Budderoo visit by Canberra ANPS people

Firstly, I should explain that the Canberra branch of the Australian Native Plants Society organised a visit to the Southern Highlands for this last weekend. They asked to go to the Macquarie Pass rainforests and to Budderoo Plateau.

I would have to say that there was very little in flower. However, we managed to have a pleasant trip on the Saturday (for the rainforest visit). The trick was that after walking along the Clover Hill Track as far as the abandoned farm, we headed back to the cars, and went down to Bass Point, near Shell Cove. There is a patch of Littoral Rainforest there, which at least has the advantage of being more picturesque, and warmer, being beside the coast. Everyone seemed to enjoy this little "surprise" variation to the original Plan.

On the Sunday, we went out along the Budderoo Fire Trail and straight away I was able to show them some nice sandstone heathland and (of course) some very nice Orchids.

The Mecopodum striatum plants were in flower. 

Mecopodum striatum

These cute little creamy flowers are known as Hunchback Orchids. 

They are a variant of Leek Orchids, 

having originally been classified as Prasophyllum striatum.

The next event was quite exciting for me, even though it was only very brief. We stopped along the Budderoo Fire Trail in a patch of tall Eucalypt forest, to admire some very nice examples of a large-leafed form of Polyscias sambucifolia. These plants had similar leaves to that form illustrated from Brisbane Waters (near Gosford), even though the normal Southern Highlands forms do not have such large leaves (that's why I stopped there). So we were able to contrast these plants with the lovely tall specimens of Pencil Cedars (Polyscias murrayi) we had seen on Macquarie Pass the day before.

While we were stopped, I heard and then saw an unusual Parrot fly into the top of a flowering "Eucalypt". The tree was in fact a Red Bloodwood, or Corymbia gummifera, one of many just coming into flower on this Sandstone plateau habitat.

The bird was more interesting,. It was a Swift Parrot. These are an endangered species, which migrates from Tasmania (where it breeds) to the mainland, in autumn and winter, to feed on blossoms of suitable plants (mostly in the Eucalypt tribe). So its appearance in a patch of flowering Gums, in early autumn (more or less) is just a bit early, but is in keeping with their pattern of movement.

I will lodge a formal report of this sighting with Birds Australia which monitors the Swift Parrot Recovery Program.

I recognised this bird by its call, and the fine, pointed wings and the longish pointed tail. I could not make out the diagnostic patches of colour of these birds, As you will see from any illustrations, they have a red throat and red under-tail and red under-wings. But as it was against a grey sky, I could not make out those colours. But the call, habits, flight pattern and the seasonality of the sighting all fit with the Swift Parrot.

• What it was not: We seldom get Lorikeets on the Budderoo Plateau, but I am familiar with them from the Shoalhaven region, where they are common. And I know the calls of the Rainbow, Scaly-breasted and Musk Lorikeets and even the Little Lorikeet, and it was none of those birds.

This report seems "slightly early" in the season, to me, but it does match with the commencement of the Bloodwood flowering season on the Sandstone plateaux of the Shoalhaven and Illawarra Escarpment regions.

The bird only stayed in sight for a few moments, before flying away, calling. I had no opportunity to attempt to photograph it, unfortunately.

So, we pack up again, and moved along the Fire Trail to the track which leads to Gerringong Falls. Despite the name, these Falls (and the eponymously named Creek) flow west into the Upper Kangaroo River, so it has nothing to do with the township of the same name on the coast, south from Nowra.

Along the track there were many fine examples of Banksia ericifolia in flower.

Banksia ericifolia

The track to the Falls peters out in a swampy area, close to the edge of the Valley gorge. But we pressed ahead, through some swampy stuff, to the Creek, and walked along the more-or-less flat rock bottom of the creek, until, above the Falls, there was a deepish pool.

Pool above Gerringong Falls

We took to the shrubbery and followed Wombat trails and some human-made trails, to reach a spectacular viewing rock, opposite the Falls.

Gerringong Falls

I sat on the rock for as long as my companions would allow, for me to recover from my exertions.

