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The planning meeting for the 2016 program for Main/Perth branch

11 am on Sat 10 October at Margaret Larke’s

house: 54 Glyde St East Fremantle. If you have

ideas for speakers & excursions please come along

or send them to Margaret mlarke@iinet.net.au or

Jolanda jmkeeble@gmail.com.

Email: info@wanaturalists.org.au Website: www.wanaturalists.org.au

OCTOBER 2015

MISSION: To encourage the study and protection of the natural environment

CONTENTS

MAIN (CENTRAL) CLUB

DARLING RANGE BRANCH

NORTHERN SUBURBS BRANCH

KWINANA/ROCKINGHAM/MANDURAH BRANCH

RETIRED & LEISURED GROUP

MAIN CLUB NATIVE BEE WORKSHOP

NORTHERN SUBURBS BRANCH EXCURSION REPORT

KWINANA/ROCKINGHAM/MANDURAH BRANCH

EXCURSION REPORT

BUSHWALKING GROUP

WEEKEND NATURE WALK

COMING EVENTS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRIBUTORS

NEW MEMBERS

ADVERTISING IN THE NEWSLETTER

COUNCIL CORNER As you may be aware, your Council has been working on two important initiatives for the club. One of these is a joint feasibility study, funded by Lotterywest, to investigate the viability of relocating our office to Bold Park, along with the Wildflower Society, the Friends of Bold Park and Birdlife WA.

The advantages of the move would be an office in a more natural setting than the current office in Beaufort Street, the opportunity to share resources such as meeting rooms with other natural history organisations, a more attractive location for volunteers to work and a chance for collaboration between these like-minded organisations.

The other proposal, which links to the Future Directions discussions that have been taking place over the last couple of years, is to convert the current ‘Main Club’ into a full branch, called ‘Perth Branch’, or ‘Main Branch’, with its own Chair and committee. The Main Branch committee would be responsible for the organisation of meetings and excursions for the branch. A new Council would then be formed, which would be responsible for publications, communicating with all the

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POSTAL ADDRESS PO BOX 8257, PERTH BUSINESS CENTRE, WA, 6849

PHONE: (08) 9228 2495

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branches (either through direct representation on Council or by delegate), managing memberships and taking a more effective role in conservation and community engagement than we currently have time to do. Over the next

few months, your councillors will be discussing these developments at general meetings and would appreciate your comments as we determine how to proceed in the best interests of the Club as a whole.

Mandy Bamford President

MAIN (CENTRAL) CLUB

MEETING REPORT: FRONTIERS IN WILDLIFE ECOLOGY— LIFE, DEATH AND DNA IN WILDLIFE RESEARCH

On Friday 4 September Dr Oliver Berry (below, O Berry)—a Senior Research Scientist in the Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship of CSIRO based in Floreat—addressed the meeting about research projects conducted using micro-technology/DNA. This work was done when he was a postdoctoral fellow at UWA and the Invasive Animals CRC.

Australia suffers from a shocking rate of mammal extinction—invasive predators are the main cause and huge resources have been spent on their control. There is a need to develop and use science to underpin conservation management and to develop critical ecological understanding of these invasive species. Newer molecular advances can be extremely useful for this.

The first question the study asked was: how do populations grow? Basically the population ‘N’ is calculated using N = (Birth + Immigration) - (Death + Emigration). To control populations the focus tends to be on death but birth and immigration cannot be ignored as this determines the capacity for the predator to recover.

The first case study was on the foxes of Phillip Island (Vic). The original 12 colonies of Little Penguins have, over 100 years, been reduced to just one, threatening the $96 million tourist industry. To develop an effective fox eradication program the rates of immigration needed to be investigated. DNA was used determine genetic diversity. Small populations tend to have less genetic variation and research found that genetics of the island foxes had drifted significantly from those of the mainland. This meant any migrants (travelling over the bridge) would stand out and DNA showed these migrants are very few—one every five years. Baiting has reduced numbers almost completely and recruitment is low, so eradication is achievable but will need monitoring.

How effective is fox control? Using 1080 poison is expensive and time consuming. As foxes are almost impossible to repeat trap, a way to obtain DNA samples was developed: the ‘D. Algar’ trap. A food source is placed at the end of a wedge-shaped ‘funnel’ of plant material and along the edges sticks with sticky-tape were placed close together to capture fox hairs sufficient for DNA analysis. When, in a repeated sample, many foxes are ‘recaptured’, this indicates the total population is small. It also means individual foxes can be identified.

Research at Karrara Station (semi-desert York Gum woodlands) used these hair traps with 28 per cent giving adequate specimens (a much higher rate than using other methods). After baiting at a high rate twice, the fox density declined almost to zero. Baiting needed to be at a high rate and sustained for 6 months at least. Afterwards, because the foxes were found to move further after baiting, the baiting can be sparser. The results showed scientifically the effectiveness of 1080 and how non-invasive DNA analysis could provide more precise and accurate analysis of management programs.

Oliver also posed the question: what are the threats to mammals and do these change? In the case of the Woylie, in 1976 the numbers were extremely low but fox baiting had meant a 20-fold increase in numbers. However,

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around the year 2000 their numbers crashed. There are three hypotheses: a new disease; foxes no longer controlled; or some other predator. There is no evidence of disease and by comparing areas with and without baiting it was shown that foxes were significantly less in baited areas. DNA analysis of radio-collars and carcasses of 98 monitored woylies showed that feral cats caused most mortalities (65 per cent), which is three times the fox predation rate. In addition, cats were more prevalent in areas where the fox is rare. This is a case of cascading ecological affects. Management needs an understanding of all predator populations and there is a need to integrate fox and cat control.

