Opinion

Nature Notes

On the trail of the powerful owl

Posted: 22 Mar 12 | This week Roger looks at the powerful owl, small butterflies, spotless crakes and harlequin bugs. |

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Peas under the microscope

Posted: 13 Oct 11 | IN the Ballarat district we have nearly 40 different native shrubs in the pea family. Most of these have showy flowers. |

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September is wattle month for local species

Posted: 15 Sep 11 | SEPTEMBER is wattle month as far as most of our local species are concerned. |

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Foxes take their toll around the region

Posted: 08 Sep 11 | IT'S well-known that foxes take their toll on lambs, but foxes are undesirable in Australia for other reasons as well. |

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Banksias isolated and scarce in Ballarat region

Posted: 08 Sep 11 | IN the Ballarat region we have just one species of banksia growing naturally. This is the silver banksia, Banksia marginata. |

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Legless Lizard at Burrumbeet

Posted: 08 Sep 11 | THE striped legless lizard is a rare reptile found in open grassy places. |

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Burrumbeet sees new birds

Posted: 04 Aug 11 | THE list of birds recorded for Lake Burrumbeet is well over 100 species, so the addition of two more in one day is rather a surprise. |

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Ballarat showing wintry colours

Posted: 24 Jun 11 | ONE plant, several colours. That is the common heath. In the Ballarat district this plant is mostly seen in pink and white. |

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Native toadstool found near Ballarat

Posted: 10 Jun 11 | ONE of our brighter toadstools is a large red one with white spots. It is an introduction from Europe. |

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New Holland honeyeaters discovered in region

Posted: 02 Jun 11 | A READER has expressed surprise at discovering six New Holland honeyeaters together. |

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Locusts mostly gone across district

Posted: 27 May 11 | THE cooler weather has ended the 2010 – 2011 locust plague, but stragglers remain in the district. |

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Flycatcher at Smythes Creek

Posted: 19 May 11 | A SMALL black-and-white bird very much like a willie wagtail, the restless flycatcher is seldom found close to Ballarat, although it still occurs in some rural areas. |

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Choughs visit Ballarat

Posted: 12 May 11 | THE crow-like bird known as the white-winged chough spends most of its time in open forests, seldom moving far from native eucalypts. |

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Large bulldog ants hunt alone

Posted: 05 May 11 | OUR largest ants are bulldog ants. These giants can measure 25 millimetres or more long. |

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Butterflies emerging

Posted: 08 Apr 11 | AFTER January’s floods we had numerous reports of orchard swallowtail butterflies in the Ballarat region. We wondered if they would lay eggs and produce a second generation. |

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Warblers declining

Posted: 31 Mar 11 | WARBLERS DECLINING The speckled warbler is one of several local birds that are no longer seen as often as formerly. |

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Vitamin pills' for yabbies

Posted: 28 Mar 11 | THE objects pictured were collected in summer underneath a cypress tree near the North Gardens wetlands at Lake Wendouree. |

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More female butterflies

Posted: 17 Mar 11 | A COUPLE of months ago we mentioned the abundance of a butterfly known as the common brown. |

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Good year for insects

Posted: 13 Mar 11 | DRAGONFLIES have been among the many insects to benefit from the above-average spring and summer rain across the district. |

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Elbow orchids still flowering

Posted: 28 Feb 11 | NATIVE orchids come in all sorts of amazing shapes. Among the more unusual, and one of the least showy, is the elbow orchid found earlier this week in forest at Ross Creek. |

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