ANPS Walk to Settler's Track
Today, 23 February 2011, the local chapter of ANPS took a walk along the shorter version of the Settlers Track in Southern Namadgi National Park. Please note that the linked page is about 1.5Mb - so if you are on a dial-up connection, now might be a good time for a coffee!
It was a snorter of a day. Great weather, a pleasant track with not too many hills and lots of nature to look at, hear and photograph. I haven't done much with the images of the huts since that is included in the linked brochure. However I did find this interesting newspaper snippet in Brayshaw's Hut.
This was particularly interesting to me as when a teenager in the UK I used to visit Linnet's Cottage at Bradwell in Essex which had been similarly decorated - but in about 1810, with newspapers reporting blokes being transported to Australia for stealing blazers!
This image - of a lichen covered branch framing a view across the valley to a frost hollow - summarises a fair bit of the walk.
There were also some shapely granite boulders here and there. A pity about the thistles but they were everywhere: presumably the ACT Government can't afford a few bucks worth of broadleaf herbicide!
Since this was an ANPS walk let us get down to matters floral. We will start off with the trendiest family of flowers, the orchids. Today I noted the Rosy Hyacinth Orchid (Dipodium roseum)
The next species is the Magenta Autumn Orchid (Eriochilus magenteus). Note the hairy sepals which distinguish it from Parsons Bands (E.cuculatus)
Insects were evident - but not annoying! The most common arthropod around was the Common Brown Butterfly. They were everywhere and (unlike most members of their Family) occasionally posed for a snap.
In one of the damper parts of the walk I managged to capture this image of a crane fly (in the Tipulidae family). This image possbly explains why the family has the common name 'Daddy Long legs"
My final insect image was taken because I liked the small grasshopper (possibly family Acrididae) hanging off the side of a Helichrysum rutidolepis. On looking closely there also seemed to be some ants on the 'hopper's back!
I only got one decent shot of a vertebrate. It was initially identified as the alpine sub-species of Verreaux' Tree Frog (Litoria verreauxii alpina) but on further consultation (one should quit while one is ahead - for glory - but keep questioning -for science) as the nominate subspecies (Litoria verreauxii verreauxii). the lack of fine pointed warts appears to be deterministic!
I didn't get an image of the 1.2m long Red-bellied Black Snake I found while looking for birds: at least I saw this one unlike the hundreds of others I probably walked past. The one I spotted shot through VERY quickly as I fumbled around for my camera!
It was a snorter of a day. Great weather, a pleasant track with not too many hills and lots of nature to look at, hear and photograph. I haven't done much with the images of the huts since that is included in the linked brochure. However I did find this interesting newspaper snippet in Brayshaw's Hut.
This image - of a lichen covered branch framing a view across the valley to a frost hollow - summarises a fair bit of the walk.
Let us move on to dicotyledons. In order we have Calotis sp,Lobelia sp and Rhodanthe anthemoides
Comments
Nice walk, by the sounds of it. Butterflies still going crazy here, too, though maybe just starting to wane, with cooler days now.
Your 3 listed plants are reversed in order.
Amazed that your Hyacinth Orchid was still going. They have finished here, by a month, now, at least. Nice photo.
The Eriochilus are just starting, up my way, but only E. cuculatus seen so far. Great shot showing the hairs on the edge of the sepals.
Cheers
Denis
I apologise for mistaking the Calotis and the Rhodanthe. I didn't realise the Rhodanthe was of a flower on the turn, half full of seeds. I thought it was the "Burr Daisy".
Denis
PS Nice Frog.