Sometimes we have to ask hard questions, e.g. what do we conserve? The Dingo—our top predator—is a case in point. The Dingo has some unique biological characteristics: they breed only once per year (dogs breed twice) and they hybridise readily. Their conservation status varies between states and depends on their hybrid state: Dingo vs. wild dog. Dingoes and dogs are genetically distinct but it is difficult to measure hybridisation. Previous methods that used physical appearance and skull measurements can now be replaced by DNA analysis, which can identify hybrids readily and accurately. There is a need for large-scale (possibly citizen science) collection of distinct genotypes and microsatellites* to help identify those which are ‘pure’ Dingo, since

there is a debate about what that actually is. Dr Berry showed us a map of the hybridisation of Dingoes. They are highly hybridised in the east but with the exception of the area around Kununurra, Western Australian Dingoes are among the purest. In WA there seem to be four distinct clusters: SW, Interior, Mid-West and NW but it is not clear why these exist. Is it related to temperature, or very low relief or large distances? How long will we still have pure Dingoes? It is clear that the hybridisation of Dingoes is extensive and rapid; for the dingo it could be ‘death by sex’.

The description how micro-technology is being used to provide scientific backing in the management of mammal conservation programs was very interesting and provided hope for positive outcomes for our threatened mammals.

* A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain DNA motifs (ranging in length from 2–5 base pairs) are repeated, typically 5-50 times.

The focus for the evening was given by Don Howe on snake bites. Snakes are up and about with the warmer weather. Only around two or three people die of snake bite per year in Australia but if you immobilize the bitten limb or area, stay still and then get to a hospital, you are extremely unlikely to die. If you like going bush, always carry several crepe bandages with you. If you have a snake in your house, contact DPaW’s 24/7 Wildcare Helpline 9474 9055.

Margaret Larke

DARLING RANGE BRANCH MEETING REPORT: INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL—NATURALLY!

Costa Rica: Penny Hussey

Penny travelled to Costa Rica in November 2014 with Coates Wildlife Tours. A small country in Central America, Costa Rica can boast drawing 97 percent of its energy from renewable sources and having no defence force apart from a few border patrols. Despite this—or perhaps because of it—it’s a country with good infrastructure, that was colonised by farmers when the Spanish explorers found it had no gold or other desirable minerals.

Dingo in the Kimberley; photo by Rob Davis/Kimberley Land Council

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A volcanic, mainly rain-soaked landscape supports lush forests. The country has 12 different ecological zones, from the Caribbean to the Pacific coast across a mountainous spine with active volcanoes to 3500 m.

The zones can be simplified to:

• coasts and beaches • lowland rain forests • dry forest (one small area in a rain shadow) • upland rain forests • cloud forests • montaine scrub.

Despite its small size, Costa Rica is home to almost five percent of the world’s identified living species, including more species of butterflies than in the whole of Africa. It contains a World Biodiversity Hotspot and a Ramsar Wetland (Cano Negro).

With an expert guide who was an accomplished birdwatcher, Penny and her five tour companions saw many kinds of habitat and many species of flora and fauna. Sometimes all this required was sitting in a café and looking out the window.

Notable amongst the birds were Scarlet Macaw, Resplendent Quetzal, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and 31 of the 50 resident species of hummingbirds. Reptiles and amphibians were abundant, e.g. the unusual Green Basilisk lizard (above right, P Hussey) and many species of frog including one with a bright red body and blue legs that cunningly eluded Penny’s lens.

The mammals included the often-heard Howler Monkeys, the nervous Agouti and Penny’s personal favourite, the Three-toed Sloth (right, P Hussey), which is very hard to see because of its preference for living in tree canopies. Penny said mostly, in glimpses of them, they resembled a dirty old bathmat hanging over a branch!

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, P Hussey

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Namibia: Susan Stocklmayer

Susan started by telling us why she and husband Vernon prefer Namibia to e.g. Botswana: because the Namibian scenery is much better than Botswana and it has the same range of wildlife as its much-visited neighbour.

The climate in Namibia ranges from the extreme dryness of the Namib Desert along the Atlantic coast, to an area in the north east that receives about 600 mm p.a. rainfall and supports woodland savannah that is interspersed with single baobabs, wild figs and palms.

About 70 per cent of Namibia is savannah. In the central part, thornbush-savannah dominates with extensive grasslands and acacia bush. Here one can see occasional trees, mainly camel-thorn and other kinds of acacia which often grow near dry riverbeds. Such hostile vegetation is one reason why the country hasn’t been widely cultivated.

Fauna such as the Ostrich (right) and the Gemsbok (Oryx gazella) (above, both by S & V Stocklmayer) have adapted to live in very arid areas of the country and are often seen in areas where they appear to have only rocks to eat! The Gemsbok is a large antelope and has a special bony chamber above its nose where it can cool its blood, to counteract the >500C temperatures of the desert.

There are also the enchanting hyraxes: both the rock (Procavia capensis) and (in the north east) tree-dwelling (Dendrohyrax arboreus) types. These

Secretary Bird, below; Rock Hyrax family, right

– S & V Stocklmayer

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unlikely relatives of the elephant live in colonies led by a dominant male. Another distinctive animal is the Secretary Bird: with its long legs and stylish crest it’s perfectly adapted to the savannah.

On the Atlantic coast, fogs form due to a cold ocean current sweeping north and this fog can drift as far as 100 km inland, helping specially adapted organisms to harvest the water to sustain life.

