KILLCARE WAGSTAFFE TRUST
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Nature Watch Diary

What to look for in
JULY

PictureBoronia lediflolia (Sydney Boronnia)
  • Magpies start collecting nesting material
  • Spotted Pardalotes starting digging nest holes in banks
  • Gymea Lily in flower
  • Ratstail Orchid Dendrobium teretefolium begins flowering in mature Swamp Oaks
  • Boobook owls call persistently at night
  • Female echidnas lay their one soft egg
  • Baby Ringtail Possums leave the push and start riding on their mother's back
  • Wattles Acacia longifolia, A. sophora will flower along with the dropping tubular flowers of Correa reflexa
  • The heathlands are alive with colour, Epacris longiflora, E. microphylla, Golden Glory Peas Gompholobium spp, Pink Buttons Kunzea capitata, Borina lediflolia and 'bacon and eggs', Dillwynia spp
  • Fan-tailed Cuckoos seek out the nests of Brown Thornbills and With-browed Scrub-wrens in which to lay their eggs.
  • Adult male Brush Turkeys commence re-construction of nesting mounds.

What to look for in
​June

  • Pixie-cap Orchid Acianthus fornicatus and the King Greenhood P. baptistii flowers appear
  • Mosquitoes die off, the few survivors forming the breeding stock next season
  • At sea, Tailor are being caught locally as they head north to Fraser Island (Qld)
  • Echidnas mate and female Super Lyrebirds lay their one egg
  • Fungi are most abundant at this time of year
  • Snakes begin hibernation as the nights are getting colder
  • Albatross, mostly Black-browed, Yellow-nosed and & Wandering are regularly sights offshore
  • Winter solstice, 22 June, longest night, shortest day
  • Bream head up creeks to lay their eggs
  • June & July are the coldest months
  • In the woodland on sandstone soils, Acacia myrtifolia flowers appear.
  • Early flowering Sydney boronia B. Ledifolia may be seen in heath and woodland.
  • In marshy heathlands Sprengelia incarnate may be seen

Weed Guide
Gardeners spread weeds when they dump plants such as Asparagus fern and kikuyu over their fence and onto the edge of the bush. Asparagus fern has red berries over winter which are spread by birds. 
Picture
Yellowfin Bream

What to look for in
​May

  • The mournful persistent calling of Fantailed Cuckoos in the bushland
  • Grass Trees Xanthorrhoea sp in flower attracting many Honeyeaters, Friarbirds and insects
  • The Southern Cross is high in the evening sky
  • Sunshine Wattle A. terminalis in bloom attracting bugs and butterflies 
  • The Trim Greenwood P. concinna commences flowering in dunes close to the sea
  • White lerps form on bushes
  • Humpback Whales migrate northwards along the coast form late May to august
  • Superb Lyrebird males call loudly from prepared display mounds
  • Eastern Grey Kangaroos can give birth at ant time, but May is a favoured month
  • Many Banksia's in flower attracting birds, and Ringtail and Pygmy Possums
  • Forest Red Gum Eucalyptus tereticomis commences flowering attracting lorikeets, honeyeaters and Swift Parrots in some years.
Picture
Banksia roba - Swamp Banksia
Killcare Wagstaffe Trust
About the Trust          Membership          Contact   
  • Home
  • News
  • Get Involved
    • About the Trust >
      • History of the Trust
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
    • Maitland Bay Centre
    • Bushcare Groups
    • Environmental Awareness
    • Fire Preparedness
  • Natural Environment
    • Native Plants >
      • Bouddi Plant Life
      • Soil Types
      • Plant Communities
      • Plant species
      • Endangered Ecological Communities
    • Native Animals >
      • Birds
      • Reptiles
      • Insects
    • Beach and Ocean
    • Bouddi National Park
    • Weed Eradication >
      • Grasses and ground covers
      • Vines and scramblers
      • Woody weeds
    • Nature Watch Diary
  • Built Environment
    • Coastal Open Space System
    • Planning documents
  • Heritage and Landscape
    • Aboriginal Heritage
    • History
    • Bouddi Study
    • Geology
  • Contact