I could not ignore the infestation of palm grass growing on the south bank at the bottom of first fall. It has been getting steadily stronger for the last 12 months so that became my starting point this morning. I forgot to grab a photo so that will have to come later…
Fred and Sandra were on site this morning and worked like a powerhouse to clear a substantial amount of lantana and privet along the creek towards the rear of the reserve.
Hard at workJob well done
I kept on working in the same fashion as the last few working bees. With the privet being close to the creek’s edge, it is important to preserve the root system to avoid erosion. Hence I used the cut and paint method on trees close to the creek.
Here’s me in front of a section I was working on…
With a little more access to the creek, it was a little faster to get the plants watered. It is not normally required to water plants in bush regeneration but the weather is notably dry at present. I will keep giving them some water until I am sure they have established themselves.
After our working bee, we were just having a cup of tea when we saw this guy:
Pacific baza
We don’t see these guys as often as some of the other birds so it is always interesting to see them.
New years Eve. What a great day to make a little more progress on the target area. I have been feeling the need to give the plantings some water but it has been quite the struggle to get down the creek to gather some water and then back to the plants. So, to make the process easier, I intended to remove the lantana and privet to allow a shorter path to the creek.
It didn’t work so well. Numerous native vines had wrapped around the privet to the extent that it was far more difficult than normal and even after removing the privet, the vines still make the trip to the creek quick tricky. Still, it was an improvement and the plants watering was a lot quicker this time.
This was my progress for the day.
It is not possible to see the creek but it is now possible to reach the creek through that vegetation.
A very productive working bee. First step was to get some more plants into the ground. I put the lomandras in the top level after pushing back the fishbone fern. A Hibbertia scandens (Guinea Flower) went beside the creek, just before fern wall. I neglected to take photos but all the planted plants are looking healthy for now.
I had barely taken a step on the track down to site A when I was drawn to a very loud but unseen bird in the fishbone fern. I didn’t recognise what type of bird it was but it was going crazy which made me curious enough to stop and see what it was concerned about. Only because I had stopped, I saw this guy:
A small snake
A snake on the track. Not sure what type it was but I’m glad I saw it before I was on top of it. It didn’t move despite me trying to make some extra noise, stomping on the ground etc. However, I threw a stick nearby and it moved into the ferns then. I saw it go but I still didn’t want to walk on the track. I made a large detour via the alternative track. Spotting a snake is a first for me at Dick’s creek.
I notice this shrub each time I walk near site A and a few have popped up elsewhere as well.
I finally asked for identification via the facebook group ‘NSW plant identification’. Best guess appears to be: Claoxylon australe (Brittlewood)
It’s not part of the Hunter Valley Moist Forest profile but it is endemic to the East coast of Australia so it gets to stay.
I got back to the target site where I have been working for the past few weeks. It was sad to see the bower bird’s bower had been flattened.
Flattened bower bird bower
I am not sure if that is their normal behaviour or if something interrupted them but I have been seeing the female bower bird a lot lately so I think they have moved onto raising some young.
It has been quite dry and warm for the past few weeks. It made it easy to spot any lantana that was missed previously.
Lantana with some remaining roots can be spotted easily via the sprouting leaves.
On the down side, the dry soil does make it a bit harder to pull out plants with the roots attached.
I started from where I left off last week…
Before…
I believe the clump of trees & shrubs is on the mound which I remember from years ago when it was just a few instances of false bracken fern battling against the lantana. The false bracken fern is still there but so is a lot of other plants… Privet (of course), lantana still, tobacco trees, poison peach, bleeding hearts, sandpaper figs, lilly pilly, a tree fern and some others I am less sure of. I freed up most of the natives so it should all be heading in the right direction once again.
After…
A lot of the plants lean on each other and so take a while to straighten up after the exotic species are removed. You can see that here with the bleeding hearts and the false bracken fern.
With the exotic species gone, the remaining natives are going to be getting a lot more sun. I am hoping for some rain to help them transition.
There is still much more to be done so it will be a similar working bee next week.
Another productive working bee today. I was originally thinking of removing the lantana in a linear fashion but I noticed the bower bird fly off when I arrived at the site so I decided to keep a distance from it’s bower (the structure on the ground). Strangely, it was a female that flew off while I would of expected it to be a male considering it has no notable decorations around the bower. After googling, I have now discovered that the bower birds bower is not a nest like I thought it was. Shows how much I know!
I had barely started when I noticed this tree poking out from the lantana along the creek:
A Bolwarra tree (Eupomatia Laurina) I believe…
A good place to start. If I see a native being crowded out, it makes sense to free it up. Upon clearing the lantana away from this Bolwarra tree I found multiple other natives in the same spot. It’s hard to spot but the after photo shows bleeding hearts and sandpaper figs amongst others…
Bolwarra tree without lantana draped over it.