The Welwitschia plant (Welwitschia mirabilis) is one such organism—endemic and completely unique. Though often called ugly and bizarre—with its two leaves that just keep growing and fraying—it is adapted to grow under arid conditions receiving

regular fog. The leaves are broad and large and droop downwards, an ideal way for it to water its own roots. It also has numerous stomata on both leaf surfaces and fog-water is taken up directly through these. The fog has been estimated to contribute 50 mm in annual rainfall, but despite this the plants are still dependent on additional sources. Rainfall in this area is erratic and extremely low, only 10 - 100 mm. In some years, no rain falls. The plants are often confined to dry watercourses or next to higher rainfall regions and they occasionally grow on rocky outcrops. All these habitats point to an additional underground water supply and the plant has a long taproot, allowing it to reach this water.

Thailand: Diana Papenfus

In October 2013 Diana and her family spent 12 days exploring Thailand. Travelling with a company that promoted itself as an eco-friendly tour operator, they were chaperoned to the north of the country and then south to the Andaman Sea by an avid bird-watcher.

Thailand is within one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots on the globe: the Indo-Burma hotspot comprising part or all of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, and China. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot an area must be rich in terms of genera, species and ecosystems; it must contain more than 1500 endemic plant species and have lost more than 70 per cent of the original habitat. In fact the remaining natural habitat in Indo-Burma is restricted to only five percent of its original extent.

A conservative estimate of total plant diversity in the hotspot reveals about 13 500 vascular plant species, of which about 7000 (52 per cent) are endemic to Thailand. Orchids are well represented in Thailand, with over 1300 species. Some are terrestrial but the majority are epiphytic. It appears that all wild orchids are threatened, not just by habitat destruction but more especially by illegal collection.

Welwitschia with cone

Welwitschia (below & left); note cone on

female plant, left. S & V Stocklmayer

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Thailand fauna is as diverse as its flora. This includes at least 280 mammals and some 925 birds, including the very rare Gurneys Pitta (left, D Papenfus) and many species of kingfisher. Of the 1277 bird species found in Indo-Burma, 74 are endemic to Thailand. Similarly, 71 of the 430 mammal species are found in Thailand. Other vertebrate groups show much higher levels of endemism, with 189 of the 519 non-marine reptile species and 139 of the 323 amphibian

species being endemic to the hotspot. Among these species, Indo-Burma supports probably the highest diversity of freshwater turtles in the world. The hotspot also has a remarkable freshwater fish fauna, with about 10 per cent of the world’s species, including 566 endemics.

Tanya Marwood

NORTHERN SUBURBS BRANCH

MEETING REPORT: DRUMMOND RESERVE PREVIEW

At our September meeting Greg Keighery gave us an excellent presentation on the flora of Drummond Reserve, in preparation for our excursion on the following Saturday. Greg is Senior Principal Research Scientist in the Biodiversity Conservation Group of the Science Division at DPaW. He is well known as an expert in Western Australian flora, and his studies and publications have focused on many aspects of the native vascular plants of WA.

Drummond Reserve is about 30 km north of Toodyay on Old Plains Road. It extends over 400 hectares (4 km2) on the margins of the Jarrah forest and the Wheatbelt biogeographic regions.

Drummond Reserve was established in 1985 on Wandoo woodland that had been logged and degraded by grazing. It has a diverse range of vegetation communities – Wandoo and Marri woodlands on clay or duplex soils in the valleys, Banksia woodlands on deep sands, Granite heath, Melaleuca in clay pans with Flooded Gum woodlands on the edges of the clay pans, and some other unusual and rare communities including Grevillea and Acacia species

Lutz Elber

KWINANA/ROCKINGHAM/MANDURAH BRANCH

MEETING REPORT: WILDFLOWERS

The presenter for the August meeting was Anne Bellman. Anne outlined her introduction to wildflowers many years ago, which evolved into her participation as a volunteer on many vegetation surveys and at the WA Herbarium. She is certainly one of KRMB’s WA flora ‘gurus’. For the presentation Anne had prepared a poster board of specimens of flora currently in flower on her Baldivis property. She also brought along an extensive collection of books on the subject of WA flora. With the field trip for the month being a weekend at Wongan Hills, exploring the region’s nature reserves, Anne had also downloaded a list of the plants we might find during our visit. To further prepare for the field trip there was a PowerPoint presentation by Colin Prickett of some of the flora that had been found at Reynoldson Flora Reserve near Wongan Hills, during a visit in September 2014. Bob and Lynette Goodale rounded off the meeting with a presentation of photographs taken on their recent trip to China. As always, Bob had found

Unnamed butterfly (D Papenfus)

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some birds and animals to photograph along with the scenic aspects. The audience thanked all the presenters for an enjoyable evening.

Colin Prickett

RETIRED & LEISURED GROUP

MEETING REPORT: CROSSING THE GREAT VICTORIA DESERT

Our talk in August was given by Gabor Bedo, based on his experience of a Coates Wildlife tour consisting of two vehicles, two Coates staff members and three paying passengers.

The Great Victoria Desert is 420,000 km2 and the largest in Australia with half in WA and half in SA. The tour journey was from Laverton to Coober Pedy via the Anne Beadell ‘Highway’. This is arid land which consists of sand dune ridges running from north-west to south-east, composed of red sand with vegetation. It ranges from hot to extremely hot in summer and varies from mild to warm in winter. A number of mammals which originally inhabited the desert have become extinct due to introduced pests like rabbits, feral cats, camels etc. For thousands of years aboriginal people have traversed the desert. During the 19th century, early explorers visited this country, the first of whom was Ernest Giles. The area consists of Crown Land, conservation reserves and native title Aboriginal land.

