Author: dradma

Working Bee and inspection – 10.08.2024

Perfect weather to do some bush regeneration yesterday.
No rain but the ground has had a good soaking so the weeds couldn’t put up much of a fight when being pulled out.
From my last few visits, I knew a lot more work was required to recover from the neglect of the last few years.

First step: An action plan. I moved around the reserve and tried to list the sections that required attention.

This stand of ginger lilly and palm grass continues to grow. It needs to be controlled while a native such as native ginger is allowed planted and encouraged.


Stand of ginger lilly and palm grass
These Sydney golden wattles were planted only four or five years ago but currently appear to be struggling or dead.
Though it is hard to see in this photo, there around about eight Cheese trees which were planted a few years ago.
They appear healthy but are clearly failing to make progress against the heavy clay soil.
I still hold hope that some of them will find a way to expand their roots to allow more growth.
The grass needs to be removed or thinned to allow new growth to have a chance.


Cheese trees and Sydney golden wattle are struggling
First falls is going well. A tree fern and some sandpaper figs are now growing out of the cliff face.


Dick’s creek first fall. Showing the tree fern and sandpaper fig growing out of the cliff face.
On the south bank, besides first fall, there is some clean up to be done. Fishbone fern is starting to appear, croften weed is still popping up and the privet tree has bounced back.
Still, it is mostly in good nick. An hour or so of work should have this area back in good order.


South bank besides the bottom of first fall.
On the south bank, just before the Fern wall, a section of bank is soil rather than the usual rock.
Palm grass has taken hold and needs to be addressed. This is true for the entire creek. I imagine an entire day will need to be
devoted to removing palm grass.


South bank besides First and Second falls
As a whole though, the section of creek between first and second falls is not all bad.
A lot of endemic ferns are going well, the Gahnia on the north bank is more established than ever and most of the visible trees
are meant to be there. The issues are the palm grass, the swedish ivy and the fishbone fern. Each of these will take quite some time to address


Creek course between First and Second falls


South bank between first and second falls. Fern wall to the left of the image.


North bank between First and second falls
Fern wall, on the south bank between the first and second falls looks good but some bird nest ferns have gone ‘missing’.
We have had people steal bird nest ferns in the past and I suspect it has happened again. I can’t be sure until I locate previous images.
The ferns that are still there are going spectactular. The tree fern has shot up, as have other tree ferns at other locations.
Conditions must of been just right for this species.


Fern wall on south bank between first and second falls


Creek course from top of second fall
Besides Fern wall though is the swedish ivy that is yet to be removed. Areas that have been done are still clear though so that is a good
sign that it can be fully removed.


South bank between first and second falls. Besides Fern wall

South bank besides second falls
At the top of Second fall, things look mostly ok. There is still privot, palm grass and fishbone fern to address but
it is good to see the weeds have not jumped back quickly into this area.


Lower level from the top of second fall
Fishbone fern is once again dominating the ledge on the north side of Second fall.
Luckily, the natives have a longer reach than the fishbone fern so are still able to catch the light they need.
North side ledge at Second falls
Cabbage tree palm is looking good after some shading trees were removed from a nearby property.
Cabbage tree palm near site A
Site A is still clear of lantana but is now covered in fishbone fern. Disappointingly,
something laid waste to the stand of bleeding hearts which were growing here. There is still a few but most are now dead.
Site A, behind 14 Green Valley Rd
This bank has always been dominated by fishbone fern but it has currently taken it up a notch
now that it is getting so much more light with the removal of some large trees at the top of the bank.
Hill above Site A
Simlarly for the bank behind 16 Green Valley Rd.
Hill above site A upto 16 Green Valley Rd
This photo shows some of the bleeding hearts that have been pushed over. Hopefully more will grow
when the fishbone fern is removed.
What was bleeding heart forest
From site A, looking towards the creek at the rear of the reserve, it appears as if privet has taken over. Hopefully it is
not as bad as it looks…
From site A, looking down to the rear of Dick’s creek reserve
There is a stretch of poisoned lantana at 16 Green Valley Rd. I am not sure what the purpose is.
Lantana behind the properties on Green valley Rd
This area is kept clear by the property owners above.
Hill leading up to properties on Green Valley Road
Fern trees along the back of the reserve look to be doing well. However, the lower storey is once again dominated by undesireables such as lantana and ginger lilly.
Fern trees along the read of Dick’s creek reserve
Lots of privet in this area towards the creek as well.
Cleared strip of land to the creek near rear of reserve
A stretch of land is kept clear down to the creek by the property owner above. The land to the side of this ‘alley’ is
infested with privet and lantana.
Lantana towards rear of reserve. Creek can be seen towards the bottom
I had previously cleared around a large sandpaper fig at this location. Lantana was once
again encroaching heavily on this tree and the area in general. I needed to clear the lantana just to get to the tree so I could start
clearing around it.
Lantana and privet encroaching on sandpaper fig that was previously freed
Around three or four years ago, the sandpaper fig tree had fallen over. It was disappointing at
the time but since then, the tree has continued to thrive and is still bearing fruit. This photo shows the roots have grown to accomodate
its new position.
Roots of fallen sandpaper fig have grown to accomodate its new position
At this point I had finally reached the base of the tree. My intention was to clear the area
around the tree so I could walk freely around it, but that ended up being too ambitious as some of the privet and tobacco trees were
too big to pull out by hand.
Fallen sandpaper fig with encroaching lantana and other invasives
This photo shows new shoots rising vertically while the main trunk is now more horizontal. It looks
like this tree will be around for many years to come yet.
Fallen sandpaper fig with encroaching lantana and other invasives. Despite falling about three years ago, it remains strong and is still producing fruit
One positive discovery was finding this poison peach tree. There were also some young sapling nearby.
I was able to free them from the lantana which was starting to get on top of it. It is about three metres tall.

