Lake Wendouree home to magpie goose family

Only a few are seen at any one time, but sometimes up to about 10 of them are present, well hidden amongst the reedy vegetation. They prefer the mud islands, where they feed in the shallow water.

Breeding attempts are made each year, but the young goslings have not survived beyond their cute rusty-coloured downy stage.

One youngster was sighted earlier this week. Predators such as rakali (water rat) and swamp harrier are suspected, despite the adults being alert and protective.

Although always present out on their secluded islands, the magpie geese are rarely seen from the shore.

They might be located with binoculars, or they might be seen making a short flight over their central reedbed home, but they remain mostly unseen.

Otherwise they are mostly sighted by kayakers.

Lake Wendouree's magpie geese have probably arrived here from feral populations at Serendip, near Lara.

The mud islands provide an additional habitat for waterbirds.

Stilts, dotterels, sandpipers and spoonbills are just a few of the interesting species found there that would not otherwise be seen at the lake.

From Mt Bolton comes a report - with video proof - of a brush-tailed phascogale, a rare marsupial.

The finders report that the animal was small, moved like a squirrel, and had a huge bushy tail.

It was very agile and eventually scurried along the ground to a tree, where it spiralled the trunk as it climbed up. These are all diagnostic features of this animal.

The brush-tailed phascogale is rare and declining in numbers. There are occasional reports - but not many - from the Ballarat district.

Its main range seems to be around Castlemaine and similar goldfields country to the east.

A couple of years ago we received a report of a road-killed specimen from between Castlemaine and Daylesford.

Like most native animals, the brush-tailed phascogale is active at night, so it is not often encountered.

The recent Mt Bolton sighting was a night one.

Many years ago, there was a dead specimen of a tiger quoll found on the highway alongside Mt Bolton. This animal is much scarcer than the brush-tailed phascogale.

Most of Mount Bolton is private property. Large granite rocks provide sheltering places for mammals.

The dead quoll was found many years before a fire burnt Mt Bolton a few years ago, but the phascogale sighting was made just last month.

Is this a wallaby grass or kangaroo grass? It has a purple colour on the narrow stem and among the seed/flowers. The plants are not large clumps and stems are above knee-high.

S.M., Lal Lal.

This is kangaroo grass, which often has a distinct purplish or rusty tone to its stems and seed heads.

The heads of wallaby grass are paler and more symmetrical.

Also, they are often rather fluffy earlier in summer.

Both the kangaroo grass and the many sorts of wallaby grasses grow mostly in small clumps.

Kangaroo grass is a summer grower, with numerous green leaves at this time of the year.

It is widespread in western Victoria and the Ballarat district, but it is often confined to roadsides and reserves.

It does not tolerate continued grazing or mowing.