New Holland Honeyeater on a Banksia blossom
Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/02/20

I was very fortunate to get these photos. We just pulled up at our home in our car and this little bloke was feasting on the nectar of the Banksia. The scientific name of the New Holland honeyeater is Phylidonyris novaehollandiae. The plant seems to be Banksia victoriae. The image and description on Wikipedia fits well except the leaves on this specimen are up to 40cm rather than the '15 to 30cm' of Wikipedia. It is apparently one of the most popular Banksias in local gardens. Mandurah is a great place for viewing many species of birds, particularly water birds. I've images of Mandurah water birds elsewhere on this page and on another on this site. Home Top Index Peel estuary Len Howard Reserve, in the Peel Estuary region

The area involved
The Len Howard Conservation Park, I believe, is roughly the grey-green strip running from bottom centre to the upper right of this image. Mandurah Quay is in the upper right corner of the image (at the word 'Boundary' on the far right). There is an unsealed walking path that runs from Nature's Eye Shelter (bottom, left of centre) along near the coast of Collins Pool to Mandurah Quay. There are concreted walking/cycling paths on the northern boundary of the conservation park. While I have called the swamp 'ephemeral' above, after seeing how long it is flooded (by late July 2022) it would be more accurately called 'seasonal'.

Seen while on an early morning bike ride in summer, the Peel lagoon; from the walking trail in the Len Howard Conservation Park. Photo iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm, 2023/02/05

A calm summer's morning on the Peel - from the Len Howard Conservation Park trail - five photos

The Peel lagoon on an exceptionally calm morning; from the walking trail in the Len Howard Conservation Park. Photo iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm, 2023/01/23

An Allocasuarina by the Peel lagoon on a calm morning. The Allocasuarinas must be salt tolerant, although, to judge by where they grow, not quite so salt tolerant as the Melaleucas of the Len Howard Conservation Park. Photo iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm, 2023/01/23 A crabber in the Peel lagoon and another Allocasuarina; on the same calm morning. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm, 2023/01/23

Vegetation bordering the Peel estuary in Len Howard CP, as viewed from the walking trail. Photo iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens 1.54mm, 2023/01/23

Swans and another crabber in the Peel lagoon. The Peel is ideal for crabbing, it is very shallow and has a sandy bottom, and a day like this with glassy water surface allows the crabs to be seen easily. Photo iPhone 11 pro, telephoto lens, 6mm, 2023/01/23 Further north Some of the vegetation adjacent to the lagoon in the Len Howard Conservation Park. The smaller trees are paperbarks (Melaleucas), the large one possibly a marri (Corymbia calophylla) Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 pro, 4.25mm standard lens, early morning 2023/01/01 At one part of the track there is a seasonal swamp on the northern side. The fact that the paperbark trees in this swamp are more healthy than most in the LHCP suggests that this swamp is not so saline as many of the minor lagoons. Photo iPhone 11 pro, 4.25mm standard lens, early morning 2023/01/01 A few hundred metres south of Mandurah Quay the walking path crosses a couple of small lagoons. This is one of those. Most of the trees are paperbarks. The bird in the upper left is an Australian white ibis, Threskiornis molucca. Photo iPhone 11 pro, 6mm standard lens, early morning 2023/01/01 Home Top Index A 'common' fringe-lilly (Thysanotus tuberosus). Wikipedia states that it grows in south-eastern Australia, but there are quite a few specimens in the LHCP. A strikingly beautiful tiny flower in an eye-catching colour. Photo 2022/11/02, iPhone 11 Pro, standard camera 4.25mm focal length Hemiandra pungens, on Boundary Island, in the Peel lagoon. Photo 2022/11/20, iPhone 11 Pro, standard camera 4.25mm focal length

Kangaroos in Len Howard Conservation Park

Kangaroos at a feeding station that someone maintains adjacent to the Len Howard CP The kangaroos that live in the Len Howard CP are very relaxed around people. Many times we have seen them grazing on someone's front lawn. I've seen one hop through a front gate to do some grazing in mid morning. Photo taken 2022/03/16, Canon Ixus 190

Osprey in Len Howard Conservation Park This osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was perched alone on a tree on the edge of Collins Pool of the Peel estuary. I suspect from its scruffy appearance that it is a fledgeling. Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/02/18 Home Top Index

An Egret, either a little egret, Egretta garzetta or a great egret, Egretta alba, in the Peel wetlands; Collins Pool in the background. (I believe I've seen both little and great egrets in the area.) Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/02/18

Yellow billed spoonbill, (Platalea flavipes) There is a photo of many spoonbills in their communal roosting area on another page on this site. Photo Canon Ixus 190, focal length 43mm, 2022/07/06 Grey butcherbird, (Cracticus torquatus) There is one or more of these birds in an area on the eastern side of the big seasonal paperbark swamp. Photo Canon Ixus 190, focal length 43mm, 2022/07/20

Waterbird roosting area This particular lagoon is at the extreme northern corner of the Len Howard Conservation Park. It always contains a great many roosting water birds of many species.

