A forest of bloodsuckers

After the wet and misty weather we have had, I thought a trip to the Robbo Reserve would be a good idea.
I hadnt been there for a while, so a visit was long overdue.


The kids and I found few fungi, and a whole heap of leeches.
The area was overrun with them, not only on the forest floor but also dropping from higher branches in the canopy.

We were lucky to make it out alive....lol
Seriously though, I have never seen so many leeches in all my many walks through the environs they so love.
Most were quite small, giving the impression that they were the product of a quite successful breeding season some time recently.

The kids found the whole adventure quite educational....if a little creepy.

Winter forms making a show

A trip the the reserve at Robertson to observe fungi that are more prevalent in winter proved successful with a couple of interesting shots taken.

Mossy coverings on vines are doing quite well, as this photo shows, with the cooler weather and recent rainfall.

This delicate structure, a variety of Stalactite Fungus, grows in the darker recesses of the forest. It, due to the nature of its fine form, would possibly be harder to find in hotter months though is in relative profusion at the moment.

The tiny millipedes, pictured above, eat fungi and are purple in colouration. They are less than 5mm in length and can be seen on gilled fungus.

The following forms are relatively common year round, though are in profusion at the moment.

Recent trip to the Robbo forest

Recently Denis and I took a trip to the Robertson Nature Reserve to photograph the fungi.

While we were there we came across a group of retired employees of the old waterboard that were getting better acquainted with the variety of rare flora cared for in this area.

Denis didn't miss the opportunity to discuss some of the finer points of environmental conservation and it was generally agreed that much had changed in attitudes towards development versus environment.

We were told that all the engineers worth their salt from the Waterboard, now the SCA, were retired. Many of them were on this tour. It was generally agreed that things had changed there also.

Some of the interesting forms we encountered that day are pictured below.
This stalactite like formation with Denis giving an idea of scale, was most unusual.

A bracket type fungi with a closeup showing the porous nature of the organism.





































Robertson Nature Reserve, although interesting enough with its larger forms such as the canopy trees like Coachwood and Sassafras, is a domain ruled by the microcosm of smaller forms that attach themselves to these trees or inhabit the litter on the forest floor.

Forest blooms after rain

After the rain, a rain forest is the place to be to spot fungal blooms.





Robertson's last remaining pockets of such forest are alive at the moment with a myriad of fungal forms, as well as creatures taking advantage of the damp sun dappled conditions.













After school my daughters Rhiannon and Aeron accompanied me on a scouting trip to see what we could find










It is most important that these areas are disturbed as little as possible, so as to maintain them in as pristine a condition as we can. When visiting it is important to keep to the track taking only photos and leaving only footprints.

The work done by local land care groups has been essential in the preservation of these areas - Keeping grasses and weeds from invading often subtle and delicate systems.

These tiny fungi pictured are growing on stems no bigger than a hair. The trunk on which they grow is mattered with such hairs and only flowers when conditions are right for spore dispersal.