Lunchtime Adventures in The Garden

Goodbye beautiful garden

2011-08-06T16:20:00.005+10:00

All good things must come to an end, and its time for me to leave Canberra and move on. I am sad to leave Canberra and very sad to leave the Botanic Garden where I have had so much fun exploring and taking photos. We will be staying in Australia - we are moving to Brisbane, to start an exciting new life in the sub-tropics! I hope I can continue my nature blogging in some form from there - watch this space...

Thanks to the people who have taken an interest in my blog and all the lovely comments. Taking an idea from Red's Australia blog, here is a round-up of three of my most memorable posts from the past year and a half...
My most popular post

Bowerbirds lovemaking in the lovenest

My most viewed post by far is my 'David Attenborough' moment where I captured the Bowerbirds lovemaking in their love-nest. I spent many lunchtimes seeking out Mr. Bowerbird and watching quietly as he chugged and whirred his way around the bower. My video camera skills are very amateur without a tripod but what an amazing thing to see and I was so excited to share it on my blog.

My most beautiful post

Lovestruck Galahs

I think my most beautiful story is the Galah love story post. I looked up one day and two Galahs were kissing and cuddling on a branch above me, they really were so sweet. I got some great pictures of them as they gave each other little pecks and cooed. Extremely cute.

My personal favourite post

A Brush-tail Possum in the red spotlight

I waited a year to go on the 'Twilight Adventure' in the Botanic Garden last August, and I wasn't disappointed. It was such a privilege to go into the gardens at night, there is so much to see in the bush after dark! The best moment was a close encounter with a Tawny Frogmouth, such a strange night bird. I also discovered many more Kangaroos are in the gardens than I thought, and caught a glimpse of a Sugar Glider.

These are just a few memorable moments, others include watching the baby Wattle birds grow, a soldier beetle mating frenzy, cute bathing parrots and the challenge and reward of trying to photograph many fast moving little birds like the Eastern Spinebill, New Holland Honeyeater and Spotted Pardalote! Watching the seasons change in the garden and the wonderful colours and aromas of the beautiful flowers (at least, those that don't give me hayfever) has been fantastic. I was really chuffed that my Cicada photo was a finalist in the ABC 'summer bugs' competition, and I recently discovered that this blog featured as 'website of the month' in a recent issue of the ABC Gardening Australia Magazine! Such a wonderful two years, thank you ANBG, I will miss you.

Rosellas growing up

2011-08-06T15:09:00.000+10:00

I love the Crimson Rosellas Platycercus elegans, they are cheeky, colourful parrots who make the sweetest little chirps, like a squeeky toy. There are always plenty in the gardens. At the moment Ive noticed a number of young ones who are making the transition to adulthood, so their feathers are changing from green to red. According to Birds in Backyards, "Young Crimson Rosellas have the characteristic blue cheeks, but the remainder of the body plumage is green-olive to yellowish olive (occasionally red in some areas). The young bird gradually attains the adult plumage over a period of 15 months." I got some nice shots of a young one in this 'puberty' stage, as well as a beautiful fully fledged adult male.

Science week coming up!

2011-08-03T23:21:00.000+10:00

Science week is coming up and that means the Twilight Adventure will be back at the Botanic Gardens, horay! I had a great time on the adventure last year , so sign up early or you will miss out. Details of bookings for this years Twilight Adventure are on the ANBG website here, along with a range of other Science Week activities.

Here is a shot I took on my adventure last year of a Tawny Frogmouth, there are lots of other pictures on my blog post.

On the right side of winter

2011-07-17T14:07:00.000+10:00

The evenings are starting to get a little lighter again and now I feel we are on the right side of winter, spring is on its way. There are some little signs in the garden, like the frisky male superb fairy wrens Malurus cyaneus darting everywhere and the thousands of star-like buds on the wattle (Acacia spp.) trees, just waiting to burst into bloom (and to give me hayfever!).

There are plenty of winter flowers out in the garden too, including many Banksia and this lovely flower, it is some sort of Grevillea (I couldn't find a label - it was just outside the main entrance to the gardens).

Strange fruit

2011-07-14T23:21:00.001+10:00

I came across a couple of weird and wonderful fruits in the garden today, both of which would have been eaten by aboriginal people. The first was the Burrawang (also the name of a village near Robertson in the Southern Highlands of NSW), Macrozamia spp. An amazing thing about the Burrawang, which is native to the NSW East Coast, is that it is poisonous! It is incredible how, over thousands of years, aboriginal people worked out how they could eat such plants. According to the sign by the plant in the gardens, the Burrawang can be eaten after cooking the seed, breaking it up and then soaking it for up to three weeks in running water!!

Near the Burrawang was another fruit, that looks a little like jelly babies, growing on the Brown Pine tree Podocarpus elatus, or Illawara Plum. Nothing like a pine tree that I'm familiar with, originating in the rainforest. According to the sign in the garden it is 'sweet but mucilaginous'. As I didn't know what mucilaginous meant I decided not to try one!

A devil in the mountains

2011-07-03T22:59:00.001+10:00

On my first ever post on this blog I came across the beautiful 'Mountain Devil' Lambertia Formosa in the gardens, so I was really excited to find a 'real-life' wild mountain devil in the Blue Mountains near Sydney when we visited recently! I really felt I'd learnt so much from my lunchtime wanderings to instantly recognize this fantastic flower.

We love the Blue Mountains and have visited several times, there is something magical about the landscape and the timeless villages there, with always a warm welcome at one of the splendid B&Bs. Autumn is really a wonderful time to be there. We walked the National Pass at Wentworth 'one of Australia's finest bushwalks', which is quite a long walk and a little steep in places, the website here has a lovely video on to give you an impression of its beauty. We crossed some waterfalls in full flow and passed many lookouts with wonderful views. All the time it was so peaceful, just the sound of a lyrebird calling from down in the valley and of course, plenty of Rosellas and Cockatoos. Here are some more pictures of the flora and landscape I took on this trip - I know its a little diversion from the Botanic Gardens but to see the flowers of the gardens in the landscape of the mountains is truly wonderful, the Banksia were flowering as you can see below (see also my post on the nearby Mount Tomah Botanic garden for more mountains flora!). I'd love to know what the really pretty pink/purple flower is? Also the pink bell-like flowers too. Many plants are rare that are found in the Blue Mountains (some more info here), with many unique species found nowhere else in the world.

Sex and Death

2011-06-13T16:38:00.001+10:00

I think its testament to how much there is to see in the gardens that it has been a year before I have posted about the glasshouse. Since October last year there has been an exhibition on 'Sex and Death' - a fascinating collection of orchids and carnivorous plants, both exotic and native. I took these pictures a few weeks ago, so I'm not sure if these flowers will still be there. I was disappointed I had missed seeing Grammatophyllum papuanum in flower - the world's largest orchid, which occupies a whole corner of the glasshouse. The plant was collected from Papua New Guinea in the 1980s and it is a very tricky plant to keep in cultivation, so the botanic garden was thrilled when it flowered twice in recent years.
The glasshouse has a lot of plants and facts crammed into its modest space, including some interesting facts about the humble Banana Musa paradisiaca, translated from the original arabic name 'Tree of Paradise'! Bananas are in fact giant herbs that grow from underground rhizomes. There are more than 100 varieties of banana grown around the world, in Australia there are 4 native species M. paradisiaca, M. banksii, M. fitzalanii and M. hillii.

