HIRRAKEE December 1996 Vol. 17 No. 11 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. VBH4462 ey NTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE BENDIGO FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB Bendigo Field Naturalists Club Inc. — Address for correspondence: PO Box 396, Bendigo 3550 Office Bearers for 1996 - 1997 President Bill Holsworth 13 Nabilla Crs. Bendigo 43 4063 - Senior Vice President Jane Cleary 24 Goynes Rd. Epsom 48 4396 Junior Vice President Bob Ruddick —— Markevitch Lane, Bendigo 49 3287 Secretary Rod Orr 2 Cockerel Court, Bendigo 43 5668 Assistant Secretary Lyn Hamilton 3 Park Ave, Golden Square 47 8884 Treasurer Glenise Moors Mandurang South Rd. Sedgwick 39 6254 Membership Officer Rob Moors Mandurang South Rd. Sedgwick 39 6254 Excursion/syllabus organiser _ not filled. Excursions are organised by the committee at present Librarian Dianne Collier Whirrakee contact Sabine Wilkens 82 Somerville Street, Bendigo 43 2797 - Membership of the Bendigo Field Naturalists Club is open to all those interested in Natural ’ History. The subscription rates are: Single $30; Family $35; Concession: Single $25; Family $30. Whirrakee subscription only is $30. General meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month. The venue for General meetings is the Golden Square Senior Citizens Building, Old High Street, Golden Square. Meetings start at 7:30pm and conclude with supper. The Annual Meeting is held in September. Committee meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30pm. Members of the Committee are the Office Bearers listed above, together with the following members: S Beattie; J Burtonclay; A Bridley; B Chmielewska; A Lashes R Moors; A Sheean; M Stone. — Excursions The assembly point for excursions is the Golden Square Senior Citizens Building, unless otherwise specified. Full-day excursions normally commence at 10am (usually on a Sunday); half-day excursions normally commence at 2pm and may be either on a Saturday or Sunday. Full-day or half-day excursions are usually held on the weekend following the General Meeting. Campouts are held several times each year, usually coinciding with long weekends or holiday periods. The Bendigo Field Naturalists Club has 2 active sub-groups: Bird Observers Group: meets on the first Friday of the month, at 7:30pm. The venue for meetings is the Golden Square Senior Citizens Building. — President: Anne Bridley Secretary: Jane Cleary Mammal Survey Group: meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:30pm in the Golden Square Senior Citizens Building. Chairman: John Burtonclay, Fadersons Lane, Mandurang (39 5710) Secretary: Bill Holsworth, 13 Nabilla Crs., Bendigo (43 4063) Equipment Officer: Ian Fenselau Vice Chairman: John Suey , Front Gover . ‘Photographer: Tan Flecknoe-Brown Like almost everything else this year, the grasses a are having a sath season aindl at the University bushland the spear grasses (Stipa spp) and wallaby grasses (Danthonia spp.) are an inspiring sight. It is interesting how our appreciation of plants changes when it is known that the plant is a weed. With the plant in the photograph, one can’t but admire the perfection in structure.....even though Briza maxima is a weed. Some common names of this plant are Blowfly or Quaking Grass but is has many others. The textbooks do not Consider it a particularly troublesome weed but it can be very invasive, carpeting the entire forest floor. It is considered ‘naturalised’ in Victoria... oll Suppose that means it is here to SEN ; WHIRRAKEE Monthly Newsletter of the Bendigo Field Naturalist Club Vol. 17, No. 11, December 1996 Whirrakee takes its name from the Whirrakee Wattle (Acacia williamsonii) which is virtually endemic to the Bendigo region CONTENT Item Contributor Page Water Resource Management W. N. Holsworth 3 From the Mailbag Elaine Mathison 4 Bird Observations Bird Observers Group 5 The Passing of Barbara Salter Anne Bridley 5 The Passing of Barbara Salter Ray Wallace 6 Indigenous Plants, Indigenous People Frances Cincotta 7 Goldfields Revegetation Plant List from the Lake Victoria Campout 21-28/9/96 Mid Murray F.N.C. 8 Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the information they use and also for any opinions expressed in their articles. Contributions will be