News - Westgate Biodiversity: Bili Nursery & Landcare

Camaldulensis – a poem by Rob Youl

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Lyn

Red gum savannahs once so vast		Ochre pits, and stone-axe blaze
For millennia their shadows cast		Then Mitchell and the bullock drays
Across the tribal hunting grounds		Longboats on his Glenelg River
Amid a feast of primeval sounds		Mount William’s winds made riders quiver

Trunks columnar, mottled grey		Two hundred years with us around
Legions anchored in sandy clay		Settlers needed the red gums’ ground
Canopies a dappled green		For sheep and crops and living space
Seasonally a flowery mien		We cleared them at a rollicking pace

Branches shed from time to time		So much waste!
Leaving cavities – shelter prime		What shocking haste!
For mammals, birds and bats		Insensitive to their age and grace
And marauding goannas and rats		Bloody base!

Those branches drying, strewn		Mortised for a post-and-rail
For decades perhaps, until consumed		Split and interlocked at Harrow gaol
By friendly fires of Koorie camps		And the shearing shed at Kout Narin
Allaying hunger, cold and damp		Gossamer fleece and shearers lean

Harbouring insects by the swarm		Fence posts, light-rail sleepers
Myriad organisms were the norm		It’s our land now! Finders keepers!
Under the bark, munching greenery		Today the timber’s appreciated
Part of the ecological scenery!		Boutique floorboards, balustraded

And relentless fungi and ants and more		A glorious russet-coloured timber
Attacked the red gum’s woody core		From Kimberley to Mirrimbah
Fifty to a hundred decades thus		Australia’s most widespread tree
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust…		Symbol of our superb country

The big’uns dropped seed continually		Is it the most Antipodean tree?
A seedling survived, became a tree		Yet there is an irony…
One in a million, maybe less		camaldulensis, botanists call this plant
Died a veteran – as for the rest		Referring to a locale distant

Grazed by ‘roos or burnt by fires		Camaldule’s a monastery in Italia…
Lightning or hunter lit the pyres		Not a farming district in Australia!
Of numberless seedlings that disappeared		Who cares? So what!
Unfulfilled, year by year		We must protect, extend the trees we’ve got!

The survivors dominated the plains		I trust my grandkids, as is my bent
At home in drought or heavy rain		Can delight in red gums ancient
Responding as the climates changed		Can sense their venerability
Subtly extending or shrinking range		Their strength and complex poetry

Gariwerd outwash, volcanic fumes		Scattered still across the landscape
Lakes and swamps and lunette dunes		West wind skews their Lego shape
Lava flows and sands windblown		Outer branchlets dying back
Megafauna – wombats overgrown!		A dead-end-road? Red Gum Track!

Scores of millennia pass		As a boy with crosscut saw I stood
Ecosystems of gums and grass		Helping Dad cut winter’s wood
Another change – along came Man		I took each block and backed it off
And his ability to clan and plan		Cross-grained red gum isn’t soft!

Stalk the emu, harvest yams		Now I work with Landcare squads
Corangamite, Tarrayoukyan		Is it the twilight of the gods?
Canoe scar a Koorie rune		Or can we massively regenerate
Campfire sagas under the moon		The finest tree of the Garden State?

Vision, mission and strategy

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Lyn

In September 2018 we finalised our Strategic Plan for 2018/9 to 2021/2 and settled on our vision and mission statements. We also articulated our values and what biodiversity means to us. We can say progress has been good now that we are halfway through the first year of our strategy. Here it is:

Year 1 of our Strategic Plan – Consolidate

Fully realise the amalgamation of FoWP & SKINC

Prepare a business plan | Fully integrate our operations | Realise the benefits of amalgamating and measure these | Complete the website with operational online sales | Commence delivery services | Implement a communications plan to build awareness of our ‘brand’ | Bring our members, supporters, volunteers and interested parties along with us

Achieve ACNC registration and deductible gift recipient status

New compound, community space and nursery | Develop a plan and progress the lease negotiation for the triangle site