Unfortunately, the privet behind the Bolwarra tree was too big to deal with today. Those have been put on the to-do list.
With that done, I returned my attention to the edge of the clearing we made last week. It was not like I expected it. There was numerous natives hidden underneath the lantana. It was great to see but it did make progress a fair bit slower. Amongst the usual natives of bleeding heart and sandpaper figs was some poison peach, lilly pilly and also what I believe is murrogun, even though I have never had it definitely identified. It is well worth removing the lantana but it also makes it clear that this area needs more attention fairly urgently to ensure the natives survive.
Results from my efforts:
Lantana free
It doesn’t look like much but the rafts of lantana show I was doing something…
There is a lot more to do. I believe I will be doing similar work for at least a month or so…
A very productive working bee today. It felt like I got three times as much done than usual…. maybe because there were three times more people than usual?
Fred and Sandra Anderson joined the group on Sunday for a spot of lantana bashing. I had a clear idea of the area I wanted to work on but we had to get there first. So the direct track down to site A got a little work:
A track through the fishbone fern down to Site A.
There are some used railway ties near this location. If I can cut them down to size somewhat, I might be able to make decent stairs over the slippery parts.
We made our way down the cleared lane-way at the rear of the reserve to get to the large patch of lantana between the ol’ fallen fig tree and the creek. Before we reach this location, we need to penetrate the wall of privet that lines the lane-way.
A small hole in the privet wall to access the field of lantana
At this location, there is at least 100m2 of this:
Lantana living its life to its best
I had previously cleared most of this location but then left it alone for far too long. While it is once again dominating the scene, it still has not gotten to the point it was at before I first cleared it. It’s younger and easier to pull up. Still a job though…
Here and there were a few plants that had obviously taken root when the lantana was previously pushed back. For example, this tree fern:
Tree fern found underneath the lantana
Hopefully the shock of all the extra light won’t be too much for it.
Another interesting find was this bower bird nest:
Bower bird nest
I had only cleared this area a few weeks back so I know it is new but no obvious decorations yet. I hope we did not disturb it too much…
After a few hours, I believe we had cleared a solid third of the field of lantana.
Results of the day
We left it at that but with Saturday’s weather forecast looking good, I should be able to push on further at this location on the next working bee.
Today’s working bee was all about preparation for the new plants we will be picking up in the coming week (plant list).
At the top level, the grass stops most other plants from spreading or getting going. So that appears to be the best location for the smaller plants such as grasses and ground cover. I pulled out grass from various spots to make way:
Should be suitable for lomandra and/or some of the ground covers
I had planned on planting some of the trees at the rear section of the reserve so I headed there to find suitable spots. On my way to the desired spot, I walked down my old route which was informative. I had cleared this area previously and various trees took the opportunity to grow but lantana was once again reclaiming the area.
I remember saving a Clerodendrum tree in this area. At the time it was bent right over due to the weight of the lantana. Now it is prospering:
Clerodendrum I saved years ago and one of the first poison peach trees I discovered in the reserve
In front of it is also a poison peach tree which started growing not long after I cleared the area.
I took some film at this location as well…
After this spot, it got much worse. I was shocked by the condition of the bush. Lantana is back in a big way. I struggled to make my way through so I forgot about taking some photos. Along the creek, palm grass has also taken off.
There were some positives. Lots of sandpaper figs and other desirable plants but it is all under threat by lantana at present.
I will not be able to plant the trees in that location next weekend. I will have to keep some of the new trees in their pots until I can improve the condition of the area. It is going to take some time…
I was in the mood to tackle some lantana today but as always, priorities changed. As I walked past ‘site A’ I was disturbed by the density of privet. Lantana contributes but it is the privet that has taken hold at this location. I had previously cleared this area and for this reason, there is numerous young natives popping up. Sandpaper fig, bleeding heart, pittosporum and others are there but their life is hard when they are amongst this:
Privet taking over…
So I started removing the privet with the weed puller which I had luckily brought with me. While the privet is a big problem, I found it easier to deal with than in the past because most of it was still young and had not fully established itself. Another twelve months and it will be notably harder, I believe.
This is the first patch I cleared:
The raft grew quickly
After lunch I moved along the track and tackled any privet I noticed. I finally got to the bank on the south side of Second fall… it was mostly just small privet.
Most of the privet gone but there is still a large privet tree which requires some climbing to get to
Past ‘Site A’, I found some natives amongst the fishbone fern so it was worth while to deal with that directly.