Len Beadell was asked to survey the area for the construction of roads to enable atomic and nuclear weapon tests to be carried out, resulting in two explosions at Emu in 1953 and nine British nuclear weapons tests at Maralinga between 1955 and ‘57. Len Beadell had some tough experiences in his survey work, including flooding and creating the Tallaringa well.

Laverton, where they commenced their tour, is a gold mining and pastoral area of mulga woodland. Spinifex is very prolific here, with various Eremophila species, Quandong and Sandalwood sighted. Some stone arrangements were seen, but their origin and purpose was uncertain. Gabor’s talk went on to show us the flowers, reptiles and rocks they encountered.

The talk concluded with pictures from visits to Lake Eyre and the coastal cliffs of the Nullabor Plain.

Gabor gave us a meticulously researched talk full of interesting detail. We thank him and all the people who worked to make our meeting a success.

Margot Bentley

MAIN CLUB NATIVE BEE WORKSHOP

It is a largely unknown fact that Australia has hundreds of species of native bee. Most of us have never seen one, or if we have, we haven’t known that it was a bee. But to someone like David Pike who ‘has his eye in’, they are to be seen everywhere in the bush. On a short ramble around the garden of the Henderson Centre, we looked at a tiny bee that David had spotted, digging itself a burrow.

While some species dig burrows to lay their eggs in, others use holes that have been bored into trees by the larvae of moths and beetles. Most of these bees, or ‘vegetarian wasps’ as they could well be called, are solitary and do not sting unless picked up roughly. Like European Honey-bees, they feed on nectar, but collect pollen for their progeny to feed on. They have branched hairs on their bodies that pollen sticks to. Wasps, on the other hand, have unbranched hairs that do not collect pollen. Instead, they usually feed their young on paralysed caterpillars or spiders.

David pointed out that we often prune or get rid of shrubs and trees in our backyards when they get old. Along with the prunings go thousands of holes that native bees would have been able to use to lay their eggs. Therefore he says it is a good idea to construct ‘bee poles’ to replace that habitat loss. We are encouraged to grow grevilleas and bottlebrushes to attract birds, but it is no use providing nectar for honeyeaters if there are no insects (their main food) for them to eat. To attract the birds, says David, we should be planting insect-attracting shrubs—typically those with blue and yellow flowers and the pea family of plants.

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To construct bee poles, we can simply drill holes into a piece of timber to provide a substitute for those created naturally by grubs. The holes should be drilled to a depth of about 100 mm (ideally 150 mm) so a suitably long drill-bit is needed and the timber needs to be wide enough for that—or you can drill holes into the ends of the timber. A bit with a 5 mm gauge is best for most bees, but some like 3 mm or 7 mm. Any untreated timber can be used, but David recommends drilling into jarrah using a multi-purpose carbide-tipped bit. The holes must be ‘blind’ i.e. not right through the wood. Holes can be drilled randomly, or you can be creative and produce an artistic pattern. We looked at a bee pole in the Henderson Centre garden that had dozens of holes drilled in it, and we could see that many of the holes had been sealed by bees that had laid their eggs in them.

Ants can be a problem, so the base of poles can be treated with citronella oil or smeared with Vicks or petroleum jelly to discourage them. Another way of discouraging ants is to suspend a small bee pole, using a wire coat-hanger. An alternative is to simply cut a narrow bamboo cane such that a node forms the dead-end of the hole, making sure that there is no pith obstructing the tunnel. Such canes can be just stuck into the ground.

Bee poles will have more chance of being inhabited if placed near insect-attracting plants such as pea flowers and the bees like a reasonably warm situation. Most species emerge in early spring, then they mate, find a hole and lay their eggs in it within a couple of weeks. They seal the mouth of the hole with chewed-up leaf matter and it remains sealed until the following spring.

David showed us some excellent pictures he had taken of various local native bee species, some with brilliant and surprising colours. He presented interesting information about the biology of some, such as the cooperative Resin Bee and the parasitic Cuckoo Bee. Finally the drills came out and some of us made a start on our own bee poles, using lengths of cut timber or pieces of log.

Mike Gregson

NORTHERN SUBURBS BRANCH

EXCURSION REPORT: DRUMMOND NATURE RESERVE

The excursion to the reserve was a joint one by the Toodyay Field Naturalists and the Northern Suburbs branch of the Naturalists’ Club. Our guide was Bob Huston, District Nature Conservation Program Coordinator with DPaW. We benefitted greatly from Bob’s intimate knowledge of the reserve and the conservation and rehabilitation issues that arise within it.

Our tour started at a clay pan near the south-west corner. These are of course seasonal, filling in July and drying out in November-December, and the flora, mainly sedges and Melaleuca lateritas, respond accordingly. We were shown the piezometric bores used to monitor ground water levels and to provide water samples. As there are several impervious (clay) strata, more than one aquifer is being monitored in any one location. Salinity is a problem, especially at the north-west corner of the reserve which adjoins an agricultural region. The vegetation in this corner of the reserve, mainly Wandoo woodland, is significantly degraded by groundwater salinity, the salinity being about that of sea water. An area was planted there with a salt-tolerant Melaleuca

species eight years ago to counteract the salinity problem and these bushes looked very healthy.

