Nature Gallery
Rose Robins (Petroica rosea) were first spotted last year in the garden and they are back, with this beautiful bird spotted on the 4th June. For keen birding people they seem to hang out on the creek walk down towards the Japanese garden, near the pond with the massive deciduous tree. They flit around quickly so look carefully.
They are winter visitors to this area so just a few months to spot one. They travel as far north as the middle of the Queensland coast and then all the way down and around to South Australia.
They are insect eaters, so if you want one in your backyard then encourage insects by not using insecticides and provide trees and shrubs they can hide in.
Enjoy them whilst they are here.
Photos Cheryl Cooper
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Apricot Aloe (Hybrid Leo 6073). This stunning plant is flowering now near the glasshouse.
Known for its long flowering season, and though it can flower all year round it seems to prefer the colder months, this is a beautiful plant that grows to just under a metre.
It will flower fairly early in its establishment, but give it five years to show its full glory.
It doesn’t need a lot of water, and, as you can see from this eastern spinebill, birds love it!
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Yellow Flax (Reinwardtia indica) is a winter flowering plant and is looking stunning in the garden at the moment. Head up the main path past the fountain and take the first small track to you left and then turn right. It is stunning (and so are other things along this not often taken trail…)
This is a shrub that grows to about a metre in height and is covered in these exquisite yellow flowers.
It comes from the Himalayan regions of India and China and the yellow dye made from the flowers is used for clothing and making paints. It seems equally at home in our subtropical environment, but clearly prefers the cooler weather for flowering.
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Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), found in all states and territories except the Northern Territory (where you will find the blue-winged kookaburra), this is our largest kingfisher. Ours do have a few blue spots on their wings so don’t think you have found something rare if you see them. You’ll spot kookaburras in many places in the garden. They particularly like the trees around the lawn near the glasshouse.
They mostly feed on insects, but will also take snakes, small mammals, frogs and even birds at times. They are thought to mate for life and nest in tree hollows and in arboreal termite nests. (Always worth checking to see if you can see a hole in a tree dwelling termite mound, it will generally indicate that one of the kingfisher species are nesting in there. )
The “laughter” is actually a territorial call, claiming ownership of the area and warning others to stay away.
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Buddha’s Hand (Citrus medusa). You’ll find this really unusual plant down near the lake. Also known as the fingered citron. It originated in northern India and China, where most of our citrus originated.
It’s a large shrub and the fruit are not suitable to eat as they are primarily filled with pith and maybe a very small amount of pulp. They are, however, very fragrant and are used in China and Japan to perfume rooms and clothing. They are also significant in many Buddhist ceremonies, used as an offering in temples. For most of us they are just objects of fascination. Enjoy.
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Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua). This is Botanic Gardens Week (BGW) and we usually highlight a bird on Thursday, so combining those two elements makes sense. The theme of BGW this year is “Guardians of the Green” and when you guard the world’s green spaces, you also guard against the loss of magnificent species such as the Powerful Owl. The largest owl in Australia.
We are so fortunate to have some of these beautiful creatures residing in the garden and we hope they will breed again this year. You might spot one, high in the trees, on the main path opposite the nature trail, or in the melaleuca section. It’s such a thrill when you spot one. Pick up a brochure all about them at the front entrance.
Photos Cheryl Cooper
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Satinash (Syzygium Glenum) is the perfect plant to highlight during this Botanic Gardens Week. Endemic to Coopers Creek in north Queensland, and with just a few trees left in the wild, the work of our Herbarium and Seed bank are vital to its survival. We have teamed up with The Daintree Rainforest Rescue group who will be reintroducing this wonderful tree thanks to the efforts of our staff and volunteers.
You’ll find our trees on the left of the main path, once you reach the lake.
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Olive-backed oriole (oriolus sagittatus) These birds are sometimes mistaken for female figbirds but the bright red bill and eye are the clues, though they are from the same family. You’ll find them in coastal regions of northern and eastern Australia from the Kimberley region in Western Australia, right around the east coast to Adelaide in South Australia. They are also found in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. They do migrate to some extent, especially from the cooler southern areas of their range during the colder months. They feed on insects, larvae, and fruit.
Photos Cheryl Cooper
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Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa) is a stunning Australian native and you’ll find it in our Heathland area next to the glasshouse.
Found mainly on the east coast of Australia, it has a long flowering period from Autumn right through to spring. It tolerates a wide range of soils and grows to about a 2m diameter in full sun and rarely requires pruning.
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White-browed scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis). A resident of the garden and regularly seen and heard, most often in the leaf litter and deep in the undergrowth. They generally move around in pairs and they eat insects and other small arthropods, sometimes seeds.
A birding friend calls them “angry birds” as they have that look and their call makes them sound just a little bit cross with life and is even called a “scolding twitter” on official recordings.
This is the most common if the five scrubwrens that call Australia home and can be found right around the coast from northern Queensland, right around to the Kimberly Coast and in Tasmania.
Kahili Ginger (Hedychium gardnerianumj). We have this lovely plant growing in several parts of the garden, so you are bound to have wandered past it at some point.
It is part of the family Zingiberaceae, native to the Himalayas in India, Bhutan and Nepal.
Though the flowers are relatively short lived, it does flower profusely for many months.
Beware this can be an invasive plant, so not recommended for gardens that border native areas.
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Little black cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris). This almost comical little bird can often be seen at our lake.
They are found right across Australia and also from Borneo and Java, Indonesia, to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Palua and New Zealand.
They prefer freshwater lakes and sheltered coastal inlets to open ocean and can often be seen in large flocks.
Feeding on fish, crustaceans and aquatic insects, they catch prey underwater, by diving and swimming using their large, fully webbed feet for propulsion.
They have a special nictitating membranes that covers and protects the eyes underwater.
We are sure you will have seen cormorants with outstretched wings. This is because their feathers are not waterproof so they need to dry out after fishing.
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Flag bush (Mussaenda frondosa) also known as the dhobi tree is native to India and much if south east Asia. At the garden we have a large specimen found by taking the small path around the front pond and down towards the creek walk.
The white sepals beneath the small orange flowers make this specimen really stand out and create the “flag” effect.
It can be grown both indoors and outdoors and loves wet tropical climates, so is thriving after our hot, wet summer. It likes sunny or partially shaded locations and certainly needs protection from frost.
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Australian Boobook (Ninox boobook). (Previously known as the Southern Boobook).
Well the run of superb bird sightings at the garden continues. This time an Australian Boobook. This is a species of owl that can be found throughout mainland Australia, southern New Guinea, the island of Timor, and the Sunda Islands.
