Bass Coast Post
  • Home
    • Recent articles
  • Federal Election 2025
  • News
    • Point of view
    • View from the chamber
  • Writers
    • Anne Davie
    • Anne Heath Mennell
    • Bob Middleton
    • Carolyn Landon
    • Catherine Watson
    • Christine Grayden
    • Dick Wettenhall
    • Ed Thexton
    • Etsuko Yasunaga
    • Frank Coldebella
    • Gayle Marien
    • Geoff Ellis
    • Gill Heal
    • Harry Freeman
    • Ian Burns
    • Joan Woods
    • John Coldebella
    • Julie Paterson
    • Julie Statkus
    • Kit Sleeman
    • Laura Brearley >
      • Coastal Connections
    • Lauren Burns
    • Liane Arno
    • Linda Cuttriss
    • Linda Gordon
    • Lisa Schonberg
    • Liz Low
    • Marian Quigley
    • Mark Robertson
    • Mary Whelan
    • Meryl Brown Tobin
    • Michael Whelan
    • Mikhaela Barlow
    • Miriam Strickland
    • Natasha Williams-Novak
    • Neil Daly
    • Patsy Hunt
    • Pauline Wilkinson
    • Richard Kemp
    • Sally McNiece
    • Terri Allen
    • Tim Shannon
  • Features
    • Features 2024
    • Features 2023
    • Features 2022
    • Features 2021
    • Features 2020
    • Features 2019
    • Features 2018
    • Features 2017
    • Features 2016
    • Features 2015
    • Features 2014
    • Features 2013
    • Features 2012
  • Arts
  • Local history
  • Environment
  • Nature notes
    • Nature notes
  • A cook's journal
  • Community
    • Diary
    • Courses
    • Groups
    • Stories
  • Contact us

The joy of wetlands

1/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Terri Allen

Shimmering water under an azure sky, a patchwork of colours threading through greenery, birdsong, frog calls, butterflies flitting, insect hum – a tropical paradise? No, a wetland on Wonthaggi’s outskirts.

Mindful of water, mosquitoes and the odd snake, we went well prepared: gumboots, long sleeves, hat. We did alarm a great egret and a white-faced heron, but the serenade of wren, fantail and shrike thrush continued. Nearby a reed warbler sang, the strident call of a masked lapwing rang out and welcome swallows dipped and skimmed.

Like a rich oriental carpet, the ephemeral wetland glowed with colour, embroidered with the yellows of buttercups and goodenia, the pinks of plantain, knotweed and loosestrife and stars of white purslane. Cushions of green yielded cryptic flowers through which slim sapphire damsel flies stitched a trail. A pure white moth clung to a stem, while hoverflies hung suspended above the blooms. Festoons of seed beaded the water ribbons and arrowgrass.

The list of plants rolled richly off the tongue as we identified them: waterribbons, pithy sword-sedge, swamp goodenia, streaked arrowgrass, long-fruit watermat, floating pondweed, toad rush, pale rush, grassy clubrush, common spike-rush, swamp club-rush, narrow-leaf cumbungi, white purslane, common rush, pennywort, duckweed, small river buttercup, slender knotweed, centella, broad-leaf rush, lesser loosestrife, austral brooklime, shiny swampmat, yellow water-buttons, upright watermilfoil and, a new plant for our wetlands, water plantain. In one patch was the fetchingly named slime mould fungus.

As we waded the margins, the swamp merged with a thicket of swamp paperbark, the water black and mysterious in the dense shade, surely a fit home for Hobyahs?

A 20-minute walk from home, two minutres off the roadside, and all these specialised wondrous plants. How lucky we are to live in such a richly diverse area. Get out and 
enjoy it.

COMMENTS
February 2, 2014
Thank you for your very informative news - I particularly loved the article by Terri Allan. "Joy" is the word I also use to describe this beautiful and unique place - pure joy!  I walk there regularly in the cooler months taking photos of everything that comes my way - particularly fungi and I have thousands of photos which I am then able to take to community groups to talk about this amazing bush area - thanks Terri. I also loathe the Pittosporum and try my best to pull them out too. I also stomp on the thistles and other wind blown seeding plants before they have flowered. Aren't we blessed with our bush areas surrounding Wonthaggi - thanks again Terri.
Heather Gardner, Wonthaggi
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.