Another conservation problem that arises is due to feral pigs that dig for tubers and bulbs near the edges of the clay pans. We were shown the disturbed areas, which were quite extensive, and a cage trap typical of the ones used to catch feral pigs. Shooters were employed in the past but this did not prove effective, in that complete

Catspaw in SW corner of reserve, T Marwood

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eradication was never achieved. Poisoning is also about to be trialled as monitoring active traps daily is too labour-intensive.

Some years ago a species of Acacia (A chapmanii) in the northern section of the reserve was found to be in serious decline and an adaptive management approach was used to try to reverse that. After eliminating salinity and dieback as likely causes it was conjectured that lack of fires and other disturbances were likely to be the cause. There had not been a fire in the area for 20 years. Some trial plots were therefore established and fired, after loading them with suitable fuel, mainly leaves and paper. That proved successful in that significant germination was achieved. However, grazing by marsupials destroyed most of the seedlings. The burn trials were therefore repeated after fencing several plots and we saw the excellent results of these trials. Even outside the fenced plots we saw several young bushes. This example of bush management impressed us.

In summary, we had a great day in the reserve and the amateurs (like me) learnt a lot from Bob Huston.

Lutz Elber

KWINANA/ROCKINGHAM/MANDURAH BRANCH

EXCURSION REPORT: EXCURSION TO WONGAN HILLS

Seven members made the trip up to Wongan Hills for the weekend of August 22-23 to explore the region’s nature reserves. The weather was overcast, fairly cool and windy but there was no rain. During the weekend we visited the Wongan Wildflower Walk and Christmas Rock Walk, both close to town, and we also travelled out of town to Roger's Reserve, the Reynoldson Flora Reserve and Dingo Rock. For reference we had the WA Naturalists’ Club publication, The Natural History of the Wongan Hills.

Population of A. chapmanii, T Marwood

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The Wongan Wildflower Walk is a relatively short walk near the Water Supply Depot on Quinlan Street. Many shrubs were in flower and we spent an enjoyable 90 minutes exploring this very accessible reserve. Flowering plants sighted during the walk included Boronia coerulescens subsp. spinescens, Honeybush (Hakea lissocarpha), Wells Dampiera (Dampiera wellsii), Diplolaena velutina, Drosera macrantha, Isopogon scrabiusculus, Synaphea spinulosa, and Keraudrenia velutina subsp. velutina. Orchid sightings included Cowslip Orchids (Caladenia flava), the Mini Donkey Orchid (Diuris recurva) and the Sugar Orchid (Ericksonella saccharata).

The Christmas Rock walk Trail is a 2,665m circuit around the granite outcrop from which it gets its name. The rock was once the source of water for the railways during the steam era, with run off now being harvested to water the town’s ovals and parks. The reserve has a total area of around 2000ha. At the entrance to the reserve a Box Poison (Gastrolobium parviflorum) was in flower. On the walk many orchids were in flower, including the Clown Orchid (Caladenia roei), Chameleon Spider orchid (Caladenia dimidia), Yellow Spider Orchid (Caladenia denticulate), White Spider Orchid (Caladenia longicauda sp.), Lemon-scented Sun Orchid (Thelymitra antennifera), Cowslip Orchids (Caladenia flava) and Little Laughing Leek Orchids (Prasophyllum gracile). Stackhousia monogyna was flowering close to the rock.

On Sunday morning our first trip was to Roger’s Reserve, 8 km west of Wongan Hills on the Waddington/Wongan Road, which at 341 hectare is the second largest nature reserve in the Wongan Hills area. Here we found numerous spider orchids in flower including the Chameleon Spider Orchid and others for which the identity needs to be confirmed, possibly hybrids. Numerous plants of the Winter Donkey Orchid (Diuris brumalis) were spotted. The Pink Pokers (Grevillea petrophiloides) was also in flower. Several male Casuarinas were found to be in flower.

We then headed to the Reynoldson Flora Reserve, renowned for its displays of Verticordia in late spring. A few pink Verticordia plants were starting to flower, a taste of what is to come. Other flowering plants included large numbers of Prickly Toothbrushes (Grevillea armigera), the Prince of Wales Feather (Ptilotus polystackus), and Hibbertia sp. A large colony of Clown Orchids (Caladenia roei) was found under a Casuarina.

During a conversation with some fellow enthusiasts at Roger’s Reserve we learned that there were large numbers of orchids in flower at Dingo Rock so we added this reserve to our itinerary. We were certainly not disappointed. Having to park our cars short of the rock itself due to a muddy section of the track we found ourselves in an area where we found Blue Fairy Orchids (Pheladenia deformis), Pink Candy Orchids (Caladenia hirta subsp. rosea), White Spider Orchids (Caladenia longicauda sp.) and several that appeared to be hybrids. Up on the rock itself we found depressions containing one of the so called resurrection plants Pincushions (Borya sphaerocephala), Stackhousia monogyna and Chameleon Spider Orchids. At the base of the rock the Granite Kunzea (Kunzea pulchella) provided a colourful spectacle.

Prickly Toothbrushes (R) & Clown Orchid (L), C Prickett

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During our walks and during the drives between reserves we spotted the following birds: Raven, Galah, Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike, Singing Honeyeater, Black-faced Woodswallow, Welcome Swallow, Magpie, Magpie Lark, Black Duck, Grey Teal, Australian Shelduck, White-faced Heron, White-necked Heron, Weebil, Western Gerygone, Brown Falcon, Black Shouldered Kite and Willy Wagtail

No native mammals were spotted; two feral animals were sighted, a rabbit at Reynoldson Reserve and a fox on the road as we left Reynoldson Reserve.

