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.

 

Whistling Kite

The Whistling Kite, Haliastur sphenurus, is sometimes thought of as a scruffy-looking, small eagle. It is most recognisable by its large white ‘M’ (or ‘W’) underwing marking seen in flight or its diagnostic call consisting of a down-slurred whistle followed by 3 or 4 ascending short notes.

Males and females have similar plumage but the female is often 20% larger than her male partner. Pairs are thought to mate for life. They build a large stick platform-nest in a tall tree, sometimes in close proximity to other whistlers.

Whistling Kites are considered sedentary with a a little nomadism at times. They are commonly seen in central and east Gippsland and around Port Phillip Bay but not so common here in West Gippsland. It was a surprise (to me) to tick one in the vicinity of the Drouin Waste Water Treatment Plant in Settlement Rd during a recent bird survey.

For a bird their size, Whistling Kites can often be seen soaring and gliding gracefully as they ride thermals or circle in search of prey. They like to take live mammals (rabbits and rodents, etc.) fish, other birds, insects, etc. but are known to also dine on carrion at times.

 

Blue-chequered Cuckoo Bee

Just as the familiar cuckoo birds (Fantailed Cuckoo, Shining bronze Cuckoo…) are brood parasites, there is a large family of bees that lay their eggs in the nests of other bees.

The Blue-chequered Cuckoo Bee, Thyreus caeruleopunctatus, parasitizes the nest of the Blue-banded Bee. ‘Thyreus’ in ancient Greek is ‘porter’, ‘caeruleus’ and ‘punctatus’ are Latin for ‘blue’ and ‘spotted’. It is a native, solitary bee.

The Thyreus family of bees is sometimes referred to as ‘cloak and dagger bees’, presumably for their deceptive behaviour.

The beautiful garden at Vue, Jindivick, was a buzz with these beauties on a recent visit.

Other links to explore this fascinating invertebrate:

iNaturalist: Blue-spotted Cloak and Dagger Bee

Bayside City Council: Bayside Native of the Day – Blue-chequered Cuckoo Bee.

 

Pink Cockatoo - what's in a name?

Sir Thomas Mitchell was a major of the British army who came to Australia in 1827. In 1828 major Mitchell was appointed Surveyor General and quickly commenced to survey routes out of Sydney Town that are basically the same as the main roads to Parramatta, Liverpool and Berrima today.

Image credit: Australian Musuem. Map Credit: 'Queensland Stories'

A little later, Mitchell conducted several explorations of inland NSW, Qld and Vic, during which he had several encounters with the indigenous inhabitants. In 1836, on the Murray River near Robinvale, Mitchell and 16 of his party drove a group of about 150 aboriginal people into the river and commenced firing on them for around five minutes as they tried to escape. A government enquiry of the incident resulted in little consequence. Mitchell later named the site of the massacre as Mt Dispersion.

During his expeditions, Mitchell waxed lyrical over, ‘a red-topped cockatoo of the interior’. The bird had been described earlier and had been given various local names: Desert Cockatoo, Leadbeater’s Cockatoo (after the London taxidermist and ornithologist) and until 1977, Pink Cockatoo.

In 1977, the Royal Australian Ornithologists Union (BirdLife Australia) voted to rename the bird Major Mitchell Cockatoo in honour of the explorer despite his misdeeds. This was later reversed in 2023 when the bird was given back its old, more descriptive name of Pink Cockatoo avoiding the contentious matter of naming a faunal beauty after a sometime colonial subjugator.

Pink Cockatoo at Moonlit Sanctuary

Pink Cockatoos inhabit the arid and semi-arid areas of central Australia. They are listed as ‘vulnerable’ in Victoria and probably their greatest threat is the loss of hollow-bearing trees in which they nest (I think we’ve heard that before). Moonlit Sanctuary at Pearcedale has a pair and it’s a bit closer than central Australia.

A recent study of the genetics of the Pink Cockatoo has shown that there are two sub-species of the bird; one to the north-west of the Lake Eyre Basin and one to the east. Researchers also found some marker genes that are proving useful in the forensic investigations of bird-trafficking crimes involving the species.