Ledge at top of the Gerringong Falls
as seen from the shrubbery
framed by two Old Man Banksia trunks

The shallow rocky creek bed, above Gerringong Falls

Then we retraced our steps back 3 Km up the gently sloping track, back to the main Budderoo Fire Trail. It was a satisfying walk, with the Mecopodum plants in flower, a Swift Parrot and the lovely views of the Gerringong Falls.

Carrington Falls spectacular and spectacular tiny Aphids

You may recall that I mentioned yesterday, the high rainfall figures I had recorded in February. So I figured today would be a good day to check out Carrington Falls - with all that rain now running down the local creeks and rivers.

I know the Upper Kangaroo River can and does get much higher than it was today. But there was still a great flow in the river today. Put another way, there were no rocks visible in the river bed, for Damselflies to perch on, as they are prone to want to do on a normal summer's day.

The Upper Kangaroo River has been known to rise over the Bridge, forcing the road to be closed. Today there was no problem with the Bridge. But the river was certainly "high". When I crossed the Bridge, I knew I was going to see a pretty spectacular flow, at the Falls.

Looking into the Maelstrom at the base of Carrington Falls
1 March 2012

While my use of the term Maelstrom might not be technically correct, (as it is NOT a whirlpool or vortex),

Having grown up reading Edgar Allen Poe, I claim it is a defensible use of the term.

As a result of that reading (albeit a long time ago) the mental image I carry with me is of water disappearing down into a deep pit. That fits here, at Carrington Falls.
 

The impression is accentuated at this particularly steep lookout, as one wants to hang onto the metal barrier, to peer straight down into the Gorge, and then watch in awe, as the water crashes and splashes in all directions, at the foot of the Falls. The roar of the waterfall is also ovewhelming.

As Wikipedia says: "the word "Maelstrom" appears in diverse contexts metaphorically to make reference to different subjects or objects that suggest great chaotic or sinister forces. The word maelstrom is used to denote powerful, inescapable destructive forces." 

No argument there, from me.

Tall Frame view of Carrington Falls

The main part of Carrington Falls
1 March 2012

Zoomed image showing the river 
surging to the top of Carrington Falls.
Note the rich tannin-stained water
which come from the Button Grass swamps upriver.

***************

Having left Carrington Falls lookout, I walked back to the carpark, 

and as I did I noticed 

a cluster of tiny bright yellow Aphids on a stem of a Milk Vine.

Marsdenia rostrata

Apparently they are "Milkweed Aphids" - Aphis nerii

I am always impressed when I find

insects which have sorted out plant relationships

in the same way that the Botanists have.

Aphis nerii - the Oleander Aphid or Milk Weed Aphid
feeding on a related plant - the Milk Vine.
Marsdenia rostrata.

The Nerium, or Oleander, after which this Aphid is named,

is a member of the Apocynaceae family. 

So is this vine - although it looks 

very different from the garden Oleander.

Aphids are tiny members of Order Hemiptera - Bugs

Bugs suck liquid food through tube-like mouthparts. 

Most are plant-feeding, sucking the sap of their host plants.

In this case, the Milk Vine has a milky latex sap.

Many plants in this family do (hence the name).

Many of these Apocynaceae plants 

are used to produce medicinal drugs,

but some of them are toxic to animals 

(including humans) 

if ingested.

Latex sap of the Marsdenia rostrata gives it the name "Milk Vine"

You may recall a similar discussion 

about the caterpillars of the Monarch Butterfly

which I found a few weeks ago. 

They were feeding on a Narrow-leaved Cotton Bush, 

That plant is known as a "Milk Weed" 

(one of many related plants) 

and it is also in the same family Apocynaceae

As I indicated above, it always impresses me 

when our insects are better Botanists than I am.

These tiny Insects instinctively know

which plants they like, 

without looking up plant references on the Computer,

(as I have to do).

And I am especially impressed if the plant of their choice 

happens to be poisonous. 

That indicates to me that they have apparently 

developed an immunity to the plant's toxins.

Is this another case in which the insects possess 

the ability to store the plant's toxins

and maybe use the toxins

to protect themselves from attack by predators?

I strongly suspect that the yellow colour of these Aphids

is a "warning signal" - to just that effect -

to protect the Aphids from other insects and or birds.

Aphis nerii - the Oleander Aphid or Milk Weed Aphid

Remember the Caterpillars of the Monarch Butterfly 

were bright yellow and black.