included as soon as possible after they are received, although articles received after the monthly General Meeting will probably be too late for inclusion in the next issue of Whirrakee. Articles in Whirrakee may be reproduced, but permission should be obtained from the Bendigo Field Naturalists Club, and acknowledgment should be given to the author and the Club. Some back issues are still available on request (see article in March Whirrakee). Have a wonderful Christmas and a really good heliday. J have sent a letter off to. the Noxth Pale asking whether J could please have a few mone contributions for the WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT by W. N. Holsworth The Catchment Management Structures Review Working Party with the North Central Catchment and Land Protection Board held a "Regional Hearing" in Bendigo on 30 October 1996. On your behalf I attended the hearing and made a brief statement about the role of Field Naturalists in the management of our land. The following paragraphs paraphrase what I said and has been included in our submission to the Working Party. The management of our impact on the environment is a topic Field Naturalists discuss with both passion and understanding. They also do physical work to improve the quality of the natural environment if it is for the benefit of the public. Members of environmental groups have much to offer, but they must not be considered a source of cheap labour. They can be a source of important knowledge and skills that can add detailed local biological and geographical input to projects. They can also assist the development of public understanding and perceptions about land management. Groups such as the Bendigo Field Naturalists Club have members who are accountants, architects, biologists, engineers, farmers, geographers, nurses, planners, teachers, etc. These people can add a "green" point of view to the policy, planning and operational aspects of catchment management projects and through their feed-back to the local community develop a sense of public ownership. Although the Review of Catchment Management Structures is primarily about the shape of the bureaucracy and the Field Naturalists consider that protection of the environment is their major concern, we appreciate that an efficient and accessible organisation is important. The administration must understand what motivates volunteer groups. Our concerns are altruistic: we want to maximise the social benefit of natural resources. We would like to see emphasis placed on the quality of the aquatic environment and the protection of environmental flows of water to associated wetlands. We would want the riparian woodlands maintained and restored so that their role as a place for abundant wildlife and diversity of plants is enhanced. The grasslands and forests of the catchment should be managed and developed to reduce the impacts of salinity and waterlogging caused by poor land-use practices during the past 150 years. We would like to see a strong public education program developed to inform the public and earn its support for greatly increased funding for land management. : It might be good economics to continue using river water for irrigation, streams for sewage effluent, and riparian land for grazing animals and forest products, but if catchment management in Victoria continues with these practices the conservationists will not cooperate. If the new Catchment Management Structures are designed to listen to the public, and not just to those with a vested interest in converting public resources to private use, we will embrace the administration and cooperate with improving biodiversity. From the Mailbag Author: Elaine Mathison Each month the Club receives a number of newsletters and magazines: some by subscription and some in exchange for Whirrakee. These are available from the Club librarian at our meetings. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST Volume 113(4)1996 August This special issue of the VFNC magazine commemorates the 100th anniversary of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller's death. The articles highlight his interest in natural history and his support for the VFNC in its early days.The latter is outlined in "Baron von Mueller in the Field Naturalists’ Tradition’ by Angela Taylor. "Baron von Mueller and The Victorian Naturalist' by. Sheila Houghton reveals Mueller was also an enthusiastic supporter of the VFNC magazine, contributing over 80 articles, and reporting on many of his new discoveries in its pages. 