I also learnt that some plants, including most orchids, are potentially immortal! Although flowers, leaves, stems and roots will die of old age, the plant will keep on growing unless killed by disease, accident or are eaten.

Another interesting fact is that not all carnivorous plants are carnivorous, some are vegetarian! Nepenthes ampullaria is one such vegetarian found in lowland SE Asian and New Guinea, which catches leaves and debris in its open pitcher on the forest floor. There were plenty of the carnivorous variety in the glasshouse too though, including this Venus flytrap dionaea muscipula and carnivorous pitcher plant:

A whole year in the gardens

2011-03-18T23:29:00.001+11:00

Today my blog is 1 year old! Which means I've now recorded a whole cycle of life in the gardens on this blog. I've learnt so much about the bush by writing this and taking photos. I feel very lucky I've been able to spend so many lunchtimes in these wonderful gardens. Here is where I had lunch today on the Eucalypt lawn - I had a few lunch buddies too, a Pied Currawong Strepera graculina sat watching in a tree nearby (possibly female as it is more grey underneath) and the Kangaroos were out in force, munching away on more than just the grass!

A soldier mating frenzy

2011-03-11T22:56:00.000+11:00

Its been far too long since I last posted. In that time all the bark has been falling off the Eucalyptus trees as we are nearing the end of summer, so that they are now all quite naked.

Apparently the process of bark shedding is accelerated after rain, as the bark softens and peels more easily. Today was a wet day in the gardens - I love wet days. The gardens are always quiet on those days (without people), but very much alive, I feel certain the birds all come out to play after the rain. Today there were lots of little birds flitting around near the garden gate and I managed to get a picture of two fast movers I've not managed to capture before, a pretty little Spotted Pardalote Pardalotus punctatus and a Grey Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa, which has a very acrobatic flight.

As I was taking a photo of some striking Eucalyptus on the Eucalypt Lawn, I noticed that where the bark was peeling from the tree lots of beetles had gathered. Looking closely I saw they were all coupled up, it was a beetle orgy! These are Green Soldier Beetles Chauliognathus sp., also known as Plague Solider Beetles - they are known to gather together in large numbers for the purpose of breeding. Some amusing stories I found on the web - one report that in February 2009 a school in the Blue Mountains closed its library when so many beetles were found over the walls. The Australian Museum writes that although the beetles may gather in huge numbers on plants they are far more interested in mating than eating, so don't pose much threat as a pest!

So, where the old bark peels off the Eucalyptus trees the beetles gather to create new life, the circle of life goes on.

ABC gallery - featuring a photo from this blog!

2011-01-28T15:10:00.001+11:00

The Cicada picture I took in Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens back in October is now featured in the ABC 'Your Summer Bug Photos' competition gallery! Some really beautiful photos of bugs up there, I'm honoured to be in such good company. I must be getting something right - as you can see on this blog, plenty of trial and error!

The Telstra tower - modelled on a Grass Tree?!

2011-01-24T21:34:00.002+11:00

I took a picture of these Grass Trees Xanthorrhoea the other day, with Canberra's iconic Black Mountain Tower in the background - it made me realise the design for the tower really looks like it was inspired by the grass trees! Perhaps that is why the tower seems to sit so well in the landscape.
Grass trees are interesting plants, they are very slow growing so a large one may be hundreds of years old. They are important to Aboriginal people, who would use the long flowering spike as a spear. Aboriginal people would eat the nectar and the resin was used as glue. They would also eat young leaves, but use tough old leaves as knives. A more controversial common name for them is 'black boy', as they resemble the silhouette of an Aboriginal boy holding a spear.
When I visited Tasmania a year ago I discovered some species of Xanthorrhoea in Tasmania are threatened by Phytophthora cinnamomi, a devastating plant pathogen that has spread across the globe causing serious destruction in native plant communities. There appears to be a management plan in place, though I believe this pathogen is also found in other parts of Australia.
Below is a close up of the tower and the view from the tops over Canberra - with the silhouette of the tower casting a shadow on the Botanic Garden below.

There are many beautiful Grass Trees out at Tidbinbilla where my partner Edd works, it is a beautiful place, well worth a visit. Edd drew a lovely picture of one a while ago, it can be seen here on his blog, along with a few more facts about the Grass Tree.

Name that butterfly!

2010-12-19T11:01:00.001+11:00

Recently I have seen some very beautiful butterflies around CSIRO so I thought I go and see if I could spot some in the gardens. There are plenty of LBBs (little brown butterflies!) around - particularly this 'Common Brown' one, Heteronympha merope. The first picture is the female, the second the male, interesting that the female is more striking than the male, in nature it generally tends to be the other way round!

I aslo saw this butterfly, it is a white butterfly but appeared greenish when closing its wings against the light. It behaved in a very interesting way, moving quickly then hovering like a hummingbird next to the flowers rather than landing on them to get the nectar. I can't identify it from a quick scan of the web, any ideas anyone?!

A wet week in the garden

2010-12-05T09:58:00.000+11:00

Well, as many parts of Australia will be far too aware, this has been a very wet week. Fortunately I was able to get to the gardens one day and found that the birds were loving all the water! Here are some colourful Eastern Rosellas Platycercus eximius having a great time in the little pool. First one had a good shake, then the other, then they both did, so they ended up looking very dishevelled!

I manged to get a nice shot of a Crimson Rosella who was watching the antics nearby but preferring to stay dry. I also managed a picture of an Eastern Spinebill, though sadly its a little out of focus or it would have come close to a decent picture of one of these birds that I always have trouble capturing as they move so fast!

Finally, at long last I also managed to get a shot of a Gang-gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum for this blog! I heard the familiar creaking call and spied one in a tree, however it is a female or perhaps a juvenile (it looks rather young and scraggly in the first photo), apparently young birds are similar to the adult female, with young males differing by having a red crown and forehead and a shorter, less twisted red crest. So, a little disappointing its not a male but I will keep an ear out and hopefully one day I will get a picture of one in the gardens on here for you (though before long they might be heading back up to higher altitudes - they are more common in Canberra in winter).

Colourful Callistemon

2010-11-25T23:45:00.001+11:00

I had a look at the schools and colleges photo competition display in the gardens the other day, there are some very nice pictures in there, worth a look. One of the categories was the subject of 'colour' - well there is plenty of that in the gardens at the moment! I have been impressed lately by the Callistemon (Bottlebrush) in the gardens, they are all flowering beautifully and there are so many different shades of red, pink yellow and white.

This photo is taken near the CSIRO gate, the red Callistemon is called 'Firebrand' and the pink one is Callistemon polandii called 'Peak Downs'.

Here are some more very pretty ones from around the gardens, the first is Callistemon pearsonii. The last with the butterfly (sorry, I'm not sure which - it wouldn't open its wings!) is not on a Callistemon but a Melaleuca - Melaleuca Sieberi these two genus are hard to tell apart. Indeed, I have read on wikipedia that Callistemon is now placed in the genus Melaleuca.

