Snapshot.........another nest

Hand weeding in the gully today, we came across another nest.

We found it laying on the ground firmly attached to a dead tree-fern frond - the frond had obviously fallen to the ground, as they eventually do once they have died.

The outside diameter of the cup shaped nest was around 8cm, increasing to 9cm at the base. The outside was constructed from thin fibres and strips of bark (1 ~ 3mm wide and 15mm to 40mm long) wrapped in a circular direction. The outside material looked to be predominantly Messmate (Stringy-bark [Euc. obliqua]).

The inside diameter of the nest was around 5cm. There were stems and branches left from Coral Fern - we suspect the nest was originally lined with the freshly picked soft fronds, leaving the stems and branches over time (?).   The inside was also lined with very small leaves that appear to be Manna [Euc. viminalis pyoriana].

The outside of the nest was adorned with Lichen and expect it was placed on the sides as decoration - we thinks it's been too dry to grow.

Not sure how it was held together but presume it was spittle.

Don't know who belongs to the nest - any ideas?................maybe a Yellow Robin

Inside of Nest

Showing outside and Lichen adornments

Also came across this Hyacinth Orchid [Dipodium roseaum] - this is only the 2nd one we've sighted, 'king yeehaa!!

Hyacinth Orchid [Dipodium roseaum] - deep in gully

The eagle has landed...........and a nest

Today, we returned from the vegie garden (work in progress) to hear the alert calls of a pair of magpies. They kept squawking and swooping something that was just out of our sight, over the horizon: due to the shape of the old aeolian sand-dunes on which we live. The commotion had attracted the attention of a mob of roo's, which had been grazing further down the hill. The whole mob were fixed on the disquiet.

We've seen this behaviour before from the magpies, too often than not, it'll be a fox that they're swooping.

Janet went to investigate and as she approached the calamity, she disturbed a Wedge-Tail Eagle which had fallen a White-faced Heron, and was feeding on the ground. The Wedgie immediately took flight. It's size was absolutely amazing - 2.5 to 3 metres wingspan, easy. The bird dwarfed Janet. When ya that close, you realise how big they actually are. Still awestruck at the size!!!....sorry, no piccies.

On a lighter note, earlier in the day down near the gully, we found a nest on the ground. Have attached photos - the outer perimeter of the circular cup-shaped nest was mostly constructed from Tea-tree Twigs and Coral Fern, although there were a few sprigs of Cottontail Grass. It was ~150mm dia. x ~75mm high with an inner diameter of ~75mm. The inside was lined with fur - probably kangaroo or wallaby, taken from dead beasts once they had passed on.

We're not sure what species of bird made it, but someone might know.

A few years on................

It's been way too long since initially setting up this blog - with good intentions of regular updates..........alas. The enthusiasm has been there, and lots and lots of things have happened;  we've simply been focused on other matters.

Anyways, it's a new day, and we'll see how we go from here !?!?!

The most significant observation in the past couple of years has been the vast increase in animal activity around the home, eg. kookaburra's using the house and flagpole as a roost, blue-tongue lizards around the gardens, copper-head snakes living under the back deck, Grey-shrike thrushes debugging the eaves, blah-de-blah.

The dam has been home to various birds at different times, including Australasian Grebes (raising their young failed both years due to Swamp Harriers eating the fledglings), up to eight (8) White-faced Herons, Great Egret, Pacific Heron, Sacred and Straw necked Ibis, Latham's Snipes, Cormorants, etc.

Mammals? - Antechinus' and Ring-tail Possums using the shed as a refuge, Kangaroos a plenty, Swamp Wallabies grazing in the plantings...........all good.

We've been trialling some weed management techniques. Some worked, others didn't. This year, the hand weeding of grasses has commenced in the gully. Very significant we thinks, considering the past has focused on woody-weeds. Pasture grasses are also being reduced with our mechanical controls (read 'mowing the grasslands just before the pasture grasses set seed'). We are sure the native grasses are increasing in these areas so will continue to implement this technique and monitor.

Also purchased a KeepGuard camera and will post shots from time to time..........promise.

So here's a tempter for you - we set the camera up in the gully along one of the thoroughfares used by the animals.

Enjoy

The 1st Post

Introduction
Boonoorong, the property, is located next to the Mornington Peninsula National Park in Victoria, Australia. The property consists of 20 hectares (50 acres) and includes remnant deep wet gully (approx 4 hectares) and remnant dry sclerophyll to heathy woodland (approx 2 hectares). The rest of the land is undulating pasture that was cleared in the 1950's and used for the grazing of cattle. Soil is substantially old aeroleon dune sands over basalt – yellow podzolic soils, coffee rock and some clay have been found at varying depths on the site. Internal fencing has been removed in addition to the lower two strainers from external fences (to improve access to kangaroos and wallabies).


Scope/Objective
To return the land to the way it was before white settlement and promote habitat for local fauna. Both consider the task a “rest of life” commitment which won’t be completed within our lifetime.

Revegetation (Active),  Regeneration (Passive)
Cattle were removed in September 2000 and the land laid fallow to assess the natural regen of the site.

Wet Areas (natural springs, riparian zones to gully) -
Wet areas have shown substantial natural regen. No intention to plant in these areas – possibly conduct some companion planting in later years.

Dry Areas (within pastured paddocks) -
Drier pasture areas have not shown signs of regen although, some Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwoods) have started to progress up into the pasture from the gully. Scarification to south sides of remnant eucalypts was unsuccessful - seed stocks appear depleted.

Plantings - Revegetation
Only plants of local provenance are used, so seed is collected from ours and neighboring properties which are then propagated into tubestock. Over 4000 plants have now been introduced to 20 assigned areas - primarily to support lone remnant trees, and to provide habitat corridors. Care has been taken to ensure grassland areas remain to encourage grazing by kangaroos. With the removal of cattle, native grasses (Microleana spp., Danthonia spp., and Themeda triandra) are returning and competing with the introduced pasture grasses.

Weeding
Within the gully, the biomass of many problematic species has been sufficiently reduced to allow hand pulling or cut and paint methods,
eg.
Rubis spp. (Blackberry) – cut and paint
Myosotis spp. (Forget-me-not) – hand pull
Phytolacca octandra (Ink Weed) – 1) hand-pull, 2) use pitchfork on larger plants or use mattock to clip top of tuber
Senecio jacobaea (Ragwort) – 1) hand pull rosettes/cabbages, 2) remove seed heads and cut/paint stem of mature plants

Following previous actions with blackberry, ragwort, forget-me-not and thistles, Ink Weed is now deemed our highest priority. A reduction of the biomass is under way with follow-up hand pulling intended.

Fauna
Mobs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos roam the property, at least five Swamp Wallabies live in the gully and over 70 species of birds have been recorded. Two Copperhead Snakes reside under our decks (currently hibernating), so our home acts as a hide and allows us to monitor and observe the native fauna in its natural beauty.

An old dam located near the house has developed into a unique wetland encouraging four frog species, various waterbirds and a food source for the snakes and lizards.

Why the Blog?
Due to our unique situation, we decided to start a blog to document and record our observations.