They can often be heard at night, with their distinctive boo-book call, (it almost sounds like cuck - koo), but it is rare to sight one during the day.
This is our smallest owl and the most common. They feed on insects and small animal species like mice. This is why it is so important not to use any kind of rodenticide that can affect them.
Our thanks to Barry Callister Photography for allowing us to use his fantastic photos.
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Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) . Yes this is a native, well to parts of Queensland. It is also native to India, The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia and you’ll find it in parts of Thailand and Vietnam.
It is considered difficult to grow as it needs high humidity and specific temperatures, but it seems right at home in our garden and you will find it on the left towards the end of the main path near the lake.
It is widely used in the perfume industry and is known as the “Queen of perfumes”. The essential oil is extracted from the flowers, which are yellow and look very like pieces of pasta to me. 😀
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Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae). In the past few weeks we have had several very special bird sightings in the garden and here is another one.
This stunning grey goshawk was spotted by local bird photographer Gary Want and he kindly agreed to sharing his fantastic photos with us.
The grey goshawk is a medium sized raptor found along the Australian coast from the top of WA, across northern Australia, down the east coast and around to SA.
This bird is a typical grey in colouring and the most prominent form found in the thicker, sub-tropical forests of eastern Australia, but there is also a white morph that is white all over.
They eat birds, small mammals, reptiles and larger insects. They use their powerful claws to catch their prey, often striking at speed. A fantastic find. Thanks again to Gary Want for sharing this sighting with us.
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When is a Eucalypt not a Eucalyptus?
The term `eucalypt` refers to three closely-related genera of the Myrtaceae family – Eucalyptus with 758 species, Corymbia with 93 species and Angophora with 10 species. In the Garden along the main path you will find Blackbutts (Eucalyptus pilularis) Scribbly Gums (E. signata), Bloodwoods (Corymbia intermedia and C. gummifera) and Smooth-barked Apple (Angophora costata).
A magnificent Pink Bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia) stands on the creek walk, near the turn to ‘rare and endangered plants’ at Stop 3 on the circuit walk, ‘Our Habitat, Our Home’. It is believed to be around 500 years old and part of the remnant forest that existed in the Garden prior to European settlement. This species was well-known and used by the local Gumbaynggirr people. Those of scientific bent will notice that the genus name of pink bloodwood is Corymbia not Eucalyptus. The Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora genera are an example of divergent evolution, where a common ancestor undergoes genetic diversification in response to natural selection, developing into multiple related species. So the bloodwoods are eucalypts and close cousins of the Eucalyptus trees.
Thanks to Sue Siwinski for the research and Cheryl Cooper for the photos.
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Musk lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna). This beautiful lorikeet is a rare sighting, but several have been spotted around Coffs Harbour recently. They love the nectar from the flowers of melaleucas (paperbarks) which, with this unusual warm weather and rain, are flowering profusely at the moment.
They are somewhat smaller than a rainbow lorikeet and have distinctive blue patches.
In this photo the rainbow is on the left and musk on the right.
Definitely worth keeping a look out for and please let us know if you spot one, especially in the garden.
Photos Cheryl Cooper.
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Blue Lily (Nymphaea violacea) This beautiful water lily hails from the north of Western Australia, northern Queensland and some parts of the Northern Territory and you can see it in the garden in the small pond off to the left of the main path towards the lake.
It is a floating perennial herb and grows from rhizomes in the muddy bottom on waterways.
It was a staple food for aboriginal people with most parts being used.
Photos Cheryl Cooper and photography student, Lilyanna Latham.
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The Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis) is a stunning bird. They are found only on the east coast of Australia, from Cooktown in Queensland down to around Port Campbell in Victoria.
It is our largest true parrot, (leaving aside cockatoos), and it prefers wet sclerophyll and rainforests, feeding on their seeds and fruit.
They nest in deep hollows and have been seen nesting at the garden in a tree near the start of the creek walk.
The males have stunning red heads and chests, whereas the female is primarily green with a pale green underbelly.
Always a treat to see.
Photos Cheryl Cooper and hollow photo Ellany Whelan.
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Crepe ginger (Cheilocostus speciosus)
If you missed this stunning plant flowering last year, then don’t miss it this. You’ll find it on the Botanists walk, (past the glasshouse and to your left).
It is a native of South East Asia from India right across to Queensland and has naturalised in many tropical countries from Costa Rica to the West Indies. In many areas of Asia it is used for medicinal purposes, but here it is grown as an ornamental. A stunning addition to any garden.
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Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata). One of our trusty front desk/shop volunteers had an increase in heart rate when this chap wandered through for a visit.
They are harmless to humans but will bite if threatened so just leave them alone and let them go about their business in peace.
They are widespread across Australia and especially on the north and eastern coasts.
Being non-venomous it relies on its sharp teeth to subdue it’s prey, which are generally frogs and small reptiles and their eggs.
Photo Di Schneider
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Variegated Fairywren (Malurus lamberti). We have two fairywren species that are often seen at the garden. The Variegated and the Superb, (Malurus cyaneus). The variegated variety male has a distinctive rich chestnut coloured patch on the shoulders and the female colouring around the eyes is a much deeper colour than the superb.
They are found across most of Australia with the exception of Cape York, Tasmania and the far south coast of WA.
They feed on insects and seeds and often move around in family groups. You might spot them around the sensory garden or along the creek walk. Look carefully to determine which fairywren you are seeing, especially through the next few months when breeding plumage changes and youngsters start to gain their colours.
Find out more about the different fairywrens via our blog on our website.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Eucalypt leaves
Eucalypts are evergreen. Unlike many northern hemisphere trees that are deciduous in winter, eucalypts keep their leaves all year. They are described as ‘sclerophyll` meaning ‘hard-leaved’. The leaves are thick, leathery and tough due to lignin fibres, and do not easily wilt. This enables them to survive hot and dry conditions. But it does mean the leaves are not very tasty, with only a few specialists like the koala able to survive on them.
Eucalypts also develop different leaves as they grow. Often the juvenile leaves are held horizontally to maximise light absorption but when mature, the stalk of the leaf twists and the leaves hang vertically to reduce exposure to the sun and water loss. The colour and internal anatomy of the leaves also changes as they age. How many different colours and growth stages you can spot in the gardens.
Thanks to Sue Siwinski for this post and pics.
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Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus). Though found across Australia, these magnificent raptors are not particularly common anywhere and so we were thrilled that one of our birding regulars spotted this one in the garden on Monday of this week. This is the first time one has been officially recorded at the garden.
Yes this is the fastest bird in the world. Its diving speeds can reach 300kph.