These little beetles are interesting too - there have been swarms of them around the Melaleuca in the last few days, I guess they are some sort of pollen beetle in pollen heaven with all these beautiful flowers, unfortunately I'm not - I'm just sneezing my head off with hayfever!

Bowerbirds - love-making in the love nest!

2010-11-19T00:00:00.001+11:00

Well, today I really had a 'David Attenborough' moment in the garden. Perhaps the Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus has become comfortable with me having my lunch nearby and coming to inspect his bower. Or maybe he isn't as shy as he has been making out! Anyhow, after waiting around near the bower for a while and taking some photos of the beautiful Bottlebrush flowers nearby (which I will save for another post) I sensed a little activity around the bower... sure enough, there was a female Satin Bowerbird sitting in the bower!

The male was nearby and he came closer, beginning an amazing ritual. He made some fantastic whirring and chirping noises as he hopped about a little then stood still, fanning out his tail. He paraded in this way very slowly around the bower, watched by the female, who occasionally lowered herself, looked around at him and inspected the bower. A couple of times she left the bower and he re-arranged a few of the blue bottle-tops, all the while making some elaborate calls and with a very 'macho' stance! In fact, perhaps I will name him 'Austin Bowerbird'!

Now, for the very exciting part - I captured these moments of Bowerbird passion on video!! So I can share this amazing spectacle with you all. In this first video you can see and hear the elaborate dance the male makes. He then stood still and posed for a while making some quieter noises.

The female then wandered off for a bit, so Austin Bowerbird decided perhaps he needed to make a few adjustments to the love-nest: he re-arranged a few of the blue bottle tops and then hopped off towards the female with one - perhaps a gift for her?

Finally, the moment of passion arrived!

The Bowerbird's Bower

2010-11-10T21:56:00.001+11:00

Yesterday I went to the gardens for lunch without my camera and I'd never been more frustrated at not having it with me... I had found the Satin Bowerbird's Ptilonorhynchus violaceus bower! I first discovered the mature male Satin Bowerbird in the gardens over a month ago now, and managed to get a picture of him for this blog in early October. So I rushed back to the gardens as soon as I could at lunchtime today and took some pictures of this amazing structure. It is about a foot (30cm) high and is a little hidden within some bushes. The range of blue objects he has found to decorate it are amazing, all the same shade of blue too! You can see a close up of a peg below. There was also a couple of pretty yellow flowers I think he might have also put there. Incredible.

I wonder what the Satin Bowerbird would have used before blue plastic was invented?

In my rush to get to the gardens I hadn't really noted what the weather was looking like and as soon as I had taken the pictures of the bower the heavens opened. Its been so wet in Canberra recently, though now its heating up its starting to feel more like tropical than English rain, but there is plenty of it! So I made a dash for a shelter nearby and ate my lunch there, amusing myself by taking pictures of raindrops falling on the shelter and on some leaves.

Once the rain stopped I carried on wandering in the gardens. The water dragons appeared again after the rain and nearby I noticed the huge Gymea Lily Doryanthes excelsa is starting to flower, it will be spectacular in a few days or so when it is in full bloom. I also noticed there seems to be a new trail through the gardens that must alter weekly, called the 'In flower this week walk', what a great idea!

There was a little sign about the Aboriginal use of the Gymea flower next to it in the garden: The Gymea flowering stem grows up to 4 metres high, but it was roasted and eaten when it is only about 0.5 metres high and as thick as a man's arm. The roots were also roasted and made into a sort of cake. The name 'Gymea' comes from the Wodi Wodi tribe of the Illawarrra district near Sydney.

Tango in the gardens

2010-11-02T09:12:00.000+11:00

There is a great event on at the Gardens on Sunday, a Tango concert with some Argentinian musicians and youth music in Canberra: More details here

My partner Edd and I are Tango dancers, but unfortunately we won't be able to go to this event as I will be dancing Flamenco - we have a great Flamenco artist coming to Canberra to give some workshops, Paloma Gomez, an unmissable opportunity.

If you are curious about the beautiful music of Tango and this most romantic of dances do go along and see what its all about! Here is a picture of Edd and I dancing (taken in Sydney earlier in the year). I love this picture as it captures some of the romance and mystery of Tango:

The Dragons are back - but no sign of the Gang-gangs

2010-10-25T00:02:00.001+11:00

On Wednesday the garden was full of Gang-gang cockatoos Callocephalon fimbriatum - I could hear them everywhere and saw about 10 of them. I even saw a pair doing a sort of mating dance, where they gave each other little pecks. Of course, when I went back on Friday with my camera there wasn't one to be seen, so I still haven't got a picture of one for my blog! They seemed to have been replaced by Crimson Rosellas - and love was in the air for these too. The Pryor tree has a pair nesting in a hole, I got a very cute picture of one peeking out, I thought I saw a little one beside her too at one point, but I might have imagined it!

To make up for the lack of Gang-gangs I was pleased to find plenty of Water Dragons back in the gardens, the last time I saw one to take a picture of for this blog was for my second blog post, back in March! I saw a small one too - it looks like its a baby dragon.

After seeing so many Waratahs last weekend at Mount Tomah I remembered the picture I took earlier in the year (April) of a Braidwood Waratah seedpod (Telopea mongaensis). I found the plant again and it was bursting into bloom, some seedpods are still clinging on though you can just see in the first picture.

I found a couple more pretty flowers I'd not seen before too, a beautiful Orchid Telychiton tarberi at the entrance to the Rainforest, which is an epiphyte (attaches itself to the trunk of trees). This appears to be referred to commonly as 'king orchid' which I can see why, its quite spectacular.

I also found this beautiful purple flower in the Grevillea/Hakea section, it looks more like a Hakea to me but I couldn't find a label on it.

ANBG 40th Anniversary - celebrations this week

2010-10-22T09:52:00.001+11:00

This week the Australian National Botanic Gardens is celebrating its 40^th anniversary. On Sunday numerous events will be held in the gardens. In conjunction with this event, the herbarium will have an Open Day this Sunday from 10-4 with guided tours on the hour. The ANBG will be displaying some of their botanical collections and research. There will be a shuttle bus between the herbarium and numerous sites within the gardens.

Sunday 24 October – 10am – 4pm

40^th Anniversary Open Day and Garden Party

Full program here (pdf)

· Main stage Live music and entertainment from 10 – 4pm

· Children activities from 10am – 4pm

· The Friends of the Garden cake cutting to at 11am

· High Tea party in the Eucalypts Lawn

· Botanic fashion parade and fascinator competition

· Continuous garden bus shuttles/tours

· Behind the scene tours 10- 4pm

· Market stalls, fashion parade and fascinator competition.