Complete work on the Southern Wetlands and Riverland projects

Initiate a water management plan

Initiate conversations with people working in Western plains plants as preparation for future work in this area

Prepare a stakeholder map

Influence and play a role in bringing indigenous vegetation to Fishermans Bend Urban Development

Our vision

Indigenous vegetation is valued, understood for its importance to biodiversity and widely adopted

People are actively engaged with nature

The history and culture of this place is acknowledged and celebrated

Our work is admired for its effectiveness in advancing biodiversity

Our mission

To enhance and protect the natural environment of the Sandbelt Region of Melbourne using indigenous plant species

To complete the revegetation of Westgate Park and associated landscape projects and continue to care for the park

To grow and supply indigenous plants of local provenance

To inspire our members and the general community about urban biodiversity and healthy environments and to encourage them to volunteer and engage with nature

To build and share our expertise and to evaluate our work

We value

The high quality of our indigenous plants

The growth in biodiversity that results from our efforts

The knowledge we bring to our work

Behaviour that is ethical and honest in all that we do

Our record of having safe and happy workplaces

The contribution volunteers make to our organisation

The support we enjoy from people and organisations with whom we interact

The respect we earn for the quality of our work and the good relationships we develop with others

The personal growth and innovation that is fostered in our relationships with staff and volunteers

The great diversity of people who engage with us

What biodiversity means to us

Biodiversity is the sum of life on earth. For our work it means conserving and fostering the life that evolved in this place over millennia, in all its diversity and interconnectedness.

For us biodiversity starts with growing plants that are indigenous, with mulch that helps create good soil and careful planning that establishes diverse and healthy natural habitats for wildlife.

We measure our success in fostering biodiversity by the quality and provenance of plants we propagate and the seeds they produce.

We count and endeavor to identify species of fauna and fungi present at Westgate Park. We observe the food chains, the successful raising of offspring, the natural regeneration of plants, the ingenious means by which fungi disperse their spores, birds protect their eggs, spiders catch prey.

There is genius in the life cycles of insects, the symbiotic relationships, the role of predators, herbivores, the decomposers, the pollinators, the primary producers of sugars, nectar and pollen. We identify birds by their calls and frogs by their celebration of rain, marvel at the colour or the camouflage of butterflies, dragonflies, flies, bees, beetles and bugs.

We watch for the robustness that withstands droughts and caterpillars and balance that is necessary for biodiversity to be sustained.

And, finally, humans are part of biodiversity; working intelligently with nature, organising, labouring, communicating and being inspired by the profound beauty and complexity of life.

Southern Wetlands latest pics

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Lyn

We started work here in the eastern section in late 2015 with removal of dense woody weeds and excavation of what was a rubbish-filled drain to form a series of connected wetlands. The cartons are largely off now, December rain filled the ponds and we think it’s looking pretty good!

The ‘before’ shots:

New branding

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Lyn

Our staff and regular volunteers are now decked out in the Westgate Biodiversity: Bili Nursery & Landcare shirts, hats and fleece jackets and new signs are up – all using our beautiful new logo.

Jan 2019 bird survey

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Lyn

Australasian Grebe on nest, Freshwater Lake

Male Chestnut Teal with dependent young – One of three broods seen during the survey.

Nankeen Night-heron at the Dam. This bird was still actively foraging late morning.

photos by Euan Moore

a Bird Survey 7 Jan 2019

Water levels in both lakes are high, and water quality in the freshwater lakes and southern wetlands appears very good. Water quality in the saltwater lake is average, with an algal bloom on one small water body south of the saltwater lake.

There was little flowering, one exception being the park’s bursarias, however the vegetation looks healthy thanks to November–December rain.