They are mostly resident, that is they don’t migrate particularly, so perhaps this is a young bird making this area its home. Let’s hope so as we would all like to see it I am sure.
Their prey is mostly small to medium birds, plus rabbits and smaller daytime mammals.
They mate for life and they range within an area of between 20-30 sq km.
Peregrines are also a bird of the world, being found in most major continents.
Let’s hope we see more of it.
Many thanks to Ellany Whelan for sharing her amazing photos.
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As it is almost National Eucalypt Day, (March 23rd), we thought we would have a post explaining more about the species, specifically - Eucalypt bark for identification
With over 700 species of eucalypts, identification can be difficult. Many people use the bark to help identify eucalypts. There are smooth-barked species that shed their bark annually in strips, flakes or slabs revealing a fresh, smooth and often colourful trunk. Local examples in the Garden include grey gum (E. propinqua), spotted gum (C. maculata a corymbia, closely related to Eucalyptus) and flooded gum (E. grandis).
Other species have persistent rough bark that may be present only on part of the trunk, with the branches and upper trunk being smooth. In the Garden, you will see blackbutt (E. pilularis), named for the rough bark on its lower trunk, often charred black from past bush fires in the forests. Also, grey ironbark (E. paniculata) with a thick, deeply-furrowed dark-grey bark that continues up the whole trunk.
How many other eucalypts can you identify from their bark? Eucalypt barks are very tactile - try feeling the different textures and doing a bark rubbing but please don’t strip pieces off – allow the tree do this in its own time.
Thanks to Sue Siwinski for the research work and Cheryl Cooper for the photo.
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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) This medium-sized, fish eating raptor can sometimes be seen cruising down the creek, or perched in a tree along the creek walk. It’s a regular sight on the Coffs Coast and is a regular of coastal areas in most of Australia, but particularly in the warmer parts.
These birds tend to stay in the same area and often use the same nest year after year. Adding more and more material until they are huge. Sadly the osprey is threatened by the removal of large trees that are suitable as nesting trees.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) We have featured it before, but after all this rain we need something to brighten us up and the lotus is in flower right now in the front pond. Even the seed pods are amazing to see.
Did you know that the seeds can remain viable for hundreds of years?
The sacred lotus has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years. It`s also featured in religious art and is a symbol of divinity, immortality, and purity in Hinduism and Buddhism.
For most of us it is a glorious sight to see. We hope you have all managed to stay safe and dry during this visitation by Alfred.
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Macquarie River Turtle (Emydura macquarii), also known as the Eastern short-necked turtle, live in our lake and we are sure many of you will have seen them. One of our visitors spotted a very small one and alerted a volunteer. We don’t encourage you to pick them up, but this was done for ID and sizing purposes.
It is great that they are reproducing in the lake as that indicates good water and improves the chances of the species surviving. (It is listed as vulnerable in some parts of Australia, with plastic pollution and cigarette butts being a major issue in many waterways. They eat plant vegetation, molluscs and crustaceans. Photo Alf Jones
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Leafcutter bees. (Genus megachile) Another in our bee series from the marvellous photography of Laurence Sanders and his wife Donna Sanders. This one being one of Donna’s favourites and it took a couple of days of patience to obtain it.
Here’s a fascinating nugget from the Australia Museum “It is believed that during courtship the male leafcutter bee passes his feet over the female`s eyes in a rubbing motion. She uses the patterns to identify the male as the correct species and potential mate.”
How amazing are these bee photographers? How amazing are these bees? They use the leaves to line their nest and may even share their nesting holes with other creatures. We need our bees so if you have a segment taken from a leaf, just smile and be amazed at the tiny creature behind it and that you are helping build a nest for the next generation of much needed pollinators.
Photo Donna Sanders
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Tibouchina “Alstonville” (Tibouchina Lepidota). This is the time of year when the Tibouchinas shine! This specimen is on the right hand side of the main path, but there is also a Tibouchina walk in our South American section.
Tibouchinas are small trees, native to Brazil, with abundant five petalled purple flowers. The flowering is autumn so enjoy their colourful displays right through until May.
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Just a selection of the 122 birds sighted at the garden in 2024. Come on down and see for yourself. Photos Cheryl Cooper & Lani Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgardencoffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoast #PlaceofPlenty #CoffsHarbour #CityOfCoffsHarbour #EcoDestination #GumbaynggirrCountry #Giinagay #ShareCoffsCoast #EcoCoffsCoast #feelNSW #OurPlaceIsGreat #adventure #birds
Rocky Rambler (Callistemon pearsani)
Callistemons are favourites of so many of our native animals and birds, and humans too and this one is a beauty.
A dwarf ground cover, it flowers prolificly and will attract birds and butterflies to your garden. Just a trip prune once or twice a year and you’re set. It likes sun to partial shade and is drought tolerant.
You’ll find ours in the heathland opposite the glasshouse.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin).
Now you won’t find this one in the garden. It lives in swampy areas of the Amazon Basin and our resident birder, Cheryl, has just returned from Peru and wanted to share this amazing bird with you.
It really is a prehistoric relic with current day birds aligning closely with their ancient ancestors. Their chicks are still born with claws on two of their wings. They are about the size of a brush turkey and land in a very ungainly way. They also smell! They are nicknamed the skunk bird and the smell is particularly prevalent at their nesting areas and helps to keep predators away. Perhaps it is as well it doesn’t live in our garden!
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Candytuft (Trachymene incisa) is a sweet, native, flowering plant that you’ll find in our healthland opposite the glasshouse.
It is also known as wild turnip or native parsnip as the root is edible.
Found mostly in coastal NSW north of ulladulla and extending into Queensland, it is not considered endangered.
It likes dry sandy soils in woodlands and on coastal heaths.
Always worth taking a closer look at the tiny flowers seen a long the way.
Photo Alesha Teizel
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Sugarbag bee (Tetragonula carbonaria). This native, stingless bee is the bee we have in our hive near the waterwise garden and new Nature Discovery Centre.
They are extremely important pollinators for the garden and completely harmless.
They do form honeycombs in their nests and they also "mummify" invasive small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) that might enter the nest by coating and immobilising the beetles in wax, resin, and mud or soil from the nest.
They were important food sources for indigenous Australians.
There are about 21 stingless bees around the world, 14 of which are found in Australia. This particular variety is endemic to the north east coast.
Photo by Laurence Sanders. This one cleaning our brood material from the nest.
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White-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
You might be lucky enough to see one perched along the creek line, but more likely you will see one soaring overhead.
The white-bellied sea eagle is our second largest raptor (bird of prey), the largest being the wedge-tailed eagle.