· 666 ABC Canberra Outside Broadcast – with Greg and Willow 10- 12

An adventure at magical Mount Tomah

2010-10-19T22:53:00.001+11:00

Mount Tomah is Australia's Mountain Garden, located 1000m above sea level in the northern Blue Mountains. We were over that way at the weekend so thought we should pay it a visit - it was a glorious sunny spring day (though the day before had been snow flurries!). Well, it was simply magical. A small wedding was taking place there that day (you can just make out the bridal party in one of the landscape pictures below) and the whole place was just alive with millions of spring flowers: Waratahs, Rhododendrons and even bluebells! There were some exotic plants there too, such as the beautiful 'magic flower' or 'sacred-flower-of-the-incas'. All around was the distinctive sound of the Whip-bird and Kookaburra in the trees as the odd lizard scuttled amongst the rocks. The air was fresh but the sun was warm. From a viewpoint in the Gondwana woodland we could see Sydney in the distance, a world away.

Bowerbirds and an empty nest

2010-10-12T21:03:00.001+11:00

An empty nest! The baby Red Wattlebirds I've been visiting for the past couple of weeks have now flown the nest. I was amazed at how quickly they had grown up and felt a small sense of loss, my babies are out in the big wide world! However, I didn't have to look very far to find them both, sitting in nearby bushes waiting for their parents to come and feed them. One of them was trying some short flights from branch to branch, climbing higher into a tree, whilst the other was happy just to sit and wait in a bush. I bet the active one was the bigger one in the nest that was always reaching higher for food!

If I'd had a little longer this lunchtime I might have got a shot of the parents feeding these little ones, I tried a couple of times but missed the moment, they are very quick! I guess before another week is passed they might be fending for themselves.

I ate lunch close to where I'd first seen the male Satin Bowerbird and after I'd finished I caught a glimpse of him chasing a female through the trees. I followed them around for a bit, then saw him sitting in a tree - once again he was proving elusive...

...However, I managed to sneak up behind him as he made off towards the female and got a couple of good pictures. One cheeky young Crimson Rosella sidled up next to him which was quite amusing (I know it is a young Rosella as there is still a lot of green on his wings - when he is an adult this changes to blue). On my next adventure I will try and find the Satin Bowerbird's 'bower' - here is a link to a flickr gallery of what this might look like. I like the description from a comment on there of what a bower is: 'they aren't nests. They are dance floors, discos, if you like, for picking up girls!' So, more like a 'love nest'! The Satin Bowerbird has a fancy for all things blue to decorate his bower. I've heard that in Canberra milk bottle tops used to be blue, but they had to change the colour as the Bowerbirds were stealing them!

Just as I was leaving the gardens I couldn't resist trying to get a shot of a cute little breeding male Superb Fairy-wren who was hopping along the path - for once it was quite successful. He has a few bird rings on his feet so seems he has been part of a survey at some point. A number of studies of fairy-wrens have been conducted in these gardens by the ANU, some details of this work can be found on Professor Cockburn's webpage at the school of Botany and Zoology.

The Grevilleas are back

2010-10-06T22:13:00.000+11:00

Today it was really warming up in the garden, beginning to feel like Australia should again - hot and sunny! I was determined to go and check on the little baby wattlebirds, despite some outrageously inappropriate footwear (stiletto boots) and a skirt. So I tottered through the Banksia and around the Grevillea section, which is really beginning to come into bloom. Some are only just starting, like the Grevillea beadleana, a very attractive 'toothbrush'-flowered variety endemic to a very small region in north eastern New South Wales, which I previously photographed in bloom back in March. Another 'toothbrush' was in full flower and looking beautiful, Grevillea hookeriana - that species is much more widespread in the south-west of Western Australia.

There were lots of bees buzzing around some of the Grevillea, particularly this Grevillea juniperina hybrid where I managed to get a close up of a bee on the flower:

Grevillea dimorpha, or the 'red spider flower', endemic to the Grampians in Victoria, was looking very good too - this flowers through Winter to Spring. I wondered if it was called dimorpha as the flowers looked very spiky on some branches but rounded on others, but according to the Australian Plant Society Latrobe Valley Group 'dimorpha' is referring to the variable leaves. Although called spider flower due to the shape of its flowers, I quite aptly found a tiny spider on one of the flowers (possibly a harmless garden orb spider?)

I also came across a new flower which is just as stunning as the Grevillea, Calothamnus quadrifidus or Common netbush (endemic to south-west Western Australia), Calothamnus literally means 'beautiful shrub' from Greek!

Anyhow, enough about the flowers, what about those baby wattlebirds! Well, I was amazed how much they had grown in just a week. They have lost their scraggly necks, filling out with feathers and even beginning to show signs of the red lobes on their necks that gives them their name 'red' wattlebird.

I also spied what I think is another baby bird taking a bath. I'm not sure what species he is, maybe some kind of Robin - he has those kind of eyes and beak? There was an Eastern Yellow Robin nearby which may have been a parent, but really I don't know, anyone out there have any idea?! Anyhow, isn't he cute!

More snaps of the baby wattlebirds

2010-10-03T22:25:00.001+11:00

I couldn't resist going back to the gardens again on Friday to see if I could get some better pictures of the baby red wattlebirds. I had gone on Thursday without my camera and stood close by as one of the parents visited the nest and fed the babies, I was hoping I could catch that with my camera! I managed to zoom in and the babies were looking over the top of the nest this time so I could see their little beady eyes, however when mummy or daddy arrived there were just too many leaves in the way - you might be able to make out the yellow on the parent's chest in the last picture below?!

I will go back again next week and have another go, I guess they will be a little bigger then too! Lots of lovely flowers are all around the gardens, as well as the wattle of course. I took a picture of a very pretty yellow flower called Goodia lotifolia - that sounds a bit like some Latin I made up myself! This bush has a number of common names, the one on the label in the gardens was 'golden tip', which seemed very apt. Below that is Grevillea corrugata, a relatively rare Grevillea, endemic to a small region in South-western Australia near Bindoon. Philotheca 'poorinda', an unusual pretty pink cross between an Eriostemon and a Philotheca, in the background.

I also managed to get a nice shot of one of my favourite birds, a cute little Eastern Yellow Robin. I like them as they have a similar character to the Robin 'red-breast' we have in the UK: quite inquisitive and friendly, they like to sit and look at you for a while on a branch - also great for taking a photo too! However, the Eastern Yellow Robin is of the genus Eopsaltria, meaning 'dawn singer', unrelated to the European red robin, related instead to many tropical and Australian passerines including pardalotes, Fairy-wrens and honeyeaters.

What a load of Wattle!

2010-09-29T21:50:00.000+10:00

I have been away on various trips lately and so it has taken a while since my last blog for me to get around to photographing the glorious yellow blooms of the Wattle. They are simply bursting like rays of bright sunshine across the gardens, Spring is here! The Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha is Australia's floral emblem - you can read about its significance on the ANBG website here. I really don't remember the Wattle looking so amazing last year, as a pom I see it as Australia's answer to the Daffodil.

So beautiful. As I was wandering around taking Wattle pictures I heard a strange rasping noise I'd never heard before coming from a Banksia bush. I looked hard and worked out where the noise was coming from - a Red Wattlebird's nest! One of the parents was nearby (not sure if it was Mum or Dad - both parents feed the young). I didn't want to disturb the nest or frighten the chicks so I couldn't get my camera very close and used the zoom, but the nest was quite well concealed in the Banksia, despite being at eye-level! Here are a couple of shots of the chicks (you will have to look hard amongst the leaves in the first photo) and parent on the lookout up in a tree.

