Some Wintery Flora & Fauna Facts

Yesterday, I went for a late afternoon, winters walk, with my dad and my little boy. We just meandered slowly around the streets near my house in Northcote. Northcote is a quite type of suburb and my house is pretty near the railway line but it is an area where people seem to take a certain pride in their gardens. Not in a manicured way, but more as a creative expression. People have couches on their verandahs where cats curl up to keep warm, attempts at native gardens and vegetable patches and even the occasional wind chime!

As we walked home, the setting sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds in one of those special moments when you actually notice it.... and amazingly at this exact point in time a flock of Gang-gangs (or black cockatoos) flew overhead in a formation of about 8 or so. Not only are these quite rare birds, but I have never seen them in Melbourne before. I felt privileged to have seen them and was inspired to give our native fauna and flora some thought.

Some things I found:

• Gang-gang cockatoos and Australian King Parrots are apparently seen in the suburbs during autumn and winter!
• Many of Melbourne’s grey-headed flying foxes migrate in winter lowering the population from approx 20,000 to 5000. Colder weather increasing amounts that migrate.
• Echidnas search for their mates in June but breed later.
• It’s the only time of the year wombats feed in broad daylight.
• The pygmy possum in the Alpine regions of Victoria survives the winter under a protective layer of snow- it is the only Australian marsupial to hibernate
• There’s a higher winter mortality rate of red wattlebirds in Melbourne during winter due to Thiamine deficiency as a result of diet.
• In Melbourne, tree pollen, predominantly elm and cypress, occurs abundantly in late winter and spring, with grass pollen predominantly in spring and early summer.
• The Tree- Violet (indigenous) is found in many places of Melbourne and along the Yarra and releases it’s beautiful smell in late Winter/early Spring.
• If you plant garlic on the Winter Solstice it will be ready for harvest at the Summer Solstice
• The best herbs to grow through Melbourne’s winter are rosemary, oregano, parsley, bay, coriander, thyme, sage, lemon myrtle (frost-sensitive), Vietnamese Mint, scented geraniums and perennial chillies (frost-sensitive).
• It’s a pretty good time to plant your winter vegetables, things like broccoli, peas, cauliflowers and carrots.
• Winter is apparently also a pretty good time to plant fruit trees (of the dormant and bare rooted variety if possible).
• Woolly bear caterpillars may appear on the grass.
• With the onset of winter mice like the look of inside rather than outside and can enter a crack or hole as small as 6mm.
• Rat populations are at their lowest, as food is harder too find, many die and breeding is comparatively low.

I hope you enjoyed this little snapshot of our winter flora and fauna and a big thanks to the Gang-gang who provided the inspiration.....

Written by Briony