Home Top Index A roosting area in the Len Howard Conservation Park. Some of the birds present are grey teal (Anas gracilis) nearer the camera, pied cormorants (Phalacrocorax varius) on some of the branches on the left, black-winged stilts (Himantopus himantopus) middle distance on or close to the water, and probably others. There are many dead trees in the conservation park; the most likely cause would seem to me to be increased salinity possibly due to reduced flushing with fresh water resulting from lower rainfalls. Photo Canon Ixus 190, early morning 2022/02/18

Shorebird or Waterbird? The following is extracted from a Mandurah Environment and Heritage Group pamphlet... "Waterbirds are basically birds that are mostly seen feeding, breeding or resting in or around water. The shorebirds are a specific genetic grouping of waterbirds, comprising of the Sandpipers and Plovers, within which there are sub-groups such as the Stilts, Avocets, Stints, Godwits, Curlews, Dotterels and Lapwings. The Egrets, Herons, Ibises, Spoonbills, Ducks, Cormorants, Terns, Grebes, Pelicans, Swans and a few others are not shorebirds but simply waterbirds."

The Duck Pond This little lagoon is close to my home. As it does not seem to have any official name and can contain hundreds of ducks I've taken to calling it the Duck Pond.

A pond in the Len Howard reserve. The water birds in the middle distance are Pacific black ducks (Anas superciliosa, they can be identified by the black steak through the eye area), at least some of those in the distance are grey teal. This pond is impossible to access in winter without wading through water. I found that the water level had fallen enough by early November 2022 for me to access one end of it without wading through water. Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/02/22

The same pond as in the photo above on another day. I have seen an estimated 300 ducks on this pond, but many are inclined to fly off before I can get a photo. On this occasion most were far enough away that only a very few departed. There are probably about a hundred in this image, all Pacific black ducks as far as I can see. Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/03/27 Hardenbergia probably comptoniana on the edge of the Len Howard reserve. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 pro, 2022/06/26 An evening view looking west from the Nature's Eye shelter area taken when I placed the first dog and kangaroo watering point. The bright 'star' is probably Venus. Home Top Index Photo 2022/04/27, iPhone 11 Pro, standard focal length camera. I continue to be impressed at the capabilities of the iPhone cameras. It would be quite impossible to take a photo like this hand-held with a conventional camera.

An early morning view toward the rising Sun from the lagoon foreshore reserve east of the Novara boat ramp. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens, (focal length 1.54mm), 2022/05/19. The iPhone was hand-held in very dim light, the resolution is not good enough for any larger rendition (but, I think, is remarkably good for any hand held camera is such dim light). Early morning on the Peel lagoon A distinctively Australian Casuarina tree on the right, Melaleucas further away; the Darling Scarp in the distance. Photo 2022/05/28, iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) focal length. Again, early morning on the Peel lagoon. This image was captured at the car park at the southern end of the Len Howard CP. Home Top Index I had seen a car parked in that spot, with its headlights on, several times previously. Why anyone would want to park, turn off the engine, and sit in their car with the headlights on I can't imagine, but the highlight of the brightly lit green grass made this photo a bit more interesting than it would otherwise have been. On a previous occasion I sat on the bench between the two trees on the right, a car was parked some distance on my left. The driver then moved his cat to about its position in this photo and, again, turned his headlights on, shining them on me. He left them on for some minutes, not pleasant for me. Weird. Photo 2022/07/18, iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) focal length. From a short section of coastal boardwalk in the Len Howard CP, on the main Collins Pool of the Peel estuary, SW of what I call the Duck Pond. On a day with scattered showers and short sunny periods. Note the dead paperbark trees, killed, it would seem, by the increasing salinity of the Peel estuary, due to climate change. Photo, iPhone 11 Pro, ultra-wide lens, 1.54mm focal length From a short section of coastal boardwalk in the Len Howard CP, on the main Collins Pool of the Peel estuary, SW of what I call the Duck Pond (the same place as the above image, looking at the same scene, but using a longer focal length camera). Home Top Index The distant rain clouds are more in evidence here than in the above image. Photo, iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, 6mm focal length Swan family in the Len Howard CP

A swan family in the Len Howard CP just south of Mandurah Quay. They seemed to be sheltering from the wind, which was exceptionally strong on the day. They may also have been sheltering their cygnets from predators; I'd been told that pelicans predate cygnets and ducklings. There were another couple of pairs of swans not far away. Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/08/03

