Mt Cassell TSG Grevillea Survey (Grevillea microstega) This excursion was badly weather affected and got postponed at least twice. It was to be December but when we finally got to do it in March the flowering season was past and we could not find any specimens. However we had a most interesting walk in the burnt area along Seven Dials Track looking at the regeneration of other species.
Saturday January 12 Ptilotus erebescens count at Cooinda Burrong.
(See also Stan’s piece above)
Twenty members and friends were on hand for this year’s count. We count the flower heads, not the plants, which is more work but helps fill out the jigsaw of this rare plant.
Stan had already counted the individually protected plants which left us the larger areas in three unprotected zones and the three protected plots.
Landcare / Parks Vic Experimental Plot :-
Exclude Rabbits only 847
Exclude Kangaroos / Deer 1001
Exclude All 384
Unprotected: Zone A 695
Zone B 1337
Zone C 1432
Here are the figures for the totals for the last few years.
January 2000 267
January 2001 3416
12th Jan 2002 2992
11th Jan 2003 1320
10th Jan 2004 6152
8th Jan 2005 4370
14th Jan 2006 1748
13th Jan 2007 574
12th Jan 2008 5696
Space precludes the breakdown of the zones and of the different protected areas. The figures are available if anyone wants to follow this up. The rainfall figures for the preceding spring each year would be interesting to set beside these. However, looking at the variance between the reservoir and the valley with thundery showers, we can’t say with certainty what Cooinda Burrong received.
The suggestion was made that next year we all bring a calculator (on most mobile phones) to record our counts rather than the old fashioned way we have been doing it.
Following the count we had a general meeting which is described elsewhere.
Fire Recovery and other issues: meeting with Graham Parkes 9th February
Fifteen members met with Graham Parkes to discuss various issues and to look at the progress in re-opening sections of the Park. After a general discussion – see below in meeting reports – Graham took us on the still closed road past Silverband Falls to the Mt Rosea car park and then to Sundial Car Park. We learnt that the road between Silverband and the Mt Rosea corner will be opened by Easter, most probably as a one way (down hill) road. The campground on that corner has been closed, and will later be replaced with a walk-in hikers camp in a new location. The Rosea track will be opened as far as Tower Hill. Discussion is still ongoing as to how the rest of the track will be accessible during the period of the rock wallaby introduction and the first few months there. We then proceeded to the Sundial car park, baptised the new toilets, discussed some of the more puzzling aspects of risk management with Mushroom Rock as an example.
An evening with Sean Frey, 21 February.
Sean introduced us to his home park of Riding Mountain in Manitoba, west of Winnipeg, which was most informative. He also gave us an interim report on his work monitoring our macropods, which is a continuation of the work Jeff Weir was doing in assessing numbers of our two wallaby species and two kangaroo species and how they influence each other’s distribution. He shamed many of us locals by being able to distinguish between eastern and western grey kangaroos. Sean is leaving us in May, but returning in November. His interim report follows.