On the right side of winter

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).

What a load of Wattle!

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

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!

Winter blooms and a Yellow Robin

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!