Very common around coastal Australia and along larger inland rivers. They feed on fish, turtles and sea snakes and will also take birds and mammals if an opportunity arises. A skilled hunter, it has been known to take prey to the size of a swan.
They build large nests of sticks high up in trees. They generally return to the same nest each year and are known to mate for life.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Scribbly gums are a group of Australian eucalypts that get their name from `scribble lines` on their trunk. The wandering tracks are tunnels under the bark made by larvae (grubs) of the Scribbly Gum Moth as they feed. Despite the tracks being highly visible, little was known about the tiny moth until recently. The larvae hatch from eggs laid by the parent moth and at first they tunnel in long meandering single loops. When the grubs reach about 10 mm length they retrace their path to feed on nutrient-rich scar tissue produced by the tree. This forms tunnels with thin and thick feeding lines, usually with a loop at the end where the larva did a U-turn. Full-grown larvae crawl out to form cocoons, often dropping to the ground until they hatch into tiny grey moths. You can see scribbly gums in the Coffs Garden at Stop 6 on the Our Habitat Our Home circuit walk. See if you can pick the scribbles made by young larvae from the ones that are full-grown. And please don`t be tempted to add your own graffiti, leave that to nature.
Thanks to volunteer Sue Siwinski for this great work on our eucalypt series.
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White Teak (Gmelina arborea). Also known as Yemane.
This is the flower of what has been a very useful tree throughout the world.
Native to the Indian Sub-continent (i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), southern China and south-eastern Asia (i.e. Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines).
You’ll find our specimen just opposite the archway entrance into the Japanese garden.
It has become naturalised in some parts of Australia but is considered a pest in the NT and Queensland.
Widely used in the timber industry in Asia. Used for veneer, boxes, crates and many other things.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Milky Conecap (Conocybe apala). Do we have any fungi lovers out there?
This one is often overlooked due to its very small size. Well illustrated by the finger in the photos.
This fungi is often found growing amongst short green grass and it loves rich soils and, obviously, moisture.
They love humid, rainy days with overcast skies. We have had a few of those in the past few months.
They can often be seen on a sunny morning, having risen with the dew, but they generally disappear with the dew.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Scarlet myzomela (Myzomela sanguinolenta), also known as the scarlet honeyeater.
This small, but very colourful bird, especially the male, can sometimes be spotted along the creek walk, or on flowering plants in the cultivated sections of the garden.
They love Australian natives, so if you want to attract these lovely birds to your garden, add flowering natives especially those in dense bushes so the smaller honeyeaters can easily avoid the larger more aggressive birds.
It lives woodlands and open forests, especially around wetlands. It is found right down the east coast of Australia from far north Queensland, right down to Victoria and onto Tasmania.
It feeds mainly on pollen and nectar, generally high up in the trees or bushes. It will sometimes eat fruit and insects. The female is far less colourful, mostly brown with a small patch of red below the eye and beak.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Wax Flower (Crowea exalta)
Native to Victoria and related to the boronia, this plant is treasured for its beautiful flowers.
You’ll find it in our heathland area opposite the glasshouse.
It will grow to about 70cm high and a metre wide and needs well drained, lime free, sandy soils. They also like a little shade.
It prefers water to drought.
They bloom all year round, only stopping in extreme heat or cold.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus).
This is a medium sized raptor with a bit of a shaggy appearance, but with stunning colouring, especially in flight.
Found in woodlands it is found right across Australia in all but the most arid areas.
They are carrion eaters, and will also take small mammals, birds, fish and even insects.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Red eye cicada (Psaltoda moerens)
2024 was certainly a big year for cicadas and this is one we hadn’t seen before. It apparently does appear in large numbers one year and then not again for a few years. Dod you see any?
Found primarily on the east coast of NSW and Victoria and some around South Australia too.
It prefers eucalypt trees and large angophora trees in open bushland.
They feed on tree sap and dispel clear droplets of waste fluid, (yes it is cicada pee), which can appear much like light rain when there are large numbers.
Do you have a favourite cicada? Which one?
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Mysore trumpet vine (Thunbergia mysorensis)
Native to southern India this evergreen climbing vine develops these lovely showy flowers and in milder climates it can flower all year round.
Please be aware that this is a very toxic plants for cats and dogs so think carefully before plant8ng one in your garden.
It can also climb over 7 metres.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Great Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa) sometimes called the yellow and black carpenter bee.
This is the largest of the 1700 or so native bees in Australia and can be seen in the garden if you have a good eye for these tiny native bees.
When we say large we are still talking only 24mm.
They cut nests into soft timber and this photo shows a male and female at the nest site.
Whilst the female does have a stinger, these bees are very placid and rarely sting humans. They are extremely important pollinators and should not be treated as pests.
Our very grateful thanks to Laurence Saunders for his amazing photography of these lovely creatures.
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Topknot Pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus)
You were thinking about the crested pigeon if you think this photo doesn’t look quite right. Many people make that error. The crested pigeon is often seen on the ground and is a regular sight around Coffs, but the Topknots are generally high up in the trees and rarely, if ever, come to the ground.
This is a large pigeon and is only found in Australia, down the east coast from far north queensland to Victoria.
For us they are transient visitors, following the fruiting of rainforest trees and introduced species such as the camphor laurel.
They love rainforests and wet forests, especially undisturbed gullies. They travel long distances for food, and generally in larger flocks.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Iptergonus bifurcatus (weevil species).
Through the clever lens of one of our volunteers, Alesha Teitzel, we are going to venture more into the insect world in the garden in 2025.
Described by Alesha as “ridiculously cute” and that’s hard to argue with, this is our first example.
At first google it isn’t easy to find out about these guys, but further research tells us there are over 4000 types of weevil in Australia! Wow.
These particular weevils have been spotted in several places on the east coast in Queensland and NSW.
Weevils are actually very important to our ecosystem and many are involved in pollination of plants such as palms and cycads. So next time you see one, don’t just think “bug”. Check their cuteness and consider the role they play in our environment as a pollinator and also as a food source for other species amongst other things.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Glossy Spice Bush (Triunia robusta).
Many might look at this plant and think simply “honeysuckle”, and, indeed it is sometimes referred to as “northern honeysuckle”, however this is an endangered plant with only a few known locations in Queensland, mostly in the far north.
It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, flowering from September to December and fruiting from February to April.
Land clearing, invasive weeds and illegal collection of plants and seeds from the wild makes this a rare plant indeed.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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This is a rare sub species of the Varied Sword-grass Brown butterfly (Tisiphone abeona morrisi) found right here in the garden!
