"A place called Robertson" film has been released on Video

The video of Tony and Anna Williams movie "A place called Robertson" has been released.
You can watch the trailer on the following link.
http://vimeo.com/52603151

Tony and Anna Williams filming
at the Robbo Show

This is a Blog post I made about the Movie being made.
And here is a brief post about the launch of the Movie, on 25 March 2013.

And now you can purchase the Video on line.

Knight's Hill morning cloud formation
a shot taken from Steve and Celeste's place
"Cloud Farm"
This image was incorporated in Tony and Anna's film.
My full set of these images are on my Blog.

I thoroughly recommend it (even though I do feature in the movie, a bit).

New-comers to Robertson, and anyone who has family here will enjoy the movie, and remember, folks, Christmas is coming.
(End of my blatant plug for Tony and Anna's excellent film).

More photos from Cloud Farm

While still recovering, at Cloud Farm I witnessed yet another stunning sunrise effect

of early morning light on the flanks of Knights Hill.

Taken at 5:51 AM on Saturday morning.

Sunrise lighting the Illawarra Escarpment below Knights Hill

I went and checked the progress of the nestlings

of the Superb Fairy Wrens.

At least 3 nestlings all bunched up

with wing feathers developing. 

Superb Fairy Wren nestlings - in nest.

While I was out and about, taking photographs, an Australian Land Leech 

presumably Gnatbobdellida libbata))

managed to attach itself to me.

As usual, I was not aware it was attached until it dropped off.

I heard it hit the floor - with a thump.

I was sufficiently impressed with its size that I took several images, before I released it.

Leech - bloated after feeding on my wrist. Felt-tip pen cap for scale

Presumably it felt that I had needed some "medicinal bleeding" to aid in my recovery.

I actually don't agree, but it was only "doing what comes naturally", 

so I could hardly hold a grudge against it, could I?

Leech making its escape, over bricks

RECOVERY AT CLOUD FARM

My friends Steve and Celeste are caring, healing people.
Prior to my recent Hip Replacement operation, they invited me to come to stay with them at Cloud Farm, on the edge of the escarpment, east of Robertson, to help me in my recovery. I accepted their gracious offer with alacrity. Today you will see why.

Cloud Farm - the residence

Knights Hill seen from Cloud Farm

Zoomed view of Knights Hill - from Cloud Farm

My favourite aspect of the view - the "brows" of the escarpment.

Detailed view of the cliffs on the escarpment

Hydrangeas and my favourite statue, of Aegeus looking out to sea, awaiting his son's return.

Aegeus

Female Superb Fairy Wren leaving nest bush

Male Superb Fairy Wren, looking gorgeous!

Male SFW approaching nest

A brilliant tall blue Salvia

Solanum tuberosum flowers (Potato)

morning light over Knights Hill

Echoes of William Blake's "Ancient of Days"

Hibbertia scandens

Hibbertia scandens

Christmas Bells on the Knight's Hill corner

Some time ago I saw a few Christmas Bells (Blandfordia nobilis) in flower, in a wet patch of heathland, out on the Barren Grounds. I didn't get any photos of them, unfortunately. (It was a late afternoon, impromptu walk.)


Several days ago I was heading out to the Budderoo Plateau, and I stopped briefly at the Knight's Hill turn-off (from the Jamberoo Mountain Road). This little clearing has been unmercifully shaved by the road-workers when clearing the intersection to make it more suitable for bus transport going to the Illawarra Fly (up on top of Knight's Hill). However, this small patch of fully exposed (no shade), cleared sandstone soil still manages to support a few interesting plants and insects. These classic native plant flowers are growing right beside the road, on a high-traffic corner, but I wonder how many (how few) people ever look?


The stand-out plants are these Christmas Bells.

Christmas Bells

Note the poor sandstone soil here.

 

Another Christmas Bells plant, with some heath plants

Obviously, this next plant flowered some time ago, for its seed capsules are starting to mature. I find it interesting that the flowers are pendant, but after pollination, the ovary starts to develop, and straightens up, and eventually rises to a fully vertical position. Also, the entire flower stem seems to grow after the flowers are pollinated.

Seed capsules developing on Christmas Bells

There is an obvious seed dispersal advantage in this dual strategy of the stem growing taller, and the seed capsule standing upright. 

Bird Orchids are back!

I have posted about these little charmers previously, but I am going to write them up again, because they are special.

They are highly localised plants, occurring in an area just near Robertson, on the Budderoo Plateau.These Bird Orchids get their name from the manner
in which the flower is held high,
resembling the open beak of a small bird, begging for food.
There are a number of closely related species, in other areas.
This is the only one I have seen.

This Bird Orchid is known as the "Wollongong Bird Orchid", the Green Bird Orchid, or Simpliglottis chlorantha (or Chiloglottis chlorantha).

It is found here on the Budderoo Plateau, and further south to the Budawangs. There may be some records from the Blue Mountains.

