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WA Naturalists’ Club
Northern Suburbs Branch Excursion by Don Poynton
GOLLY Walk - Warwick Conservation Reserve - 26th July, 2017
Our GOLLY Walk was planned as a follow up to Bob Dixon’s talk on bushland regeneration after fire and proved Bob knows his stuff. Twelve Nats members and three visitors were guided by members of the Friends of Warwick Bushland (FOWB) around the southwestern part of the reserve before returning via the several hectares of bushland that was burnt in November 2016.
Our first find was an unidentified red bracket fungi growing inside a burnt out tree trunk.
Among the plants in flower we saw Honey Bush (Hakea lissocarpha), Native Wisteria (Hardenbergia comptoniana), Pearl Flower (Constephium pendulum), Swan River Myrtle (Hypocalymma robustum), Yellow Buttercups (Hibbertia hypericoides), Daviesia triflora and Lomandra nigricans.
FOWB member Tom Hodgkins had scouted the area the day before and knew where to find several orchid species including two colour varieties of the Dark Banded Greenhood (Pterostylis sanguinea) and some small Blue Beard Orchids (Pheladenia deformis)
Nats and FOWB member, Karen Clarke, stopped us at a spot where we could see three species of Daviesia growing side-by-side; D.divaricata, D. nudiflora and D.triflora. While it was quite easy to see the difference between these three species, it was not the case for the three species of winged acacias we saw; A.stenoptera, A. willdenowiana and A.trigonophylla. The latter, a rapidly spreading native of the Wheatbelt region, has become a pest since being mistakenly planted for the two indigenous species.
As we entered the burnt area we were quickly able to recognise some of the species Bob had mentioned. Those already in flower included Catspaw, Pearl Flower, Swan River Myrtle, Yellow Buttercup, Daviesa triflora and Schoenus grandifloras. Not in flower, but also obvious were the shoots of young grasstrees and Haemodorum species.
Karen was also able to point out the juvenile leaves of Mulla Mulla (three species have been recorded) and Lagenophora huegelii, a species common after fire and often mistaken as a weed.
Some more Blue Beard Orchids were spotted and the leaves of several other orchid species were seen, suggesting a return visit soon would be worthwhile. Warwick Bushland is where Mark Brundrett spends a lot of his time looking for and photographing the 23 species of orchids which have been recorded. It is home to probably the largest known population of the Chestnut Sun Orchid (Thelymitra fuscolutea) which flowers in November. Lots of information and photos of plants, animals and fungi can be found at the FOWB website http://friendsofwarwickbush.wixsite.com/friendsofwarwickbush.
We had several heavy showers while walking which probably accounted for the lack of birds. Too early for the Rainbow Bee-eaters but we did see their ready-made food source- a very large and unusual European bee hive, the pendulous combs being outside rather than inside the branch of a large dead tree.
Many GOLLY moments, including the separate needs for a tow truck and the RAC, but, “GOLLY, this is the slowest service I have ever encountered”, was probably the most applicable as a number of cold and wet members waited almost half an hour for their coffee to be delivered at the nearby Warwick Leisure Centre.
Our thanks to Karen, Steph Murphy and Tom from FOWB for their informative guidance.