'The Legacy of Mueller's Collections’ by J.H.Ross deals with Mueller's appointment as Victoria's first Government Botanist in 1853, and the establishment of the National Herbarium of Victoria. His tireless work over many years built a world-class collection of specimens and a botanical library. Articles by R.Grandison, Helen Cohn and D.Albrecht report on some of the botanical excursions Mueller undertook: to the Murray Scrub, Northern Australia, and the Twofold Bay - Genoa district. 'The Baron and the Goldfield’ by Ray Wallace discusses Mueller's' role in providing seeds, plants and advice to further the development of botanical gardens in goldfield towns, including Bendigo's White Hills Gardens. KARR KK KK THE BIRD OBSERVER(BOCA) October 1996 No.768 "Firewood Gathering’ by Bob Shanks raises the question of recreational gain or habitat loss from this activity in our bushland. 'Cairns to Townsville - the long way round’ by Lynne Clarke describes a wide variety of habitats and mentions some of the large number of birds seen. i 'Ground-nesting Birds' by Ellen McCulloch features some of the species to be highlighted during Birdweek this year. KKKKKKSK Also received recently: *Sun-Nat(Sunraysia FNC) September 1996 *Castlemaine Naturalist(CFNC) October 1996 © *News Sheet(Ballarat FNC) October 1996 *Geelong Naturalist(GFNC) October 1996 *Land Conservation Council: Box- Ironbark Special Investigation Newsletter. RKREKKKK Bird Observations Author: Bird Observers Group Turquoise Parrot (1 female), Kamarooka, mid-October 1996 Barking Owl (2 heard), Kamarooka, mid October 1996 Cockatiel (4), Mandurang South, 1/11/96 Double Banded Dotterel (2), Echuca Sewage Farm 29/8/96 Plumed (Grass) Whistle Duck (6), Raywood - Kamarooka, 2/10/96 Australian Shelduck (2 adults, 17 small young), Rochester Sewage Farm, 25/8/96 White-necked Heron (1), Mandurang South, 18/10/96 Masked Lapwing (2 adults, 3 young), Kangaroo Gully, 12/10/96 White Fronted Chat (5-6), Elmore-Raywood Road, 5/8 - 4/9/96 Pied Currawong (300+), Rochester, 28/7/96 Grey Currawong (2), Kamarooka, 15/7/96 White-browed Babbler (1), Sedgwick, 29/10/96 Fuscous Honeyeater (2 adult, 2 small young), Junortoun, 26/10/96 Grey Shrike-thrush (2 nesting), Junortoun, 1/11/96 Jacky Winter (2 nesting), Sedgwick, 27/10/96 Owlet Nightjar (2, nest with 3 eggs), Kangaroo Gully, 18/10/96 Lists: Pilchers Bridge Kangaroo Gully Passing of Barbara Salter Author: Anne Bridley It is with sadness that we record the death of Barbara Salter. Barbara was a passionate and observant birdo. Her notes on birds seen during her wandering through the bush in the Inglewood area gave us much pleasure. I’d like to mention in particular her records of birds nesting, her notes relating bird abundance to particular food sources, effects of drought and her concerns about mining in her local forests. One of her longest notes gave details of behaviour and breeding of her local choughs, including her observation that ““Choughs have dramatic natures”. The Passing of Barbara Salter Author: Ray Wallace Barbara Salter passed away at Inglewood on 3 October 1996 at the age of 74 after a long illness. She was a long-time member of the Bendigo Field Naturalists Club and the Bird Observers Club of Australia. Barbara was born in the Sydney suburb of Neutral Bay and later lived in Queensland for ten years as well as spending some time in Japan. During the second World War Barbara served with the Australian Army Intelligence Corps as an intelligence officer in Queenlsand and New Guinea. Her lifelong interst in birds saw her always carrying a small collection of bird books in her pack and observing the birds wherever possible. | Barbara married the noted bird photographer, Arthur Salter in 1949, and in 1954 they moved to 45 Tulip Street, Black Rock in Victoria amidst the coastal tea tree and created another Eden on their quarter acre block. This garden became famous throughout Victoria and was featured in many magazine articles showing how a wisely planted native garden would attract native birds. This all lead to