The varied sword-grass browns are endemic to Australia. With a wingspan of up to 60mm.
There are six sub-species of this butterfly and this particular one can only be found in certain parts of Queensland and northern NSW.
You will generally be able to see them from October to April.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis). This is the cousin of the much maligned Australian white ibis and can often be seen with the white so keep your eyes peeled.
It is a similar shape and size but the plumage in the sun is just stunning.
It is found right across mainland Australia and is a vagrant to Tasmania. It is also found in Indonesia, New Guinea, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.
Feeding is also where it differs from the white ibis. It is not a scavenger, preferring large insects, like grasshoppers, locusts and even frogs and small reptiles and mammals. For this it has become known as the farmers’ friend.
They breed in large colonies, often along side the white ibis.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The new growth on the Mount Spurgeon Black Pine (Prumnopitys ladei) is simply stunning.
This is an Australian native that grows at high altitudes and is endemic to the Atherton Tablelands. The distribution is rare with plants only found growing on the granite-derived soils of Mount Spurgeon and Mount Lewis at elevations of 1000-1200 m. Consequently, P. ladei has been included in the Rare or Threatened Australian Plants (ROTAP) list (Briggs & Leigh 1988).
Botanic gardens are so important to ensure the safety of these rare plants.
The name comes from both the place it is found and the black and flaky bark.
It grows to about 10m.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Collared Sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrocephalus)
An exciting sighting on New Year’s Day at the garden when an adult collared sparrowhawk was seen flying into the bush on the nature trail and feeding two juveniles, one of which is pictured here.
This is the first definitive sighting in the garden, though there was a possible sighting back in 2020.
This hawk is a medium sized raptor (bird of prey), and can be mistaken for a brown goshawk, which has very similar colouring. They re widespread across Australia.
They eat small birds, which they catch in flight. It is amazing to think that this 20 hectares in a large regional city has the capacity to hold so many different bird species. A total of 122 species were registered with eBird in 2024.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera). Tis the season! Yes the beautiful sacred lotus is starting to bloom in the front pond, (to your right just after you enter the garden).
This stunning plant comes to us from Asia and is adapted to survive on slow moving flood plains.
It is considered sacred in many cultures and a symbol of longevity.
It needs a warm climate, more than 30 cm of water, (up to 8m), and nutrient rich soil to grow. It is a large, spreading plants so this particular variety doesn’t lend itself to small backyard ponds. (Miniature varieties can be found).
The flowers are stunning and grow up to 35cm (14”) in diameter.
Look to your right next time you come in for a walk and enjoy.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis)
Sadly not native but introduced from India and South East Asia in the 1860s so now found right across Australia, mostly in larger towns and cities.
You will likely recognise their call which sounds like “cocoo croor” and you will often see them up on powerlines in suburban areas. It is a bird that flourishes in human landscapes and can be seen in manicured parks and gardens, not so much out in the bush.
It feeds on seeds and grains on the ground and will certainly take advantage of any human, pet and chicken feed left around.
They are a small and pretty bird, with the black neck band, spotted with white, the distinguishing feature.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Daintree Pine tree (Gymnostoma australiana)
This lovely small pine is restricted to the wet tropical forests of the Daintree in far north Queensland.
In the garden you will find it off to the left along the main path almost to the sensory garden.
Though restricted in location, it grows in a variety of habitats from flooding areas to rocky outcrops in cloud forests.
The roots have nitrogen fixing nodules and when the fruits ripen they open to release winged seeds.
Well worth a look as you stroll up to the lake.
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Owlet Nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus).
Some of the amazing birds at the garden are very rare to see indeed, and this is one of them. We know they are there as they have been heard, but they are night birds and only rarely seen if they fancy a little sun from their tree hollow.
Owlet nightjars are found right across Australia and feed on insects.(Think about what we are losing when we keep spraying to be rid of insects…no insects, no nightjars).
They often hunt in pairs and will catch prey on the wing or pounce on them from above.
They are a small bird averaging about 23cm (just over 8”) in length.
AI tells us that the owlet-nightjar`s call is a short shrill chirr that descends in pitch and is repeated 1 to 3 times. Listen out for it, and always look at hollows, you just never know when one might peek out! 😀
Photo with many thanks to Laurence Saunders.
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Alocasia macrorrhiza - Giant Taro
You really don’t need fancy, colourful flowers to make a statement do you?
This rainforest plant is a native of Queensland and also New Guinea and parts of South East Asia.
Giant Taro is one of the larger members of the Alocasia genus, capable of reaching heights of 3.6 to 4.5 meters and a spread of 1.8 to 2.4 meters. It certainly makes a statement if you have the room.
The young bulbs of this plant are eaten after thorough preparation , including roasting and then pounding up to a dozen times, but the sap is very irritating to the skin, and there are so many better things to eat.
As well as a food source the giant leaves can make a great umbrella if you are caught out in the rain.
We just like to admire its architectural structures.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Did you know that we have three resident koalas, (Phascolarctos cinereus), at the garden?
They can be very difficult to spot as they are often very high up in a eucalyptus tree.
Just occasionally you can be lucky and this one was spotted climbing up into a shady tree recently.
Check out our YouTube channel (coffsharbourbotanicgarden) for several videos of our koalas, including how to spot them and a very special moment of a koala drinking from the creek.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Our powerful owls, (Ninox strenua ), seem to be staying longer this year and there have been several recent sightings in the melaleuca section.
Please approach quietly and don’t stay too long. If we can keep them feeling safe then they may stay around even longer. Remember they need their sleep.
How privileged are we to have breeding powerful owls in the centre of our city!
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Giant bromeliad (Alcantarea imperialis ‘Rubra’ Alcantarea)
This amazing beauty is flowering now in the South American area. (Near the second toilet block).
Don’t miss it as it can take up to 40 years to produce this amazing 2m spike!
It can hold up to 30 litres of water within its rosettes, so it is very drought hardy and the colours are more prominent when grown in full sun.
The tall red flower spike, with small fragrant yellow flowers can take over a year to fully open. As the flower dies, new side “pups” form on the original plant.
Native to rocky slopes in Brazil.
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Anemone Stinkhorn Fungus (Aseroe rubra)
With all the heat, humidity and rain if late some very interesting things are popping up and this is one of them. Sometimes called a starfish fungus, this fungus has a distinct carrion type smell. Not pleasant.
It’s scientific name literally means “disgusting juice”.
You’ll find it right down the east coast of Australia and all over New Zealand, and a few other spots in Asia and there are other such fungi across the world.
The smell is to attract flies. No they don’t eat them. The flies land and then carry the sticky spores to other places, thus spreading the fungus to other locations.
