Vale Steve Wilson, OAM

My father, Steve Wilson OAM died in the early hours of the morning, on Sunday 13 September 2009.Regular readers will be aware that my father was very old, and frail. At 97 he figured he was"entitled".
But but until the last two weeks, he was very sharp of mind, despite his physical frailty. I am sure that he would be the first to say that old age, in itself is no achievement. But he certainly made the most of his energy and his time on this planet.

He made a "difference".

Specifically in the sphere of birdwatching, in the Canberra region, he was a leader, and importantly a mentor to many young Ornithologists - a number of whom have gone on to make their own places in the world of Ornithology.
As far as I am concerned, personally, I remember Dad as someone who knew the importance of perseverence. This was often to his own cost, or to the cost of people near to him. But his work ethic was matched by a very fair and just sense of intellectual rigour. He was not an academic, but he was a great reader, a student, a researcher and a teacher.

Above all, I believe he possessed a great sense of respect for the natural world around him. He referred to it as a "Sense of Wonder".

I believe I might have inherited, or learnt from my father, just a small part of that "awe" that he felt for Nature. Tonight I salute that part of my father, in particular, as it is most relevant to this Blog - the "Nature" part of The Nature of Robertson.

Of course, there was much more to my father than that.
Philatelist, Cactus grower, plant propagator for his local church fete (with a team of willing helpers., he was responsible for raising $120,000 for his local fete over a period of about 6 years). Independently of all that, he was a senior official in the Department of the Navy.

He was a father of four sons (of whom I am the youngest), and Grandfather of Eighteen, and Great-Grandfather of 36 surviving children.

Dad died peacefully, in his sleep. His family had been visiting with him regularly, especially over the last few weeks and final days. He knew he was well loved and respected.
We should all aim to die as well as he did.

We should have no regrets - just thanks for the part he played in the world around him.

The love of his life, my mother, Nonie Wilson, died on 19 March 2006.

Black Cockie playing around

Several days ago, a mob of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) came past my house, and squealed and squawked and carried on for ages, in the local Pine Trees.

Once again, these are not good photos, for these birds love to land in the very tops of Pine Trees (Pinus radiata), their favourite (introduced) food trees. That means that although one can see them clearly, and hear them very clearly indeed, with their amazing noises, they are in fact pretty much at the limit of my camera lens.

Still, I cannot resist publishing these images.

Three Black Cockies on Pine Tree

A weird but interesting shot of a Cockie flying low over my head.
These birds flap very slowly, but they are so powerful that they fly at about 30 Kms per hour with no trouble at all.
So, they can travel 100 metres in a few seconds, in about 3 wing flaps.
That makes them deceptively hard to capture in flight.

This shot shows the yellow panels in the tail.
This shot shows the slight crest on the head,
and the yellow patches on the side of the head.
This bird has launched itself from the highest branch on the tree, and is falling/flying out of the tree.
As usual such behaviour is accompanied by the tell-tale screaming call.
You may listen to the call (in MP3 format) from this site.

Water Bugs of the Washpool Creek, Booral

When I went to the Stroud area, recently, we went down to the Washpool Creek, a tributary of the Karuah River, to check out the water quality.
With a fine scoop net, and some plastic trays we examined in detail some of the creatures which call these creeks "home". It is pretty amazing doing this, if one has not done it before.

The most obvious creatures are Mayfly larvae. They are easy to identify as they have three parts to their "tails" (3 "caudal filaments"). In fact these are different stages of development, and possibly different species, but that's a matter I shall leave to the specialists.


These insects are "true bugs" but aquatic - they are the "Water Striders" - of the order "Gerridae".If you click to enlarge the image, you will see a tiny (minute) red creature floating on top of the surface of the water. I cannot tell what it is. It has numerous legs - maybe a kind of mite?

This is a Freshwater Shrimp,
(Palaemonid prawn)
along with a very heavily-built Mayfly larva (on right).

Click to read the notes, and to see these creatures in good detail.

This is another Shrimp, with a Water Strider.
This is a very poor shot.
But it is of a different type of bug from the others.
Possibly in the order Veliidae
This last creature is in a totally different group of aquatic life forms. I have been told it is a "Hydra", which would suit it - from the reference to the mythical many-headed beast (the Hydra of Lerna) which terrorised the ancient Greek sailors.

