Growler Haven
1. Whistling Kite. The whistling kite (scientific name: Haliastur sphenurus) is a medium-sized raptor found throughout Australia. Whistling kites are carnivorous. Using their keen vision and powerful talons they will take down prey such as reptiles, insects, fish and mammals sometimes as large as rabbits. They have been known to steal meals from other birds of prey and dine on carrion wherever possible.
2. River Red Gum (scientific name: Eucalyptus camaldulensis) River Red Gum occurs in all Australian States, one of the few Eucalypts to do so. It has a very varied growth form, depending on its location, ranging from erect trees 45-60m tall along the Murray River Basin, to the dwarf “Werribee” form which grows locally. It is found alongside watercourses and rivers over the whole continent and relies on occasional flooding to stay alive. It is threatened by human behaviours which lead to constant flooding of populations and increasing salinity. It was used by indigenous peoples as a source of food such as birds and possums sheltering in the trees, and the bark was used for a variety of purposes, such as carry-dishes, canoes and shelter.
3. Skipper Butterfly. (scientific name: Ocybadistes walkeri) The greenish grass-dart, green grass-dart, southern dart or yellow-banded dart, is a type of butterfly known as a skipper found in eastern and southern Australia, with one subspecies found in the Northern Territory. There are 124 named Australian species. Their name comes from the rapid, direct, and bouncing flight habit that makes them appear to “skip”. Often considered to have “moth-like” characteristics, their bodies are hairy and large in proportion to their wings. Skippers are generally small, but their powerful wing muscles enable them to reach speeds up to 30 km per hour. Larvae feed on plants such as legumes and grasses and usually live inside folded or rolled leaves often woven together. Pupation occurs in thin cocoons of silk or silk and leaves.
4. Growling Grass Frog, (scientific name: Litoria raniformis). Ever wandered along a creek or wetland and thought you heard a motorbike revving? You might’ve been lucky enough to hear the call of the undangered growling grass frog. Once common throughout south-east Australia, this little critter is now listed as ‘threatened with extinction’ in Victoria. “Growlers”, as they’re affectionately known, are shy creatures and can be difficult to spot. They’re usually found in creeks, rivers and natural wetlands, basking in the sun on the leaves of floating plants, or foraging for insects and spiders in open grassy areas. Their backs are warty and usually have a pale green stripe down the middle. The growling grass frog is one of the largest frog species in Australia. The females (6 -10 cm) grow much larger than the males (5 – 6 cm). The male calls out after rain in spring, summer and autumn.
5. Kangaroo Grass (scientific name: Themeda triandra) is found in all the states and territories. It grows mainly in grassland and open woodland communities. It is a significant species in temperate grasslands in Australia, a habitat considered to be endangered or threatened in most parts of the country. Themeda triandra is a grass which grows in dense tufts up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) tall and 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) wide. It flowers in summer, producing large red-brown spikelets on branched stems. The plant has traditional uses as food and medicine in Africa and Australia. Indigenous Austarlians harvested it to make bread and string for fishing nets around 30,000 years ago. It was used as lifestock feed in early colonial Australia but this use was largely replaced by introduced plants. As of 2021 there is a large government-funded project under way to investigate the possibility of growing kangaroo grass commercially in Australia for use as a regular food source for humans.
6. Pacific Black Duck (scientific name: Anas superciliosa) is a dabbling duck found in much of Australia. Confusingly, it isn’t black! The Pacific Black Duck is mostly mid-brown in colour. The head pattern is characteristic, with a dark brown line through the eye, bordered with cream above and below looking like an ancient Egyptian lady’s makeup. The Pacific Black Duck is one of the most versatile of the Australian ducks. It frequents all types of water, from isolated forest pools to tidal mudflats. Pacific Black Ducks are usually seen in pairs or small flocks and readily mix with other ducks. In the wild, birds are often very wary of humans and seldom allow close approach. Birds in urban ponds become quite tame, however. Females produce a sequence of raucous, rapid quacking which decreases in volume, while males may utter soft hiss or long quacking.
7. White-faced Heron (scientific name: Egretta novaehollandiae) are the most common herons in Australia. They are found throughout the mainland and Tasmania, and most coastal islands. They also occur in Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand. They can be found anywhere where there is water, from tidal mudflats and coastal reefs to moist grasslands and gardens.
8. Tiger Snake (scientific name: Notechis scutatus) The tiger snake is a large and highly venomous snake of southern Australia. These snakes are often observed and locally well known by their banding, black and yellow like a tiger, although the species can be highly variable in colour and pattern. Unfortunately, this species is much maligned because of its aggressive nature and toxic venom; however, the tiger snake should be recognised as a great survivor, superbly adapted to some of the most inhospitable environments in Australia. The species is often associated with watery environments such as creeks, dams, drains, lagoons, wetlands and swamps. They can also occur in grazing lands, especially where there is water and local cover. Tiger snakes will shelter in or under fallen timber, in deep matted vegetation and in disused animal burrows. Unlike most other Australian snakes, they climb well on both vegetation and human constructions and have been found as high as 10 metres above the ground. Tiger snakes have a broad diet that includes fish, frogs and tadpoles, lizards, birds and mammals, as well as carrion. They are largely diurnal and hunt for prey during the daylight hours; however, they will forage on warm evenings. They will readily search underwater and can stay under for at least 9 minutes.