This poison peach tree and some younger saplings was covered in lantana. It is about three metres in height
Wile it is not clear, this photo shows the sandpaper fig tree. I was able to walk around it
(rather than climb) by the time I had finished. Some large privets had to be left for another time. I was happy with the result.
This was the sandpaper fig tree after clearing around it. It still looks chaotic but by the end it was free of lantana and privet
This shows the ‘dent’ in the wall of privet. I am mindful that any clearing like this invites foot
traffic from the kids in the neighbourhood. It will pay to start at the center of the sea of lantana near here and work towards the edges for this reason.
The area I cleared to get to the sandpaper fig tree.
Near the creek at the end of the reserve has become infested with privet but there are still
some natives doing well. For example, this cabbage tree palm…
Looking towards rear of the reserve towards the creek. Mostly privet but still some natives struggle on
A wall of privet…
On the side of the cleared strip, privet dominates.
But amongst it…
Unidentifed vine next to cleared strip. Pretty sure it is native but need it identified
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation (ignoring the lantana and privet)
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation – at sane location but different species I believe
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation – at sane location but different species I believe
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation
Unidentifed tree – pretty sure it is native but need confirmation – same species as shown previously but was previously taller
Blue berry ash I believe
Blue berry ash I believe
Mystery plant
Another unidentified species with dark shading along the veins of the leaf
Another unidentified species with dark shading along the veins of the leaf
Another unidentified species with dark shading along the veins of the leaf
Tree fern next to creek at rear of reserve is growing very quickly
Tree fern next to creek at rear of reserve is growing very quickly
Tree fern next to creek at rear of reserve is growing very quickly

After this point I went along my usual route along the creek back to the track that leads to site A but it was so infested with lantana and the privet it was a battle to move and taking any photos was not really an option. It is going to take a lot of time to get it back to the state I had it at a few years back.

Working Bee – 23.06.2024

It had been too long since I last worked in Dick’s creek. My intention was to take out some lantana from the rear of the reserve but I never made it that far. I ended up removing some palm grass and mist flower in the upper sections of the creek and then did a quick walk through. Unfortunately it seemed too dark to get any descent images. There were lots of things to be happy about but also a few disappointments. After such a long period I had expected some weeds to be encroaching on some areas I had previously worked on but in general, that wasn’t the case. The patch of sedge (Gahnia) was going strong and appears to be out-competing the fishbone fern. Fern wall is doing very well. The swedish Ivy that I had previously removed was still clear. Also, areas I had cleared around bracken fern was paying off.

On the down side, the Bleeding hearts that popped up in abundance at site A appeared to be attacked by someone or something. A lot of the trees had been snapped or pulled to the point of having quite a slant. I can only think it must be kids making a game that was tough on the trees. It was good that lantana had not bounced back but the site is currently dominated by fishbone fern which I will be addressing in a future working bee.

I did not get any further than site A as night was closing in. Hopefully it is a similar story at the rear of the reserve as well.

Reptiles loving the heat

As the weather warms up, the reptiles are seen more often. We often have multiple water dragons at the front of the reserve and throughout. They have probably always been there but for the last few years, the land mullets have become more comfortable and at least one is seen regularly.

I don’t see the two species fight but they do appear to keep a distance from each other so I assume they must fight every now and again.

