Diario del proyecto Yellingbo and surrounds

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
Our dry winter came to an end this week with flooding creeks, gushing drainage lines and landslips in our region. Woori Yallock Creek's banks had overflowed, but were now just lapping at the top of the bank. We managed to avoid any showers and the weather was mild as 9 of us gathered for our survey. It was 10.8 deg C with no wind, a nice reprieve from recent icy cold days, and wet & windy weather. We recorded 37 bird species during this Deep winter* survey in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area, including today's highlight, Wedge-tailed Eagles (who doesn't love them?!), a group of 4 Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes (unusually for us to record this sized group), New Holland Honeyeaters and Jacky Winters. In 2024 to date, we've recorded 81 bird species in YNCA, from the 113 species we've recorded from 2020-24.
My thanks to again to Bruce for leading the survey, to Karyn for taking the species notes, and the whole team of regular and new participants.
The blue(ish) skies and still weather meant sitting inside for lunch wasn't an option for this hardy lot! What a fantastic way to spend a few hours with a fabulous group of people!
*1 of 6 seasons in the Middle Yarra Timelines Calendar of the Wurundjeri.

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
The cold winter morning didn't daunt us. We were looking for a patch of nine Small-tongue orchids that we'd recorded for the first time in January, with the aim of protecting them from browsing animals (deer - groan!!). Our Citizen Science Flora survey team first found three individuals of this species in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area in August 2023. This recent patch takes our total count to just twelve individuals known - precious indeed!
They were proving elusive however. "Is this it?", Peter asked. It wasn't, but he'd found a patch of eight Red Beaks, another species of orchid that we didn't know existed at YNCA until this time last year when a small patch of five individuals were recorded by our Flora survey members in a different part of YNCA, but in similar habitat.
Both Red Beaks and Small-tongue orchids are uncommon in this region. In fact, we think Red Beaks are unknown. Peter would be the first to say, "I don't know much about plants", but his find is significant. We have now protected these patches of orchids from browsing animals, giving them a fighting chance of persisting into the future.
Anyone, no matter their level of knowledge can, and do, contribute to our Flora surveys. We've just reached a landmark - over 10,000 observations for our 'Yellingbo and surrounds' iNat project. Great work team!

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
It was a chilly, 5.1 deg C (but no wind thankfully) when our Citizen Science Bird & Frog survey team set out to do a Deep winter* survey in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area.
The frogs were quiet - no surprises there - it's cold on the ground!
My thanks to Bruce for leading the survey, ably assisted by regular participants and new participants alike. Thirty-two species of birds were recorded, primarily the resident species as expected in winter with the exception of an Australian Pelican, a species we've recorded, surprisingly, a few times in the past year. It's always nice to see the Jacky Winters hunting for insects as we move past them.
The skies opened as we finished up - great timing - and we started to get the promised showers that are so needed. It's a dry winter so far. Our morning was complete with home baked slice from Robert. Thank you Robert!! What a fantastic way to spend a few hours with a fabulous group of people!
*1 of 6 seasons in the Middle Yarra Timelines Calendar of the Wurundjeri.

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
The forecast was for a cool start, and we got it, however our group of volunteers were treated to clear blue skies in a beautiful patch of Lowland Forest in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area.
The smiles, laughter and moments of concentration over our IDing task kept us all warm as we recorded everything from majestic eucalypts to vibrant and glistening fungi.
In a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming, it is rejuvenating to spend time with like-minded people, doing something that you know is valuable, and valued. Each month, we are coming back to this patch to document the flora and fungi species seen over a 12-month period. You can't care about it, if you don't know it's there.

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
We couldn't have wished for a better day, with blue skies, sun on our backs and 20 fabulous, interested Friends members and volunteers joining Mel at Haining to hear about the management actions to date, the innovations, the challenges, the failures, successes, and what's being planned.
It is amazing to see how the 2017-18 habitat plantings that are designed to support future releases of Victoria's Critically Endangered bird (Helmeted Honeyeater) & mammal (Leadbeater's Possum) emblems are growing, in what was for many decades a dairy farm. The swamp gums are thriving, the space is being enjoyed by locals, the bird species recorded are now 80+ and the local schools are using the space to engage students in conservation.
If you haven't visited, pack some lunch and spend a couple of hours here. The transformation from farmland to conservation reserve for threatened species is interesting, and a challenge!
Huge thanks to Mel for sharing her time, knowledge and passion for the environment with us 🙂