Can it be a coincidence that these Aphids have similar colours?

The Monarch Butterfly's Caterpillars feed on related plants

which are similarly toxic.

Is that a random chance? I doubt it.

 

These little Aphids were quite active, 

with individuals frequently standing almost upright 

while they seemingly drove their little 

tube-like mouthparts into the soft tissues of this plant.

You may have noticed in the earlier photos that 

they are all gathered on the fresh new growth of the plant

as that is where they can most easily penetrate the plant tissues

and suck the sap.

The things one can find out in the Bush!

Even when originally going out 

simply to catch a "Tourist Postcard" image.

A rainforest rock Orchid on the Plateau

Sarcochilus olivaceus is a plant which I have previously only seen in wet rainforest gullies, deep within the Shoalhaven Valley. And I have only seen the leaves, not the flowers (previously).

So, when exploring a gully just on the edge of the Upper Kangaroo Valley, near Carrington Falls, several months ago, I recognised the leaves of this Orchid. It was growing on moss-covered rocks in a dark gully, close to a small waterfall. It was, in a geographical sense, at the "top" of the Plateau, NOT down in the valley (a more natural habitat for it). Technically, it is just below the sandstone scrub on top of the plateau, but the gully is marked by creek-bank trees, such as Coachwood, Possumwood and some huge specimens of the "Water Gum" (Tristaniopsis laurina).

The flowers of this species of Sarcochilus are held semi-pendantly.
The bright reverse of the flowers are flat,
leaving the flower "face downwards".
The manner of its presentation of flowers is very different
from the relatively common Sarcochilus falcatus which holds its flowers
open and facing outwards.

Inside this gully, below a 15 metre waterfall, there are many rocks thickly covered with soft mosses. On one particular rock there are 3 plants of Sarcochilus olivaceus growing. This plant is called the Green Tree Orchid, but my specimen is growing in moss on rock. In fact, I have only ever seen it on rocks, elsewhere in the Shoalhaven Valley system (which includes the Upper Kangaroo Valley - where this plant is growing).

This flower has been lifted up from its semi-pendant position for viewing.
The "cup-shaped" Labellum is very prominent in this view.

One of the plants had several sprays of flower buds on it, when I first saw it, several months ago. Eventually the buds opened this week. It has taken me three separate trips to this site to find it in flower.

The parts of the flower are labelled here.

From the side, the sharp angle at which the labellum is held is obvious in this photographic angle. You ought remember that in nature, the flower is pendant, with the green back of the flower uppermost. That would mean that the labellum would be at the bottom of the flower, and basically, "upside down".Here is another flower, seen more or less in its natural position

- as a pendant flower.
You can see what I meant about the flower being more-or-less upside down.

,
.

Grass Trees on the cliff tops.

I recently wrote about what I referred to as an uncommon Grass Tree in the Robertson area. Well, a few days ago, I stumbled across a bunch of these plants, living in a highly specific environment, right on tops of the rocky cliff edges of the Upper Kangaroo Valley, near Carrington Falls. This is less than 2 kilometres from Robertson, in a direct line, but some 15 kms away by road, as one has to detour around the edge of the Upper Kangaroo Valley, past Carrington Falls, to get here.

This plant is, I believe, Xanthorrhoea australis

Their habitat of choice is an unbelievably harsh environment, right on the cliff top, exposed to all the extremes of wind which Mother nature can (and did) throw at these plants. You can see the wind whipping the leaves of this plant around, as part of the gale force winds blowing on Sunday, 27 September. Not only was the Grass Tree being whipped around, so were both my friend Jim, and I buffeted around. Fortunately, the wind was coming from up out of the Valley, and so did not threaten to blow us off the cliff - or else there is no way I would have taken this photograph.

The noise of the wind, on the cliff tops was extraordinary - reminiscence of the bad old days of Boeing 707s taking off at old airports, prior to the introduction of noise dampening. It was unbearable being on that cliff top, exposed to that noise of the wind, for more than a few moments.

