Fitzroy Falls "East Rim" Walk

Today I led a walk along the Fitzroy Falls East Rim trail. The walk went off well, with 13 people, mostly NPA members, participating.
As with all my walks I made it clear the objective was to observe the "little things". We started of well with a Yellow Robin having a bath in the creek just near the bridge, accompanied by a Brown Thornbill in the long grass beside the creek and a White-browed Scrubwren hopping along a dirt track. Across the creek and past the bridge, we saw some bright red Boletus fungi (white pores underneath). We continued, with discussion of the protective bark of two different species of Persoonias (Geebungs).

In the dry heath country, we examined some of the prolific Lambertia formosa ("Mountain Devil" flowers.The towering Eucalypt trees in the gully were very impressive in the clear morning light, with their bark still damp from overnight dew. The ferns in the deep gullies were glowing beautifully. We even discussed the formation of the "croziers" (the fronds) and noted the patterns (as described in the mathematical theory of "fractals") in which the entire frond unfolds, but that each smaller level of sub-frond, also replicates the pattern, as each unfolds.

We noticed how much scratching of the wet forest floor had taken place - a signs of Lyrebirds.

A few flowers of the "Lesser Flannel Flower" (Actinotus minor) were examined under 10 power hand lenses. Always fascinating.

We then examined some tiny insects walking around in some of the gilled fungi we found on the track. I have photographed one of these before, and after seeking advice from Blogging colleagues, we concluded they are a form of "Springtail" (Collembola spp) some of the most prolific animals on the planet, yet seldom noticed by people, because they are so tiny.

We went out to several of the lookouts along the East Rim trail. One gave us this view back to the main Fitzroy Falls. Note the many tourists on the viewing platform beside the Falls.
As we were walking back out of the Gully on the East Rim Trail, we noticed a Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) just below the track, beside the creek. We all stopped, and watched in amazement as this bird, a male, came right up onto the track.
We were all quiet and the bird took virtually no notice of us. It was a special moment for us all.
This is a moment which the youngsters in our group will treasure forever, I dare to say.
The bird walked down along the track towards us, and then crossed over the path just a few metres in front of the kids, and then walked along beside our entire group.
I vividly remember my own introduction to bird watching and learning about tiny and frequently overlooked plants, on Field Naturalists' trips, in Victoria, when I was less than 8 years old. Those experiences have stayed with me, and I sincerely hope that these little girls gain the same inspiration from today's walk which I experienced as a child myself, all those years ago.

What a joyous end to a very pleasant walk.

Ant Orchids - two species? Maybe - a few metres apart.

"Ant Orchids" will be the death of me (and I am not mocking Duncan's words of wisdom from yesterday) - about other people knowing where a solitary naturalist has disappeared, in search of an Orchid, or something else of interest. The advice he was given is good advice.

These tiny flowers are so hard to see, and then, even harder to photograph. These are half-way down Macquarie Pass, hidden amongst dead branches, ferns, mosses and long grass, in an old clearing. even when you know to look for them, they are hard to see, and then their is the question of identifying them.

I long for the day (and this is the stuff of science fiction, I am sure) when one can insert a tiny probe into the leaf of the plant, and get a genetic (or should I say, a DNA) read-out which would tell me exactly which species I am looking at. And when that is available for these plants, then lets work on the Caladenias, and then the Greenhoods (Pterostylis group). And then the Persoonias, then then the myriad of "Eggs and Bacon" flowers, and then,,,,,,
Dream on, Denis.

This first flower is a definite identification : Myrmechila formicifera (Chiloglottis formicifera)
Note how the small glands extend all the way down to the tip of the labellum. This is quite a large image, and will open up well if you click on the photo. The detail is amazing. Contrast this image with the image of a different plant two below - possibly another species.Here is the same flower - from the side - showing the glands (pseudo-insect) and the steep angle of the labellum (the large section of the flower in front).
This is possibly a member of another related species - Myrmechila (Chiloglottis) trapeziformis. Note how the labellum of this plant is almost plain. But it does just have a few little tiny "bubbles" - so possibly, just possibly, this is an individual variation, rather than a different species. (Thus ruining my original title for this post).

I will reserve judgement on whether or not it is a separate species. The dorsal sepal is held higher than in the other flower, but again that might be a simple variation between individuals. My problem is simple. There was only one specimen of this flower out there, today. If I had found lots of them, all the same, I would know I was on safer ground declaring it to be a different species from the other plant.This front-on shot (below), is mostly of interest for the very small spider which ran up its web (on the right hand side of the flower) while I was lying down taking lots of shots (to ensure I got something in focus). It was a very small-bodied Spider, and as you can see (if you click to enlarge the image) it has quite long legs, which are banded in alternate dark and light coloured sections.

