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Chiltern Valley No 1 Dam
Chiltern Valley No 1 Dam

Great bird watching spot. Enter via Pit Road. Photo E Collins

Woolshed Falls Track
Woolshed Falls Track

Photo E Collins

View from Mt Pilot in spring
View from Mt Pilot in spring

Photo N Bartlett

Brittle Gums Old Coach Road Mt Pilot
Brittle Gums Old Coach Road Mt Pilot

These magnificent gums are only found the Mt Pilot section of the park. The understorey is bracken. Photo E Collins

Stone wall  Old Coach Road Mt Pilot
Stone wall Old Coach Road Mt Pilot

A relic of the past which has stood the test of time. Photo E Collins

Tuan Track Walk
Tuan Track Walk

Guided walk through different habitats with leaflet provided.All season walk but excellent in spring. Photo E Collins

Bartley Plaque Sept 14th 2013
Bartley Plaque Sept 14th 2013

The plaque tells some of the history of this block.Funded by Friends group. Photo R Collins

Frogs Hollow revegetation
Frogs Hollow revegetation

A willing band planted over 300 shrubs and trees in August 2013.

Albino Swamp Wallaby
Albino Swamp Wallaby

A delightful portrait of this unusually coloured animal. Photo N Bartlett.

Grey Grass Tree Xanthorrhoea glauca ssp angustifolia
Grey Grass Tree Xanthorrhoea glauca ssp angustifolia

This species has recently found to be confined to Chiltern, Killawarra and the Warby Ranges. Photo E Collins

Sunburst Lichen Xanthoria sp
Sunburst Lichen Xanthoria sp

A spectacular lichen which can bee seen on the old fruit trees in Bartley's block. Photo E Collins

Speckled Warbler
Speckled Warbler

This delightful little bird is most easily seen at Bartley's block. Best spot to look is at the southern end. Photo N Bartlett

Amazing balance
Amazing balance

Just one of the many interesting rocks in the park. Photo E Collins

Chiltern Valley No 2 Dam
Chiltern Valley No 2 Dam

Another good bird watching spot. Pleasant picnic spot with good viewing site. Picnic table provided by Friends group. Photo E Collins

Barnawartha Bushfire
Barnawartha Bushfire

After crossing the freeway the fire entered the park along Barnawartha Depot Road. Ridge Track and a large area of the reference area was burnt. Photo by R Pritchard

Grasstree Track
Grasstree Track

Life beginning to return. Springtime will be interesting where the ground has been lightly burnt. Photo B Pritchard

Aerial attack
Aerial attack

Water bombing over the Chiltern Reference area. Parks crew cut a firebreak through this area..

Pilot Reference Area and Hartigans Gap
Pilot Reference Area and Hartigans Gap

This aerial shows the extent and pathway of the fire. The Pilot reference area suffered badly with 11,000 ha being burnt. Many large old trees were lost. Photo B Pritchard.

Woolshed 27th July 2016
Woolshed 27th July 2016

Photo N Blair Another spectacular cascade of water.

Magenta planting June 3rd 2016
Magenta planting June 3rd 2016

In 2016 Parks redesigned the Magenta Mine carpark and barbecue area to improve the area,The surrounds were ripped and mulched and in June Friends planted 200 understorey species.

Interperpretive plaque, Rutherglen N F Reserve
Interperpretive plaque, Rutherglen N F Reserve

Photo M Webster. The Great Southern and Chiltern Valley mine is situated in the Rutherglen Natural Features Reserve. Friends obtained a grant to restore the reserve and mine site. This was completed in 2016 by an enthusiastic group with support from Parks Victoria.

Clear Creek Cascades July 2016
Clear Creek Cascades July 2016

Photo M Webster. The rains have produced some spectacular sights. This waterfall brings the rock formations to life.

Friends of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP Newsletter #327 May 2023

FRIENDS OF CHILTERN MT-PILOT NATIONAL PARK, Inc.

Correspondence to: Tony Murnane Secretary/Treasurer: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

President: Vacant

Newsletter: Neville Bartlett:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website:http://www.friendsofchiltern.org.au/

May field day

Four hardy souls met on a cold and damp day. The rain was sufficiently modest that we decided to continue to the Grasslands Block and plant 40 Spreading Wattle (Acacia genistifolia) plants.