Nearby a kangaroo was grazing, he has a very friendly sort of face (not sure if it is a he but it seemed like a 'he' - no joey in sight anyhow!).

As I was leaving the gardens I came across a new bird I hadn't seen before, always very exciting particularly in these gardens that I visit so often. It was a Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, and a fully mature male at that - young males may begin to acquire their adult plumage in their fifth year and are not fully 'attired' until they are seven. His colour was gorgeous, the most beautiful deep shiny dark blue all over. He was a bit elusive however, I spent a while chasing him round some bushes trying to get a clear shot but he wasn't co-operating and I had to get back to the office... so this is the best I managed! Hopefully I will see him again and be able to get a better picture next time.

A twilight adventure

2010-08-16T22:55:00.000+10:00

I have been waiting a year for this evening. Once a year the botanic garden opens the gates at night to a handful of lucky visitors as part of National Science Week. Last year I was unlucky and didn't sign up in time, so this year I put my name down and my partner Edd's good and early! Although today was a bit wet and windy, by this evening the sky had cleared and the stars were out. It was cold, probably close to zero, but we had wrapped up warm and were armed with torches. We split into groups of 8, we were with a guide called Will. As we set off along the rainforest walk it really felt like an adventure.

The plants made fantastic shapes in the spotlight. Here an ancient species, Bunya Pine Araucaria bidwillii is lit dramatically from below. Will, our guide, pointed this out as a special tree, of the genus Araucaria. The 'nuts' are edible and valued by aboriginal people. Another ancient species, the famous Wollemi pine Wollemia nobilis, is glowing in the spotlight below.

Next came the highlight of the evening. we were wandering past the Acacias towards the Eucalypt lawn when one of the group were startled by a large bird sitting right by the path. The bird flew up into a tree and there he sat for us to watch him for a while. It was a nocturnal bird I hadn't seen in the wild before and I was very excited to see one as it is such a very unique being - the Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides. Will switched to a red spotlight so as not to bother the bird too much and I was able to get some lovely shots.

The Tawny Frogmouth is a nocturnal bird, but it is not an owl. You can see why it is called a frogmouth, it has a strange frog-like beak you can make out quite well in the first picture.

After that we came across a little mob of Kangaroos on the Eucalypt Lawn. A couple of them were mothers with little joeys in their pouches. I had no idea there were so many Kangaroos in the gardens, Ive only ever seen one or two at a time so I thought that was all of them!

We carried on through the gardens, looking at plenty of acacia which are coming into flower - it won't be long before the gardens are ablaze with their yellow blooms. The moon looked down on us as we passed under Eucaplytus trees, we learnt how to tell where South is from the Southern Cross, tasted some native plums, smelt some Lemon Myrtle leaves and all the while we were trying to spot the elusive little Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps which are extremely cute little things we were really hoping to see.

By this time it was getting late and so we headed towards our hot chocolate and biscuits. Just before we arrived we spied a Brush-tailed Possum Trichosurus vulpecula up above! With the red spotlight it was possible to get a nice picture without the red eyes I usually get with my flash.

So, did we see an elusive Sugar Glider? Yes, we did!! We heard a noise just before we went for our hot chocolates and a sharp-eyed member of our group spotted him. We couldn't get close enough for a picture as he was high in a tree, he looked like a tiny possum from a distance. Here is a link to an image someone else has taken of one of these cute little things, though maybe it is an image from the USA, as I believe you can keep them as pets over there (certainly not in Australia). I was so happy to see all the creatures I had hoped to see tonight, it was really worth a year to wait, I just wish they ran these events more often. There are two more tours on this week, so if you are free on Thursday or Friday evening sign up!

Baby Kookaburra!

2010-08-04T22:10:00.000+10:00

Before I even made to the gardens today I took a look out of my office window and saw this lovely little Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae sitting in the trees close by. I think he might be a baby, he is so fluffy! Although not technically in the gardens I couldn't resist posting a few of the nice shots I took, it was great having him at eye-level (my office is on the 1st floor)!

There have been 3 Kookaburras flying about lately, they seemed to be getting quite territorial as they have been 'laughing' a lot! In the last picture you can see some of the yellow of the Acacia that is starting to bloom in the background. A quick trip to the gardens after that, I spied a little female Superb fairy-wren so tried (and failed) to get a good picture - the best effort is below as she was stretching up and looking towards me!

A really stunning flower I hadn't seen before was in bloom and was attracting lots of New Holland Honeyeaters to feed on the nectar. It is Calothamnus rupestris in the family Myrtaceae, or 'Mouse Ears' as it is commonly known! According to the link above, it is endemic to Western Australia in a relatively small region around Perth.

Winter blooms and a Yellow Robin

2010-07-01T21:17:00.000+10:00

Winter has definitely arrived in Canberra now, each morning is crisp and frosty. However, there are still some flowers hanging on in the gardens, in fact, some are just coming into bloom! In particular, some of the Acacias or Wattles are starting to bud, and some even to flower.

Unfortunately there was no label on this Acacia, it looked magical bursting into bloom whilst much of the garden appears to be sleeping. This Snowy River Wattle Acacia boormanii was at an earlier stage, with buds appearing.

The acacia foliage can differ quite strikingly, looking like very different plants to the non-expert like me. A number of Acacia develop modified flat leaf-like structures called phyllodes (which are simply flattened stems). A few species lack true leaves or phyllodes altogether and in these plants cladodes (which are simply modified stems) function as the leaves. Here is an example of one such Acacia with phyllodes, the creeping shrub-like Acacia pravissima or Kuranga cascade as it is called in the gardens, though may also be called Oven(s) Wattle, Wedge-leaf Wattle or Tumut Wattle.

This is an example of one with cladodes (though I don't know the name of it I'm afraid)

There are some other bursts of colour around the garden too, including these beautiful bell-like red flowers I found in the Sydney region flora section, as well as these gorgeous tiny little purple flowers that I think might possibly be a kind of Shaggy Pea Fabaceae Podolobium?! It resembles the Hovea linearis but was growing very close to the ground with highly clustered flowers.

As I was photographing the suspected Shaggy Peas I heard a noise and looked up to see an extremely cute and fluffy Eastern Yellow Robin watching me. I hoped he would stay long enough for a photo and he did - in fact I got a couple of great photos of him I'm really proud of, what a cutie!

Trees and a dinosaur

2010-06-20T23:40:00.003+10:00

Its been a little while since my last post so I'm playing a bit of catch-up. I had a friend visit from the UK so was occupied showing him the mighty sights of Canberra! Of course, the Botanic Gardens were first on the list and I took plenty of pictures, only I've not had time to write a blog until now (as then we went off for a few days to Byron Bay - great place!)

