In nature every day is different, but this day had more surprises than most when John went to check our weed teams’ progress on a beautiful property in Tullymorgan.
I was catching up with our Weed Team who were undertaking a sweep of the lower slopes at a Tullymorgan property in the Clarence Valley. It was essential that we followed up on earlier weed eradication work by pulling up fresh seedlings to ensure they didn’t take hold. Within just a few short hours we found some very special things…
First up, was the finding of a healthy specimen of the endangered shrub Grevillea masonii. I had found that species on the property before, but this time it was in full bloom… a definite photo-op!
This was followed shortly after by the discovery of a Lady Fingers Orchid, which Daniel – our orchid guru, is convinced is a Caladenia fuscata, or Dusky Fingers.
A Black She-oak, Allocasuarina litoralis with a mass of freshly chewed cones on the ground around its base was the next piece of excitement, a sure sign the threatened Glossy-black Cockatoos had been feeding there. I didn’t have the good fortune of catching a glimpse of the birds themselves with their bright red tail feathers standing out in flight against their predominantly black plumage, but it is a truly memorable spectacle when I do.
Some spectacular flowering Boronia chartacea, a species that is only found in the Clarence Valley was another unexpected find, again spotted by Daniel.
I found Rob, a veteran ‘cane toader’ with the biggest cane toad I’d ever seen… in fact, it was the largest Rob had ever seen also! He has spend more than a decade catching toads on the front line in the Clarence Valley trying to halt their inexorable march southwards.
This guy was bagged and destined for the freezer.
All in the day’s work for our multi-skilled team”.
John Edwards.