matouenpeluche

Bees Here Now

Lots of Spring flowers in the Sydney bush at the moment and lots of accompanying bee interest. Below are photos that I managed to take of these busy creatures: the quite spectacular glossy green native bee beauty - the peacock carpenter bee, European honey bees and the mini stingless native bees.  

Sydney Flora and Fauna

From top right clockwise: Gum Blossoms, a Black Swan, Native Fuchsia, A Pelican, Red Spider Flower, A Little Cormorant, Tea Tree Blossoms, another Pelican, and Flannel Flowers in the centre.

Flannel Flowers

My drawing of one of Sydney's (and New South Wales' for that matter) prettiest bush flowers: the Flannel Flower.

What's on in Sydney...

Mother ducks teaching their ducklings how to forage, Kangaroo Paws, Spoonbills, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Flannel Flowers.

Early Spring Bush Blossoms in Sydney (Part II)

Amazingly enough, there are still many more Spring bush flowers that can be photographed and identified. Below are a couple more that I have come across on my travels.

Left to right from top: 1) I have only ever seen two of these white flowering bushes and they were standing next to each other! I'm guessing it is a Crowea/ wax flower of some sort, 2) Wiry Bauera/ Dog Rose 3) two photos of the native irises out at the moment. The darker purple iris I've blogged about previously (the Short Purple Flag), but the paler purple iris on top is called the Leafy Purple Flag or Wild Iris, and I only came across it recently. When seen in person they are very distinctively different types of purple, which I'm not sure you can gauge here. 4) Pink Matchheads/Heath Milkwort, 5) I see this upright white flower cluster in various bush parks a lot, but have been unable to find a name for it!  6) the tiny but perfect (and in some parts abundant) Lesser Flannel Flower.

Early Spring Bush Blossoms in Sydney

Here are some (yes, that's right - some!) of the Spring flowers that are blossoming in the Sydney bush. It is by no means a comprehensive gallery, as there are many that I have not included. I feel pretty certain I will be an updating who's who in the bush flower scene in a week or two. Meanwhile... 

Clockwise from left to right: 1) A pink boronia - but uncertain of the exact type. My money is on it being a Pinnate Boronia. 2) An Austral Indigo (a pink pea), 3) a pale yellow gum blossom, 4) a mauve wax flower, 5) Short Purple Flag/ Fragile Iris - these are absolutely everywhere is some parts of the bush and are especially eye catching as they tend to cluster around the bush paths in a very fetching manner, 6) Blue Dampiera which is really quite abundant also along paths in attractive electric blue clusters, 7) the tiny and delicate Slender Violet Bush, 8) the small but all of a sudden (like just today) everywhere Violet Kunzea.

Clockwise from left: 1) Large Leafed Bush Pea, 2) Smooth Parrot Pea, 3) a maroon Boronia (which I only see in one particular sandstone heath), 4) Slender Sun Orchids, 5) Fine leafed Bush Pea, 6) Coast Coral Heath, 7) Pink Wax Flowers. 

Clockwise from top left: 1) the beautiful Waratah I photographed a week or two ago opening up as the days get warmer, 2) Red Spider Flowers absolutely everywhere - I had thought they had had their season, but no they seem to be only just starting! 3) Grey Spider Flowers also really only just hitting their stride, 4) the very delightful and showy Rose Boronia or Sydney Rock Rose that I only see in one location, 5) a mumma sooty swamp wallaby with a joey in her pouch - OK not a flower, but anyway... 6) the pale green Common Chloanthes which actually flowers for most of the year, 7) an erect Guinea Flower, not to be confused with the Bundled Guinea Flower I blogged about in July, 8) the Narrow Leafed Hovea. Phew!

Most of this info I got from my trusty Cronin's Key Guide (Australian Wildflowers) by Leonard Cronin, and the very comprehensive Sydney's Wildflowers and Native Plants blog which helped out when I couldn't find something in Cronin's book.

The Bush is Alive...

...with the sound of buzzing. Particularly popular this fine Spring are the pretty pink wax flowers.

Waratah Blossom

I was lucky enough today to have my very first wild encounter with the beautiful New South Wales State floral emblem: the Waratah. Its scientific name is Telopea speciosissima. The Australian National Herbarium explains that Telopea comes from the Greek telopos meaning "seen from afar", and speciosissima comes from the latin for 'beautiful' or 'handsome'. The common name 'waratah' is from the original Eora people. Seeing a wild waratah in the bush was on my wish list, so I was totally thrilled when my companion pointed it out to me on a walk today!    

Information from the Australian National Herbarium.

Sydney: late August flora and fauna

A large pelican (are they any other size?)balancing comfortably on tree stump by a local lake,  Eggs and Bacon (Heathy Parrot Pea), Grey Spider-flower, Native Lilac (False Sarsparilla), a kookaburra, Heath Fuchsia with a backdrop of Showy Boronia and a rare pink Spider Flower.

Showy Boronia and July flora and fauna (part II)

Below is the first Boronia of the season: Showy Boronia. It's absolutely everywhere in some parts of the bush at the moment.

Below are more July (mostly!) flora and fauna. From top left: Pine-leaf Geebung (actually I took this photo in February, but only recently found the name for this flower), more wattle currently in bloom, a Phebalium squamulosum type flower out now, a Snow Wreath, Blackeyed Susans, bundled Guinea Flowers, a very large and industrious echidna foraging for food in a park I visited recently, a cobalt blue Dampiera triloba.