Phebalium squamulosum

“An open slender lightly foliaged shrub” – NPOS p. 120 This plant was hard to identify, as best as I can tell it’s a Scaly Phebalium.

Scaly Phebalium – flowing in winter, they’re meant to flower in spring.

The  Scaly Phebalium is a small woody shrub growing to about 1.5m. It’s leaves are narrow, less that 10mm wide, deep green with lighter coloured dots on the top side. The undersides are lighter in colour and covered in small scales, which is where the common name comes from. It’s found in standsone landscapes and is common in the Sydney area. NPOS describes it as aromatic, it does have a smell but it’s not nearly as strong as a tea tree, it could be that I have a bit of a blocked nose at the moment and am trouble smelling too.

Grevillea juniperina

“A prickly, much branched shrub 1-2m high” – NPOS p.95

This Juniper Grevillea is growing on the nature strip out the front, it’s self seeded which is interesting because although it’s a native plant it’s meant to be uncommon and mainly occurring in western Sydney.

Grevillea Juniperina flowering

The Juniper Grevillea is a hardy and adaptable species, which can be demonstrated by how well it’s doing without any care or cultivation. I’ve even recently cut it back as it’s been over growing onto the road. It’s in the form of a dense shrub which grows up to 2m tall, it has narrow stiff leaves that end with a sharp point. Flowers are red and take on the typical spidery Grevillea form. It’s meant to flower from September – November, our seems to flower year round, the picture was taken in July. I’ve tried unsuccessfully a few times to collect seeds and grow them. Apparently you can achieve a greater chance of success by nicking the seeds to expose the embryo, or exposing the seeds to fire and smoke. They will also grow from cuttings. I’ll give these a go. It’s a beautiful plant that is extremely hardy and will not grow too tall, the rabbits and wallabies seem to leave it alone too, perfect for the garden.

Grallina cyanoleuca

These medium sized black and white birds were hanging about in the trees out the back, it’s yet another species that I couldn’t identify! By the time I got the camera they were gone. Luckily they returned the next day, this time I was ready. I’ve mentioned the method I use to identify birds and other plants and animals before but wanted to say it again as I find it really effective. First try to take a photo to closely study the features of the animal, then go to Google image search and type in a visual description with a location. When an image matches check it out, all you need is a name then you’re set. This is how I identified the Peewee. “black and white bird australia” brought up exactly what I’d seen. The Peewee is also commonly known as the Magpie-lark,  there were a few sites saying it’s called the Peewee in New South Wales ( where I am ) so I’ll call it that. I also think it’s a better sounding name. The Peewee is a common bird found throughout Australia except Tasmania and central Western Australia. It’s black and white markings mimic that of a true Magpie, which it sometimes uses to advantage by infiltrating magpie flocks for the protection of the larger birds. Peewees build their nests out if mud and line them with feathers and grass. Peewees can be aggressive and territorial and are known to swoop and attack people that get to close to their nests. Males have white markings on their cheeks and eyebrows, females have white on their forehead chin and throat.

Zosterops lateralis Another common bird that I’ve only recently identified in the backyard. The Silvereye gets it’s name from the distinct patch of white around it’s eyes. It’s a small bird, only 11cm – 13cm in length, it moves about quickly making it hard to spot and identify. Silvereye live on the coast and adjacent inland areas of almost all of the country, they’re also found throughout New Zealand and southwest Pacific islands including Lord Howe, Fiji and Vanuatu.

Phylidonyris novaehollandiae Another ( former ) unknown bird in the yard. It’s a New Holland honeyeater, a not uncommon bird that’s distribution stretches from the southern Queensland coast, all the way down the east coast, throughout Tasmania, then westwards following the mainland coast wrapping up a few hundred km north of Perth. They’re small birds reaching a maximum size of 20cm. This one was hard to photograph, it kept moving about, not staying still for long at all.

This cocoon was on a post at the start of the Little Blue Gum Creek walk. It’s large, about 15cm long, with sticks woven into the sides. I remember seeing many like this when I was growing up but had never known what animal made them.

Saunder’s Case Moth Cocoon at the start of the Little Blue Gum Creek boardwalk.

A quick search pointed to it being a Saunder’s Case Moth cocoon. During their caterpillar phase case moths make their cocoons out of silk, most species attach sticks, leaves or other debree as camouflage. Each species had a distinct type of cocoon, but they are also constrained by available materials so even within a single species cases can vary in materials and appearance.

Sarcocornia quinqueflora

“A small, erect, leafless herb with succulent stems” - NPOS p. 396

I came across this field of samphire in the salt flats of Moores Creek. I was there looking for remains of a footbridge from an old photo that was supposedly built during WWI as part of a military training exercise. There was no evidence of a bridge, and the creek looked different enough from the photo that it made me doubt I was in the right place.

I’ve done a previous post on the Eastern Spinebill , I just wanted to share a new photo, this time of a male. As often seems to be the case in nature the male is more striking than the female, I guess they need to impress, and it’s not like they can buy a fancy car.

Male Eastern Spinebill – what a hansom devil

Alisterus scapularis

The King Parrot is another common bird in the the area that I was oblivious to until recently. It was my next door neighbor that pointed them out to me. I reckon the name suits, they are a medium to large bird, 43cm in length, males have a striking red colouring  over their head, breast and underside and have deep green wings. Females are the same size with similar colouring but with green heads. King Parrots are frequent visitors to our yard, I had one land on my hand to eat some birdseed last week.