Big seasonal paperbark swamp (BSPS) A part of the Len Howard Conservation Park   The 'Big seasonal paperbark swamp' This area, about a kilometre to the northeast of our house, is one of our favourite places to walk our dogs. When we arrived in the heat and dryness of summer it was hard to imagine what I came to call the 'big seasonal paperbark swamp' would look like in late winter. The swamp deserves to have an official name, but doesn't seem to have one. The Google Earth image on the right, dated 2018/11/14, shows water in two places in the swamp. It seems that at most times of a typical year there is no surface water present. I have spent many hours controlling fleabane and onion weed in this area through much of 2022 and up to at least September of 2023. It and the Len Howard Conservation Park are my favourite places within a kilometre or so of my home.   Photo iPhone 11 pro, 6mm telephoto lens, 2022/12/30. A section of the northern end of the BSPS in the early morning. The early morning has always been my favourite time, especially so in summer when temperatures become uncomfortable later in the day. Xanthorrhoeas in the big seasonal paperbark swamp   Photo iPhone 11 pro, 6mm telephoto lens, early morning 2022/12/30. Some of the Xanthorrhoeas (grass trees, yakkas) in the northern end of the BSPS. Home Top Index A number of the smaller Xanthorrhoeas have been run over and seriously damaged by the council mower. I offered to mark the small Xanthorrhoeas with pegs to try to avoid similar accidents in the future, but received no answer from Council.   Photo iPhone 11 pro, 1.54mm wide angle lens, early morning 2022/12/30. One of the more interestingly formed trees within the lower lying part of the BSPS. Curiously there is very little middle story undergrowth in the BSPS while the part of the Len Howard Conservation Park that is close to the Peel lagoon is densely covered with undergrowth, to the point where much of it is difficult to walk through. In the BSPS there are grasses and low groundcovers, some rushes in places and there are the trees; very few shrubs. There are some grass trees (Xanthorrhoeas) and Zamia palms (Macrozamia riedlei) in the more open areas. The paperbark trees in the part of the swamp that is seasonally flooded - against the light of the early morning sun. Photo iPhone 11 pro, 4.25mm standard lens, early morning 2023/01/02. Kangaroos in the swamp A kangaroo and joey in the with the early morning sun catching the trees in the background. Home Top Index They were concerned about the dog we had on a lead, but not so concerned as to feel the need to move until he barked. Western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2025/02/28

The Big Paperbark Swamp Mob in the northern end of the BSPS. Home Top Index I've spent many hours removing fleabane and false onion weed from this part of the BSPS in particular. What is needed is a major effort of planting suitable native shrubs and groundcovers. I've spread some seeds of the local natives Acacia saligna and a few of Hardengergia comptoniana while hoeing out weeds. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 2023/01/23

Most of the Big Paperbark Swamp Mob. There are at least 24 kangaroos in the photographed area. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, 6mm, 2022/07/26

The paperbark swamp through the seasons A particularly big paperbark tree in the 'big seasonal paperbark swamp' (see Google Earth image, above). It is probably a swamp paperbark, Melaleuca rhaphiophylla, but possibly a saltwater paperbark, Melaleuca_cuticularis. Home Top Index The seasonal swamp was dry when this photo was taken. Note the difference in the next few photos, as the swamp filled with water to the point of overflowing. Photo 2022/04/27, iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera The swamp begins to fill A view of a part of the paperbark swamp that was flooded for a part of the winter of 2022. The swamp was not full at this point. The swamp area is home to 25 or so kangaroos, possibly more. They are not shy, a person can walk within several metres of them at times. Photo iPhone 11 pro, 2022/06/22 I've kept some records of when the BSPS starts and stops overflowing in the time I've lived in the vicinity on another page on this site. Duckweed grows on the water in the paperbark swamp; winter of 2022

Erskine had a wet winter, at least up to the time of photographing this, 2022/07/24. By my records there had been 129mm of rain in May, 148mm in June and 109mm up to 24th of July. Consequently the swamp was full and overflowing into the main estuary pool. (I don't seem to have recorded when the swamp started overflowing, it was probably at least a couple of weeks before I took this photo, but surface flow into the estuary stopped on 2022/09/28.) The floating plant is common duckweed, Lemna minor. It is not native to Australia. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, focal length 6mm (telephoto), 2022/07/24

This photo was taken 11 days later than the one above, and the duckweed had grown to cover most of the water surface in this area, or more likely, the recent strong winds had crowded it into this, southern, end of the swamp. From a distance, and in the lower definition version of these photos, the duckweed could be mistaken for algae. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard (4.25mm) lens, 2022/08/04 Duckweed close-up A close-up photo of the duckweed in the paperbark swamp. It is the floating plant with near-circular leaves. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens (4.25mm), 2022/08/04 By the time I took this photo, 2022/10/18, the water level in the big seasonal paperbark swamp was falling fairly quickly and, so far as I could see, the duckweed was covering all of the surface of the water. I didn't see any open water at all. The leaves (if that is what they were) seemed smaller and more fleshy than in the above photo. Perhaps they were fruits rather than leaves? Photo Canon Ixus 190. Mandurah Quay area, Peel Estuary