Please be aware that dogs that have eaten them have become ill and should be taken to your vet asap.
Nature. Forever amazing.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae). Yes strictly speaking there is no such thing as a seagull, just several varieties of gulls and the one we see most often is the silver gull and it will occasionally visit the lake and the creek near the garden.
We do tend to take them for granted, but they really are quite a pretty bird when you take the time to look.
They are Australian natives and are found right across Australia.
They feed on worms, fish, insects and crustaceans and yes, on human scraps, most of which are not good for them, including chips!
They breed in colonies on offshore islands, often raising two broods a year.
They mate for life and can live almost thirty years (if not fed on chips! 😀)
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Golden Candles (Pachystachys lutea), sometimes known as the lollipop plant. This plant comes from central and South America, and is grown for the yellow bracts rather than the white flowers, which almost go unnoticed.
It loves warmth, so best in tropical and subtropical climates, and can flower from spring through to autumn.
It is an evergreen tree growing to 1 - 1.5 metres in height.
Likes light shade and can also be grown indoors in pots in good light,
Photo Alesha Teitzel.
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Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis). This beautiful little bird is a regular at the garden. Often seen off the main path to the right, but really almost anywhere in the garden. We have featured this robin before, but a recent post of the yellow thornbill ( Acantjiza nana), showed there can be confusion between the two species.
The yellow thornbill is much smaller and also stays in the tree foliage, often high up, whereas the robin will be seen on the side of tree trunks and often on the ground. It also has a lot of grey in its plumage.
Mostly a coastal bird, you can find this robin along most of the east coast and along some of the south-east coast of the Australian mainland.
It loves to eat insects, spiders and other arthropods, mostly taken on the ground.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Coastal Banksia (Banksia integrifolia.) This beautiful native can be found in our heathland area near the glasshouse.
It is a bushy tree growing from 5-25m in height and is common all the way along the east coast of Australia, from Victoria to central Queensland, enjoying a wide variety of habitats from coastal dunes to mountain forests.
This tree is also vital for our native wildlife. Nectar-feeding birds such as rainbow lorikeets and honeyeaters, as well as seed-eating birds such as galahs, yellow-tailed cockatoos, and rosellas love it.
Small mammals such as antechinus, honey possums, pygmy possums, gliders, and bats enjoy it.
Many insects are attracted to the flower heads, which in turn attracts insect eating birds.
Lizards also use the foliage for cover.
As it is not too large it is a great way to introduce a little Aussie bush into your backyard.
What is pictured here is the fruit appearing.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Rose-crowned fruit dove (Ptilinopus regina). This beautiful and very shy dove has been spotted a few times at the garden, near the melaleuca section.
They feed on fruit high in the canopy and are very difficult to see, blending in well, and are often only spotted because fruit falls to the ground alerting passersby to their presence. Their call is also distinctive.
They are a small dove and can be find in coastal areas across northern Australia and right down the east coast, including some areas in Victoria and Tasmania. They are also found in Indonesia.
Another reason they are hard to spot is that they take water from their fruit and from leaves. They do not come to the ground for water.
Photo Ellany Whelan.
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Flannel flower (Actinotus helianthi) We do love our flannel flowers and you’ll find them in the heathland area opposite the glasshouse.
So named because of the soft woolly feel of the plant.
A beautiful Australian native that is no relation to the daisy, and is in fact more closely related to the carrot! (It is a member of the Apiaceae, formerly Mackinlayaceae, family).
Found widely around the Sydney basin and can be found an any of the sandstone heaths along the NSW and Queensland coasts.
They love a well-drained, sunny position and are ideal for rockeries.
They flower most profusely in spring, but can flower all year round.
We would ask you to enhance the enjoyment of all by NOT picking them in the garden or in the bush. (It is a protected plant.)
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana).
Though this bird is not on any endangered lists, it is recognised that its numbers are falling and we more often see the brown thornbill in the garden these days.
These are tiny birds being the smallest of the thornbills, which are already quite small. They have a length of about 9cm, a wingspan of 14cm and weigh only 6-7 grams.
The yellow thornbill can be found right down the eastern states from mid Queensland and around into South Australia.
It loves open woodlands and scrublands particularly those with casuarinas, acacias and paperbarks rather than eucalypts.
They feed within the trees and mainly on insects, though they will occasionally eat seeds.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Fuzzy Deutzia (Deutzia scabra). This flowering shrub is a member of the hydrangea family and is native to Japan. It has been introduced to, and does well, on most continents.
It likes forest edges and rocky openings in the wild, but is easy to establish in a home garden, needing well drained soil and a sunny spot. Prune after flowering.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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White-headed pigeon (Columba leucomela). This is a large pigeon, found right down the east coast of Australia, east of the Great Dividing Range.
It prefers tall, subtropical rainforests and it is in our rainforest sections that you might just spy this fairly shy bird.
They feed on fruits and seeds and particularly like the camphor laurel. The introduction of camphor laurels caused an extension to the range of this pigeon, but as Landcare groups work to eradicate this plant pest, their distribution should return to normal.
Females have a darker cap and the male has a metallic green or purple sheen.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Northern Honeysuckle (Triunia robusta). This is a plant with an interesting story.
It is a small tree or shrub and is found only on the Sunshine Coast in south east Queensland and grows in notophyll vine forests, (a type of rainforest), at 20-200m above sea level
It is on the endangered list and was once thought to be extinct and so it is an important species for botanic gardens to grow and maintain.
It is threatened by land clearing, illegal harvesting of the seeds and cuttings, and invasive weeds like lantana.
Photo Alesha Teitzel
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Square-tailed kite (Lophoictinia isura). We often walk through the garden with our heads down, looking at the beautiful plants, however it is worth checking the skies overhead from time to time. The square-tailed kite, a medium sized raptor, (bird of prey), has been spotted several times cruising over the garden.
This photo is of an immature bird, but as they grow into adulthood they have a distinctive white face.
They range across Australia, though mainly in coastal areas and can be found in all but the most arid areas.
Their food sources are wide ranging from insects to small lizards, mammals and birds.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Slender Hyacinth-Orchid (Dipodium variegatum). This tiny and very beautiful orchid is in flower now and can be seen in the bush on the path heading towards the Japanese Garden on the creek walk.
It is found from wet sclerophyll forest to heath along the east coast of Australia, primarily in NSW but with some occurrences in Queensland and Victoria.
24 to 80 cm in length with a number of these lovely flowers.
For most of the year you won’t even know it is there as it lies dormant in the soil. It blooms in spring/summer.