Of the invertebrates one was an unusual beetle (left, C Prickett), with antennae resembling moose antlers found at Reynoldson Reserve. The species name has not been confirmed as yet.

In all it was a very enjoyable weekend. The number of like-minded people that we encountered during our walks is a testament to the reputation that the area has for its diverse flora.

Colin Prickett

BUSHWALKING GROUP August 2: Kalamunda

We had a good turnout of almost 20 people on this walk from Kalamunda along the first part of the Bibbulmum Track. The word Kalamunda is a combination of two Noongar words: kala = home and munda = trees. The Shire of Kalamunda's motto is 'A Home in the Forest'. The first part was quite challenging because of the many hills and the pea-gravel can be quite tricky especially when walking downhill. Even though it was not quite spring, there was an abundance of wildflowers starting to come out. We even saw Donkey Orchids (right, A Doig). The views over the Helena Valley to the city in the distance were quite spectacular.

We stopped at Rocky Pool for quite a while and enjoyed the views. Up ‘til the 1950s, it was a favourite swimming spot for

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the locals but this is no longer possible because all drinking water sources in the Darling Range are protected. The group had a lunch break at Rocky Pool.

Birdlife was abundant and a highlight was the sight of a small flock of Red-tailed Black-cockatoos flying past. There were frequent granite outcrops with Marri, Wandoo and Jarrah with a very varied ground cover.

August 16: Kings Park

We were again very fortunate with the weather for our walk in Kings Park. It was ably led by Cheryl and assisted by Val, a Kings Park guide. Thanks to the various social media sites, we are now getting visitors from outside the Naturalists’ Club; they are very welcome.

We met at the iconic giant Boab Tree and traversed paths that were not on the usual tourist itinerary as well as those that were. We saw sweeping views of the both the Canning and the Swan Rivers as we meandered through the park.

We saw a Jug Orchid (below, A Doig), a green-striped flower that has a hollow tube with a hinged lip. We also saw the bell-like flowers of the Qualup Bell (left, A Doig); Alan Notley pointed out that it

was in the cultivated area of the park because it only occurs wild in the Fitzgerald River National Park.

August 30: Ellis Brook

Fifteen walkers—including Alan recently arrived from Plymouth in southern England—participated in this spectacular walk.

Ellis Brook is about 20 km south of the CBD. It is a part of the Banyowla Regional Park which is named after a Noongar elder living at the time of colonial settlement. The park itself was named after Captain Ellis, the Superintendent of Mounted Police at the time.

Initially the walk was quite difficult, up some steep steps. However it was all worth it, as the top afforded some quite spectacular views of the city and the valley. Further along were the Sixty Foot Falls and thanks to recent rain, they were flowing rapidly. The walk continued through the bushland and we noted an abundance of Sundew (Drosera sp.) and what Alan Notley identified as a Couch Honey-pot Banksia. We traversed the abandoned Barrington Quarry, which held lots of water. The walk concluded with the customary afternoon tea.

Allan Doig

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ARE YOU A BIRD BADGE COLLECTOR? Perhaps you have some WA Gould League Junior Member tin badges, issued yearly between 1958 and 2008?

If the answer is ‘yes’, there is a collector in NSW who might be interested in them. In his letter to the Club he hasn’t indicated if he will buy them or simply wants them donated but you can contact him for more information:

Nick Pezikain at PO Box 497, Willoughby, NSW 2068 or npezikian@bigpond.com or call 0419 227 758 (02 9958 8176 a/h)

DO YOU REMEMBER THIS?

The Nats Club excursion in 1984 aboard the Barbara Anne in the Kimberley headed by Kevin Coate is

returning to Derby on a fast ebbing tide:

“It looked as if it was going to be touch and go as to whether we’d get ashore. I organised everyone to have

themselves and their luggage on deck ready to leap aboard the jetty as soon as we came alongside the landing.

Jim tied a mooring rope to a bollard on the landing and everyone with the utmost urgency scrambled ashore as

we literally hurled the luggage up from the deck. With good organisation and team work it was all done within a

few moments but within that time the tide had ebbed even further and tightened the mooring rope, holding the

boat fast alongside so it couldn’t be released. The situation was desperate so Jim quickly produced a knife and

cut through the rope as Murray gunned the motors in an endeavour to clear the area and get to deeper water.

The Barbara Anne was ploughing through mud as it left the jetty only just making it out of the shallows. A few

moments later the tide had completely receded leaving the mud exposed and showing two large channels where

the twin screws had ploughed through it. It had been a close call.”

If YOU have any photos or memories of past Nats Club events that you think would be interesting to have in

the Nats Club history please send them to Kate Creed at kate.creed@optusnet.com.au

WEEKEND NATURE WALK

LIGHTNING SWAMP

Despite an unfavourable forecast, the weather was ideal for this walk on 22 August. Following overnight rain, there was some water in the ‘swamp’, although this was dry the previous week. This excited many noisy frogs but no ducks or other waterbirds. Because the path parallel to Matthews Close has become degraded and very dry, no flowers were apparent. We therefore went straight along the main path to the stream and spent most of our time on the sandy slopes on the other side. Altogether we were able to identify 36 species of flowers, including Smoke Bush (Conospermum stoechadis), several bright yellow Acacias and the attractive purple Platytheca galenoides together with several species of orchid and sundew. Birds were not numerous. We saw one duck on the stream and the inevitable Raven and Magpie. We heard a Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo and Grey Butcher Bird. Overall it was a pleasant and informative walk. Kate Creed

