Next Outing – Saturday 9th November – Rainforest Ramble – on the slopes of Mt. Arthur.

This outing will be a relaxing wander in the rainforest on private property at 693 Doak’s Road, Lilydale. The map might help, but basically turn into Doaks Road and stay on it for 6.93 km; there will be arrows to follow for parking. Note: this is a slow doddle, by no means difficult but it is on unmarked tracks. If you need to refer to our rating system, it’s rated as Medium and short [2 hours] See Membership guidelines here.

Bring moss and fern flips for i.d. Wear suitable protective clothing. Meet at 693 at 10am.

Ansons Bay report.

Here is the report, and photos

Badger Head story –  Len

Len submitted an interesting story after his visit to Badger’s Head recently. Penny has added it to the website with Len’s photos. It can be seen here https://www.netasfieldnats.com.au/fossilised-forest-at-badger-beach/  Thanks Len.

Working Bee Northeast Park – Ross

Our first weeding session at Northeast Park went well. We had four weeders (Chris, Jay, Myles and Ross) and put in a steady effort until lunchtime. We removed mainly thistles, arum lilies and foxgloves, as well as a few others in minor amounts. The weeds were bagged for collection by Dorset Council (see attached image – note one large flax plant as well).

The next session is likely to be in the second half of November, so if anyone would like to add their name to the list of weeders, write to Ross.

At the end of our weeding session we found there was also a lonely weeder at the park doing her own thing, so we’re hoping next time she can join us. We can include weeders beyond our membership, so long as they sign our worker acknowledgement and work with our group (i.e. not doing their own thing).

Survivors at Waterhouse.

Various plants are affected in different ways by bushfires, and the February fire in the Waterhouse Conservation Area was certainly a hot burn and left the area in a bad way. We are expecting to see a good showing of Xanthorrhoea as a result and Anne and Ian discovered another plant that did well after the fire.  This orchid actually NEEDS a hot fire to flower. Unfortunately, most of the time we only see the leaf – a large, single dark green leaf with red markings, oval in shape and lying flat on the ground.

Ian and Anne went bush at Waterhouse recently and spotted and photographed a group of red beaks in flower.  They drew me a mud-map of how to find this patch, but three days later, they were past their best. Like most orchids, the flower only lasts a couple of days; in that sense it’s truly ephemeral.  There can be a single flower or multiple flowers as in my picture from Binalong Bay.

I keep wanting to call this orchid the “fire orchid” because its genus name is Pyrorchis which is a reference to the Greek word ‘pyr’ meaning fire. Its species name is ‘nigricans’, and this refers to the fact that when the orchid is pressed, it turns black.

Thanks for sharing your observations Anne and Ian.

Another accolade for Anne and Ian.

So, this photo came through from Anne W. on my phone soon after the outing at Anson’s. Could I look in the orchid book for a clue as to the i.d. of this orchid? It seemed to be a Caladenia but one like we’d never seen before. Later, I posted the photo on the Orchids of Tasmania Facebook page and got an immediate reply from Hans Wapstra saying it was Caladenia catenata, only ever noted before this from Flinders Island. Well spotted you two.

Jamie Kirkpatrick’s passing

It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick AM, legend of nature conservation and education in Tasmania.  Jamie was a pioneer in ecology, geography, conservation awareness, academia and science communication.  His loss is felt deeply by those who were honoured to know, learn from, and work alongside Jamie. He left a mark on all who met him.

People said of him……

“He wasTasmania’s towering figure of the natural sciences” Bob Brown.

“The geographer and conservation ecologist who has been our anchor in academia and fellow activist on the frontline of nature conservation for the past half century” Christine Milne.

“He never ceased to delight in our island’s beauty and explain in a way we could all understand why it was so remarkable. He never gave up fighting for that beauty” Richard Flanagan.

Lou Brooker