So, with a visitor to impress I decided to head for probably the most exciting tree in the garden - the Wollemi Pine Wollemia nobilis, the 'dinosaur' tree. I've just finished reading the book about "the incredible discovery of a living fossil from the age of the dinosaurs" - the Wollemi Pine by James Woodford, which is a great read (I also loved his book 'The Secret Life of Wombats'), so now I know a bit about how amazing this tree is. Not only is it incredible that the Wollemi pine has survived in such improbable isolation across millennia, only to be discovered in the mid-90s (and only recently available commercially), but its identical genes have baffled scientists, it has unique bark and leaves, even a fungus found on the leaves of some of the wild trees has been found to produce an anti-cancer agent - amazing. To this day, the location of the hidden valley in the Wollemi wilderness near Sydney where the relic trees were found is a secret.

As I proudly showed the tree to my buddy from the UK he smiled and said he had seen one before - in Kew gardens in London! However, there it is kept in a cage for protection but here in Canberra this amazing tree is just standing quietly beside a side path through the connifer section.

There are a lot of other fascinating trees in the gardens too, of course. There is even an aboriginal trail that tells you the aboriginal uses for plants and trees, from which I learnt about the how the aborigines used the hard wood of the Cassaurina or she-oak to make boomerangs, one she-oak boomerang has been found that is 10,000 years old in Wyrie Swamp, South Australia! Young shoots can be chewed to quench thirst.

The Bottle tree Brachychiton rupestris is a fascinating tree which hails from Queensland, not only for its very funky shape but also because the wood contains a nutritious jelly which can be obtained to drink by making a hole in the trunk (which can be up to 2m in diameter!).

There are also hundreds of Eucalyptus trees in the garden, in particular the Brittle gum Eucalyptus mannifera which appears all around the gardens.

The one above is interesting as a large branch has been chopped off so the inside of the tree can be seen. Brittle gums are so-called as they may drop branches without warning (so perhaps this one was removed before it dropped), makes me a little more nervous wandering round the gardens now I know that! This particular tree is also interesting as it is known as the 'Pryor tree', in tribute to Lindsay Pryor who was instrumental in getting funding for the establishment of the gardens. Below is a photo of the sign that tells more about this tree, including a photo which was taken when the tree had all its branches!

An iconic insect of the Australian bush

2010-06-02T14:05:00.002+10:00

From my first day in Australia I have become familiar with certain sounds that you'd hear no-where else. From the distinctive cry of the Pied Currawong Strepera graculina and the Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen to the grating noise of the red wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata and of course the laugh of the Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae. I have found some links to mp3s of these:

The ANBG has a few more calls of birds found in the gardens on its website here.

It is not just birds that make a distinctive noise in Australia, particularly in summer the bush is alive with the sound of insects - its that which really tells me (an Englishwoman) I'm somewhere 'foreign'! King of these is the Cicada, which although not unique to Australia there are over 200 species of Cicada within Australia found in every corner of the country. Over the summer we heard these very loudly, particularly when visiting Kangaroo Valley over Christmas where the noise they made was incredibly loud.

This is a sound file recorded in New Zealand of a Cicada - just imagine it multiplied by 1,000 and 10 x louder and you have the Australian bush in summer!

However, until now, I've not managed to see one of these large insects despite feeling surrounded by thousands at times. At lunchtime I was walking down a less well-trod path in the gardens and at eye level I spotted a very strange looking insect, over 1 inch long.

I quickly realised it was just a dry shell, the insect having undergone molt from the final nymphal instar to become an adult. The nymph would have been living underground then constructed an exit tunnel to the surface and emerged. Having climbed onto the tree where I found the shell (a wattle-leaved peppermint tree Eucalyptus acaciiformis) the nymph would have split open the shell and flown away, leaving the skin behind clinging to the tree bark like a ghost. You can clearly see where the shell has been split in my photo. Here is a film of this event that I have taken from Wikipedia, it looks like an alien!

We three kings

2010-05-18T19:47:00.002+10:00

Three Kings were sitting high up in trees as I walked towards the gardens today - King Parrots Alisterus scapularis to be exact...

A closer look showed that they were three females - so more like Queens than Kings!

I went to eat lunch in my old favourite spot, but before I even got to the bench I was really excited to see that there was a male Galah Eolophus roseicapillus poking his little head out of the nest hole that has been vacant for a while!

He seemed to be on his own, unless his mate is inside there. I will be keeping an eye out each lunchtime to see! After sitting down on the bench I only managed a couple of bites of my sandwich before noticing some great photo opportunities for two birds that I'm always having trouble getting nice pictures of: an Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, doing a great pose in a Grevillea bush, and a wonderful male Superb Fairy Wren Malurus cyaneus in full breeding colours!

Definitely some photos I'm really pleased with. The little Fairy Wren kept hopping closer and closer, I wondered if he could smell my cheese sandwich. The weather is getting quite nippy now, so I'm not seeing so many other people around in the gardens, certainly not eating lunch like me! I've knitted myself some fingerless mittens that really help with eating lunch and taking photos in the cold weather.

I did bump into someone out and about which was a surprise - Robyn who follows this blog! We hadn't met before but she guessed who I was by my pink bag. Such a small world... I gave her sneak preview of some of my blog photos for today, I think she was a bit surprised by the next photo - some poo! I had wondered if it was wombat poo, as Id heard a Facebook rumour about wombats in the gardens, however turns out it is just Kangaroo poo - though I didn't see any nearby. Anyhow, it was interesting to know, so thanks Robyn!

I'm still wondering what this is on this Eucalyptus tree - Ive seen a lot of trees with this sort of growth on, anyone out there know?

Merry Merry King of the Bush

2010-05-11T00:13:00.000+10:00

Today I thought I'd blog about some of the magnificent trees in the gardens, as they haven't really featured in my blog as yet and there are so many great trees! So, I started out in the obvious place to me, the Eucalypt Lawn. There are about 800 species of the genus Eucalyptus and this almost endemic flowering tree dominates the Australian flora in the non-desert regions. The Eucalypt Lawn has many different examples of the species laid out beautifully, creating a feeling of grandeur.

As I wandered across the lawn I noticed some interesting species common names - such as the large-fruited blackbutt Eucalyptus pyrocarpa and the Nunniong Gum Eucalyptus elaeophloia, 'discovered' in 1990, according to this CSIRO publication!

However, as I walked through the trees I heard the unmistakable laugh of the Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae. I was very excited, as I knew there are Kookaburras about as they often come to the trees outside my office, but I figured to take a picture of them there is 'cheating' as its not in the gardens, so I've been waiting to find them here. He was quiet for a bit, but then I spotted him sitting on a small tree, so I got a good shot as he surveyed the ground below:

Then he swooped down for his lunch! He was so quick and gobbled it up all at once that I only managed to get a picture when it was all gone:

So, I was somewhat distracted from my plan to blog about trees! I did notice one of the Eucalyptus trees had what looked like little branches growing out of it's trunk, I wonder if it was some Mistletoe recently attaching itself?

Unfortunately, it was already time to head back to the office, so the tree blog will have to wait for another day. However, on my way back I noticed a number of interesting flowers beginning to bloom and discovered they were of the Hakea genus. According to ANPSA these are often thought of as a poor relation to Grevillea, but I thought they deserve better than that, particularly the Hakea kincora which is an unusual and very pretty globular Hakea.

