Ro 2.5M. Compact or wiry shrub. Dull green pointed leaves. White or pale pink 5-petalled flowers. Nectar source for butterflies and other insects.
To 4M. Small narrow grey-green leaves. Young growth is silver and hairy on both sides. Masses of white 5-petalled flowers. Nectar source for butterflies and other insects. Flowers Aug-Sept.
To 2M. Upright dense shrub, main branches stringy to fibrous. Small, rigid prickly dark green leaves.
Masses of small white 5-petalled flowers. Nectar source for butterflies and other insects.
To 1M. Open shrub. Narrow grey-green leaves pointing downwards, especially in dry conditions, hoary or rust-coloured below. Small loose groups of cream to pale pink flowers, greenish towards the base. Flowers Sept to Nov.
To 2M. Robust perennial tuft. Long dull green to blueish-green stems with similar narrow leaves. Erect panicle with many straw-coloured flowers scattered or clustered. Flowers Dec-Apr.
To 1.2M. Stout perennial rush. 1-3 dark green sharp-pointed leaves per stem, similar to stems.
Panicles with several radiating branches, small reddish-brown flowers towards the ends of smaller branches. Flowers Dec-Mar.
Densely tufted perennial. Greyish-green or dull green stems. Clusters of reddish-brown flowers and seeds near top of stem. Flowers Nov-Dec.
To 5M. Rigid upright shrub. Twisted, spreading, narrow pointed leaves. Clusters of small white to cream flowers along branchlets. Nectar source for butterflies and other insects.
21 nest boxes at Westgate Park were monitored on Saturday night by the microbats team. They found spider webs and a few insects but no microbats! This is not surprising. It could take years for them to take up residence so patience is essential.
At least this small possum is making use of one of the bird boxes, its sleep rudely interrupted by our Ferret camera on the end of the extendable stick.
On our walk with the echo locators we did discover microbat activity in the southern section, not far from the bridge. So given the fact that it was rather cold and windy it was probably not a bad result.
The spectogram below is a digitiised version showing the shape of the call in green. It is very likely to be the Goulds Wattled Bat – one of the larger and more common microbats in Victoria.
If you would like to know more about microbats or to join our microbat monitoring team, let us know here.
Apologies for the late delivery of this report, which, thanks especially to the remarkable efforts of Ursula Dutkiewicz, clearly indicates the continuing range of interesting and sometimes unexpected birds visiting Westgate Park.
Water levels remain high, attracting more Grey Teal than usual. Stilts have returned in modest numbers, and, of unusually high numbers of Superb Fairy Wrens, almost half are ‘blue’ breeding males and those seeking to breed in the future. Sightings of a Brown Quail and a Grey Shrike-thrush are very welcome, compared with a group of six or so Noisy Miners buzzing each other on the access track to the compound.
Note that Noisy Miners are generally only observed along park boundaries.
The female Musk Duck has been resident since last March – we are hoping a mate materializes. Interestingly, the number of Clamorous Reed-warblers has strengthened over the last 2-3 years.