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Hint: it is halfway around one of the tracks so you can rest up before continuing.  The seat was provided courtesy of Richard Bazeley and installed by Parks Victoria rangers from Inglewood and St Arnaud Field Naturalists members.

This is to announce the launch of our updated site. Hope you all enjoy

Our detailed submission to the EPBC Act review on behalf of the St Arnaud Field Nats The document can be read by clicking on the graphic below

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.

Wednesday 20th Feb 2019 saw several members from St Arnaud Field Nats and Avon Plains Banyena Landcare Group leave the boat ramp for a round-the-Lake bird survey. Beautiful clear, sunny and cool weather kept any pesky insects at bay and we spent 2 1/2 hrs watching birds and listing them for Birdlife Australia's online Bird Atlas. Walker's Lake, north-west of St Arnaud, one of the waterbodies in the highly significant Avon Plains Lakes system. 30 species were seen, mostly waterbirds or landbirds that are associated with wetter environments such as Magpie-larks. For first part of our walk, through Black Box Woodland to the western end of the lunette, we were accompanied by a small family of Black-fronted Dotterels, moving like little clockwork toys along the insect-laden edges of the water. Moving with the BF Dots, but staying in front of the pack was a pair of Red-kneed Dotterels. You can see the red knees in this on-the- move long telephoto shot by Prue McAllister (APBLG). Up onto the lunette( a huge sandbank, formed over thousands of years from pelleted clay blown from the lake bed during dry,cold spells) and the bird assembly changed- Welcome Swallows and White-plumed Honeyeaters foraged busily above or in the massive Redgums, Galahs and Long-billed Corellas defended their nesting areas; the Redgums are full of hollows, indicating their great age (150 year of growth before hollows begin to form). From our vantage point we spied a raft of Australasian Darters, diving and fishing in the shallow waters, almost like a choreographed water ballet- all up, then one after the other, down again! It was hard to count how many there were. Male Darter in breeding array Photo A Hughes StAFNC Several smallish rafts of ducks were seen a good distance away- photos later revealed Pacific Black Ducks, Grey Teal, one lonely Hardhead, the pretty little Pink-eared Ducks and wonder of wonders, a group of 4 Australasian Shovelers, a protected species during the duck shooting season, and not unlike the Pinkies in profile( strange bills) but larger and with more distinguishing marks- white patch and dark rump. This group included 3 males and one female and the very long shot was taken again, by Prue McAllister. Coming around to the inlet area, we were escorted along the shoreline by a Sacred Kingfisher, nervous of our presence but reluctant to leave us to our own devices for some reason. Photo by Anne Hughes StAFNC Moving along the southern shore, through the Redgums and Black Box, we spotted 4 White-breasted Woodswallows using the fenceposts as perches. They were not interested in posing for the cameras but the photos were good enough for identification purposes. White-breasted Woodswallows are seen at the Lake mostly during Summer. This pair behaved like juveniles, waiting for parents to return with a meal. Food was certainly on our minds as we completed the 3km walk and headed for our morning tea- the usual relaxed and enjoyable end to our outings at the lake.

My two bee hotels have been full of activity this summer season with 2 hatchings of Hylaeine bees already. This short video shows a female Hylaeus(Euprosopis) honestus bee finishing off the protective cover to a bamboo tube full of eggs. She seems to be licking the whole edge of the membrane to make sure it is sealed and tight- much as we used to put brown paper covered with vinegar over jam jars to seal them, before the advent of cellophane circles. Further up the hotel, we can see an emerging new Hylaeus bee. So successful have these bees been this year that I have had to install a third hotel for them. Hylaeus honestus looks more like a wasp with its shiny body and an absence of pollen-carrying hairs. The pollen it collects is carried internally! These little hotels do not seem to attract any other bee species at the moment but then, there have been very few other native bee species around this summer. In fact, all insect activity is well down since mid-2018, few native bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, stick insects, ant lions, and cicadas have been recorded in my usual haunts. What are all the insectivorous birds eating then?

