1000 new plants at Lagoon Reserve
Huge thanks to the Citywide organisation for helping rescue an indigenous-plant project in Port Melbourne’s Lagoon Reserve.
Plans for an annual day of community planting had been cancelled for a second time this year due to Covid restrictions, when Citywide, which manages City of Port Phillip’s parks and open spaces, stepped in to get 1000 plants in the ground.
All the plants came from our own Bili Nursery, which means they are not only locally sourced but also locally appropriate indigenous species.
Monday 16th August saw grasses and tougher species planted next to paths. A diverse selection, including goodenia ovata and kennedia prostrata, infilled on either side of the reserve’s north-eastern Liardet Street entrance.
As warmer and dryer weather arrives, completing the project was particularly timely.
Citywide has undertaken to maintain water for the plants during the establishment phase.
Citywide workers get to work 
Tough grasses elected for plant edges 
All species planted are indigenous and appropriate to this coastal environment Goodenia ovata 
Goodenia ovata 
Kennedia prostrata
Bird Survey 2 Aug
The park has had good rain, and water levels have risen in the lakes and wetlands.
The day of the survey was windy, which partly explains the modest tally of 40 species. Moreover raptors are rare these days, and water levels generally too high for the larger waders.
Eastern Spinebills have been with us for 4 to 5 months, to our great pleasure. They appreciate banksias and dense ground cover. Sighting an immature golden whistler further underlined the park’s value for smaller passerines.
Although noisy miners frequent the boundaries of the park, it is very rare to see them within, probably due to the dense and layered habitat we have created over the last two decades. In other words, because noisy miners like open, more or less savannah conditions, they do not enter more complex vegetation types.
Volunteers are back in force. We especially pay tribute to David Lamb, our indefatigable anti-litter specialist.
Vote for our nest box project
Exciting news!!!
Our nest box project proposal, Hollows for Habitat at Westgate Park, has made it to the public voting stage of the Parks Victoria Volunteering Innovation Fund!
If funded, our project will see volunteers building, installing and monitoring up to 50 newly designed nest boxes at the park, targeting boobook and powerful owls, two species of microbats, kingfishers and spotted pardalotes.
We will partner with Bayside Intrepid Landcare, Port Phillip Men’s Shed and Gio Fitzpatrick to bring this idea to life, but we need your vote to make it all happen!
To participate, follow the easy steps below:
Step 1: Go to https://engage.vic.gov.au/volunteeringinnovationfund
Step 2: Read about the projects that consider new ways of volunteering in and for the environment.
Step 3: Vote for your 3 favourite projects including our project, Hollows for Habitat!
Step 4: Get behind our project – share this page and encourage Victorian friends and family to vote.
Voting should take 5 minutes. Many thanks and stay safe over this lockdown!
Bird survey July
The park looks good, thanks to a reasonably wet June. Waters level are high in the two main lakes and the dam, but all other freshwater bodies are dry including the wetlands near the FoWP Compound.
Volunteers are back at work, with their recent plantings taking off quickly. Visitor numbers are rising and the riparian vegetation must please many ferry passengers.
An Eastern Spinebill was again sighted, indicating this species is becoming a resident in the park. It was [photographed for the first time in June this year.
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, photo Ursula Dutkiewicz 
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, photo Andrew McCutcheon
Bird Survey 31 May/1 Jun
48 species were observed including and a pair of Dusky Woodswallows seen flying overhead – the first record of this species in the Park. Recorders noted that as areas of vegetation mature and become more established, new bird species are appearing, some of which are staying for longer periods. The Eastern Spinebills are good examples.
To great excitement, a Powerful Owl – also a first – was photographed on two occasions in mid-May.
Photo by Ursula Dutkiewicz
Gardening Aust comes to Park
We were delighted that ABC’s Gardening Australia film crew came to the Park. The episode was aired on Friday 28th May and you can see it on iView or here on Facebook for just our segment of the show.
It was a great opportunity to showcase our indigenous plants and tell the story of the park, our 20-year history of revegetation and the biodiversity in fauna and fungi that turned up because of it.
Thank you ABC!
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Bird survey April
Water levels have dropped over the last month. Nevertheless, none of the larger waders were present. However, encountering both an Eastern Yellow Robin and an Eastern Spinebill was notable, and at least eight Black-fronted Dotterels were sighted around Saltwater Lake. Moreover there were many more Crested Terns than usual.
Bird Survey 1 Mar
A dry February has seen the lake levels drop somewhat, and the southern chain of ponds has no water to speak of.
The good news is that Westgate Biodiversity – Bili Nursery teams have been weeding extensively throughout the park, which accordingly looks terrific. One negative – continuing heavy public usage means litter builds up in some areas.
Interesting/notable sightings: A satisfying tally for the survey team. The presence of noisy miners along the northern boundary against the HWT fence is concerning. Fairy martins are rare visitors to Westgate. The little grassbird should be observed more frequently given the seemingly ideal habitat, so its readily identified call was welcome.
All photos, Ursula Dutkiewicz