This is a minute creature (thank goodness - it is scary enough at 5mm long), which at first I thought might have been related to the leeches, from its soft body, and its manner of moving, which is to hunch itself up, then project the front end, grab hold of something and them pull itself forward.

Hunched up Hydra - about to stretch out to move forward.

The 5 arms are unusual and separate it from other creatures.
Hydra (if that is what it is) are related to Jelly fish.
Its body is semi-transparent, and obviously soft and flexible.

Red-necked Wallaby near Stroud, NSW

By contrast to the large Grey Kangaroos I showed you yesterday, here are some of the very pretty, and much smaller Red-necked Wallabies (Macropus Rufogriseus) which I saw last week near Stroud, north of Newcastle.

This is a genuinely "wild" male Red-necked Wallaby which I saw at a property adjacent to "Washpool Creek" (one of many creeks in NSW with that name), near Stroud.
By contrast, these images are of a group of equally wild, but "socialised" Wallabies. These lovely animals have trained my friends Amanda and Steve to cut the grass just outside the fence, and to offer them regular feed.

Here is the buck Red-necked WallabyA Doe, heavy with a joey in her pouch

Another male, keeping his distance

My favourite image of the same doe.
Her joey did poke its head out, briefly.
You can see the entrance to the pouch, visible just under her front paws.
(Click to enlarge)

Life is sweet for these Wallabies.

Grey Kangaroos of Hanging Rock Road

While driving back from Canberra on Sunday afternoon, I took a slight diversion along "Hanging Rock Road", near Canyonleigh. This road is in fact the old highway, and runs parallel to the modern Hume Highway, just south of the "MacDonalds on the Hill" at Sutton Forest. On the southern entrance, it is signposted to "Pauline Fathers Monastery". On the northern end it is signposted "Hanging Rock Road".

Much to my delight some "wit" has suspended a small rock on a string, from below the sign - as a hanging rock. I took a photo once, but I don't know where that image is filed, at present. I shall dig it out one day...

Of course, the name refers to a particular sandstone outcrop somewhere in the area of bushland nearby. It is a popular name - usually referring to a large stone perched vertically atop another rocky outcrop. Never really a true "hanging rock". Poetic licence rules in old-fashioned Aussie bush names.

Anyway, I went looking (without success) for some early flowering Ground Orchids. My blogging colleagues in Victoria are reporting spring-flowering Orchids. Not fair!

Then I saw an Echidna crossing the road. This fellow scurried to the relative safety of the soft grass, and clung on - as they do. I tried to budge him, ever so gently, but I knew there was no point. So I took the photo against a two litre ice-cream bucket which just happened to have been dumped there - for a size comparison. He was a good size.Then I found a family of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) which were very tame and quite photogenic. This first image was taken at about 150 metres range - looking down the quiet country road, in the late afternoon light. Usually, they sense that someone is taking "too much interest" and head off, leading the family away from danger.The old male - the old Buck - was very bold, I thought. He is checking me out with his very large ears which are "focussed" on my vehicle. So is the Doe. She is about 30 metres closer than the Buck, so you can see the size differential between them.
This old guy decided I was no threat, and just stared me down. Good for him. He was a very good sized specimen - probably standing as tall as I do. I loved his bold posture. You can see how powerful he is on the lower body. But even those forearms are very strong, with large claws.But, of course, the real power in his body is in the lower body - the thighs and rump. Here you can see how that weight distribution allows him to use all his power for jumping. Here he takes off - suddenly.
He was sufficiently relaxed, though that he only took a few bounds, and stopped to assess the situation again. He stayed there, and I left them all in peace.What a magnificent animal. Long may he reign over his territory!

In the next few days I shall post some photos of the much smaller Red-necked Wallabies, taken at Steve and Amanda's place, near Stroud, north of Newcastle.

Catching up

I have been slow to post in recent days. I have been away for a few days, to visit my father, who is very old and very frail. 97 years sounds a great achievement (and it is) but I am sure Dad would say it is a little over-rated at this stage.

Anyway, he is still going, and over the weekend, his immediate family all got to visit with him several times, for Fathers Day.

Zoe told me today that Sandra visited Dad (with Zoe), and he was very touched that she had gone in to see him and he appreciated her visit. I do too.