Here is a short video that was taken on a day when I could easily see a few from my balcony…

Land mullet family 19.02.2023

My children noticed a few additions to the land mullets we have seen a lot this year. I was able to get some footage of a young land mullet.

After reading, we found out this is fairly routine for them. The offspring stick with their parents for about 3 months during the first year. My perception of the uncaring reptiles needs to be rethought.

Hopefully I will be able to get some better quality video of them one day.

Site Inspection – 2022.11.13

Rain combined with family commitments has left Dick’s Creek bush regeneration on the back burner over the last few months. To prepare for a renewed effort, I did a quick site inspection on the 13th of November, 2022. Really just a quick walk around to see if any areas were pressing. It was a mixed bag…

At the top level, near Green Valley Rd, It was good to see Lomandra popping up in new places:

And the cheese trees planted towards the front all look healthy, even if they are growing soo slowly:

Sandpaper figs appear to be able to grow in the most unlikely of places. Here from the cliff at first falls (underneath the false bracken fern):

Also an example here, growing in the smallest patch of dirt that lies in the middle of the creek:

Still, the bank on the north side is dominated by invasive weeds. Apart from the obvious Ginger lilly seen in the image below, palm grass and mist flower have never given up trying to own this location.

At the bottom of First falls, on the south side, the bleeding hearts are going well. There is also a red cedar (I think) as can be seen in the middle of the image below. There are also other natives taking hold but unfortunately they are accompanied by wandering willy, crofton weed and many of the other weeds that are common throughout the reserve. Maintenance is definitely needed.

Here is the video of the same spot, saying the same stuff but showing off my lacking video editing skills:

Between the first and second falls, the Swedish Ivy has been loving the extra rain. I have tackled it previously and I find it is easy to remove but with so much of it, I am going to need to dedicate a day to get the bulk of it done:

It is not all bad though… Various natives are still hanging on as can be seen in this clip:

One sad finding was the loss of some sandpaper fig saplings that I had planted at a spot near the top of Second falls:

I had previously planted them at this location when there was a lot more soil on the bank. Ironically, the intention was to reduce erosion. Considering sandpaper fig’s ability to grow in the most unlikely of spots, I was thinking they would make it here. However, we had some big rain events since then and clearly this spot was not protected enough to stop them from being swept away. Who knows, maybe they found a spot further down stream…

After moving past the top of second falls, I had great difficulty moving through the bush. Tracks that were previously clear and easy to follow, no longer existed. It was the same picture however. A big mix of good and bad. My next working bees will be a mix of tackling the swedish Ivy on the west bank and the lantana that is still strong at the rear of the reserve.

 

Working Bee – 06.02.2022

Was able to do a solid 3hrs on the Saturday which felt quite productive. Great day for bush regeneration with a cloudy day keeping it quite cool and previous rains making the soil easy to work with.

We have had a lot of rain so everything is growing well at the moment.

 

Including the weeds unfortunately. The track from second fall that I normally use had been swallowed by fishbone ferns.

So that was a good place to start… I looked through the fishbone fern for any natives and cleared around those. I found pittosporums, false bracken, blue flax lilly and others who were all doing their best to stay above the fishbone fern. I have done this multiple times now and each time the desired native plants get more numerous and larger. It is all heading in the right direction.

A native olive tree that I had previous cleared around is doing well with new growth showing but no new shoots closer to the cliff were visible. Still, other natives were taking advantage so that’s a win.

Notice the blue flax lilly and elderberry panax in the bottom left corner…

After this I moved down the lower creek section and pushed back lantana around a stand of bracken that I have posted about previously. Unfortunately the rain came in so no photos.

There are many seedlings of desired species popping up at present. Another two years will see a transformation I believe.

One last thing I could not resist taking a photo of was this spider. A beautiful specimen I thought… A golden orb spider I have been informed.

I’m looking forward to next weekend. My intention is to once again look for natives that need some more space to grow but there is also an infestation of Swedish Ivy that needs attention. It has been disturbing to see it popping up in more and more places.

Mystery plant No.5?

I noticed this plant on a property in Dudley, NSW.

I asked about it on facebook NSW plant identification group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/332752936930981/posts/1986545751551683/

It looks similar to Senna, and there is Senna in the area, but these leaves were much bigger and did not have the usual yellow margin that Senna has. I notice the leaflets are mostly opposite but not all of them. This plant was about a metre in height.

Most likely suggestion was: Robinia pseudoacacia

It seems to match images: https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=Robinia%20pseudoacacia

and the description: https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/robinia_pseudoacacia.htm

But I still need to return to confirm some of the characteristics (ie alternative leaf structure, spines near base of leaves).