Small Milkwort (Comesperma polygaloides) is listed as threat- ened under Victoria's Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act(1988) and described as "an uncommon component of the grassy woodlands of the Wimmera, extending east to the Bendigo area" Once widespread it is now confined to a few scattered patches across the inland slopes of Victoria with only a few plants known from our region. See full report, click here

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.

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?

Open Letter to the Victorian Government has been sent as a video to express our views and concerns about this coming duck season. Have a look for your information

As you travel down Centre Rd from St Arnaud you notice the lack of understorey vegetation in many places. Trees, yes, although few are older than 90 years due to extensive felling for timber up until the late 1990s. A few are thick with Golden Wattle and Grey Everlasting; these are areas that have been burnt over the last 20 years. Monitoring by the Club over a 10 year period showed little increase in the species in the burnt areas,a total of maybe 5, including Gorse Bitter-pea and a couple of lilies while the unburnt sides contained up to 30 floral species. Despite over 100 years of sheep grazing (up until 1996) mining and timber felling and the grazing pressure from increasing numbers of kangaroos, small patches of quite rich floral diversity can still be found. One such patch on Shearing Shed Rd is on the top of an ironbark ridge and small treasures such as Blue Pincushions, Blue Finger Flower and Grass Triggerplant and are abundant within maybe, a 4 acre plot. Blue Finger Flower Cheiranthera cyanea- the fingers refer to the arrangement of the stamens- like a hand. This plant of the Goldfields is nowhere common now. Blue Pincushions Brunonia australis A Raspwort species - I don't know which- easily overlooked as it is quite small but the hot pink flowers are intriguing Grass Triggerplant- Stylidium graminifolium- rare now on the Range, it can be seen in greater numbers in the Wax Garden Of course, Bursaria is flowering madly- I always think of it and Buloke Mistletoe as the Christmas Bushes of the Box-Ironbark forests. Sweet Bursaria Bursaria spinosa with its seed capsules forming Another small patch of rich diversity can be found on Centre Rd south of the Aliens' Camp Rd intersection. Here, under straggly and dying Red Stringybarks (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha) a vast horde of Rosy Baeckeas (Euryomyrtus ramosissimus)ramble down the hillside in company with many small peas, lilies and the red form of Common Correa(Correa reflexa). Rosy Baeckea Red form of Common Correa Along with the Wax Garden, View Point and another small patch on Boundary Rd, these tiny patches have survived. Better management, protection and a helping hand is called for to allow them to survive and re-seed the bush in time. Christmas greetings from all our Club members- may you all have a happy festive season and return to 2020 reinvigorated and refreshed. Mugga Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) in a member's garden this December, attracting birds, insects, gliders and possums although not all at the same time.

Saturday morning saw me out in the Hard Hills east of St Arnaud to try and get a photo or two of the Bristly Greenhood that had spiked up in the Club's big enclosure on L Bray's Rd. Coming round the corner past the transfer station I was pulled up by the sight of what I first thought was a large wattle in full bloom. Aha" I thought- a new species although I couldn't place this plant at all in the local wattle list. The bush was full of bees having a grand time and after taking as close a look as I dared, realised that this was a melaleuca, in fact it was Mallee Broombush Melaleuca uncinata in full fig. There were only 4 or 5 bushes on the roadside and on reflection I realised that I had rarely seen this species in the Hard Hills although it is on the list for the area. Has anyone else seen this species in the Hard Hills other than just east of the transfer station? This is a valuable plant for insects in particular and is a beautiful sight at this time of year. Along with its cousin, Totem Poles Melalueuca decussata, it provides food for a number of insects, cover for small birds and would be a good addition to any windbreak planting or just in the garden as is decussata. Totem Pole Flowers After this small interruption, I went on to our site to find one Bristly Greenhood completely dessicated and the other, vanished! This is P. setifera in slightly better times 9 years ago. It is very similar to P despectans(Lowly Greenhood) but without the absurdly long sepal tips. The trip was worthwhile, as most bush trips are, even if you don't find what you went out for!