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COMING EVENTS Visitors are welcome at any meetings or excursions

FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER With the MAIN CLUB: GENERAL MEETING

Topic: Diversity and Diversification of the Kimberley Flora Speaker: Dr Matthew Barrett, Research Scientist, Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority

Venue: Hew Roberts Lecture Theatre, UWA, Clifton St, Nedlands Time: 7.30 pm Details: Matt Barrett grew up on a cattle station on the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley, and, together with his

brother Russell, has studied the diversity of Kimberley plants and fungi for over 20 years. The exploration of

remote areas of the Kimberley, especially during the wet season, has uncovered hundreds of previously

unrecorded species. Matt is currently employed on a collaborative research grant studying the genetic

diversity of Triodia spinifexes in outback Australia. This talk will discuss the more interesting plants discovered

during this time, patterns of diversity within the Kimberley, relationships with other bio-geographical areas,

and the implications for plant conservation in the Kimberley.

Door fee $3 includes raffle ticket, tea/coffee and biscuits after. Contact: John Gardner: 9389 8289

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER With the DARLING RANGE BRANCH: GENERAL MEETING

Topic: The Numbat in WA Speaker: Tamara Wilkes-Jones, Project Numbat Venue: CWA Hall, Central Rd, Kalamunda Time: 7.30 pm Details: Project Numbat is a voluntary community organisation established in 2006 with links to Perth Zoo, the

Numbat Recovery Team and DPaW. The group promotes the conservation of the Numbat through habitat management, population monitoring, feral control, education and awareness programs and fundraising. Some merchandise will be available for sale on the night.

The $3 door fee covers venue, supper and raffle ticket for door prize. Contact: Diana Papenfus: 9293 1676 or diana676@tpg.com.au

MONDAY 19 OCTOBER With KWINANA/ROCKINGHAM/MANDURAH BRANCH: GENERAL MEETING

Topic: Flora of the Gibson Desert Speaker: Brian Moyle Venue: Gary Holland Centre, Kent Street, Rockingham Time: 7.00 pm Cost: Note there will be a charge of $3.50 per person to cover hire of the venue Contact: 9524 2290 for further details

WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER With the NORTHERN SUBURBS BRANCH: GENERAL MEETING

Topic: How plate tectonics shapes our world Speaker: Jenny Bevan, School of Earth & Environment, UWA

Venue: Henderson Environmental Centre, Groat St (off North Beach Rd; at end of street) Time: 7:30 pm Details: All visitors welcome, $2 donation. Contact: Lutz Elber: lnnelber@bigpond.net.au

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SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER

ALISON BAIRD RESERVE—with the MAIN CLUB Location: Alison Baird Reserve (Yule Brook), Kenwick Time: 9.00 am for 9.30 start Meet: At the reserve gates off Brook Road, Wattle Grove (UBD map 253, H8). Entrance to gates is about 100 m

before Grove Road (if you arrive from the north), on the south-eastern side of Brook Road. As we need to park inside the reserve and have gates locked for security, participants must arrive by 9.30 am at the latest.

Activities: The Alison Baird Reserve (Yule Brook) is a 35 ha Swan Coastal Plain bushland/wetland reserve owned by the University of Western Australia. It is a reserve with a high habitat and vegetation diversity within a relatively small area. Professor Hans Lambers of the UWA School of Plant Biology will guide us through this reserve.

Bring: Appropriate clothing and footwear. Contact: Roz Hart rozhart@iinet.net.au or Jolanda Keeble jmkeeble@gmail.com

SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER

ELLIS BROOK VALLEY RESERVE—with the MAIN CLUB Location: Ellis Brook Valley Reserve, Martin Time: 9.30 am for 10 am start Meet: At the first car park after entering the reserve Activities: Wildflower enthusiasts Jonica Foss and Margaret Larke will guide us through the diverse plant life of the area.

Eagle View walk is 45 min and Ellis Brook Falls walk is 2 hrs (do one or both). We’ll return to the car park / picnic area for a BBQ or picnic lunch. No RSVP required; visitors welcome

Bring: Suitable shoes, hat, water, binoculars, camera, lunch if staying. Organiser: Peter Coyle 0488 517 104 or 9250 5193

WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER

ELLIS BROOK VALLEY RESERVE—with the RETIRED AND LEISURED GROUP Location: Ellis Brook Valley, Rushton Rd, Martin Time: 10 am Meet: At the car park at the end of Rushton Rd. (UBD directory map 332) Details: Turn off Tonkin Highway into Gosnells Rd East, turn right into Pitt Rd, right again into Hayward Rd, next left

into Quarry Rd and first left into Rushton Rd. Proceed 1 km to the car park on the left, called Honey Hollow. Wear: Sunscreen and hat or wet weather gear, depending on forecast. Bring: Water; lunch (if you wish to stay). Picnic tables are available. Contact: Margot Bentley 9386 1974. RSVPs requested.

SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER

YANCHEP NATIONAL PARK—with the BUSHWALKING GROUP

Location: Ghost House Trail, Yanchep National Park Time: 9.30 for 10.00 am start Meet: Car park ‘Lakeview’, first turn left after entrance gate [UBD map 44, A9] Details: Loop walk along the Ghost House Trail; an easy walk of about 10 km. Afternoon tea at the lakeside picnic

area. Lead by Cheryl Bushney; visitors always welcome. Please visit www.wanaturalists.org.au/branches-groups/bush-walking/ for more details.