Looking across the Peel estuary on a misty morning, Boundary Island on the right. Home Top Index At first Denece and I thought that we were seeing clouds just above the horizon in the distance, then we realised that it was trees on the other side of the Peel lagoon, as can be seen in the high-definition image. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, focal length 6mm, 2022/06/02. A view of the trees on the lagoon coast east of Mandurah Quay This is a very attractive place to walk, and a very popular place for dog walking. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2022/08/11

Sunrise over the Peel, seen from an early morning bike ride, a little to the north of Mandurah Quay. Photo iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm, 2023/02/05

Again, sunrise over the Peel, seen from an early morning bike ride, a little to the north of Mandurah Quay and a very little further north than the previous image. Photo iPhone 11 pro, telephoto lens, 6mm, 2023/02/05

East side of main channel, Soldiers Cove A view of the main Peel estuary channel from the eastern side. There is a path along the channel for rather over half the distance between the two bridges. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, 6mm focal length, 2022/08/11 Novara Beach Reserve, Peel Estuary

The Peel lagoon from the Novara Reserve. On the left is, I think, a club rush (Ficinia nodosa). Mount William On the horizon in the high definition version of the photo above, to the right the barely visible tiny hump, I believe, is Mount William. From much of the Peel lagoon area it is visible as a small but distinctive hill on the Darling Scarp. Mount William is 484 metres high, Mt Saddleback, south of Boddington, at 593 metres, is the highest point on the Darling Range.   The towers on Mt William The tower that could be climbed is the one in the right foreground. On 2023/08/04 Denece and I visited Mount William. I was hoping for a good view from the top, but the hill was covered in trees and there was little to be seen. There are five towers on the hill, a fire lookout and four communication towers. Unlike the fire lookouts on tall trees in the southwest, this one cannot be climbed by the public; I don't understand why those built in trees can be climbed and this one not. Certainly it could be nothing to do with public safety. I did climb the only one of the other towers that had an accessible ladder, but found the view from there to be disappointing too, with nothing but featureless bush nearby and any interesting areas off in the far distance. Coincidentally there is another Mount William in Australia, it happens to be the highest mountain in The Grampians of Victoria. It is a far more impressive mountain and the views from the top are magnificent. The Novara Beach Reserve is west of the Len Howard CP and Novara boat ramp. It has attractive lawns, barbecue areas, ponds and beaches such as this. Occasionally a bandicoot can be seen near one of the many patches of dense native bush. Our dog Monty is in the foreground in the photo. Photo 2022/04/27, iPhone 11 Pro, standard focal length camera Home Top Index Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), crested terns (Sterna bergi), seagull (or silver gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) on the Novara Beach public jetty. Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/10/15 Serpentine area, Peel Estuary Bandicoot   Southern brown bandicoot A southern brown bandicoot. Apparently it used to be classified as a subspecies of the eastern Australian species (Isoodon obesulus), but has since been recognised as a separate species (Isoodon fusciventer). Its common name in WA is Quenda (from the Noongar word 'kwinda'). Seen just below the boardwalk, northern end of Riverside Gardens Reserve, Greenfields, Mandurah. The area is densely populated (with humans), there are lots of pet dogs, many of which are walked off their leashes. I've seen a few free-roaming cats. I don't think I've ever seen a wild bandicoot in South Australia. It has surprised me that they have managed to persist in this area; the very dense undergrowth in a number of places would certainly be an important factor in giving them protection. Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/02/28 Home Top Index Serpentine area on a smokey morning

The Serpentine on a smokey morning near St Ives Lifestyle Village. The smoke added a very pleasing 'atmosphere' to the views on this morning. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera (focal length 1.54mm) 2022/05/09 The lagoon between the Serpentine and St Ives from the bird hide on the same smokey morning. The smoke was probably from a controlled fire load reduction burn. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera (focal length 1.54mm) 2022/05/09 Home Top Index Dawesville Foreshore Reserve These terns (probably greater crested terns) were using all the available posts on this little jetty. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, 6mm focal length Unnamed reserve behind our house Banksia blossom (probably Banksia ashbyi) in a little unnamed park at the back of our house. This park is close to the western intersection of Wattleglen Avenue and Silverton Crescent. This park or reserve is one of the areas that I have been working on with the aim of controlling feral weeds including fleabane and false onion weed. Photo 2022/11/04, iPhone 11 Pro, standard camera 4.25mm focal length Another banksia blossom on the same tree. This one is not quite fully mature. Photo 2022/11/04, iPhone 11 Pro, standard camera 4.25mm focal length Home Top Index Mandurah centre   Willie wagtail This cheeky bird came right to my plate as I was finishing my breakfast at The Bay Cafe on the Mandurah waterfront. It was after the scrambled eggs. When it wasn't stealing food it was chattering loudly. Rhipidura leucophrys, common name Willie wagtail. They are one of the more common of Australian birds and often show very little fear of people, or of anything else. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, focal length 6mm. Nankeen night herons   Nankeen night heron Nankeen night herons (Nycticorax caledonicus) underneath the city bridge. Photo Canon Ixus 190, focal length 18mm, 2022/03/01.   Squabbling Nankeen night herons Squabbling night herons in front of The Bay Cafe, Mandurah. Photo Canon Ixus 190, focal length 37mm, 2023/02/12   Immature and mature Nankeen night herons The bird on the right is an immature night heron, the one on the lower left is mature. The immature bird could easily be mistaken for a bush stone-curlew, but an important distinguishing feature is the feet; as can be seen here the night heron has a long backward-facing toe on each foot, the stone-curlew only has three forward-facing toes. On this particular morning there were eight night herons in the area for a short while, in front of The Bay Cafe, Mandurah. A fisherman who comes here frequently ('every day' he told me) feeds them and has made at least two very tame. Photo Canon Ixus 190, focal length 43mm, 2023/03/05