9. Purple Swamphen (scientific name: Porphyrio porphyrio) and also known as the Sultana Bird. The purple swamphen is a large waterhen with a distinctive heavy red bill and forehead shield. They have red eyes and a deep blue head and breast, with black upper parts and wings. In bright sunlight the plumage shines with an intense blue sheen. Long reddish legs with long slender unwebbed toes help it walk and feed in shallow water. They have a white undertail that is exposed when they flick their tail up and down. You are likely to find these hens around the edges of freshwater creeks, swamps, and lakes surrounded by dense reeds and rushes. Here they can find food, build nests for breeding and find protection from danger. They live in large extended family groups. The species makes loud, quick, bleating and hooting calls which are hardly bird-like in tone. Despite being clumsy in flight, they can fly long distances and are good swimmers, especially for a bird without webbed feet. They are omnivores, eating a wide variety of both plants and small animals including seeds, insects, frogs and aquatic vegetation. They will also eat eggs and small mammals and have the strength to pull up reeds and feed on the soft stems.
10. Rounded Noon Flower (scientific name: Disphyma crassifolium). It grows as a prostrate (lying flat), succulent shrub or annual herb, from two to 30 centimetres high. Unlike the other pigfaces its leaves are round in cross-section. Flowers are pink, purple or violet. It is widely distributed in Australia and New Zealand. It grows in saline areas such as coastal dunes and samphire flats, and tolerates a range of soils including sand, loam and clay. The leaves have become a popular native vegetable in Australia marketed under the name “karkalla”. It typically has a salty flavour and can be used fresh or as a pickled ingredient.
11. Beaded Glasswort (scientific name: Salicornia quinqueflora), also known as beaded samphire, is a species of succulent, salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray. It occurs in wetter coastal areas of Australia, It grows as a small shrub, with a life cycle of several years and grows in a mat form along the ground. The stems are jointed and fleshy when young, but they dry out and appear woody when ageing. The young, fleshy stems are grey or green with sometimes red colouring along the tips. The leaves look like tiny blades, wrapped around the stem. This formation of the leaves gives the stems a ‘beaded’ look. Historically, people used to burn glassworts to collect the ashes. The ashes contained a high amount of soda in them, which was used to make soap and glass. This is thought to be how glasswort received its name. Glasswort is also an edible plant. People can eat glasswort on its own or mixed with other salad ingredients. There are also certain medicinal properties to glasswort. It is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin A and the B-complex vitamins and has also been described as helping flatulence and digestion.
12. Superb Fairywren (scientific name: Malurus cyaneus) Nearly everyone’s favourite! The superb fairywren is one of eleven species of the genus Malurus found in Australia and the superb fairywren’s closest relative is the splendid fairywren. William Anderson, surgeon and naturalist on Captain James Cook’s third voyage, collected the first superb fairywren specimen in 1777 while travelling off the coast of eastern Tasmania, in Bruny Island’s Adventure Bay. Like other fairywrens, the superb fairywren is notable for its marked sexual dimorphism – the differences in appearance between the sexes – with the males adopting a highly visible breeding plumage of brilliant iridescent blue contrasting with the bland black and grey-brown for the females. Superb fairywrens are predominantly insect eaters. They eat a wide range of small creatures (mostly insects such as ants, grasshoppers, shield bugs, flies, weevils and various larvae) as well as small quantities of seeds, flowers, and fruit. Their foraging, termed ‘hop-searching’, occurs on the ground or in shrubs that are less than two metres high: close enough to escape predators. Breeding occurs from spring through to late summer and pairs will bond for life, though both males and females will regularly mate with other individuals. A proportion of young will have been fathered by males from outside the group. Young are often raised not by the pair alone, but with the assistance of other males who also mated with the pair’s female.
13. Berry Saltbush, Creeping Saltbush (scientific name: Atriplex semibaccata) is a spreading semi-erect perennial shrub. Its leaves are mealy or green above and shiny grey-green and scurvy below. Atriplex species are commonly known as saltbushes as they often grow in salty soils. They also inhabit creek lines, grasslands and woodlands. Flowers are unisexual: the male flowers are globular, forming clusters or spikes. Female flowers form clusters in lower axils. They lack petals, a pair of bracteoles (pair of small bracts which enlarge, covering the fruit when mature) enclose the flower. Atriplex are fire resistant, drought tolerant and excellent for soil erosion control. The leaves are edible once boiled, the seeds were ground and cooked by the Aborigines. Propagation is by seed. It is found in all mainland states.
14. Rock Correa (scientific name: Correa glabra) is a species of tall, erect shrub that is native to Australia. Typically, it grows to a height of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in). It usually has elliptical, mostly smooth leaves (with a strong, sweet lemon scent when crushed) and overhanging, pale green to pale yellow flowers arranged singly on short side shoots.