Contact: Lutz Elber: lnnelber@bigpond.net.au

SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER WILKINS ROAD RESERVE, KALAMUNDA—with the DARLING RANGE BRANCH

Location: Wilkins Rd Reserve Time: 2.00 pm Meet: Eastern end of Lewis Rd, near Wilkins Rd intersection Leaders: Diana Papenfus; Tanya Marwood Activities: Explore this 10.7 ha of Jarrah, Marri and Sheoak woodland, part of a Parks & Recreation Reserve perched on

top of a ridge of the Darling Scarp. Known to contain diverse array of flora and birds, the future of this site is under rezoning reconsideration, which has stirred controversy.

CLUB EXCURSIONS

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Contact: Diana Papenfus on 9293 1676 diana676@tpg.com.au for more information.

See also www.savewilkinsreserve.com/

SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER

NEIL HAWKINS PARK, JOONDALUP – with the BUSHWALKING GROUP Location: Lake Joondalup Time: 9.30 am for 10 am start

Meet: Car park, Neil Hawkins Park, eastern end of Boas Avenue, [UBD 146, H15]. Details: Last walk of the season will be an easy walk along the western shore of Lake Joondalup, followed by a picnic

in the park. Led by Lutz Elber; visitors always welcome. Please visit: http://www.wanaturalists.org.au/branches-groups/bush-walking/ for more details

Contact: Lutz Elber:- lnnelber@bigpond.net.au

SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER JOHN FORREST NP—With KWINANA/ROCKINGHAM/MANDURAH BRANCH

Location: John Forrest National Park Time: 10.00 am Meet: To be confirmed; please check the website for details closer to the date. Contact: 9524 2290 for further details

WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER LAKE CLAREMONT—with NORTHERN SUBURBS BRANCH (& GOLLY WALK GROUP)

Location: Lake Claremont Time: 9:30 for 10:00 start Meet: At the Claremont Golf Club car park, Lapsley Rd off Davies Rd, Claremont Activities: Lake Claremont is a birder’s paradise. Over 80 species of local and migratory birds have been recorded. There

is a bird look-out and lovely path around the lake which makes viewing easy. A representative from the Friends of Lake Claremont group will guide us and there will be many opportunities to examine the extensively revegetated surrounds. Easy walking on limestone footpaths; 2.5km round trip; toilets and café; bring binoculars. Visitors always welcome. Please visit our website for more details: http://www.wanaturalists.org.au/golocally-walks/

Leader: Heidi from the Friends of Lake Claremont and Don Poynton Contact: Don Poynton, 0419 460 301, dpoynton@iinet.net.au

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER WEEKEND NATURE WALK

Location: Foxley Rd, Martin Time: 9.00am Meet: 200m along Foxley Rd. Take Mills Rd off Albany Hwy; continue over Tonkin Hwy (2km) then climb up towards

Canning Mills Rd. Foxley Rd is about 4km on the left. Activities: It is level walking on a gravel track and should have a magnificent display of wild flowers, including orchids

and trigger plants. Bring: Binoculars, notebook, walking shoes Contact: Kate Creed 9316 8109 or kate.creed@optusnet.com.au

NOTE: THE PROGRAM IS UPDATED EVERY MONTH ON OUR WEB SITE www.wanaturalists.org.au

IT IS OFTEN AVAILABLE THERE BEFORE YOU RECEIVE YOUR NEWSLETTER.

A tip from our web manager: If you want to see the calendar of events for the whole year, rather than looking in

each Branch page for the corresponding 2015 Program of Events, please look in Events Calendar and change from

the default Month View to the List View. You can then use the filter to show just your Branch’s events. This will

always be the most up-to-date information.

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NEW MEMBERS

Morgan Connell of City Beach

Jessica Fuhrmann of Scarborough

Lisa Mazzella of Mt Hawthorn

Helen Riley and Kerry Riley of Kalamunda

We welcome these new members to our club.

ADVERTISING IN THE NEWSLETTER

In order to offset some of the costs of preparing the monthly newsletter we invite environmentally minded

companies to advertise in the Newsletter. Here is the opportunity to publicise your business to friends and

associates.

Costs are: Full page $200; Half page $100; Quarter page$50; Eighth page $30. Prices do not include GST.

Copy to be sent to Newsletter Editor, Naturalist News by email one week before the advertised closing date.

LOVE WA NATS? Support your love of natural history and

your Club with a bequest or a tax deductible donation.

Go to http://www.wanaturalists.org.au/get-involved/donating-to-the-club/ for details

or ring the office. Our Treasurer can also assist you:

alison@julanty.com.au Donations are by EFT, cheque or money

order.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRIBUTORS Please send all contributions by email in MS Word format to Tanya Marwood tanya.m@globaldial.com and to

info@wanaturalists.org.au by the nominated closing date.

Articles need to be a MAXIMUM OF 750 WORDS.

Photos to accompany articles are really appreciated; I prefer to receive these in one email message, as a collection

of separate files in e.g. ‘jpeg’ format, all appropriately named, with information on who took it and a suggested

caption

Many thanks to those who send in contributions: Reports and accounts of Club activities help members appreciate

and enjoy the diversity of talks and excursions organized under the Naturalists’ Club umbrella. If you require help or

advice when planning or writing your piece, please contact the editor. Ideas, constructive comments and

suggestions from members are welcome.

The next issue of this newsletter will be November 2014.

Please send all contributions by email to tanya.m@globaldial.com and to info@wanaturalists.org.au

Deadline for next issue: Monday 12 October

(Earlier if possible please)