Young elderberry panax and pittosporum now free from fishbone fern
I decided it would be more efficient to move downhill and clear the privet from underneath. However, I found the ol’ fallen sandpaper fig to still be being harassed by privet and lantana so I spent the rest of the day at that spot. There is three or four poison peach trees in that location as well so I did my best to help those out.
After clearing privet and lantana from the sandpaper fig and the peach trees.
One of the poison peach trees is a good five meters tall now.
There is still more to do for the ol’ fallen sandpaper tree. I think I will start here next week.
A perfect day for bush regeneration. Nice temperatures on a cloudy day with soil softened by recent rains.
It has been a disappointment to watch the Sydney golden wattles at the front of the reserve dying. I planted these trees only about four or five years ago so I was surprised to see them pass so quickly.
Dead and dying Sydney golden wattlesInsects are making short work of tree…
The trunks are being hollowed out by insects. I think the living sections do not have long to live. It is hard to know if the insects killed the tree or if they started devouring the tree after it died.
My first task of the day was to clear some more monstera along the track leading to the bottom of first fall. It is shaping up nicely and I believe it will soon be my preferred track to enter the reserve.
Currently though, this Rhus tree is in the way…
Rhus tree – don’t touch
Leaves of the Rhus tree
It did use to be a lot larger until I cut it down but it is still going strong. It is going to need to be poisoned to have it gone once and for all.
Today I decided it was a good time to focus on fishbone fern. Fishbone fern is loving the weather and is popping up and taking over in many many locations. It does a great job at establishing itself in difficult locations such as rock faces. From there it can spread out and prevent new growth.
While clearing a stand of fishbone fern from the bottom of first fall I noticed a currawong making full use of a native olive tree. I do get a kick out watching native birds eating from native trees.
The currawong’s nest is nearby so I will be watching the spot underneath for more native olive trees saplings next year.
Red cedar growing underneath the canopy of a bleeding heart tree
It was also interesting to check out this red cedar tree that has been growing from underneath the bleeding heart tree. The bleeding heart does not appear to impinge the growth of the red cedar but I suspect the favour will not be returned as the red cedar starts to outgrow the bleeding heart.
I made my way over to the stretch of Gahnia between first and second falls. Some Gahnia was popping up further up the bank so I worked to clear the fishbone fern around that and then I followed the same principle from there.
That is, clear the fishbone fern on the way to and around any natives. Sure enough, while clearing the fishbone fern I found small natives that had not been able to clear the dense fishbone fern. I am sure they will be looking a lot better in the next month or so.
Area of fishbone cleared around a sweet pittasporum tree
Finally, to keep a promise to myself, I had to clear the lantana off the poison peach tree I noticed a few weeks back. The area, to my horror, has returned to a dense privet forest interlaced with lantana.
Privet is taking over…
This location was largely cleared of privet a few years ago, so it shows how prolific privet can be. On the plus side, these trees are quite young so they should be easier to handle.
Lantana was also going strong at this spot. I was able to remove the main culprit, a large lantana that was spreading in all directions. I can see the weight of the lantana’s branches had striped off some branches off the poison peach tree. This photo shows one side of the tree is lacking in branches. It should be happier now.
Poison peach tree
That was enough for the day. Hopefully next weekend produces the same type of weather so I can start tackling those problem areas.
This is certainly the time of year for Bush regeneration. Good temperatures and soft soil make pulling out invasive weeds so much easier.
My intention was to get to the Bracken fern mound, close to the Sandpaper fig tree I cleared around last week. To do so though, I had to go through Site A and I really could not walk past it while it was in the state it was in.
While fishbone fern dominates this area, it is the privet that concerned me. Fishbone fern is easy to deal with while privet can develop deep roots which can result in a lot more work to remove them and they are well able to push out most other vegetation, especially when combined with lantana.
This is site A. It was once thick with lantana and then it was host to many bleeding heart trees. At present it has more fishbone fern than anything else.
This next photo shows site A after removing most of the privet and lantana along the back bank of site A. It is hard to see any improvement as there is still a wall of privet at the back of the area.
I did free some dianella of fishbone fern, seen here on the right, but for the most part, the fishbone fern has to wait for another day
I cleared site A of lantana and privet and then continued to do the same thing along the bank, past site A. The photo below is me looking back towards site A after finishing up for the day.
I was very happy to see this Poison peach tree (center of image) at the end of the day. I had seen this tree as a young sappling not long after doing some bush regen in the area. I would say it is now fully grown, standing around 5m tall. It joins my list of things to do as I see the lantana has started to encroach on it.
I was happy to find this poison peach tree at the end of the day.
There were a few mystery plants I came across during the day. One vine was identified by a facebook group. Mystery plant – Clematis aristata
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.