Looking west from the footbridge at Dolphin Quay shortly after sunrise Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 2022/05/07, wide angle lens, focal length 1.54mm Home Top Index The Canals The many marina areas in Mandurah are called canals. I happened to catch sunrise on this 'canal' on 2022/06/02 while out for an early bike ride. Bicycling in Mandurah is very pleasant, there are many shared (bicycle/pedestrian) paths and many attractive parks and gardens. (I am trying to enhance the attractiveness of several areas). There are weeds in many of the parks, one of particular note is tall fleabane partly because it could be fairly easily controlled by hand pulling if only a few people wanted to make a little effort at times. One of my projects is controlling fleabane in parks near my home. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, focal length 6mm. Home Top Index Mandurah ocean beaches

Mandurah has some beautiful beaches. Limestone reefs close to the shore in many areas do make getting into the water for a swim tricky, especially when there is a larger than usual surf, but there are a number of places where there is no reef, just sand. The photos below were taken on the beaches of Endeavour Island, between the natural inlet to the Peel Lagoons and the Dawesville Channel. See also a section on the Mandurah ocean beach on my Peel Estuary and Mandurah Observations page.

Dogs on or off leash are allowed on a number of the beaches. Here Haggis (closer to the camera) and Monty are about to be set loose. Photo 2022/05/31, iPhone 11 Pro, extra wide angle lens, focal length 1.54mm

A view looking north along the coast, taken south of Seascapes beach. Mandurah is a very popular place for boating. I often see people towing their fishing boat off for an outing. There are also many larger and, no doubt far more expensive boats (power and sailing) to be seen in the various marinas. The remarkable thing about the big boats is that I very rarely see them when I visit the beach (the lagoons are too shallow for large sailing boats); my impression is that they are more for show or for impressing business associates than for use. I've written about this conspicuous consumption on another page. Photo 2023/05/05, iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, focal length 6mm There are many interesting and unusual formations on Mandurah's beaches, like those in the foreground here on one of Endeavour Island's many beaches on the Indian Ocean. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm fl, 2023/11/11 Some of the limestone formations of the Endeavour Island beaches are similar to those of the well known Pinnacles of Cervantes, several hundred kilometres further north. Whether their origins are from similar causes I don't know. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm fl, 2022/03/29 Mandurah area generally

A rainbow over the Peel estuary photographed from the shared-use path on the east side of the channel, south of the town bridge. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm focal length

A beautifully twisted old dead gum tree on a street near our home. The street lamp, I think, gives the image some balance. The smaller branches have been cut off, I suppose so that they don't drop off and make the street untidy. I suspect that the bulk of the tree has been left because it has hollows that serve as homes to wildlife. There is a shortage of nesting hollows in Australia because so many trees have been cut down for one reason or another. It takes many decades for a tree to develop hollows suitable for nesting. Home Top Index Clearing trees for suburban expansion continues in the Mandurah area. There was at least one pair of galahs living in one of the hollows in this tree. Photo iPhone 11 pro, 2022/06/16   This section added 2022/06/26 Grasstrees Grass trees (Xanthorroea, yaccas [or yackas or yakkas] in South Australia) in Lavender Gardens, Erskine. I gather the WA grass trees are mostly either Xanthorroea preissii or X gracilis. I'd guess that these are the former. The remarkable Kingia australis looks superficially similar, yet is unrelated. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 pro, 2022/06/26 Sundew The image on the right is of some sundew plants (genus Drosara) that I came across in the scrub across the road from the Riverside Primary School. Sundews are carnivorous plants that trap tiny insects in the sticky substance at the ends of the little hairs surrounding the leaves. They then digest the insects and absorb nutrients from them, particularly the nitrogen. Photo Canon Ixus 190, 2022/06/13 I've photographed sundews in Spring Gully Conservation Park in the Clare Valley of South Australia too. Another patch of sundews, of a different species to the one above. This one was on the edge of the path adjacent to Len Howard Conservation Park and Dampier Avenue, Erskine, within easy walking distance of home. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 2023/08/02 Home Top Index   This section added 2022/12/09 Mandurah's Giants

