miraculosa- miraculous because it parasitises another mistletoe rather than the tree.

These two species are also flowering at the moment but are much less spectacular than the Buloke and Harlequin varieties.Mistletoe is a vital bird and insect food especially during summer, providing nectar, berries and cool roosting places during the heat of the day.

The leaves contain more moisture and nutrients than the host plants and when they fall, return those extra nutrients to the soil thus benefitting the host.

Not Cleaning Up the Block!

Many landholders like to have a spic and span property- dead trees removed, sticks and leaves raked up and dead branches turned into firewood. Very nice the property looks then - to our eyes anyway but to our often-unseen neighbours, homelessness is the result.

The loss of many of our species- birds, reptiles, butterflies,insects and small mammals can be sheeted home directly to loss of habitat. The rarely seen Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops sp) has been captured on film here on a covenanted (Trust for Nature) property at Carapooee where all creatures are accorded a home. Here is the adult Blind Snake- head downwards.

And here is the juvenile that had taken up residence in the kitchen- taking Land for Wildlife a bit far perhaps!

Blind snakes live on ant eggs, pupae and larvae as well as ants themselves.

They are vocal at times, non-venomous, lay eggs and produce 3-5 young. According to the Field Guides we have 3 or 4 possible species here-

Can anyone help with identification of these facinating reptiles.

Insect-Eaters

Warm, sultry overcast weather with storms.

The farmers hate this weather- too late for rain to do any good and it spoils the hay!

However, strange things blow in with a north-east weather system. Large flocks of White-browed Woodswallows hunting for insects over the treetops. Pair of White-browed Woodswallows

Photo G. Cheers

Then a weird metallic trumpeting, muttering and cackling call and 2 Dollarbirds appear on the scene.

Magpies, Striated Pardalotes and Red Wattlebirds get a run as do the Woodswallows.

Dollarbird at Carapooee West

Photo A Hughes

A quite large and chunky bird with a most distinctive flight pattern and a white circular patch on each wing- the eponymous dollar. Checking on the distribution in the Birdlife Atlas, these are rare visitors to our region.

This is the first sighting I have had of this species in our region in 37 years- so a new species for our BIrd List.