Interesting/notable sightings:

• Reed Warblers were present in the best numbers for some years – new shoreline stands of reeds planted by volunteers surely help

• Waterbirds are breeding with dependent young observed of several species. Two Australasian Grebes were sitting on nests, and apparently four Black-winged Stilts

• Nankeen Night-herons (4 adults) were in larger numbers than usual; normally only singles or pairs are seen

• Two Pied Oystercatchers were flying upstream along the Yarra

• Around a dozen Australian White Ibis were observed feeding in wetlands, which is unusual. Since the ibis colony relocated two decades ago ibis have mainly been recorded flying overhead.

• A Grey Butcherbird heard calling was possibly the bird observed during December

Propagation masterclasses

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Lyn

Our Manager, David Sparks, is presenting two masterclasses at Westgate Park in plant propagation from seed and with cuttings for Sustainable Gardening Australia. For more details and to book see here for seed to plant propagation and here for cuttings.

Oct 2018 bird survey

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Lyn

Forty-seven species on 1 October was a pleasing result.

Despite a very dry September, water levels of both large lakes and smaller salt water lakes remain very high, while other freshwater wetlands including the dam are low or completely dried out. The usual wetland species are mostly present in low to very low numbers, except for Chestnut Teal.

Of the Interesting/notable sightings, the Brown Songlark noted by Will Morris on eBird has not been recorded in the park since September 2009; last month it was feeding in mown grass by the east bank of the Yarra River just south of Westgate Bridge.

photos Andrew McCutcheon

Westgate Park Bird Count

By: Andrew McCutcheon, Rob Youl, Peter Parrington, John McRae, Jackie Kerr (part), and Lachie Reid (part)

Date: 3 Sept 2018

Weather: Mostly fine with a light north wind later in the morning. Temp 14⁰ C – 24⁰ C

FCoverage: Entire survey route completed

Time start: 0915

Time finish: 1330

Species

Number seen

Species

Number seen

Brown Quail

Galah

Black Swan

6

Little Corella

Australian Shelduck

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Australian Wood Duck

Rainbow Lorikeet

20+ (*1)

Pink-eared Duck

Musk Lorikeet

Australasian Shoveler

Little Lorikeet

Grey Teal

2

Purple-crowned Lorikeet

Chestnut Teal

44 (*2)

Eastern Rosella

Pacific Black Duck

7

Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo

2

Hardhead

6

Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Australasian Grebe

1

Sacred Kingfisher

Hoary-headed Grebe

4

Superb Fairy-wren

30+ (15 blue)

Rock Dove

2

White-browed Scrubwren

7

Spotted Turtle-Dove

6 (*1)

Brown Thornbill

6

Crested Pigeon

4

Spotted Pardalote

Darter

Striated Pardalote

Little Pied Cormorant

*10

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Great Cormorant

*2

White-plumed Honeyeater

55+ (*4)

Little Black Cormorant

2

Noisy Miner

2

Pied Cormorant

*2

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Australian Pelican

*6

Little Wattlebird

8 (*1)

White-necked Heron

Red Wattlebird

40+ (*6)

Eastern Great Egret

1

New Holland Honeyeater

25+

Cattle Egret

White-naped Honeyeater

White-faced Heron

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

1

Nankeen Night-Heron

White-winged Triller

Australian White Ibis

20 (15 in flight)

Golden Whistler

Straw-necked Ibis

Grey Shrike-thrush

Royal Spoonbill

Grey Butcherbird

Yellow-billed Spoonbill

Australian Magpie

8 (*2)

Black-shouldered Kite

Pied Currawong

Little Eagle

Grey fantail

2

Nankeen Kestrel

Willie Wagtail

6

Brown Falcon

Little Raven

11

Australian Hobby

Magpie-lark

10

Peregrine Falcon

Flame Robin

Purple Swamphen

1

Rose Robin

Buff-banded Rail

Golden-headed Cisticola

Baillon’s Crake

Australian Reed-Warbler

1

Black-tailed Native-hen

Little Grassbird

Dusky Moorhen

10

Silvereye

Eurasian Coot

25

Welcome Swallow

20+

Black-winged Stilt

6

Fairy Martin

Black-fronted Dotterel

5

Common Blackbird

10

Red-kneed Dotterel

Common Starling

30+

Masked Lapwing

Common Myna

6

Latham’s Snipe

Red-browed Finch

Painted Button-quail

House Sparrow

5

Crested Tern

*4

Australasian Pipit

Pacific Gull

European Greenfinch

Silver Gull

385 (*300+)

European Goldfinch

12 (*2)

Number of Bird Species – Wetland dependent & Raptors….22 Land based …. 25 Total

47Species

Other animals: One Brush-tailed Possum. Common Froglets heard in dam and wetlands near the Friend’s Compound.