Anyway, I decided not to take any photos of Dad this weekend, but I did take one of Zoe visiting Dad, a few months ago. It is slightly more flattering of both of them than would have been the case this weekend.



Memories deserve to be just a little "flattering".

Wattle Day 2009

I have previously posted about "Wattle Day" as 1 September (or 1 August for Queenslanders).

Today I shall publish some images of four of the six wattles which are in flower on my property today. Today's images are all "cultivated" species - which are readily available at commercial nurseries, especially those which specialise in Australian Native Plants. These plants are regarded as "screening plants" (not trees) and can easily be trimmed to shape with a "Long-handled Pruner" (or "Lopper") Such a tool can be bought economically from Nurseries, hardware stores, etc. Beware cheap, weak-handled devices, though.

These are all "shrubby Wattles" not trees, and not ones liable to grow too quickly, then die out in a few years. That is a feature which annoys many people who plant inappropriate species of Acacias.

Acacia pravissima - the Wedge-leaved Wattle, or Ovens River Wattle..

Here are some leaves and buds

Here is a spray of buds - which will open soon.

I like this local plant, which grows wild around Mittagong.
It has very narrow leaves (phyllodes).
I believe this is Acacia elongata
The flowers are bright golden balls, but they are spaced along the stem.
Here are the flowers - up close.
This is a wonderful garden variety
Acacia fimbriata variety "dwarf"
Dense sprays of flowers are a feature of this variety.

This year, I shall settle for republishing something Peter Garrett has published today to celebrate Wattle Day, 21 years after the Golden Wattle was officially declared to be Australia's National Flower - which happened on Wattle Day, 1 September 1988.

The history of the event is interesting, as is the association with Hiroshima, of which I was not aware.

OUR GOLDEN WATTLE COMES OF AGE

Environment and Heritage Minister Peter Garrett today led celebrations marking the 21^st anniversary of the declaration of the golden wattle as Australia’s official national flower.

At the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra, Mr Garrett joined former Governor–General Sir William Deane to open a new exhibition Celebrate Our Wattle. The exhibition documents the place of wattle in Australian art, botany, history and culture, with a particular focus on the use of wattle by Indigenous Australians.

“Twenty-one years ago today, Mrs Hazel Hawke planted a golden wattle in these national botanic gardens, proclaiming the wattle Australia’s national floral emblem,” Mr Garrett said.

“The wattle has long been valued by Indigenous Australians and it has been part of Australia’s identity ever since Sydney first declared Wattle Day on the first day of spring in 1901.

“After Prime Minister Andrew Fisher incorporated the wattle into our Coat of Arms, it soon became a symbol of remembrance with Australian mothers sending small sprigs to their sons serving overseas in World War 1 to remind them of home.

“It has been a poignant symbol of loss and respect at ceremonies mourning the young Australians who died in the Swiss canyon disaster and later, the victims of the Bali bombing.

“The wattle features on our highest national ward, the Order of Australia, and the green and gold have been our official national colours since 1984.”

It is said that a wattle was the first plant to bloom in Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was detonated in 1945. To mark National Wattle Day, Hiroshima’s Acacia Appreciation Society sends the Gardens hundreds of yellow ribbons as a gesture of friendship. Visitors are encouraged to take ribbons home and attach them to their favourite trees.

The Celebrate Our Wattle exhibition features an embroidered sculpture of golden wattle, commissioned by the Friends of the Gardens and created by embroiderer Lynne Stone, who lost her home in the devastating Marysville fire in February this year.

“The original sculpture Lynne was working on was destroyed in that terrible fire, along with most of her possessions, so her beautiful golden wattle sculpture is a moving symbol of loss and recovery,” Mr Garrett said.

Celebrate Our Wattle runs at the Australian National Botanic Gardens until 11 October.
For more information visit www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/

Back to my Blogging - for the botanically minded, the Golden Wattle is Acacia pycnantha.

Here is another plant, which unfortunately, I do not have the species name for, any longer.Here is the bush seen against a background of a neighbour's Cypress tree. This plant is growing on a raised bank of soil. It is only about 2.5 metres tall.
I bought all today's plants at Wariapendi Nursery, at Colo Vale, north of Mittagong.