An extremely interesting plant it is thought it has a relationship with eucalyptus trees and also with some specific fungi, highlighting the importance of biodiversity and maintaining native forests in their natural state.
Photo: Alesha Teitzel
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Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae). Yes they are back to spend their spring and summer here on the Coffs Coast. Despite their size you may not see them, (they like to stay hidden and high up in tall trees), but you will surely hear them. They are loud and harsh and sometimes they call through the night.
Of the dozen or so cuckoos in Australia, this is by far the largest. They are 56-70cm head to tail and have a wingspan that can exceed a metre.
They prefer to lay their eggs in the nests of magpies, currawongs and crows, but will sometimes use a bird as small as a magpie lark, as the host to raise their young.
They feed on native figs and fruits, but will also eat seeds and insects and have been known to take baby birds, though fruit and figs are preferred.
They are migratory and come down here from northern Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia in spring, to breed and leave to head north again in late February and March.
Photo Ellany Whelan
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Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
The Broad-leaved Paperbark is a wetland tree that is widespread in the coastal wetlands behind the mangroves. This tree is easily identified because it has five veins down each leaf.
It was a very important tree for Aboriginal people who called it balawunga (pronounced `bah-lah-woon-gah` ), because it had many uses. The bark was used to wrap sharp axes and fish, and to line baby carriers, baskets and coolamons. It was laid over meat on hot stones to keep the heat and moisture in the meat. It was also used to thatch roofs.
The Aboriginal people were also aware of the antiseptic qualities of the bark and would wrap injured limbs with it. The young leaves were crushed and sniffed for head colds.
The flowers are full of nectar and made a sweet drink if dipped in drinking water.
It is also a good calendar plant. When in flower it indicates fish such as bream are running. It is also a good time to hunt birds and possums eating the nectar as they become fat and sweet to eat at this time.
There is a story board near a tree on the creek walk that tells the story of the important part the paperbark tree has in the Gumbaynggirr Dreaming story of a famous ancestral creator. Come in and check it out.
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Mangrove Gerygone (Gerygone levigaster) This small, but pretty bird, favours, as its name suggests, mangroves. You might just spot one along the creek walk.
Found along the eastern and northern coasts of Australia from the Central Coast of NSW around to the Kimberley of WA.
Removal of mangroves reduced their numbers considerably and so they are rarer to see than some other gerygone species, though all are small and fast moving so more often heard than seen. They have what is described as a “tinkling melodious string of notes moving up and down in pitch” (eBird)
How do you pronounce that word? Ger-rig-gone-e.
They feed exclusively on insects.
Photo Ellany Whelan.
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Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus). A timely reminder that the weather is warming up and that snakes are emerging. We don’t recommend you behave like this Australian Brushturkey (Alectura lathami), who decided to move this guy along recently in the garden.
Red-bellies love the sunshine and the water, hence this one was spotted near the lake. They tend to be shy of humans so leave them alone and they will simply move away. As it is spring, this guy is likely looking for a mate.
Yes they are venomous, but they won’t hurt you unless you try to hurt or trap them. They are widespread along the east coast of Australia and are beautiful creatures. Just stand still and watch them and enjoy their lovely colours.
Their main predators are humans, cats and raptors (birds of prey). Kookaburras will take young snakes.
Many thanks to Ellany Whelan for the photo.
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Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius). Sometimes seen at the lake, but look carefully as it might be a little pied. How can you tell?
Well the pied is larger, but if there is only one bird there that’s not very helpful.
Look for the distinct orange/yellow face patch in front of the eye and black thighs. A birding friend calls these black thighs “the big boy pants”. 😀 It certainly is the easiest difference to find from a distance and you can see them clearly in this photo. In a little pied that black leg is white.
The pied cormorant can be found in every state in Australia and loves a marine environment like estuaries, harbours and bays. They love fish and will also take molluscs and other crustaceans. They have a special membrane that protects their eyes underwater.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Purple Bush Pea (HOVEA acutifolia) has been flowering recently and grows in spots along the creek walk.
This is an Australian native shrub that can grow from 1m to 4m.
Did you know that bees can see purple better than any other colour, so they are particularly attracted to this plant which flowers in winter through to the end of spring.
You can grow it easily at home. It likes well drained soil and part shade.
It’s great for birds too, attracting insects and giving the small birds somewhere to shelter.
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Regent Bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus)
We more often see the satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) in the garden, but just occasionally a regent pops through, and you might see them elsewhere around Coffs Harbour.
The males have this stunning yellow/orange and black plumage and the females are quite similar to female satins, though not quite…
They build an avenue bower, similar to the satin, though images we have seen of them suggest they aren’t quite as neat, and they are certainly more secretive about where they build them. The bower is where courtship takes place and a nest will be nearby.
Fruit is the favoured food though they also take insects. If you want to know more about bowerbirds head to our website and look for the blog section where you will find quite a detailed post with plenty more pictures.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Yellow Bauhinia (Bauhinia tomentosa) is a shrub up to four metres high found naturally in southern Africa. A healthy specimen can be found in flower now in the South Africa section of the Botanic Garden just beyond the Glasshouse. The large yellow flowers have a deep maroon coloured spots in the centre and butterfly like leaves with two wing like lobes.
On a recent nocturnal tour of the garden some volunteer guides discovered that the anthers (the pollen producing part of the flower) of this species glowed brightly under ultra-violet (UV) light as these photos demonstrate: the first photo under white light showing the yellow flower and the green leaves, the second under UV light with the pollen sacs fluorescing white inside the flower. This phenomenon occurs in many other flowers and is probably designed to attract the attention of the insect pollinator, such as bees, which are able to see light in the UV spectrum. Nature is full of wonderful things to discover.
Photos Graham Tupper.
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White-necked Heron (Ardea pacifica), also known as the Pacific Heron this is a rare visitor to the gardens so those who spotted it here recently were thrilled. It enjoyed our lake for a while before moving on. This large bird is widespread throughout Australia, including Tasmania, but they tend to breed in the Murray-Darling and Diamantina Basins.
Like many herons, it has a special hinged mechanism at its sixth vertebrae, which enables it to rapidly extend its neck, catching its prey off-guard. They prefer shallow waters feeding on fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects. Our lake was likely a little too deep for it to stay.
Photo Cheryl Cooper.
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The Swamp Orchids (phaius australia), are one of the garden favorites so we like to let you know when they are in flower and that time is now.
We are so proud that we have managed to cultivate this rare and endangered plant so that you can see it in all its glory.