Another couple of Hakeas are pictured below, the delicate Hakea cycloptera according to Wikipedia commonly called the 'Elm-seed Hakea' and Hakea nodosa which apparently has a pungent smell, though I can't say I noticed!

Admittedly, the Grevilleas are stunning and two more species I noticed were in flower today, so I will finish with some pictures of two beauties from Western Australia. The first is Diels Grevillea Grevillea dielsiana - though according to that website it should flower in August-September, I suppose it behaves differently here in the East?! The other is the rare Collie Grevillea Grevillea ripicola, which is said to flower at this time of year or in late spring.

Bath time

2010-05-04T00:12:00.002+10:00

There is a bench in the garden dedicated to a certain Tom Green, who (according to the bench) was a keen birdwatcher. So, as you might guess, this bench is situated in one of the best spots to sit and watch birds! Opposite the bench is a shady glade with a little pool of water, where I have seen many birds flitting around and even taking a bath. Today as I was passing I could hear that there were a lot of Crimson Rosellas Platycercus elegans chattering away to each other behind the screen of the bushes. They sounded like they were having a jolly old time in there, so I took a peek - sure enough, one little fellow was happily splashing about in the pool...

Then his friend decided to join him - this bathtub is big enough for two!

I got some nice pictures of some other Crimson Rosellas nearby. They are very beautiful birds, such a cheerful colour with cheeky little faces, they always brighten up my day.

I do have a bone to pick with a pair of them though. Remember the nesting Galahs? Well, after I noticed they were in and out of the nest hole I went back a week later and found they were no longer there - the hole was being investigated by a pair of Crimson Rosellas! So it appeared they had been turfed out of their love nest, I was most indignant. However, since then I haven't seen any birds near the hole in the Eucalyptus tree, so it seems I won't get to watch any birds nesting there after all, at least, not for now...

Finally, as this is a blog about my lunchtime after all, I thought Id just share a shot of my lunch! I went to Hudson's cafe which is situated in the gardens, in fact for the first time. I had the most enormous bagel, which a cheeky Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen had his little beady eye on!

Birds and Fairies

2010-05-02T19:37:00.001+10:00

At long last, I've now got an Eastern Spinebill and New Holland Honeyeater picture I'm proud of! In the last week I've had briefer lunches at work so not taken my camera to the gardens, however last Monday was a public holiday in Australia (Anzac day) and I took the opportunity to spend a little longer in the the gardens than usual and went there in the afternoon. The result was better quality pictures of the more elusive birds in the gardens. The advice of my fellow blogger Mosura definitely helped: waiting patiently and taking lots of shots paid off.

So, first the Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris - not absolutely perfect as he is looking away from the camera, but the colours and focus are nice:

I then went to the rock garden where I sat for a while watching a New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae flit around a small Banksia bush. After a while he rested on top of a flower, so I got a few lovely pictures - he was quite fluffy, so may a young one, or just a bit chilly?!

I saw a Red Wattle Bird Anthochaera carunculata sitting on top of a bench. These birds are very common in the gardens with a distinctive raucous call, however I got a couple of good shots Id like to include here.

I also got a picture of an Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis, the first I'd seen in the gardens. They have a very pretty bell-like call, which gave away his hiding place in a bush.

Finally, I also got some pictures of fairies! Well, the Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus to be exact. These are probably the hardest ones to get a shot of that I've seen - they are very small, fast movers and pretty shy! The first is a female, the second and third pictures are a non-breeding male, these only have a blue tail whereas breeding males have a spectacular blue plumage. Unlike the Galahs, fairy wrens are very promiscuous, apparently females may be courted by up to 13 males in half an hour! They have a complex social structure, described here on this blog, where territories over-lap and a number of birds help bring up the young.

I went to the gardens today, with the intention of doing the same and getting some better bird pictures to add to this collection. I took a fantastic picture of a non-breeding male Fairy Wren with a lovely blue tail, however the memory card in my camera went loopy and wouldn't let me take any more pictures and appears to have wiped my Fairy Wren masterpiece, gutted! So, that may be 'the one that got away'...

Butterfly flutter by

2010-04-24T11:52:00.002+10:00

I explored the rock garden on Friday, once again glorious Autumn weather. Having experienced all four seasons in Canberra now (I arrived here from the UK at the end of winter last August) I can say that this is definitely my favourite time of year. Beautifully cloudless sunny days, warm but not hot, gentle breezes, flowers blooming, plenty of birds and butterflies, glorious. My least favourite season had to be spring, in the UK I would love spring, but here there is so much pollen in the air at that time of year I got chronic hayfever and nosebleeds!! In any season though, getting out into the gardens is likely to be the highlight of my day, whatever the weather.

Walking up the path to the upper level of the rock garden I came across a stunning Grevillea at the side of the path, absolutely teeming with bees. I couldn't find a label, so unfortunately can't say which variety it is, but if you are in the rock garden you will easily find it as it is a very large bush.

At the top there was a fairly bare sunny area, with lots of strawflowers or everlasting daisies, Bracteantha bracteata where dozens of Australian painted ladies Vanessa kershawi were fluttering from plant to plant. My camera seems to do quite well taking pictures of butterflies and I love butterflies, so here are some of the many photos I took:

Another interesting thing I saw today was this seedpod on the Braidwood Waratah Telopea mongaensis. The waratah is another iconic Australian flower, blooming spectacularly in spring.

A good day for birds and Banksia

2010-04-22T20:14:00.005+10:00

Banksia is a fascinating plant. Almost endemic to Australia, there are 76 species found all around the perimeter of this vast country. However, species you find in the East you don't find in the West, and vice versus. You can find banksia bushes everywhere in the gardens and many of them are flowering at the moment. The most incredible thing about them though is that they actually propagate by fire. Most species of these plants need the heat of fire to open their seed follicles!

Recently I've noticed a lot of New Holland Honeyeaters Phylidonyris novaehollandiae in the garden, which seem to have quite newly arrived (I haven't seen them before). According to wikipedia, it was the first bird to be scientifically described in Australia. They love to feed on the Banksia nectar. I tried to get a photo of one as they were feeding on a Silver Banksia Banksia marginata, incidentally the only species of Banksia that occurs naturally in the Canberra region. However, like the Eastern Spinebill, they are quick movers so a bit elusive, although they are not shy at all and don't seem to worry about me trying to take their picture. A couple of 'headless' pictures below!

Finally he moved to a tree branch where I had a clear shot, it was against the light but at least he has a head!

Other species of Banksia were equally favoured by the honeyeaters, I got some nice shots of Hairpin Banksia Banksia spinulosa and another one I forgot to look at the label on... will update with a name the next time I visit!

Lambertia and the elusive Eastern Spinebill

2010-04-16T14:54:00.000+10:00

The gardens really are alive with so many beautiful flowers at the moment, particularly ones that produce nectar, like this lovely Lambertia inermis

The first picture shows the flower in bloom, the second is yet to open, caught in a ray of sunlight. I sat on a bench nearby for quite a while, as a little Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris was flitting from flower to flower, feasting on the nectar. Could I get a good shot of him? No!! Im determined to get a good picture of one of these one day, but sadly, my attempts this time were no better than my last attempt. A very kind person might call the first picture an 'action shot'?!