Botanical Illustration courtesy of PlantNET

Although David Jones mentions this locality in his book as Knights Hill (approx 6 Kms away), that reference is quite misleading. Knights Hill is a basalt capped mountain, with tall, wet Eucalypt forest, whereas these plants grow on shallow, sandy, peaty soil over a shallow sandstone rock shelf. They grow amongst small "heath" vegetation. In fact, they are quite hard to find, because of their tendency to grow in and amongst these low shrubby plants. One can clearly see Knights Hill from where these plants grow, but that's about all one can say in favour of that "location" note. Budderoo Plateau would have been a much better location descriptor.

You could hardly get more different habitats than Knights Hill (with a 30 metre canopy of Eucalypts and Sassafras), and where these plants are, growing under and amongst heath plants scarcely 30cm high.

Here is a close up of the Labellum.

The botanical description says: "Labellum cordate, 12–13 mm long, 9–12 mm wide, with c. 12 linear to terete, erect or curved calli on the basal two-thirds, the largest c. 3.5 mm long."

I prefer to describe the pale green, almost "luminous" green glands (calli) towards the tip of the labellum as looking like blobs of soft jelly. There are two large ones, and two small upright ones, flanking them. Behind the green glands are a series of upright glands, which look like they are made of red jelly. From the front-on view, these structures vaguely resemble chess pieces in some bizarre Chess Set, perhaps from an Alice in Wonderland story.

In the typical positioning of Chiloglottis Orchids, the column is held high, but directly above the labellum, ready to dob the sticky pollen grains on the back of a wasp which tries to mate with the flower (which smells like the female wasp).

Interestingly, the Labellum although looking quite stiff, is actually very lightly "hinged" and the labellums *** of these flowers were trembling in the warm breeze today.

This specimen has given its pollen away already,
to an unsuspecting wasp. one assumes. The yellow housing for the pollen is now empty,
and the receptive female part of the flower is clearly exposed.

Compare this flower (complete with pollen grains still present)
with the empty one, above.
This flower has an ant crawling across it, (click to enlarge image)
but the ant is not the suitable pollinator for these flowers.

*** Please forgive the use of the word "labellums", but "labella" seemed pretentious, and liable to confuse.

Cloud Farm views (of Knights Hill)

My friends Steve and Celeste live on Mount Murray at a property poetically named "Cloud Farm". From their hilltop one can look south towards Knights Hill, where the telecommunications towers for the Illawarra region are located.

Afternoon light shining on Knights Hill.
This was taken on the Winter Solstice.
The ocean is just visible in the background,
but it blends into the line of clouds out to sea.
The clifflines of the Illawarra Escarpment are highlighted
by the afternoon light.

Several weeks ago I went and had dinner at their house, after a big day out Orchid hunting with ANOS. Anyway, in a state of near-exhaustion I stayed over at their house, after dinner.

Next morning I woke just on sunrise - because they get so much light into their house.

I stumbled out of bed and looked outside and found them out and about already - rejoicing in the wonderful cloud and light effects of fog on the plateau near Carrington Falls and just topping Knights Hill.

This image was taken from the same place as the first image.
Its hard to imagine.
Check the trees on the left and foreground.

The TV towers are clearly visible protruding from the seemingly "flat" cloud of fog. In fact this hill is quite high, over the Illawarra Escarpment to the east (left) and it also drops away quite sharply (but nothing like as as severely) to the west (right) onto a sandstone plateau around Carrington Falls. One cannot see any of these details below the thick fog.

This image appears to me as something from Antarctica.
Two separate TV Towers (not quite in line - from this direction).
They are probably about 1 km apart, on top of Knights Hill.
Taken with the 300mm lens.

More interesting, to me, was the way in which the fog was behaving at the eastern edge of the escarpment.

The cloud was behaving as a glacier does, only with far greater fluidity. You can see the cloud breaking down (disintegrating), after it tumbles down off the cliffline.

Click to enlarge to see the full effect.

At the end of the plateau/cliff line, the cool mountain air was falling down over the edge, as the air on the coastal escarpment started to rise.

The circumstances created an almost circular pattern of air movement (the hot air rising, sucking the cold air (above it) down to fill the pressure imbalance thus created).

As the sun rose higher in the sky, it created this lovely effect of lighty behind the large Brown Barrel Eucalypt.
You will all be pleased to know that I then went back to bed for another hour, to "wake" at a more civilised hour. That comment is just for "Mick's" benefit, as she is always up and about early - looking for waders at "Sandy Straits and beyond". She knows that I am a night person. We often nearly cross over with our comments - me before I go to bed, and she as she starts the day.

