Two new bird species and three new plant species for Riddells Creek - a success for our remote cameras

Given our comprehensive list of known flora and birds in Riddells Creek it is aways nice to spot new species. 

 

On Nov 1 I heard a familiar bird call near the rail line in Riddell - familiar because it is a lovely call (when you first hear it) but it goes on and on and soon becomes a little annoying, especially at 4am (before light) keeping me awake in the Murray-Sunset NP earlier that year! It is the Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi). I spoke to some locals and played them the call I recorded and they confirmed that they'd heard it at their place over the past couple of years - when they heard the recording they actually said 'yes, that annoying bird that never stops calling'! Below is a much better photo of the Rufous Songlark by Chris Lindorff from NatureShare (the one I saw was too far away for a good photo):

 

Not only exciting as a new bird species for Riddells Creek, the second bird was the first new species record to be gleaned from our newly acquired remote cameras. On Nov 5, a camera picked up a real poser at Bill Hall's dam (click on the common name below to get to the full observation details in NatureShare - NatureShare is best viewed in Firefox or Chrome - not MS IE) ...

Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus)

This is a large and quite common bird of well wooded waterways and lakes/dams but a species that has not previously made it to our Riddells Creek bird list. If you've seen them in Riddells Creek or the Macedon Range, please let us know by posting a comment to this story. This takes our Riddells Creek bird tally to 86 - click on the link to see the full Birds of Riddells Creek collection on NatureShare.

 

 

While wandering up the upper reaches of the creek beyond the waterfall at Conglomerate Gully I spotted two new plant species. I actually went up there because I was trying to track down an old record of Ranunculus sessiliflorus (a type of buttercup) - which was recorded somewhere at Conglomerate Gully in a survey after the Ash Wednesday fires. I didn't find it but instead I did find (click on the common name to get to the full observation details in NatureShare):

Ranunculus glabrifolius (Shining Buttercup) - note the distinctive fruit

 

and Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides (Shining Pennywort)

I had to go back a few days later to confirm the ID of the Hydrocotyle, and while doing so I managed to get to the very end of the creek, and close to the end I found a lovely but tiny plant hiding among the sedges:

 

Mazus pumilio (Swamp Mazus)  

This is a place that obviously requires further exploration and I will get back there next Spring.