Spiders love Orchids, as they know that insects are attracted to the Orchid flower, and so Spiders hang out near the orchids - waiting for lunch. In this heavily cropped image (below) it resembles a "Daddy Long-legs", but in real size, it was considerably smaller than that, and its legs were so fine that they were virtually invisible (to my poor eyes, lying in the grass, in a dark rainforest). Its body (head and abdomen) were less than the size of a match-head. The whole flower is approximately 1 cm - (from tip to base). The "column" - the vertical part of the flower is said to be about 3mm wide (according to the books). That makes the spider a mere 3mm long, in body. That seems about right to me. Here is the same image, cropped, cut and rotated to make it easier to recognise. It appears to have relatively large white palps underneath what appears to be fairly large, dark eyes.One piece of good news is that these particular plants flower in winter/spring, whereas their autumn cousins flower when the weather is warmer, and therefore, when lying (prone) on the grass attracts great numbers of leeches and/or ticks. At least, at this time of year, I do not have to worry about those Creepy-Crawlies.

Here is something easier - a plant which exactly matches the text books. Pterostylis hildae the so-called "Rainforest Greenhood".

You can see what I mean about it "looking how it is meant to be":

This is the botanical sketch on the RBG PlantNET page. (No artist credit shown.)

It is on its southern limit here, being shown as extending from Wollongong (just north from Macquarie Pass) to Queensland.
This is a perfectly formed flower. How nice is that? It hasn't been chewed by some slug or snail, or trampled by a clumsy Wombat, or dug up by a passing Lyrebird.

Lyrebird in low branches

On Friday, the Robertson Environment Protection Society (REPS) had its Christmas Party at Fitzroy Falls. While we were having our snacks and nibbles in the carpark, a Lyrebird came close, sat in a low tree branch, and preened itself. Being a clever bird, it managed to obscure most of its body behind branches, so I did not get a single clear image. However, it appeared to be a male, with some creamy-white markings on its tail feathers, just visible in one image. Females do not have the "display feathers" in their tails.It then turned around on the branch, and then dropped off the branch, and was off, doing Lyrebird things. This was late in the afternoon, just before dark, when Lyrebirds seem to do a lot of feeding amongst the leaf-litter, looking for insects. You can see its powerful legs and feet with which the bird scratches around the ground.
Lyrebirds eyes reflect a flash as blue, unlike people who give "red eye" reflections, my dog, Lena, who has green eyes, and foxes which give yellow eyes.

Lyrebird killed on Belmore Falls Road

Editors note: I generally do not photograph road kills - this is only the second case I can recall. But it is justified by the unusual features of this bird, which one seldom can see up close. So, it is recorded here, out of scientific interest. DJW

Can you believe it? A Lyrebird was killed by a vehicle on Belmore Falls Road today. This is a low-traffic, slow-speed (or ought to be) dirt road. And yet, somehow a male Lyrebird managed to be killed down there today. I have often seen Lyrebirds beside the road on the Macquarie Pass, but those birds seem to have remarkable road sense. They seem to feed right beside the road, being driven past by huge trucks, and cars and noisy motorbikes. But, the Belmore Falls road is far quieter. It is well known that Lyrebirds live down in the bush near Belmore Falls, (you hear them calling down in the valleys below), and there is always a lot of scratching marks near Hindmarsh Lookout, close to the edge of the cliff. But, strangely, this bird was found close to the farming country, in the drier Eucalypt scrub, well away from the wet forest country.

When I noticed the corpse lying beside the road, it had been stripped of its tail feathers, and one wing. A very strange souvenir, the wing, don't you think?

This bird was obviously a mature male, in full breeding plumage, with its bright russet throat. That explains why the tail feathers were absent when I found the corpse. You can see a photo of another male Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) here - on the COG website.This close-up shot shows the details of the leg and foot of the Lyrebird. It has a huge foot (for a bird). A Lyrebird is quite capable of picking up a rock roughly the size of a cricket ball, and removing it, in its search for worms and insects while seeking food on the forest floor. The foot is considerably larger and stronger than a chook's foot, but the bird is far lighter in weight than a chook.
You can read more about the Lyrebird at the Australian Museum's "Birds in Backyards" site, and even listen to its call, here.