Danish sculptor Thomas Dambo built six wooden giants, five were constructed in the Mandurah area and one at Subiaco in Perth. The wood that was used in the construction was mainly recycled.   What are the Giants' names? I've read on the internet that "The giants [are] named Vivi Cirkelstone, Seba's song, Little Lui, Santi Ikto, Bille Bob and Jyttes Hytte, are all named with inspiration after people Mr Dambo knows." But which name applies to which giant is not easy to discover. I've little doubt that a big part of the aim of having these fascinating sculptures in Mandurah was to attract tourists from Perth and further afield, but whatever the motivation it is a very commendable local artistic initiative. By the time I added the image below to this page my wife and I had visited all six. Not long after this, one of the giants (at Coodanup) was burned by low-life.

Halls Head Giant, Santi Ikto This giant, named Santi Ikto, was overlooking the Indian Ocean in the Halls Head area. I was out for an early morning bike ride and took this photo soon after sunrise. I had spent some time taking a half a dozen rolls of toilet paper off the statue. The Mandurah Christmas pageant had taken place the previous evening and much of the population of the town was in central Mandurah to see it. Quite possibly the people who wrapped the statue in toilet paper had taken advantage of the minimal chance of interruption to do their work. Photo, iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2022/12/03, 5:45am The sun setting over the ocean behind the Halls Head Giant Photo, iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2023/01/11, 19:04hrs It happens that this giant is adjacent our favourite dog-walking beach. It's also on a shared-use cycling/walking trail that goes about three kilometres through the sand dunes beside the beach.

The Halls Head giant welcoming the sunrise

Something I greatly enjoy in my old age is an early morning bike ride before there is much traffic on the roads. On this morning it happened that I came to the Halls Head giant when the earliest reddening was showing in the east. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 2023/04/30, extra wide angle lens, focal length1.54mm