Here is an amazingly large full Grass Tree plant, with flowering scape (the hard wooden stem of the flowering part) and the flower spike (with a dense mat of fibrous material, and including the flowers). In this case the flowers have finished, but not yet dispersed their seeds.
My friend Jim is posing beside the plant (barely able to reach over the huge tuft of leaves, to grasp the flowering scape, as I had requested him to, for "scale" - in order to show the true dimensions of the entire plant - the leaves, scape and flower spike. The spike curves up into the air, and it is at least four times as high as Jim, at its tip.

This is the tuft of leaves of this plant.
Look above to see, when Jim was standing there, how large this leaf tuft is.
Here is my gloved hand, for scale, shown against the "scape"
That is the hard woody part of the flowering stem.
I shall show another species of Grass Tree in a few days time,
for comparison of the thickness (or narrowness) of its scape.

And here, seen from below, is the entire flowering stem
the "scape" and the "spike".

The previous Grass Tree about which I wrote was the same species, I believe, but a juvenile plant, with no "trunk" - the woody part below the tuft of leaves.

These are very slow growing plants and such a large plant as this one might well be over 100 years of age.

Rainy days in Robbo bring out the Fungi.

It has been a wet week in Robertson. It has been like the"good old days" in Robbo - almost. Lets not forget that we missed out on the really heavy summer rains which we typically receive.

Over the last 5 days we have had 9.0 mm, 15 mm, 18m, and 17mm, and 10 mm.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to show a Canberra birdwatcher, Elisabeth Compston around the area, after a lunchtime downpour, the local Robertson Nature Reserve has never looked finer. Raindrops glistening on the leaves, with sunlight beaming through between the gaps in the canopy.

Today I went with Jim to explore a local creek beyond Carrington Falls, to look for a mini-waterfall which Jim had been told about. In view of the recent rain, the timing was terrific.This creek we were exploring has less than one kilometre of catchment, but the sandstone plateau is so waterlogged there is very heavy run-off.

We started out following an early settlers' track known as the "Butter Track", as it was used by the Kangaroo Valley settlers, in the very earliest days, to transport their produce to the coast, near Wollongong, and thence to Sydney. Anyway, this very old track runs beside Jim's property, and we were following it today. We came to point where a rock shelf traps the creek to form a small pool. After heavy rain, the creek flows down over the rock shelf as a cascade.We turned off the Butter Track and followed the creek towards the escarpment which borders the Upper Kangaroo Valley. It as only about 300 metres through the dense bush, to the edge. It was hard going, through dense scrub, sword grass, and over numerous fallen logs, but at least we did not have far to go. When we reached the cliff line, we could see straight across the Upper Kangaroo Valley to the houses of Robertson along Fountaindale Road. Carrington Falls is about one kilometre away, out of sight past the cliffs to the right.
Jim took the opportunity to sit at one of these wonderful rock formations which look like table-tops. The green grassed areas in the background are on Wallaby Hill (left) and Bells Hill (right). According to the contour map, the cliff line has an immediate 50 metre drop, just behind where Jim is sitting, and a further drop of about 100 metres down the slope to the very bottom of the valley where the (Upper) Kangaroo River flows away from bottom of Carrington Falls.
Because of the rain the fungi were growing very rapidly. Here is a young Boletus fungus. I do not know the species, unfortunately. From the thickness of the stem you can see that this Bolete would have become a very larg fungus indeed.
You can see the underside of the Fungus, showing the pored structure, instead of gills. Click to enlarge the image.
Jim and I then scrambled down a steep slope leading to the base of the small waterfall. We were still within the creek ravine, not out in the main Valley. Because of the narrowness of the ravine and the amount of water flowing down the creek, the whole area was dripping wet - with moss everywhere. Jim commented that it remined him of a scene in Lorna Doon. Quite right.

Here is the waterfall itself, and you can see the creek continuing to run down in a series of small cascades. The water was roaring.
On the valley floor there were many fungi. The first we saw was this small black vase-shaped fungus. It was only about the size of a 20 cent coin.

From underneath, you can see that this fungus has small teeth, not gills or pores. The body of the fungus was very stiff and firm, much like a "bracket fungus", but had a stiff black stem.On the valley floor, there were very many yellow fungi with coarse gills. They were very soft and fragile. Here is one which had been knocked over by a passing animal. You can see the very coarse gills underneath.

Kayaking on Kangaroo River

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to join my friends Kim and Peter on a kayaking trip on the Kangaroo River.

