Saturday, 26th January 2013 was the day of the first Track Walk for the year.
Paddocks beside the corridor
A small group of us drove to a roadside nature reserve which runs between Flaxbournes Road and Forest Road. It has farmland on either side and is thus an important wildlife corridor. Unfortunately, it is also used by horses which leave their droppings and these quickly become weeds.
Walking along the track
It is a most interesting area with more Small Grass-trees Xanthorrhoea minor, than we have ever seen anywhere, many with seed heads following flowering.
Investigating the seed head on a Small Grass-tree
There were a large number of Rosy Hyacinth Orchids Dipodium roseum, scattered through the undergrowth, and many indigenous low and medium-growing plants under a canopy of tall, mostly, Messmates Eucalyptus obliqua.
Rosy Hyacinth Orchid
We decided that this must normally be a damp area, as there was even a small stand of Victorian Christmas Bush Prosthanthera lasianthus, growing on the track, but in desperate need of rain as the leaves were lax and drooping.
Bird watching
A large selection of weeds were also there in abundance, including Pittosporum and Boneseed. We removed the seeds from the Pittosporum, and a good number of Boneseed plants, but there are many left. It is an area well worth a weeding session and some TLC.
Weeding
Chris Morrissey