Jun 12, 2023 4 min read

Fur, Feathers, Flowers And More #9

A week outdoors in suburban Eaglemont

WA Flowering Gum E. ficifolia by the Substation

An acacia in The Eyrie, the rest are in the FofEV plantings along the rail corridor.

Just 2 weeks shy of the Winter Solstice but there is plenty of colour about if you care to look.

Don't be deterred by grey skies - pull on your woollies and get outdoors.

Making the most of Maurie's mulch at Substation West - time approaches for some understory planting to further define the pegged path.

Once was a possum, then along came a Powerful Owl. A carefully edited scene of carnage from Substation West, where the Powerful Owl had a better Saturday night than the possum. Wildlife corridors can be harsh domains.

James and his friend Jeremy came down to Substation West to help shift mulch. There is a good leaf and bark litter developing there as our FofEV plantings grow - thankfully suppressing many weeds.

Liz L remarked how pleased she was to discover the embryonic meandering path we have created through that boutique parkland.

Noel came over to chat, John McC delayed a Bunnings run to say Hello, Margie and Mick were outdoors, Liz D apologised for not being able to dodge a horticultural course prac session.

Rarely lonely when out doing community work.

The butcherbirds, magpies, wattlebirds and noisy miners regularly provide company.

Beast of the Week

Powerful Owl

Beautifully marked, fierce of gaze, a formidable hunter

These apex predators are resident along the Yarra valley and forage in the nearby suburbs.

Being nocturnal stealthy hunters they are rarely seen. When sighted they are impressive birds.

For several years I could take interstate visitors keen on bird photography to a site near the Burke Road bridge.

A breeding pair of Powerful Owls could reliably be found roosting in a stand of macrocarpas. Feathers, droppings and furballs could be found under the trees.

I suspect that ringtail possums habit of tightrope running along bundled power or data cables exposes them to unanticipated danger.

Highly visible, nowhere to flee to, motion betraying their presence..............

Powerful Owl

Plant of the Week

Guichenotia macrantha

I happened upon two ladies from Ivanhoe walking along Sherwood Road - until they were stopped in their tracks by a flowering shrub.

Neither had previously seen Guichenotia macrantha, and took some convincing it was an Australian native.