We hired the Kayaks from the Camping Ground in the centre of the village. Mike fitted us with life jackets, and then put the Kayaks on the trailer to take us down to the river, just above the historic Hampden Bridge at the Kangaroo River crossing.

This Google Earth image shows the Moss Vale Road crossing the Kangaroo River at the top right corner of the image. That is where the Hampden Bridge is. At the left, where the Bendeela Road meets the River, that's where our rendezvous point was.
We were told to go down the river until we came to the Bendeela Camping Ground, go to the second beach past the main Camping Ground (but not to go as far as the Bendeela Pumping Station). I made a joke about not trusting myself to go there, because I would want to spray paint it with graffiti, like "Don't pump the water to Sydney - leave it in the Shoalhaven River". My comment drew an appreciative nod, which is hardly surprising, in Kangaroo Valley where the locals are very politicised about Sydney and Shoalhaven water issues. Of course, I am not a graffitist. I do my campaigning on a more direct basis.

Back to the kayaking ... Mike made allowances for us to take two and a half hours, on the river, but in fact we did not need as long as that.

The Kangaroo River was quite low- about 9 inches (approx 240mm) below the normal level, judging by the normal "high water " marks on the rocks. This soon became an issue for us, especially me, as I was grounding on the rocky base of the river very soon after we started off.

Once we passed under the old bridge, we moved out into clear, deep water, and started to drift along, enjoying hearing many birds, and seeing lots of Water Dragons on the rocks and logs in the river. One even swam straight past all of us, so close we could have touched it.

Brush Cuckoos, Fantailed Cuckoos and Black-faced Monarchs (a.k.a. "B-f Flycatchers") were common.

Then we came to more shallows and even a few "rapids". Bearing in mind that our group (especially me) were relatively inexperienced Kayakers (as were the German tourist also on the water with us), any kind of rocky obstructions in the river bed will be classed as "rapids". Sure enough, after negotiating the hardest part of this particular "rapids", I missed avoiding the last two rocks, and got my Kayak caught sideways against these two rocks, and the inevitable happened - I tipped in sideways. Fortunately the water was not deep, and not too fast, so I could stand up safely, and while I hung on to my Kayak, I lost the paddle. Other members of the group retrieved it for me.

Oh, well I figured I had fulfilled my social function on the trip - of being the "Bunny".

Peter noted what I had managed to keep my trademark blue terry-towelling hat dry! I was glad I had not brought my camera with me - or I would not be laughing.

Further down the river, it broadened out, and we saw more birds - White-faced Herons, Black Ducks, Wood Ducks (Maned Ducks a.k.a. Maned Geese.) We also heard many Koels, a few Kookaburras and saw many Dollar Birds, perching right at the tops of River Sheoaks. One (only) Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo flew straight along the river above us, squealing all the way.

Finally, just before we left the Kangaroo River, I saw the one bird I really wanted to see - an Azure Kingfisher. To top off my viewing experience, the bird flew to a low branch, then dived into the water, caught a small fish, and flew back up again. This is the classic Azure Kingfisher experience. Unfortunately Kim missed out on seeing it, even though we doubled back to try to spot the bird again.

For everybody's benefit I will post a link to of Tyto Tony's blog image of exactly such a sighting.

After seeing my iconic bird, I was happy to drift down to our rendezvous point, and wait for Mike to take us back home. A perfect way to spend a holiday morning.

Of course, being in Kangaroo Valley, we finished off with lunch at one of the many cafes there.

A thunderhead was building, and it drifted up the Upper Kangaroo River Valley, and dumped heavy rain on Robertson in the afternoon, for about 30 minutes. Officially we only got 9mm, but I think it might have been more than that, at my place.

Post Script:
I would never wish to camp at the Bendeela Camping Ground, if the patrons who were there yesterday were typical of the clientele. The rest of the trip was wonderful, but I could do without Bendeela Camping Ground.

.

Cymbidium suave near Carrington Falls

Deep in the moist Eucalypt forest along the top edge of the Upper Kangaroo Valley, south from Carrington Falls, I found a number of plants of Cymbidium suave in flower, today. This is the first time I have found them growing on the top of the local sandstone plateau. I have seen them growing at lower levels, within Kangaroo Valley itself, and on the Illawarra Escarpment.

