Friends of Grampians Gariwerd

Geraldine and Geoff Harris

Our walk to Golton Gorge took us twice as long this morning because we stopped frequently along the way to identify birds and look at flowering plants.

Our bird list included:

Scarlet Robin, Superb Fairy Wren, Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, Crimson Rosella, Dusky Woodswallow, Emu (h), Striated Thornbill, White-throated Treecreeper, White-eared Honeyeater, Grey fantail, Spotted pardalote, Yellow Thornbill, Eastern Spinebill, and Kookaburra. The Tawny- crowned Honeyeaters took us a while to identify despite good views of the long curved bill, white eyebrow and black mask curving down along the white breast but Graham Pizzy’s description of their “beautiful, liquid, metallic phrases” was the clue we were looking for.

The flowering plants we noted were:

Silver Banksia Banksia marginata, Erect Guinea-flower Hibbertia riparia, Bundled Guinea-flower Hibbertia fasciculata ssp prostrata, Twiggy Guinea-flower Hibbertia virgata, Common Correa Correa reflex, Hairy Correa Correa aemula, Dusty Millar Spyridium parviflolium, Brown Stringybark Eucalyptus baxteri, Common Heath Epacris impressa, Downy Grevillea Grevillea alpina, and Twiggy Daisy-bush Olearia ramulosa.

The Flame Heaths Astroloma conistephioides, Pine Heaths Astroloma pinifolium and Golden Heaths Styphelia adscendens were a picture dotted throughout the bush alongside the pale blossom of the occasional Juniper Wattle Acacia ulicifolia.

We were pleased to find four orchids: Emerald-lip Greenhood Pterostylis smaragdyna, Fringed Hare Orchid Leporella fimbiata, Trim Greenhood Pterostylis concinna and Banded Greenhood Pterostylis sanguinea.

We also photographed two other plants of interest – a Hairy Geebung Persoonia rigida in the gorge and a beautiful example of a large Porcupine Grass Triodia scariosa off Golten Track. The dense rounded tussock of the Porcupine Grass was over a metre in diameter with last seasons tall flower stems still in place.