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
It was a misty, 5.4 deg C start to our Citizen Science Bird & Frog survey in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area, however the sun soon burnt off that mist and we were treated to a still, sunny morning with clear blue skies. What a fantastic way to spend a few hours with a fabulous group of people!
We recorded 33 species of birds, including Chestnut Teals utilising the swamp edge. This species hasn't been recorded before. It was also surprising to see so many Masked Lapwings flocking together - we don't see them often at all and then only 1 or 2 at a time. There was a flock of at least 22, with 29 sighted across the morning.
The frogs were quiet! I would be too on such a cool morning :)
A solitary Swamp Wallaby looked on peacefully as we walked by, and there was some fabulous fungi, including the gorgeous Ruby Bonnet and interesting Phlebia subceracea & Hypoxylon howeanum - no common names for these!
Huge thanks to Karin for diving in and offering to learn how to use Birdata to record the species we saw 🙂

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
The forecast was for showers, but that didn't stop our group of 10 intrepid citizen scientists venturing out today for our flora & fungi survey. We were rewarded with blue skies and warmth from the sun on our backs, despite the 13 deg C morning. The mostly still morning - gusting up to 1.3 kmh - helped us feel warm as we set out to undertake some 20m transect and 1x1m quadrat surveys, a survey method new to half of our citizen science team today. It was fantastic to watch everyone keen to learn this technique, help each other, and build on the skills they'd developed in previous sessions IDing and recording the flora species observed.
Feedback over lunch was that doing the transects and quadrats helped you stop and notice species that may have been overlooked ordinarily, thinking it was "... just another ..." Turns out we hadn't recorded one of those species on this site before, the Trailing Ground-berry Acrotriche prostrata. Great job Karin noticing it was different and looking harder, noticing the trail of clustered flowers along the stem.
It's been a dry start to 2024, hence, perhaps, few fungi so far in this patch of Lowland Forest, but we did get around 6mm rainfall overnight and early this morning, which may have helped bring out what we believe to be the tiny, delicate Rainforest Horsehair Marasmius crinis-equi growing on fallen leaves and Forest Wire-grass stems. Amazing to see their long, fine steps (stems) growing from these - gorgeous!!
A special thank you to Robert for baking Anzac Day biscuits and sharing these special treats over lunch! 😊💓

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
It was a calm, 12.4 deg C morning as 10 of our Citizen Science Bird & Frog survey team hit the tracks of Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area, recording 36 species of birds (Brian declared the Black-shouldered Kite the highlight, and it's always fabulous to hear the raucous Laughing Kookaburra). We saw 1 species of frog (Striped Marsh Frog) and heard 2 others (Eastern Smooth Froglet & Common Eastern Froglet), a Swamp Wallaby looked on peacefully as we walked by, and there was some interesting fungi! The summer bird visitors appear to have mostly left for their migration north, leaving our resident birds to enjoy the YNCA bush.
Two new people came along, and 1 person was back for their 2nd time, amongst the regulars - they all said they'd be back - brilliant!
The Manna Gums looked majestic against the blue skies and the conversation came easily as we shared time with like-minded people. Huge thanks to Brian for taking notes of the species we saw 🙂

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
On a still and balmy 14 deg C evening, our Citizen Science volunteers and Youth Reference Group combined forces to conduct a twilight survey within the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area.
Focusing on frogs, our Youth Reference Group recorded the calls of the Common Eastern Froglet and Eastern Smooth Froglet using the Frog ID app. They also spotted a few juvenile Striped Marsh Frogs, alongside multiple Brown Tree Frogs hiding in the leaf litter.
The other half of the group had a more general intent, looking and listening for any sights & sounds. They recorded 9 bird species including a Southern Boobook, a Swamp Wallaby, Ringtail Possums, Eastern Smooth Froglets (the only frog species heard calling), Whistling Tree Frogs, an Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog and a Peron's Tree Frog, uploading them to iNaturalist.org to contribute to our long-term data sets.
We were all fortunate enough to spot three to four Yellow Bellied Gliders feeding on a Manna Gum. A beautiful sight indeed!
A beautiful night out in nature with some fellow citizen scientists during International Citizen Science month! 🙂

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
On a mild and mostly overcast morning, our Our Youth Reference Group conducted their first Insect Survey within the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area. Hosted by Nic, one of the YRG members with a passion for insects, the group searched high and low to find the fascinating creatures we would otherwise overlook.
Some of the highlights were the Sydney Stick Insect, Gippsland Spiny Crayfish (yes, we know, it's not an insect!!), an owl pallet containing a tiny jaw bone, Orbweavers, a Crevice Weaver and numerous species of ants, leafhoppers, beetles and moths. Observations were added to iNaturalist.org, supporting the creation of long-term data records of species found within the region.
A lovely day out! Thanks to all those who attended on the day!