1 - Field day (2385) - Neville Bartlett

Planting in progress Photo: Neville Bartlett

2 - Field day (2384) - Neville Bartlett

One of last year’s Spreading Wattle (Acacia genistifolia) planting Photo: Neville Bartlett

3 - Field day (2381) - Neville Bartlett

A Eucalypt on a dam wall Photo: Neville Bartlett

It was most encouraging to see how some of last year’s planting has progressed. Having completed the planting, we sat down for a cuppa, some bun and a chat until the rain encouraged us to head home.

 

Fungi workshops organised by Wooragee Landcare – May 20th, 21st and 22nd 2023

This year’s workshops were conducted by Alison Pouliot, a renowned fungi expert on Saturday 20th May (fungus ID and survey around Wooragee/Chiltern area), Sunday 21st May 2023 (slow mushrooming and identifying edible fungi) and Monday 22nd May 2023. Alison’s latest book “Underground Lovers” was launched at the Wooragee Hall on Friday 19th May 2023. These workshops were extremely popular with all three days having waiting lists.

Saturday’s workshop featured an introduction to fungi and the broad role that they play in the environment.

Fungi have alliances, symbioses and mutualisms with other organisms and plants. They have two main modes to nourish themselves by either decomposing organic matter or mustering the help of others. Many plants rely heavily on the nutrients supplied by fungi in order to germinate from seed and to grow. Many species of orchids simply would not exist in the Park were it not for the vital role that fungi (mycorrhiza) play in germination and growth.

 4 - Fungi workshop (2406) - Neville Bartlett

The morning session of the Saturday workshop Photo: Neville Bartlett

 5 - Fungi workshop (2408) - Neville Bartlett

The morning session of the Saturday workshop Photos: Neville Bartlett

 6 - Fungi workshop (2409) - Neville Bartlett

The morning session of the Saturday workshop Photos: Neville Bartlett

7 - Cortinarius sp (3728) - Leonie Brien

Cortinarius sp., Amaria capitata Photos: Leonie Brien

8 - Armaria capitata (3729) - Leonie Brien

Amaria capitata  Photo: Leonie Brien

9 - Underside of Marshmellow bolete (3732) - Leonie Brien

The underside of Marshmellow bolete -  Photo: Leonie Brien

 10 - Hebeloma (3735) - Leonie Brien

  Hebeloma Photo: Leonie Brien 

11 - Fungi on fungi (3737) - Leonie Brien

Fungi on Fungi  Photo: Leonie Brien

Alison has three books about fungi that make interesting reading as they discuss human interaction with fungi while being very informative at the same time.

 Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) – May image in the 2023 calendar

Swift Parrots breed in Tasmania and spend winter on the mainland of Australia. Most years a number of them can be found in the Park and 2002 was a bumper year with a flock of several hundred observed near Ryan’s Road in the Chiltern section of the Park.

 12 - Swift Parot (Philip Dubbin)

Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) near Ryan’s Road in 2022. Photo: Philip Dubbin

Ranger’s Report – Brian Pritchard

We have been working with the Friends Committee to develop and approve next year’s Friends Activity Plan and ensure that we meet Parks Victoria’s volunteering requirements. Thanks to Tony for his efforts in this area.

Illegal firewood removal is increasing, and enforcement actions are underway. Significant fines are issued for people detected removing timber from the park and we encourage members of public to assist by reporting any illegal activities. Repairs are being completed and new culverts being installed on a number of roads in the park. We continue to monitor and trap pigs with a number removed this week. Some small areas of weeds have also been sprayed. Parks Victoria is also working through the transition of our fire funded staff who are moving into DEECA on the first of July but much of the detail of the shift are yet to be clarified.

 

Rainfall April 2023: 72 mm. Total for the year to date 2023: 261 mm.
The corresponding total until the end of April 2022 was 363 mm.

The average annual rainfall for Chiltern is 689 mm.

Data supplied by Mick Webster.

NEXT MEETING – SUNDAY 4th JUNE 2023

The main activity will be weeding at Mt Ochtertyre Reserve and, depending on numbers, other work can be done at Chiltern Valley No 2 Dam along with some exploration of areas that need revegetation.

Please bring weeding equipment, gloves, a chair and morning tea.
The ownership of the Chiltern Bakery has changed and the ‘new’ bun will be available.

Meet at the Chiltern Post Office at 9:00am.

 

Dates for the remainder of 2023

 

For 2023: Saturday 1st July, Sunday 6th August, Saturday 2nd September, Sunday 1st October, Saturday 4th November and Sunday 3rd December 2023.

Rule of Thumb: For even months, the field day is held on the first Sunday of the month and for odd months, it is held on the first Saturday of the month.


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