The Spring Season at Baluk Willam

Lucas on point

Spotted Sun-orchid - Thelymitra ixiodes

Its been a while since I have posted anything but hopefully showing off a few orchids from this season at Baluk Willam NCR will get things started again. As I have said previously. Baluk Willam is a great little reserve in Belgrave South near Lysterfield which is renowned for its range of native orchids. It is worth a visit any time of the year with the spring season being a particular specialty. It is worth checking out the excellent Friend's website before visiting to see what is flowering - http://fobw.rnr.id.au/ - it also gives hints of where to look.Be aware that many orchids by their very nature only have a very brief flowering season so it is easy to miss them.

Thelymitra media - Tall Sun-orchid

I usually start at the carpark near the intersection of the aptly named Orchid Road and Courtney's Road and do the loop north - the area around the large Cherry Ballart on both sides of the track is particularly productive and is a great area for various Greenhoods, Helmet orchids and Sun-orchids depending on the season. My 4 year old particularly likes this area as there are lots of rocks to climb, logs to look under and orchids to spot. It is also one of the more productive birding areas.

Tall Greenhood - Bunochilus melagrammus

Maroonhood - Pterosylis pedunculata

Mountain Greenhood - Pterostylis alpina

Head back down the fire road beside the fenceline checking any open areas although this area doesn't seem as productive as it has in previous years. However the tongue orchids are numerous in season and long lasting.There is often a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles over the paddocks here.

Small Tongue Orchid - Cryptostylis leptochila

The eastern edge of Courtney's Road is then the next place worth trying with a steady procession of nice species throughout the spring season including Brown Beaks, a couple of Spider-orchids, Sun-orchids and Diuris.

Wine-lipped Spider Orchid - Arachnorchis oenochila

Wallflower Orchid - Diuris orientis

Brown Beaks - Lyperanthus suaveolens

Then, if time permits it is worth driving (or waddling) up to the second 50 sign and parking in the turn out - the area opposite is good for a variety of orchids throughout the season from Cobra's to Beards and Sun-orchids. Then do a nice loop around the tracks through the horse barrier opposite.

Broad-lip Leek Orchid - Prasophyllum odoratum

Eastern Bronze Caladenia - Stegostyla transitoria

Red Beard orchid

Obviously there are plenty of other orchid place around Melbourne and Victoria but this is the place that re-kindled an interest for me and being so close to home is a convenient place to go for a wander on the weekend with a curious 4 year old in tow.I am up to about 40 species photographed here and I still pick up new stuff from time to time.

Red-tipped Greenhood

Orchids and stuff....

Its become a lot harder for me to get a new bird close to home of late and while birding will always remain the number one passion (aside from Simone of course) I have recently started to develop a more than passing interest in native orchids. I have always had a bit of an interest in them - I can generally seperate an orchid from a lily or the like - but it now seems to be evolving into something a little more. Certainly there has been a few times lately where I have left the binoculars at home and spent much of my time staring at the ground... I still bird while doing this, but almost purely by ear, and that is a rather cathartic experience. Its also opened up a whole new field of identification and one that is just a bit challenging, particularly as for a lot of the year an Australian native orchid might be at best a single or double leaf poking out of the forest floor. At the moment my pics are just with a standard 50mm nikon lens hand held but I can see a macro lens in my near future....

Baluk Willam Reserve

This is the reserve that really got me back interested in orchids.... I have spent much of the past 15 years birding around South-east Melbourne and I cant understand why I had never heard of this place before... it was only a random google search that put me onto it. It is a relatively small reserve in Belgrave South that has an amazing 80-90 species of orchid recorded, although a number of these are historical records. Its also not a bad birding place and I have recorded such nice outer suburban birds as Painted Button-quail, Brush Cuckoo and Satin Flycatcher as well as a Powerful Owl feather.... must get back and flash the spotlight around sometime. On my first visit in mid October I found around a dozen species of flowering orchid and on subsequent visits I have now found over twenty. Im looking forward to revisting over the next 12 months as I have also found a variety of "orchid leaves" that are not yet flowering... there is also a good half of the reserve still as yet unexplored.

Just a few "record shots" - ID is my best guess and am happy to be corrected. :-)

Maroonhood

Waxlip Orchid

Purplish Beard Orchid (a bit past its best)

Notched Onion Orchid (best guess)

Large Bird Orchid

Black-tongue Caladenia

Rabbit Ears (ok I cheated with this one.... its from the Brisbane Ranges)

 

 

Plenty more of these to come....