Eastern Spinebill

This small, active honeyeater is well represented in our district. Whilst the Eastern Spinebill is easy enough to see year-round in Gippsland, some of ‘our’ birds will spend summer in the high country and return to the warmer climes of the lowlands in winter. It is not unusual, and always a delight to have them visit our urban gardens.

Eastern Spinebills use their long curving bill for probing the tubular flowers of Common Heath, Kangaroo Paw, Correa, Appleberry, Mistletoe and similar species. Invariably, the birds get pollen attached to their feathers as they feed and this is transferred to the next flower, thus helping the pollination of the bush or garden. The adults feed largely on nectar but also take insects and spiders at times. The young are fed mostly insects for protein.

Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris; acantha = spine, rhunkos = bill, tenuis = slender, and rostrum = bill.

Eastern Spinebills, like many honeyeaters, are active and sometimes aggressive feeders. Mostly they move through their patch in small family groups and often can be seen foraging with other small species. Their rapidly repeated piping call is diagnostic.

 

 

Horse Dung fungus

Pisolithus arhizus is a common ‘puffball’ species found always in association with eucalypt species. It seems to grow in dry, disturbed areas like gravelly roadsides and walking tracks. This fungus is quite common in West Gippsland.

The aptly named Horse Dung Fungus is a mycorrhizal fungus; it has a symbiotic connection with the roots of nearby eucalypt trees. It is used as a component of plant root stimulant in the horticultural trade.

The spores develop inside cell structures within the body of the fruit. As the fruit matures, it cracks open and releases the spores into the surrounding landscape.

Pisolithus arhizus is considered inedible but the viscous gel inside the fruit can be used as a dye. Other common names include Dead Man’s Foot, Dyeball and Bohemian Truffle.

Burgan Wooly Scale

This scale insect, Callococcus acaciae, is endemic to Australia and is associated with plants in the Kunzea (Burgan), Leptospermum (Tea Tree) and Acacia (Wattle) families.

Scale insects feed on the sap of their host plant (and sometimes on fungi). There is an enormous variety of scale insects and of course, in a garden situation, they are considered as pests and if left uncontrolled, either naturally or by the gardener, they can devastate your favourite garden plant.

The female Burgan Woolly Scale insect has interesting morphology: it has no wings and no legs. There are glands on its back from which it exudes a stretchy-waxy substance.

These images were taken on some of the shrubs in Golden Whistler Reserve Drouin.  

Favolaschia calocera at Uralla

Since moving to West Gippsland about ten years ago, Uralla Reserve at Trafalgar has been one of my favourite places to go for fungi. From memory, Uralla was the first place where I’d seen Orange Pore Fungus at one, perhaps two sites.

It now seems to be on every second dead log, branch or stick beside the tracks in Uralla. It is also present in other West Gippsland locations.

Orange Pore looks like little orange ping-pong bats.

 Instead of gills, it has pores on the fertile underside of the cap, giving it a honeycomb appearance.

Favolaschia calocera is a saprotrophic fungus that inhabits dead wood.

Many references refer to this fungus as an imported weed-fungus from Madagascar which first appeared in New Zealand in the 1950s. Most records suggest it first appeared in Victoria in 2005. The main concern with this invasive species is that it displaces native fungi that have evolved to have beneficial symbiotic relationships with many native plants.

 

 

Pixies Parasol

Pixies Parasol, Mycena interrupta, grows on dead wood, usually hardwood species, in wet areas. It is a tiny fungus with its blue cap sometimes measuring up to 15mm diameter. They usually grow in small colonies.

It is a fairly common species, often missed because of its size and is often growing on the sheltered side of a dead log or fallen branch.

Always a delight to come across. Some references suggest it is Victoria’s most photographed fungi. It could be considered a good Victorian species, as records for SA, NSW and Qld are pretty sparse.

Map credit: ala.org.au

I found this little colony in Mt Worth State Park recently while trying, and failing, to pin down a calling Lyrebird nearby.

Moon Jelly

A recent sunny autumn day enticed me to a walk along the edge of Westernport Bay at Lang Lang caravan park.

With the low tide, I was hoping for some waders but apart from Silver Gulls, there wasn’t much bird activity. There were plenty of these stranded at the high water mark however …

Moon Jelly, Aurelia aurita, is a cosmopolitan jellyfish found in most oceans around the world. It doesn’t have the long, stinging tentacles of the traditional jellyfish and the hundreds of short tentacles that line the bell margin have no effect on humans. The four horseshoe-shaped structure is its reproduction organ.

Image credit: Seattle Aquarium

The species feeds on plankton, larvae, protozoans, crustaceans, etc. and itself is preyed upon by various fish, turtles and a range of sea birds.

Interestingly, some recent research determined that Aurelia aurita is capable of life-cycle reversal or biological immortality, through a process of cell renewal called transdifferentiation, similar to that of the Immortal Jellyfish.

Huh, so much to learn!

 

White-faced Heron

The White-faced Heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, is a bird photographer’s delight: they’re large, slow moving, often approachable and frequently in contrast with their background. Many bird watchers describe them as elegant or smart-looking.

Their slow, bouncy flight with trailing yellow legs is diagnostic. White-faced Herons make a gravelly, croaking call.

The White-faced Heron is widespread and occupies a variety of habitats including wetlands, mudflats, dams in paddocks, saltmarsh, urban parks, backyard fish ponds, etc. It searches for its prey of fish, frogs, crustaceans, insects, etc. by standing still and watching, wading slowly or foot raking.

Egretta novaehollandiae  builds a stick nest high in a tree, usually near a water body. In the breeding season, nuptial plumage on the head, neck and back becomes very obvious.