Best friends Award
Tony and George shared the Victorian Environment Friends Network Best Friends Award 2019, supported by a contingent of members of Westgate Biodiversity. Here’s how their contribution was described: George provides the knowledge base in how, what and where to plant. He also knows all…
August bird survey
Over 40 mm of rain in July turned the park around; vegetation recovered rapidly, although many dead trees and shrubs remain from the preceding dry months. Resident species such as Superb Fairy-wrens and White-plumed Honeyeaters are present in high numbers, along with a dozen…
Regeneration
Our aim in putting plants in the ground is to improve biodiversity – that’s a given. But what we most want to see is sustainability – plants healthy and reproducing, kept in balance by natural processes. Very dry conditions and, until the last…
Bird’s nests (the fungal sort)
The fungi we see above ground are the sporing bodies – much like fruit on plants – and they disperse tiny spores to produce the next generation. Methods of dispersal are hugely diverse and, in this, Bird’s nests are particularly interesting. Shaggy receptacles, about…
New coral
Ramaria abietina is the first coral fungus to be recorded in the Park, so-called because they resemble marine corals. Corals are different from agarics and boletes in that the spores are on the external surface of the upper branches. R. abietina is a species…
Fungi Foray
Sunday June 30 was a productive morning with 20 species in all recorded in one small section along Woodland Walk in Westgate Park. This was a good result given the fact that for the previous week the weather had been warm, windy and dry…
June 2019 bird survey
Vegetation recovering after recent rain provides good habitat for a range of birds, including numerous Superb Fairy-wrens and the usual honeyeater species. Water quality in the Large Freshwater Lake appears very good – most water birds were observed there. In contrast, the Southern Wetlands (Chain of…
Correa alba – White Correa
Winter for many native plants is a time for recovery; recovery from hot, dry periods and a time to settle in and make the most of the impending rain. This stasis-like mode allows many plants to burst into growth and flower when the spring…
Pink lake explained
The pinkness has gone now, no doubt because of cooler weather, recent rain and less sunshine, but it was certainly spectacular while it lasted. We now understand, thanks to sampling by freshwater ecologist, Joan Powling, that this explosion of colour was made by a purple…
Bili Nursery working bees
Please join us on the first Saturday of the month to work with locally native plants 10.30am to 12.30pm