Barbara being in heavy demand as a speaker at schools and for adult organisations, too numerous to mention. She wrote dozens of articles for various magazines and natural history journals, and what a fine writer she was. So striking was the success of her Black Rock garden in attracting birds, Barbara was induced to write a book on the subject. The result was a charmingly written little natural history classic Australian Native Gardens And Birds, first published by the Jacaranda Press in 1969 and appearing again as a revised edition in 1977 published by Ure Smith. This little book, a pioneer in its field, was written with the author’s love of nature shining through on every page. The story of the male Blue Wren supplanted in his mate’s affections is as poingnant a piece of natural history writing as one could read. In many ways it echoed disturbingly the same story that Rachel Carson told us regarding the insiduous effect of pesticides in Silent Spring. The book is indeed a lovely monument to Barbara’s memory. Her knowledge of natural history did not stop at ornithology, her knowing of the plants and insects was deep and, just as importantly, loving. In later years, Barbara moved to Inglewood amidst the mallee with her sister Margaret and brother-in-law Fred Watts and, yet again, another delightful garden was created. Here one could see the flocks of Zebra Finches feeding on the dispersed millet bounty and the Common Bronzewings as tame as farmyard fowls and, yes, there were Blue Wrens there too. Barbara Salter’s interst in nature wasn’t just clinical, she loved it, loved it with passion. She always stressed, and I’1l quote her own words; “observe but don’t disturb; learn but leave unharmed.” Surely still a simple and pertinent message for us all. BENDIGO’S INDIGENOUS NURSERY AND WILDFLOWER FARM END OF DYSON'S ROAD MANDURANG VICTORIA TELEPHONE 054 © 39 5384 INDIGENOUS PLANTS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE The Koorie people of the Bendigo Region relied on the indigenous flora and fauna for all their daily needs, from food and medicine to tools and string. Today we are reliant on manufactured foods, materials and medicines, (often from outside of our local region) and we are not likely to change our custom, but knowing about the traditional uses of the native plants around us adds to our appreciation of them in the bush and in our. gardens. Here follows a list of some of the uses of the indigenous plants available from Goldfields Revegetation Nursery (seeds of some species also available). Exact details of food and medicine preparation are not known Acacia dealbata ° Silver Wattle Acacia implexa ¢ Lightwood Acacia mearnsii ® Late Black Wattle Acacia melanoxylon ¢ Blackwood Acacia oswaldii © Umbrella Wattle Acacia pycnantha © Golden Wattle Acacia retinodes * Wirilda Acrotriche serrulata * Honey Pots Arthropodium strictum * Chocolate Lily Astroloma humifusum © Cranberry Heath Atriplex semibaccata ¢ Creeping Saltbush Banksia marginata ° Silver Banksia Billardiera cymosa © Sweet Apple Berry Bulbine bulbosa ¢ Bulbine Lily Burchardia umbellata * Milkmaid Caesia calliantha ¢ Blue Grass Lily Callitris glaucophylla © Murray Pine Carex tereticaulis * Basket Sedge Carpobrotus modestus @ Inland Pigface Chamaescilla corymbosa ° Blue Stars Clematis microphylla Centipeda cunninghamii ¢ Old Man Weed Convolvulus erubescens ° Blushing Bindweed Dianella revoluta © Flax Lily Enchylaena tomentosa ¢ Ruby Salt Bush so be cautious in any experimentation. bark of this tree used for water vessels; seeds eaten; wood used to make stone axe handles; gum used as food - eaten or dissolved in water with flower nectar to make sweet drinks. Gum also used as an ointment or adhesive when mixed with ash. bark of this 5m to 10m tree used for fibre and string. open spreading tree providing gum (used as above); bark for twine and medicine (infusion made to treat indigestion); wood for weapons. longlived tall tree with seeds high in protein and green pods may be edible; wood used for spear throwers, shields and clubs; fibre used to make fishing lines; infusion made from bark used as a treatment for rheumatism. rare shrub with edible seeds. 