Celebrate the arrival of spring - Wildflower Photography Safari

Spring is just around the corner and we'll soon be heading off into the bush to capture some of our stunning wildflowers on camera.  Here are the details:

Wildflower Photography Safari

When:  Sunday 12th September

Where: meet at 8:30 am at The Grapevine carpark, Brookmount Drive, Charlotte's Vineyard

What to bring: camera, macro lens if you have one, water bottle, notepad

What to wear: sturdy boots or shoes, long socks, long pants, long-sleeved shirt, hat

Please leave pets at home, as we will be going into a nature reserve.

Beginning bushwalkers are welcome!  The walk will be guided by experienced local biologists and nature photographers, who know the local bushland because they've walked in it so often.

We hope to find the elusive orchids, triggerplants and sundews, which are only visible during certain times of the year.

Ellenbrook has many species of these plants in local bushland.  There will be lots of other flowers as well, such as cottonheads, (Conostylis), Hibbertia, myrtles (Hypocalymma), acacia and maybe some native flags (Patersonia occidentalis).  

the donkey in the (orchid) stable

Since today was a break in the wet weather, I took the opportunity to take photos around Moulton Wetland. One of the first exciting things I found was this orchid (Diuris magnifica), known around Perth as the Pansy Orchid. The orchids in the genus Diuris are commonly called donkey orchids.

Have a look at those gorgeous shades of yellow, brown, green and purple-pink! In this photo, the orchid at the rear is facing away, and you can see how different are the patterns on the back of the petals.

I'm really pleased to see how these orchids have survived in this bush remnant. Last year there was a tiny group of plants. This year, I found many more flowers, and it seems there are more plants than last year. Long may they live in our local nature reserves.