Coodanup Giant, Vivi Cirklestone This giant, named Vivi Cirklestone, at Coodanup, was burned a day or so after I photographed it. It was reported on the ABC (2022/12/19) that there were hopes that the giant could be rebuilt. (It was rebuilt, see below.) Home Top Index Photo, iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2022/11/16 Coodanup Giant_mark_2, Yaburgurt Cirklestone This giant, named Yaburgurt Cirklestone replaced the previous one at Coodanup that was burned. Denece and I just happened to visit when there was a bit of ceremony going on including a smoking ceremony and some Aboriginal dancing. The man in the grey coat in the photo is Mandurah Mayor Ryse Williams. Yaburgurt seems to be looking at the small group. I was told that the name Yaburgurt had some significance to the local Aboriginies and that the Aboriginal Corporation had given permission for the name to be used for this giant. Photo, iPhone 11 pro, telephoto lens, 6mm focal length, 2023/05/27 Dawesville Giant, Seba Most of the Giants are placed so that people have to walk a few hundred metres to get to them; or at least not drive a car anywhere very nearby. This one involves one of the longer walks. Overlooking the Dawesville channel. I believe this giant is named Seba (or Seba's Song). Photo, iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, just after sunrise, 2023/01/29, 5:45am On this particular day I had decided to go for a very long walk, and started very early in the morning. Unlike my first visit (see below) there were only a couple fishers nearby this time. Another angle on the Dawesville Giant, this photo taken later in the day than the one above. Home Top Index Photo, iPhone 11 pro, telephoto lens, 6mm, 2022/11/20 This visit was this only a week or so after the Giants trail was officially opened. That was probably a mistake because there was very limited parking anywhere nearby and a big traffic jam - which we managed to mostly avoid by walking about twice as far as would have been necessary at some other time. Lake Clifton Giant, Jyttes Hytte The furthest south of the giants, named Jyttes Hytte. Home Top Index I suspect that at least a part of the thinking behind this location would have been to attract more tourists to the thrombolite reserve at Lake Clifton and so spend more time (and money) in the Mandurah area. The giant was quite a long walk from the thrombolite viewing area. On the way Denece and I were impressed at the huge number of jewel spider (Austracantha minax) webs in the bush beside the track. They must catch countless millions of small insects, most likely including (a majority of?) mosquitos. Photo, iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2022/12/02 Subiaco Giant, Billie Bob This one of the 'Mandurah Giants' was, in fact, in Subiaco, a Perth Suburb, near Kings Park. His name is Billie Bob. I suspect that the reasoning was that Perth people would visit the Subiaco Giant because it was not far away, then would decide they needed to see the other giants, and visit Mandurah. Photo, iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2022/11/23 Marlee Reserve Giant, Little Lui This giant, named Little Lui, was in the Marlee Reserve, a large native bush and swamp reserve in Lakelands, a northern Mandurah suburb. Home Top Index Denece and I walked around quite a large part of the reserve before we found the giant. We came across a large patch of fleabane on our walk. Fleabane is a very widespread and invasive weed in the Mandurah area; I have made a project of removing it where it occurs on paths or reserves within a kilometre or so of my home. Photo, iPhone 11 pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2022/11/15 Marlee Reserve The very attractive Marlee Reserve is connected by a pedestrian/cycling underpass to the equally attractive and nearby Black Swan Lake in Lakelands. Home Top Index Another page on this site is about bicycle rides around Mandurah. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 1.54mm wide angle lens Another view of the swamp in the centre of Marlee Reserve, much of the swamp is covered in paperbark (Melaleuca) trees, like this. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens fl 1.45mm, 2023/09/24 Black Swan Lake Reserve, Lakelands Black Swan Lake, immediately to the east of Lakelands Railway Station. Home Top Index This view was from about the NW corner of the lake. Photo iPhone 11 Pro 4.26mm standard lens, 2023/10/27 Black Swan Lake is surrounded by a good earth path and it's connected to the Marlee Reserve via an underpass beneath the busy Mandjoogordap Road. Unfortunately the Black Swan Lake Reserve is infested with the invasive weed fleabane. I've written more on this on another page on this site. The weed would not be very difficult to control if someone was willing to make a consistent effort in their spare time. Photo iPhone 11 Pro 6mm telephoto lens, 2023/10/27 Ducks on the western side of Black Swan Lake, Lakelands. Home Top Index The trail only goes close to the lake in a few places. Photo iPhone 11 Pro 6mm telephoto lens, 6mm fl, 2024/01/09 Black Swan Lake Reserve in the early morning's sunlight. I rode my bike the length of Marlee Reserve, through the underpass and along the eastern side of Black Swan Lake. Only a part of the path is paved, but it is all in fair condition. Photo iPhone 11 Pro 6mm telephoto lens, 6mm fl, 2024/01/21 Drone images of Black Swan Lake In the southern end of Black Swan Lake the great majority of the Melaleuca trees were dead when I took this photo; looking from the North-East. Home Top Index The extent of the tree death is much less obvious from the path around the lake. Interestingly this death seems to have been fairly recent. In the Google Earth image of the same area recorded November 2018, that I have inserted below, most of the trees were still alive. On another page I have commented on the tree deaths in the seasonal swamps near the Peel lagoon.   Google Earth image This Google Earth image is of the southern end of Black Swan Lake. The image was dated November 2018, just over five years before my drone images. Click on the image for the higher resolution version. That provides about the highest resolution I could get from Google Earth. In the Google Earth image, while a number of tree near the central area appear to be dying, most seem to still be alive. I can only speculate that it is likely to be the drying climate that has killed the trees, most likely through increasing salinity due to reduced flushing of salts. North is at the top of this image. A part of the North end of Black Swan Lake, taken looking West. This is the part of the North end of Black Swan Lake further to the right of the last image. Home Top Index The latter two images are both looking from the East. My back yard   Ring-necked parrots I placed the seed block that the parrot on the right is standing on outside our dining room window in mid May 2023. It was a day or so before it was found by birds. The first birds we saw eating the seed block were ring-necked parrots. This and the following two photos were taken on my iPhone 11 Pro on 2023/05/18.   Galahs After a few minutes these galahs came along and chased the ring-necks away. Galahs are considered to be cockatoos. So far as I know, cockatoos are just larger forms of parrots and these galahs were bigger than the ring-necked parrots. Home Top Index   Corellas In their turn the galahs were chased away by these short-billed corellas, that were bigger again. Finally, our dogs chased away the corellas, and after a short time the ring-necked parrots came back. Home Top Index Just beyond my back yard The eight photos below were taken in several little reserves within a few hundred metres of my home in Erskine, Mandurah, all on a short early morning walk. They are included on this page more for, I hope, pictorial interest than botanical or ecological interest. Old dried Banksia seed pod. I've always found it curious that while there must be a very large number of inflorescences in the big Banksia flowers, there are only a few seeds that seem to come to maturity in each. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length 2023/10/28 Banksia flowers; how the one in the centre became so distorted is beyond my ability to understand Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length 2023/10/28 Eucalyptus marginata (Jarrah) tree blossom and buds. Jarrah, together with marri (Corymbia calophylla) and tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) are the most common large endemic Eucalypt trees in the Mandurah area. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length 2023/10/28 New Eucalypt leaves, I don't know the species. Home Top Index New Eucalypt leaves are often red, I suppose they turn green with chlorophyll later. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length 2023/10/28 Xanthorrhoea leaves Xanthorrhoea preissii(?) leaves. More complete photos on grass trees (aka yaccas or yackas or yakkas) are on this page here and here and on other pages here, here, here, here and especially here. At this point I will probably not surprise the reader if I say that Xanthorrhoeas fascinate me. The plant is very slow growing, taking a decade or more to produce a trunk which then grows about a centimetre a year. But the seed spike can grow more than ten centimetres in a day, as I've recorded here. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens 6mm focal length 2023/10/28 Xanthorrhoea preissii(?) flower stems, new and old. The flowers on the flower spike produce a lot of nectar. It can be licked off and, I believe, was once a favourite sweet treat for Australian Aborigines. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length 2023/10/28 Banksia victoriae(?) flower Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length 2023/10/28 Immature Banksia victoriae(?) flower Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length 2023/10/28 Home Top Index Araluen Botanic Park, in the Perth Hills