I took a look again at the hole in the Eucalyptus tree that the romantic Galah's were investigating the other day and I can confirm, they are nesting! One of them was busy moving in and out of the hole, disappearing for some time completely within the tree, while the other was having a snooze. Wonder which was male and which was female?!

Galahs, a love story

2010-04-14T21:14:00.003+10:00

Tap tap, tap tap... I looked up from my old favourite lunchspot today to see a Galah Eolophus roseicapillus enthusiastically pecking away at a Eucalyptus tree nearby.

After a few minutes he flew up into the tree, so I investigated a bit closer and saw he was pecking at a hole - perhaps a potential nest hole - Galahs (and many other cockatoos) like to nest in holes in trees.

Looking up to where the Galah had flown I saw he had a mate!

Little by little they edged closer to each other...

until they had a little kiss!

and another...

and another!

I believe the male is on the right of the picture and the female the left, as in this last shot you can make out the colour of their irises - males have brown and females have red! It was amazing to see these two lovebirds together. In fact, Galahs will usually mate for life (and they live for a long time, up to 80 years as pets, though nearer 30 in the wild, according to galah.galah.com.au ). If their mate dies, they have been known to get depression! When I was first told what these cute little birds are called I was told that Aussie slang calls someone a 'silly Galah' if they are being a bit daft, but I think these birds are anything but silly, they are true romantics! I will be sure to keep an eye on that hole in the tree to see if there will be the pitter-patter of little Galah feet in a few weeks time!

Summer into autumn

2010-04-08T20:18:00.004+10:00

I was amazed to read the other day that the Botanic Gardens contain 1/3 of all native Australian plants! With that being something like 78,000 plants I think it may be a while before this blog runs out of material...
Summer is still hanging on in the garden, another warm day brought out plenty of bees and butterflies. I got a couple of nice shots of a bee on Leptospermum squarrosum and a beautiful Yellow Admiral butterfly Vanessa itea on a lovely white flower that I haven't been able to identify.

A few signs of Autumn are around, although not as obvious as they would be back home in the UK (the majority of trees being Eucalyptus, and Eucalyptus being evergreen!). I came across some glorious orange berries on this native White Holly bush Auranticarpa rhombifolia and the autumnal Banksia 'Giant Candles' that made it clear winter is on its way.

A BBQ, Grevillea and a demonic looking bird

2010-04-01T18:34:00.006+11:00

Today it was Thursday BBQ at CSIRO Entomology, but it was also the first chance Id had this week to take my camera along to the gardens - having had a couple of wet days at the start of the week I hadn't brought it along. The weather was glorious, so I was torn between being a social entomologist (a rare thing!) and going on my usual wanders. So, I decided to do both! First, beer and BBQ...

...second, a quick sprint around with my camera to see what I could see! There were plenty of Crimson Rosellas Platycercus elegans about, quite a bit of argy bargy seemed to be going on, though it isn't breeding season so I'm not sure why!

I stayed quite close to the CSIRO gate as I was short on time, but good fortune led me to wander amongst the Grevilleas, many of which are beginning to flower beautifully (apparently winter to early spring would be the peak flowering period). The Grevilleas are intricate formations of delicate clustered flowers growing on shrubs, very popular in Australian gardens. According to the excellent Botanical garden facts on the genus, "Grevillea is named after Charles Francis Greville who was one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1804. There are over 300 species in the genus, most of which are endemic to Australia but a few species occur in Papua New Guinea and islands to Australia's north".

Here is Grevillea vestita a very delicate white variety and an interesting hybrid Grevillea called Sid Reynolds:

I also spotted a couple of lovely flowers without labels, the yellow ones in the Grevillea section and the other in the Teleopea section - neither of which belong there I don't think?!

Having now read the ANBG weekly update on what is in flower, I've deduced that the yellow flower is probably Acacia subulata.

As I was leaving, a little flock of Choughs Corcorax melanorhamphos were hanging around the gate - they are lively little fellows, although boldly coming right up to glare at me with their red demonic eyes it was hard to get a good picture. Although sinister looking they are really quite inquisitive friendly chaps:

but they do look demonic!

A Mighty Dragon

2010-03-23T15:08:00.001+11:00

At the weekend I spent a very peaceful Sunday afternoon in a quiet corner of the garden with my knitting, while Edd (my partner) was at work at Tidbinbilla. I found a lovely bench surrounded by wattle bushes and saw plenty of birds, including a Gang-gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum. A family of cheeky Kangaroos were nearby, nibbling on the flora - lucky for them no gardeners were near! But, unfortunately I ignored the golden rule on Sunday - no camera! So, I returned to this great spot in the garden today (high up above the rock garden, looking across the city to mount Ainslie) to see what would visit...

It wasn't long before a small gang of Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris appeared. As they were flitting from branch to branch it was tricky to get a picture, but this one came out ok:

These birds feed on nectar, of which there seems to be an abundant supply in the gardens at the moment. A constant buzzing can be heard as bees gorge themselves on Bottlebrush Callistemon and Grevillea beadleana, both pictured below (with bees!). The Grevillea beadleana is a rare and endangered plant from Northern NSW, thought to be extinct until rediscovered in the 1970s!

My favourite encounter this lunchtime had to be this large Water Dragon. I love taking pictures of reptiles, they are so beautiful with their amazing patterned skin that nearly always takes a great photo, and best of all, they usually like to stay still and pose for me!

First adventure

2010-03-18T15:21:00.000+11:00

So, Ive managed to remember the golden rule of photography - bring a camera. Fortunately, I also remembered rule number 2 - bring spare batteries - as my batteries died after I took my first photo of the garden sign!

I headed to my favourite bench for lunch - its the furthest one Ive found from a main path, in a sunny Eucalyptus glade...

The garden is full of birds and butterflies today as it is beautifully warm and sunny. I could hear buzzing and bird calls all around me as I ate my sandwiches. A Red Wattlebird - Anthochaera carunculata sat in a Eucalyptus nearby. According to the botanical garden bird guide, The red wattlebird is "one of the most common (and raucous) birds in the Gardens. They are generally seen feeding on the nectar of the many banksias, waratahs and grevilleas. Red Wattlebirds (named because of the red lobes of skin, called 'wattles', at the side of the neck) also feed on insects and fruit. They occur naturally in native forests and woodlands of southern Australia and are common in parks and gardens".

After lunch I just did a little circuit of the glade. I took a picture of the very attractive local native plant Lambertia Formosa or the wonderfully named 'Mountain devil', only found on the coast and adjacent mountains of New South Wales. It usually flowers in winter or spring, but evidently some flowers can be present all year. The black dots are ants crawling over the lovely flower...

I also spied some nest boxes, or perhaps bat boxes, I'm not sure who they are for, I will try to find out...

On my way back to my office I spied this tiny little fellow, I couldn't get a good picture of him (I should learn how to manual focus...):

I've not seen a little bird like this before so I looked him up, he appears to be a Red Browed Finch Neochmia temporalis.

So, that was my first adventure for my blog, hope you liked it!