2m to 5m shrub providing gum (used as above). fast growing 3m to 8m shrub providing edible seeds. ground covering shrub with greenish tubular flowers May-Oct providing nectar for food and drink. attractive perennial with tuberous roots eaten roasted. dense mat-like plant with sweet, greenish fruit, spring and early summer. salt-tolerant groundcover with edible red fruit. small tree with lemon coloured flowerheads Autumn and Winter - soaked in water to extract nectar. climber producing small reddish fruit with a faint aniseed flavour. perennial herb with bulbous tubers, eaten steamed. perennial herb 50cm tall with long starchy roots (Smm thick and up to 10 tubers per plant) harvested at any time of the year and cooked before eating. crisp finger-shaped tubers eaten fresh (sweet and not starchy). this stately tree used medicinally for colds, sores and other ills eg. leaves smoked over a fire, soaked to make a wash or mixed with fat to make ointment. strong fibres along stems used for basket making. salty tasting leaves eaten fresh or cooked; red succulent fruits ripen in summer and eaten raw (sweet). tiny perennial herb (lily) with edible roots. climber with long taproots eaten baked; root fibres made into fine string then woven into headbands. curative plant - a decoction (big bundles of the plant boiled down) used as a tonic for colds and chest complaints and as a skin lotion. this small trailing or climbing plant has medicinal uses as well as an edible woody taproot (cooked in baskets then kneaded into dough). robust tufted plant 1m tall x 1m to 2m yielding fibre and dark blue shiny berries to eat or use to obtain blue dye. prostrate plant with tasty red button-like berries and leaves used as a green vegetable. 7 Eucalyptus camaldulensis ° River Red Gum Eucalyptus behriana ¢ Bull Mallee & Eucalyptus dumosa * Dumosa Mallee Eucalyptus largiflorens ¢ Black Box Eucalyptus obliqua ° Messmate Eucalyptus viminalis ° Manna Gum Geranium solanderi @ Crane's Bill Glycine tabacina ¢ Variable Glycine Kennedya prostrata ¢ Running Postman Linum marginale e Native Flax Lissanthe strigosa ¢ Peach Heath Lomandra longifolia ¢ Mat-rush Marsilea drummondii ° Nardoo Melaleucas ° Paperbarked shrubs Melichrus urceolatus ¢ Urn Heath Mentha australis ¢ River Mint Microseris lanceolata ° Yam Daisy Myoporum deserti * Turkey Bush Myoporum montanum © Waterbush Myoporum platycarpum * Sugarwood Pittosporum phylliraeoides ¢ Poa species © Tussock Grasses Podolepis jaceoides *° Showy Podolepis Pelargonium rodneyanum ® Stork's Bill Rubus parvifolius ¢ Native Resppeny Santalum acuminatum ° Sweet Quandong Solanum laciniatum * Kangaroo Apple Solanum simile © Oondoroo Suaeda australis ¢ Seablite Themeda triandra * Kangaroo Grass Xanthorrhoea australis ° Grass Tree large tree with many uses: bark used for shelters, shields and canoes, (for canoes a large sheet of thick bark with pointed ends was cut out in spring and summer and the inside washed with clay); nectar from flowers (summer) makes a sweet drink; seeds eaten - preparation not known; gum has healing properties; sweet drink made from lerps gathered from the leaves (lerps are sugary deposits excreted by psyllid insects that feed on the eucalypt leaves). multi-stemmed trees providing wood used for boomerangs; emergency water drained from the roots (a length of root is dug up and drained into a container of bark or wallaby skin). spreading tree of riverine plains with edible seeds (soaked in water, dried, then ground ona stone and eaten raw). tall tree from wetter parts of region yielding sheets of bark used to make a “tied” canoe (ends tied with cord of bark fibre); outer brittle bark powdered to use for catching sparks in firemaking; inner bark used to make coarse string for bags and fishing nets. this tall tree provides manna (a sweet exudate of sap from the bark or leaves of plants often produced as a result of injury by insects) which accumulates as small white nodules and has to be gathered quickly after it falls or ants carry it away; leaves laid on a fire and the smoke reduced fever. Prostrate to 50cm tall x 1m plant whose tuberous taproot roasted and eaten (very starchy with slightly bitter flavour). scrambling plant with very starchy edible taproot, licorice flavoured. groundcover with red pea flowers in Spring full of yummy nectar. slender plant to 1m with edible seeds (oily); fibre used as string. fruits are edible and juicy although