The golden wattle produces its best display of flowers from mid-August to mid-September, lighting up the bushland with a welcome splash of brilliant yellow.
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That’s seven months away.
Because of this, I was quite surprised to find small buds already appearing on golden wattles.
This seemed early.
Checking a few other wattles, I found very small buds forming on blackwoods and silver wattles, as well as on a planted Ovens wattle, which had quite prominent small stalks of buds already.
In past years I have noticed buds of planted Snowy River wattles appearing in January, but these are not visible yet.
Nor could any be found on one of our earliest species, the Cootamundra wattle.
A webpage says that golden wattle’s flower buds are produced year-round on the tips of the new growth, but only those initiated between November and May go on to flower several months later.
A careful watch would need to be kept on local golden wattles to see if this is correct for our district.
It seems more likely that ours would have a regular annual pattern of new buds appearing in summer and gradually growing on until the spring flowering time.
The flower times of eucalypts have been studied in more detail, particularly because of their relevance to the bee-keeping industry.
Some eucalypt species have relatively short periods between budding and flowering, while others can jointly have large buds almost ready to open, along with tiny buds for the following year.
All of this occurs within a short distance on the one branch.
SINGING CEASING
Our garden blackbird has ceased singing at dawn. His last day, after several months without fail, was January 8.
Others were heard elsewhere for a few days after that, but it’s now several days since I’ve heard any.
They may all have ceased for another year, although there could be one or two still going in shadier or damper places.
Having said that they may have ceased for another year, we sometimes hear an early, rather hesitant, blackbird at dawn or dusk in May or June.
At that time of year the song is very welcome because it will again be a novelty.
STILTS NESTING
A few months ago we had the first record of little black cormorants nesting at Lake Wendouree.
Now we have the first report of black-winged stilts nesting there.
With photos of small chicks as proof, this sighting was made out on the central dredging islands, where a different habitat is available to birds.