* seen at/along Yarra River only.

Note: For species seen in large numbers, or for which accurate counting was difficult the number seen is rounded off to the nearest of tens or fives followed by a +.

D- Denotes dependent young plus number of separate broods.

Habitat: Despite a very dry September, water levels of both large lakes and smaller salt water lakes are still very high, while other fresh water wetlands including the dam are low or completely dried out. Most of our usual wetland species are present but in low to very low numbers, except for Chestnut Teal.

Interesting/notable sightings:

The Brown Songlark seen by Will Morris on eBird is a very occasional visitor to the park. This bird species not recorded in the park since September 2009, was feeding in mown grass by the east bank of the Yarra River just south of Westgate Bridge.

Opportunistic Sightings – Interesting or unusual sightings reported between surveys
Date	Species	Number seen	Observer
2 September	White-necked Heron	1	George Fotheringham
3 September	Fairy Martin	1	George Fotheringham
4 September	Galah	20	George Fotheringham
4 September	White-faced Heron	1	George Fotheringham
5 September	White-naped Honeyeater	1	George Fotheringham
5 September	Nankeen Kestrel	1	George Fotheringham
8 September	Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike	1	George Fotheringham
9 September	Grey Fantail	1	George Fotheringham
14 September	Australian Wood Duck	2	George Fotheringham
18 September	Australian White Ibis	1	George Fotheringham
28 September	Straw-necked Ibis	6	Will Morris (eBird)
28 September	Nankeen Kestrel	1	Will Morris (eBird)
28 September	Australian Hobby	1	Will Morris (eBird)
28 September	Australian Reed-Warbler	1	Will Morris (eBird)
28 September	Brown Songlark	1	Will Morris (eBird)

Pollinators workshop 21 Oct

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Lyn

Interested in being a citizen scientist? Come along to our pollinators workshop and learn to identify insect pollinators then put your knowledge into action at our spring ‘pollinator observatories’ at Westgate Park.

This is the sixth in this series of these events that are helping us understand more about plant-insect interactions. Each time we have seen something unexpected just through observing more closely.

This is a free event. See here for bookings (essential) and more details.

Hope to see you there.

Sept 2018 bird survey

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Lyn

The first Black-winged Stilts have appeared after their winter absence on the edge of the drainage basin above the south-east corner of the Saltwater Lake. Lots of male superb Fairy-wrens are now in their breeding plumage.

Black-winged Stilt, photo Andrew McCutcheon
Superb Fairy-wren, male photo Andrew McCutcheon

By Andrew McCutcheon & Rob Youl, 3 Sept 2018

Weather: mostly fine with a light south wind later in the morning, temp 10C-15C. Entire survey route completed, start time 0900, finish 1315