small (excellent honey flavour). tussocky plant to 1m with edible flowers; tender white bases of leaves also edible (flavour of fresh, green peas); the strap-shaped leaves were also used for weaving fine baskets and mats, or could be split or scraped to provide fibre for string bags. sporecases of this bog plant ground between stones to make flour. long straight stems of some species yield hard wooden spears, clubs and digging sticks; soft papery bark of some species stripped off in pieces and used like cloth to wrap babies; flowers provide nectar. Leaves of M. uncinata were chewed for catarrh. low plant whose small cream urn-shaped flowers yield nectar. this 1m x 1m native herb provides leaves to flavour cooked food, or make a steam inhalation for coughs and colds. radish-like tuber eaten raw or cooked in baskets in earth ovens. 2m shrub with sweet yellow edible fruits. dense 3m shrub with purple edible fruits. small tree yielding manna (sap) as for Eucalyptus viminalis; wood used for woomeras and shields and lit as a torch in canoes for night fishing; also yields resin used as cement to fasten stone flake points to spears. small weeping tree with sticky red seeds pounded to make flour; yields edible gum. fibre used to make string for nets, bags, baskets and mats; these and other grasses (including Danthonias) used as native pastures for native fauna which were then hunted and eaten cooked. perennial daisy with attractive yellow flowers and edible thickened roots. very showy plant 20cm x 40cm with magenta flowers and tuberous roots cooked and eaten like a radish - nutritious and starchy. a prickly creeper with edible soft red fruit. small tree with round red fruits (eaten fresh or dried for future use); seeds also eaten, or ground to a cream for medicine. fast growing dense 3m shrub with fruit poisonous when green but edible when fully ripe (orange and soft). fast growing dense 3m shrub with round fruit, poisonous when green but edible when fully ripe (cream). low shrub with salty leaves eaten raw or as a green vegetable. common but beautiful tussock whose leaves and stem yield fibre for string for fishing nets; seeds ground and baked. important source of resin collected from the base of the trunk, melted and cooled to cement stone axes to wooden handles, spear tips to shafts and to form a gripping surface for stone knives; the long flowering stalk yields nectar to make a sweet drink and were used as butt piece for spears; the sweet succulent roots as well as the soft bases and growing points of young leaves were eaten (sweet nutty taste). COMPILED: Frances Cincotta, Goldfields Revegetation Nursery. REFERENCES: AB & JW Cribb, “Wild Food In Australia” and “Useful Wild Plants In Australia’; Tim Low, “Bush Medicine”; SGAP Maroondah, Inc., “Flora of Melbourne”; N Zola & B Gott, “Koorie Plants, Koorie People”. 8 Plant List from the Lake Victoria Campout, 21 - 28 September 1996 Author: Mid-Murray F.N.C. No, we are not finished with the reports from this excursion yet. The reports and lists from this wonderful campout took up more than half the Whirrakee last month, but that didn’t include the plant list! So here it is: * introduced species Family Aizoaceae Disphyma crassifolia Rounded Noonflower Family Amaranthaceae Ptilotus exaltatus Lambs Tails Ptilotus seminudus _ Rabbit Tails Family Asteraceae Actinobile uliginosa Flannel Cudweed Brachyscome ciliaris Variable Daisy Craspedia sp. Tiny Billy Buttons Centipeda cunnighamii Common Sneezeweed Gnaphalium lutea-album Jersey Cudweed Minuria leptophylla Minnie Daisy Myriocephalus sturtii Poached Egg Daisy Olearia pimeleoides _Pimelea Daisy Olearia muelleri Muellers Daisy Podolepis capillaris _ Wiry Podolepis Podotheca angustifolia Sticky Longheads Senecio lautus Variale Groundsel Vittadinia cuneata Woolly New Holland Daisy (plus several other unidentified daisies) Family Azollaceae Azolla filiculoides Pacific Azolla Family Boraginaceae *Heliotropium europeaum C’mon Heliotrope (or H. curassavicum Smooth Heliotrope) Echium plantagineum Patersons Curse Family Brassicaceae Lepidium leptopetalum Shrubby Pepper Cress (plus one other cress, small annual) Family Caesalpiniaceae Senna nemophila Desert Cassia Family Campanulaceae Wahlenbergia spp (three species) Family Casuarinaceae Casuarina cristata