EDIT:
Thanks to Mosura of Nature of Tasmania for a comment, in which he provided the technical name of the cloud behavour I was reporting.
Orographic Clouds
I knew there was a specific name for these louds, but could not remember it. The following extract - in red - describes the cloud movement I was able to witness.
.
"Orographic clouds develop in response to the forced lifting of air by the earth's topography (mountains for example).
"Air passing over a mountain oscillates up and down as it moves downstream. If the air lifts upward and cools through expansion as it rises to its saturation temperature during this process, the water vapour within condenses and becomes visible as a cloud.
"Upon reaching the mountain top, the air is heavier than the environment and will sink down the other side, warming as it descends. Once the air returns to its original height, it has the same buoyancy as the surrounding air. However, the air does not stop immediately because it still has momentum carrying it downward. With continued descent, the air becomes warmer than the surroundings and begins to accelerate back upward towards its original height. It is during the upper-most ascent phase of this cycle that clouds develop. In regions where air is descending, skies are clear."
Source: Cloud Structures: "Orographic Clouds"

Lees Road - above and below the escarpment

Lees Road runs along the area of grey soil covering the sandstone plateau (below the Robertson Basalt), and runs out to the edge of the coastal escarpment. It leads out towards Knights Hill, the southern end of the Illawarra Escarpment.

Sandstone escarpment, with Knights Hill rising in the background.
Note the small sandstone gully with a patch of Coachwoods (in flower).

The bright green line of rainforest vegetation is markedly different
from the greyer colour of the Eucalypt forest.
This week, the Coachwoods were in flower
making them far more obvious than normal.

From the Lees Road lookout one sees down over the lower levels of tall wet Eucalypt forest, below the escarpment. There is also a "Warm-temperate Rainforest Gully" there, populated with Sassafras, Blackwood Wattles, Coachwood Trees, and Cabbage Tree Palms. These rainforest trees are largely covered with huge vines, especially Wonga Vines and Anchor Vines, both of which easily grow to the tops of the large rainforest trees - indeed they virtually smother some fo them. That results in what is called a "closed forest".

Click to enlarge this next image.
You can see the tops of Cabbage Tree Palms.
There are also sheets of vines covering some trees.
The Coachwoods flower on fresh growth,
which helps them stand out over other levels of forest growth.

The forest along the top of the escarpment is known as "Gully Gum forest". It grows in a very narrow band along the very edge of the escarpment. Along Lees Road, the original forest which was growing on the next layer of soil - the richer (than sandstone) black soil (Wianamatta Shale soils) has largely been cleared for grazing.

So, you will see in these few photos that there is a great habitat differential between the forest immediately below the cliff line and the open land above the cliffline (but less than 500 metres away from the cliff line).

To demonstrate this, I am showing photos of two "dry country" birds - a Pipit (a Grassland bird) and a Dusky Woodswallow which I normally only ever seen in drier country than Robertson. Neither would be expected to be seen anywhere near warm-temperate Rainforest (dominated by Coachwoods).

A Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus)
sitting in an Acacia binervata

A dull photo, but it shows the diagnostic white bar along the edge of the wing. This bird is common around Canberra, but not Robertson, which is generally to wet for them.And here is an Australasian (Richard's) Pipit - a bird associated with open grasslands and farmland.The Robertson district is a land of contrasts. All this within 500 metres distance.

Crickets and Fungi of the rotten logs of Robertson.

Here is a large Cricket with thick legs. All I can work out is that there is a creature called a "Thick-legged Raspy Cricket", but I can find no images of it, nor any details of where it comes from, what it does, etc. This one was a bit scary, for I know that Crickets like this have huge mandibles (chewing jaws). Its legs were very spiny. In general shape it resembles the Illawarra Raspy Cricket which I have shown before, but this one was bigger and wilder looking, with its powerful orange thighs.

Thanks to Dave Rentz, retired CSIRO entomologist, and Blogger from Kuranda in Queensland, I now know that this wonderful creature is an "Australian King Cricket" Australostoma opacum (Brunner). Dave told me what I had already surmised that these guys can give a nasty bite (remember I had seen their "cousins" up close previously). Also they can exude a nasty cocktail of pungent chemicals from their posterior, as part of a defence mechanism. For me, the entire appearance and build of the creature gave me enough warning signals to know to be wary of it, anyway.

This is a fine example of "Icicle Fungi" hanging on the rotten log.These Olive Cups looked to me like a form of Lichen, at first.
But then I realised that in their smaller stages, they looked like a form of Cup Fungus.
Note the tiny one on the right - that stem looks like a classic Cup FungusThis I have seen before, and it is known as a "Pretzel Fungus".
These tiny stemless fungi were hanging from the underside of a rotting log.
From below you can see that they are a form of Gilled Fungus.
This small, but perfectly formed gilled fungus, showing an "annulus" ring on the stem.
It is possibly a Hygrocybe, but that is a wild guess on my part.
It cap was only about the size of a 10 cent coin.
These near perfect tiny Fungi were growing as a pair on the rotten log.
Note the myriad white fibres growing from the base of the stem.
Here is the inside view of the cap of another one of these fungi
which was accidentally broken.
You can see the long white gills.This was a lovely clump of lilac-mauve small Fungi
growing out of rotted wood fibres at the base of a fallen tree trunk.From the underside, you can see the white gills of these pretty lilac fungi.Here is a single "Puff Ball" which we found while on our Millipede Search.