Species	No. seen	Species	No. seen
Brown Quail		Galah
Black Swan	3+4D	Little Corella
Australian Shelduck		Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Australian Wood Duck		Rainbow Lorikeet	*25+*
Pink-eared Duck		Musk Lorikeet
Australasian Shoveler		Little Lorikeet
Grey Teal		Purple-crowned Lorikeet
Chestnut Teal	29	Eastern Rosella
Pacific Black Duck	1	Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo
Hardhead	3	Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Australasian Grebe	2	Sacred Kingfisher
Hoary-headed Grebe	6	Superb Fairy-wren	*30+* 7 blue
Rock Dove		White-browed Scrubwren	7
Spotted Turtle-Dove	16	Brown Thornbill
Crested Pigeon	5	Spotted Pardalote
Darter		Striated Pardalote
Little Pied Cormorant		Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Great Cormorant	*4	White-plumed Honeyeater	70+ *2
Little Black Cormorant	*2	*Noisy Miner*	6
Pied Cormorant	*2	Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater
Australian Pelican	*3	Little Wattlebird	5 (1)*
White-necked Heron		Red Wattlebird	60+ *4
Eastern Great Egret	1	New Holland Honeyeater	45+
Cattle Egret		*White-naped Honeyeater*	2
White-faced Heron		Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Nankeen Night-Heron		White-winged Triller
Australian White Ibis		Golden Whistler
Straw-necked Ibis		Grey Shrike-thrush
Royal Spoonbill		Grey Butcherbird
Yellow-billed Spoonbill		Australian Magpie	5 (1)*
Black-shouldered Kite		Pied Currawong
Little Eagle		Grey fantail
Nankeen Kestrel		Willie Wagtail	8
Brown Falcon		Little Raven	3
Australian Hobby		Magpie-lark	8
Peregrine Falcon		Flame Robin
Purple Swamphen	3	Rose Robin
Buff-banded Rail		Golden-headed Cisticola
Baillon’s Crake		Australian Reed-Warbler
Black-tailed Native-hen		Little Grassbird
Dusky Moorhen	16	Silvereye
Eurasian Coot	25	Welcome Swallow	*40+*
Black-winged Stilt	7	*Fairy Martin*	2
Black-fronted Dotterel	*2	Common Blackbird	14
Red-kneed Dotterel		Common Starling	*130+*
Masked Lapwing	4	Common Myna	10
Latham’s Snipe		Red-browed Finch
Painted Button-quail		House Sparrow	*55+*
Crested Tern	*1	Australasian Pipit
Pacific Gull		European Greenfinch	2
Silver Gull	130 *80+	European Goldfinch

No. Bird Species – Wetland dependent & Raptors 19 Land based 22, Total 41 species

Other animals: One Red Fox briefly seen in the saltwater lagoon area on the south side of the Saltwater Lake. One Brush-tailed Possum. Common Froglets heard in dam and wetlands near the Friend’s Compound.

* seen at/along Yarra River only.

Note: For species seen in large numbers, or for which accurate counting was difficult the number seen is rounded off to the nearest of tens or fives followed by a +.

D- Denotes dependent young plus number of separate broods.

Habitat: Similar to last month water levels of both large lakes are very high, but wetland bird populations of most species are very low, except for Chestnut Teal, Purple Swamphens and Dusky Moorhens which are present at average numbers.

Noisy Miners are now regularly present along the eastern edge of the park abutting Todd Road. Six birds were recorded today with other honeyeaters, including White-plumed Honeyeaters and Red Wattlebirds still foraging nearby without being driven off.

A Red Fox was briefly seen running away between Saltwater Lagoons 2 and 3. Foxes are a significant threat to the waterbirds, especially when they are breeding. This fox could well be the reason for the loss of two cygnets (one in May, followed by another in June) from the original six that first appeared in late March.

Interesting/notable sightings:

The Painted Button-quail first seen in the park on 12 June is still present although we were unable to find it today. The bird (or number of birds?) has extended it range over a much larger area mostly on the north side of the Large Freshwater Lake, leaving lots of fresh Circular shallow scrapes as evidence.
Two White-naped Honeyeaters, one being pursued by a New Holland Honeyeater, were seen in the vegetation around the dam.

Threatened species day 7/9

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Lyn

We propagate and grow plants that are rare and threatened and so far most are doing well at Westgate Park. As Melbourne grew and parks were planted with lawn and European tree species, inner Melbourne lost its bushland and with it numerous beautiful plants disappeared from inner Melbourne. With growing interest in biodiversity, we hope to generate interest in these plants.See here and here for our pages on threatened species and below are the rare plants we propagate at Bili Nursery. Spring is a good time to be planting so call in to our nursery at 525 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne and see which rare plant would suit your garden!