Belah Family Chenopodiaceae Atriplex nummularia Old Man Saltbush Atriplex vesicaria Bladder Saltbush (plus another type of Bladder Saltbush) Bassia brachyptera Short-winged Copper Burr Enchylaena tometosa Ruby Salt Bush Pachycornia triandra Desert Glasswort Rhagodia nutans Climbing Saltbush Maireana erioclada _ Rosy Blue Bush Maireana pyramidata Shrubby Salt Bush Maireana sedifolia Pearly Blue Bush Maireana georgia Satiny Salt Bush Family Crassulaceae Crassula colorata Dense Crassula Family Convolvulaceae Convolvulus erbescans Pink Bindweed Family Fabaceae Eutaxia microphylla © Common Eutaxia Swainsonia phacoides Lilac Darling Pea Templetonia egena Round Templetonia Family Frankeniaceae Frankenia sp. (with pink flowers) Family Goodeniaceae Goodenia sp. (one yellow flower only) Family Lamiaceae *Marrubium vulgare Horehound Westringia rigida Suff Westringia Family Lauraceae Cassytha melantha — Coarse Dodder-laurel Family Loranthaceae Mistletoe species Family Liliaceae Bulbinopsis bulbosa_ Native Leek *Asphodelus fistulosis Onion Weed Crinum flaccidum Darling Lily Family Mimosaceae Acacia colletoides Wait-a while Acacia brachybotra Grey Mulga Acacia rigens Nealie wattle Acacia stenophylla §_Eumong Acacia pendula Weeping Myall Family Myoporaceae Eremophila sturtii Turpentine Bush Eremophila scoparia Scotea Bush Myoporum platycarpum Sugarweed Myoporum parvifolium Creeping Myoprum Family Myrtaceae Eucalyptus largiflorens Black Box Eucalyptus bicolor Black Box Eucalyptus microcarpa Grey Box Eucalyptus camaldulensis River Red Gum (plus various unidentified mallee eucalypts) Family Poaceae Triodia irritans Porcupine Grass (plus plenty of other native grasses) ~ Family Polygonaceae Muelenbeckia cunninhamii Tangled Lignum Polygonum plebeium Small Knotweed Family Portulacaceae Calandrinea calyptrata Pink Purslane Family Proteaceae _ Grevillea huegelii | CombGrevillea Hakea leucoptera Silver Needlewood Family Ranunculaceae Myosurus minimus Mouse Tail Family Scrophulariaceae Limosella australis Austral Mudmat Mimulus repens Creeping Monkey Flower Morgania floribunda Blue Rod Family Santalaceae Santalum lanceolatum Sweet Quondong Family Sapindaceae Dodonea viscosa Slender Hopbush Heterodendrum oleifolium Cattle Bush Family Solaceae . Nicotiana glauca — Tree Tobacco Solanum sp. _ Kangaroo Apple Family Thymeleaceae ca Pimelea microcephala Mallee Rice Flower Family Xanthorrhoeaceae Lomandra sp. Family Zygophyllaceae Nitraria billardiera Nitre or Dillon Bush ~ Zygophyllum aurantiacum Shrubby Twin Leaf Zygophyllum apiculatum Pointed Twin Leaf Oa ‘YO DIEU IWOS svY [OS ssezs sty} ‘pasiadsip si poas ay] usyM UaAd pues: 1 Elizabeth St KANGAROO FLAT Vic 3555 ve Q ° 5 ot. 5 = o a => fe) 3 ae 5 wae 2. Oo => S) = Q ° < o ou The General, Bird Observers Group and Mammal Survey Group meetings are held at the Golden Square Senior Citizens Building, Old High Street, Golden Square, unless otherwise indicated. General Meeting December 11, 6.30pm Christmas Dinner bring your own food to share as well as your cutlery and crockery Excursions The assembly point for excursions is outside the Golden Square Senior Citizens Building, Old High Street, Golden Square, unless otherwise specified. Full-day Excursions normally commence at 10am. Please check details (or any changes) in the Whirrakee for the month of the excursion. Bird Observers Group December 6, 7:30pm Victor Hurley will speak about Peregrine Falcons Bird of the Night: Willie Wagtail February 7, 7:30pm Arrivals and Departures- Discussion on seasonal movements. Leader Anne Bridley Syllabus Plans for the coming year will also be discussed - have your say on what you want the Bird Group to do. Bird of the Night - Yellow-faced Honeyeater March 7, 7:30pm Rob and Cynthia Watkins will give a talk on their recent trip to Africa. Bird of the Night - White-faced Chat April 4, 7:30pm Mary Wilson will speak about her Grass Wren Tour Other Events Saturday January 11 Working Bee Weekend at the Senior Citizens Building. Starting at 9am. This will be an inside working bee so bring dusters, paintbrushes or any other cleaning and painting equipment. Supper The usual arrangements for supper are as follows: members either bring a plate or pay $1 for supper. This small amount is used to reimburse members who purchase essential supper supplies.