Where does one start and finish with photographing the tulips at Araluen? Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) lens, 2022/09/27

We visited Araluen a little late in the year for many of the tulips, but some of them were still in very good condition. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 6mm (telephoto) lens, 2022/09/27 And Araluen is not all tulips, or even all flowers, it is trails through beautiful hillside vegetation, such as this; and more. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) lens, 2022/09/27 The small patch of brilliant red where the sunlight is catching a bed of tulips in the distance is what makes this image interesting. The fact that it shows another aspect of Araluen beyond just the flowers is a bonus. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 6mm (telephoto) lens, 2022/09/27 It took me a long time to get this camellia image, there was a man standing behind it, he was waring a bright striped shirt, and I couldn't get the angle I wanted at the same time as avoiding him. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 6mm (telephoto) lens, 2022/09/27

Home Top Index Another of the many photos I took of the Araluen tulips; how could anyone resist? Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) lens, 2022/09/27

At the time I took this photo I assumed that the yellow colouring on the tree was natural, some sort of lichen probably. The more I thought about it later, the more I had doubts; such a bright yellow in lichens is not at all common. I include the photo here as a curiosity. Is the yellow natural? If so, what would cause it? Or was it painted on? If so, for what purpose? Much later, in March 2024, I came across bright yellow lichen in what I call the Big Seasonal Paperbark Swamp in Erskine, a Mandurah suburb; see the photo below. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 6mm (telephoto) lens, 2022/09/27 On 2024/03/19 I took this photo of one of only a couple little patches of bright yellow lichen that I was able to find in the Big Seasonal Paperbark Swamp in Erskine, a Mandurah suburb. I suspect that this lichen is probably the yellow on the photo above taken in Araluen Botanic Park. The small dark green buttons left of centre are interesting. Possibly very small lichen plants? The photo was taken using a Canon Ixus 190 pocket camera. It covers and area about seven centimetres across. Back in Araluen, the creek area with the tree ferns is another of Araluen's assets. (I strongly suspect that the flow in the creek must be kept up by recycling water from the bottom to the top in summer, as the area is subject to long dry summers.) A couple of my granddaughters in the centre. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) lens, 2022/09/27 Kings Park, Perth One of the wildflowers that Western Australia is most famous for, a kangaroo paw, with massed low wildflowers in the background. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 6mm (telephoto) lens, 2022/09/30 The Subiaco Giant, one of the Mandurah Giants, is not far from Kings Park. Massed wildflowers in Kings Park Botanic Gardens Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 6mm (telephoto) lens, 2022/09/30 One of the more odd of the Western Australian wildflowers Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) lens, 2022/09/30 More of the wildflowers of Kings Park Botanic Garden, with a part of the Swan estuary and South Perth in the background; the Darling Scarp is in the far distance. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) lens, 2022/09/30 One of the fields of colour in Kings Park Photo iPhone 11 Pro, 4.25mm (standard) lens, 2022/09/30 Lake Clifton Thrombolites Denece and I visited the thrombolites on the same day as we sought out the Lake Clifton Giant. This view is looking along the length of the lagoon toward the north. I have written at a little more length about the significance of the thrombolites on another page on this site. Photos on that page show them at a lower tide, when they were partly exposed above the water. Home Top Index Photo, iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens, 1.45mm focal length, 2022/12/02 A view of the jetty and thrombolites looking back toward the shore. Photo, iPhone 11 pro, wide angle lens, 1.45mm focal length, 2022/12/02 A bit of the ugly side A 'rough living' camp in the large patch of natural bush close to the Peel Medical Campus. I walk through this area when I have to wait for someone, either from the adjacent Riverside Primary School or from the medical centre. I came across this on 2022/05/09 and was shocked and disgusted at the amount of rubbish scattered about. I normally have a lot of sympathy for anyone who has to sleep rough, but whoever has this camp should be thoroughly ashamed of him/herself for this mess. We all make some sort of a contribution to the society in which we live. And we should all make an effort for that contribution to be positive, rather than this very negative contribution. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, normal camera (focal length 4.25mm)

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