This was hard country to walk in, because of the dense growth of Sword Grass (Gahnia sp.), and Pouched Coral Fern (Gleichenia dicarpa). None-the-less, the hard work was made worthwhile when we found several large clumps of Cymbidium suave in flower. The first two I saw were relatively high. Then I found two clumps growing at head height.Despite its name (meaning "sweet"), I confess that I could not detect the perfume, but one of the women members of the group, could detect the spicy fragrance for which this plant is named. I have been aware for many years that my nose is sensitive to certain types of perfumes, but not others. For example, I can seldom "get" the perfume of Violets, except when conditions are perfect. Today was very windy, and cold, so perhaps that influenced my inability to detect the perfume.

I have just spoken with Alan Stephenson of ANOS, (by coincidence - he rang on another matter) and he commented: "What pollinator would want to be out and about on a day like this?" Good question, Alan. In other words, there is no advantage for the plant in producing its scent in cold, windy conditions. It may as well save its energy (scent) for when the conditions are favourable for releasing the scent.
I was intrigued to notice that this low-growing clump, in a dead tree trunk, had its roots growing right down through the rotten core of the tree (inside the hard outer-wood). But where the hard wood had broken away (rotted away) near ground level, you could clearly see the old roots of the Orchid, which had grown right down through the rotted core of the tree, about 4 feet (1.3 m) down from the leaves of the plant. This habit is recorded in the literature as normal, but it was interesting to see.

Gerringong Falls in the mist - plants, fungi, moth.

On Sunday I went with my friend Jim and several other people, on a walk to Gerringong Falls. This is yet another of the small creeks which become waterfalls as they drop into the Upper Kangaroo Valley. This is a smaller, but in many ways more interesting waterfall than Carrington Falls - which is the main "tourist" waterfall in this area - east of Robertson. To clarify, Fitzroy Falls is the largest and best known waterfall in the district - but it drops into the Shoalhaven Valley, well to the west. Ultimately, all these falls end up in the Shoalhaven River.I have done the treck down to the bottom of the Gerrigong Falls previously, but I am not fit enough, at present. The trip down involved squeezing through a "chimney" (a crack in rocks) which is something which I do not fancy, I must admit.Anyway I was happy to walk in with jim and the group, to the top of the Falls, and then, I made my way back to the car, slowly, by myself (with Jim's knowledge and consent). That gave me an opportunity to do some serious plant hunting. Well it would have been better if it had not been misting. But in a weird sort of way, it made for some attractive images, with rain drops on the flowers.

Isopogon anemonifolius - budding up.

Sprengelia incarnata - with rain drops.

Fairies Aprons or Bladderwort.

Utricularia dichotoma

Fairies Aprons - side view.

There were also some Fungi around - not many, but some were of interest.

This is the largest "Paint Fungus" I have ever seen. It was on a burnt trunk of a Eucalypt tree. I have seen many paint fungi before, but seldom have I seen such a well defined, large specimen. It is about 30 cm (about 18 inches) long. It looked for all the world like a patch of white leather spread across the burnt wood. Here is the same specimen, close up. You can see at the left hand edge, that there is a slightly raised surface, and then it is still growing outwards, at a slightly lower, and thinner layer.
This is a golden form of a Jelly Fungus. A small one, with definite shape, growing out like paddles, on stems. My finger is shown for scale, so please forgive the grubby fingernail.The last photo for tonight is of a moth which was unusual in several respects. Firstly, it was flying in daylight (admittedly, it was a dull day). But it was also a moth which holds itself in an unusual way - the body is not visible, but its stance is high, not squatting the way some moths do. Then the wings are held almost flat, but wide spread. There are distinct patterns on th eiw=wings, including a definite line across both sets of wings, and four prominent dots.
Finally, it has some very prominent, but short antennae. Many moths have "rams horn" antennae, which are wide spread. Not this one. Its neat antennae point straight forward. I have never seen anything like it before. Its wing spread was about 30 mm across (1 and a half inches).
The closest I can get to an ID for this moth is a "Triangular Moth" (Epidesmia chilonaria). If I am right, it is of the "Looper Caterpillar" family (GEOMETRIDAE)