One of the largest of Australia’s ground orchids, it is well worth a trip to the garden to enjoy them. You’ll find them along the main path, on the right as you walk towards the lake, in several places. Enjoy.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus cashmeriana) also known as the Kashmir Cypress is a native of the eastern Himalayas, (Bhutan and northeast India). Our magnificent specimen can be found off the main path, down near the lake.
With a status of near threatened, we are proud that ours is thriving here and it is well worth the walk down the main path, turning right at the lake, to view it.
In its natural habitat it is fragmented and cypress remains in high demand. It is also the official national tree of Bhutan.
They are fast growers, reaching 5m within the first ten years and their beautiful weeping grey/green foliage makes them handsome indeed. They can grow to 45m so nit for the average garden, and that’s what Botanic Gardens are for, to bring these magnificent trees to you.
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Rose Robins (Petroica rosea) were spotted in the garden recently. These beautiful small birds live on the eastern seaboard of Australia from south-east Queensland around to Adelaide. They tend to be migratory, visiting us during the winter months so are likely already to be heading south.
They are insect feeders, foraging in the mid and high canopy areas of trees.
Sadly land-clearing for urban development, especially along the coast, has cause local extinctions of Rose Robin populations. Rose Robins are sensitive to habitat fragmentation and the loss of under-storey. They also fall prey to roaming cats.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The Waratah tree, or Red Silky Oak (Aloxylon flammeum) is a rainforest tree from North Queenland. It is a member of the family Proteaceae. A medium sized evergreen tree to about 10 metres (30′) tall. There are a two easily found in the Garden, on the main path opposite the sensory garden sign and in the front car park garden just next to the creek walk.
The tree grows slowly and may not flower for seven or eight years, but the spectacular waratah-like red flowers are well worth the wait. Clusters of bright orange/crimson flowers appear near the branch ends are highly bird attracting.
These are followed by woody fruits. The foliage is dark green, leathery and often lobed.
Photo Helen Wildman
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Musk lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna). A fairly rare sight these days, sadly. The loss of forests around Coffs Harbour perhaps? They certainly favour tall, dry forests with plenty of eucalypts, as they feed from the nectar produced by eucalypt flowers. Could it just be we have had more rain, giving them a greater range to use? The final issue could be that observers might just dismiss them as more rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus). Though much of the colouring is similar, the musk is slightly smaller and it has distinct head colourings.
Definitely worth keeping a look out for and please let us know if you spot one, especially in the garden.
Photo Cheryl Cooper.
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The Dragontree, Phoenix or Foxglove Tree (Paulownia Fortunei) belongs to the PAULOWNIACEAE family.
It is a deciduous tree, native to southeastern China (including Taiwan), Laos and Vietnam.
It is growing in the “China” bed adjacent to the path with the Dragon Mosaic.
It is an extremely fast-growing tree, due to its use of C4 carbon fixation and is planted for timber harvesting.
This specimen is beautiful with its masses of creamy-white, aromatic foxglove like flowers. It has large heart shaped leaves. One specimen of Paulownia is particularly invasive, and this variety is The Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa).
Photo Helen Wildman
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Giant Huntsman Spider (Family Sparassidae) and with 94 described species it needs an expert to tell them apart. These are Australia’s largest spiders, with a leg span of up to 15cm, and are widespread in coastal areas in all states, with numbers greatly reducing as you move inland.
The don’t make webs but use patience and speed to pounce on and eat insects and other invertebrates, making them handy to have around, plus they are so cute close-up, don’t you think?
They not only live in your house, but under the bark of trees and can live over two years. Their predators include geckos, birds, spider wasps and, of course, human beings.
Learn how to identify them and many other things in our free “Become a Citizen Scientist” tutorials from 9am to 1pm, this Saturday, September 21st.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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A pair of our Masked Lapwings (Vanellus miles), have decided to nest on the lawn near the pavilion. You will see that the area has been cordoned off by staff and we would ask you not to approach it. The birds are easily disturbed and they can be aggressive in protecting their nests, so it is for your safety too.
They are amazing birds and hopefully we can all enjoy seeing some chicks in the not too distant future. Two eggs have been seen). These chicks have a tough start to life, being on the ground and vulnerable to all kinds of predators. If you do own cats, then making them indoor only, or at the very least, keeping them in at night, particularly in spring, can help give all our nesting birds an extra chance.
Both the male and the female will look after the eggs and chicks are hatched with a covering of down and can feed themselves within hours. One of natures miracles for sure.
Please note that the close up photos were taken with large zoom lenses so the birds were not disturbed.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The Golden Barrel Cactus Echinocactus grusonii is a striking landscape plant, almost extinct due to illegal over collecting in its native habitat - central Mexico`s dry and rocky deserts.
Preferring a full or mostly full sun position and very fast draining soil, these plants do not tolerate large volumes of water.
Slow growing, reaching a maximum diameter of roughly 1 metre at full maturity, this takes 40-50 years from seed.
To enable it to survive in hot and dry deserts it has a variety of adaptions. The short round ball shaped stem stores water and conducts CAM photosynthesis, (where the stomata open at night). This also reduces transpiration and hence moisture loss as does the waxy stem covering.
The ridges or ribs, provide shade for the plant but also allows the plant to expand to store more water. When it is very dry in the plant`s environment, this plant can use its stored water to help it stay alive (succulence).
The modified leaves are called spines and have a waxy cuticle to reduce water loss. The spines provide protection from predators and shade for the plant.
This cactus flowers around its crown. It is unfortunate that recently small pebbles from the surrounding beds have been put into the top of these plants. This would potentially damage the stems and affect its ability to flower. These pebbles have now been removed, but please refrain from walking onto garden beds and moving stones and gravel, and allow the cacti to thrive with respect.
Photo Helen Wildman
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Spotted pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) is a gorgeous small bird, (just 8-10cm in length). Not as prevalent as the striated pardalote in the garden, but nevertheless present. Sometimes spotted on the creek walk near the pond before you reach the lake.
It is widespread in Australia, though not found in the Northern Territory, but certainly in coastal areas in other states. It prefers eucalyptus forests and woodlands, and so is another creature threatened by land-clearing.
It searches the foliage for insects and also loves the sugary exudates from psyllids, (as well as eating the psyllids themselves).
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Bird’s Nest Ferns (Asplenium australasicum). This beautiful fern grows right down the east coast of Australia, from Cooktown to the south coast of NSW. There are several excellent specimens on the left as you walk down the main path.
You will see brown spores developing beneath the leaves and this is the plant’s reproductive mechanism. Birds nest ferns are epiphytes, deriving their moisture from the air and rain and drawing their nutrients from material that falls into and rots in their centre.
These ferns often grow on trees and on rocks in the wild but will take to a sheltered garden and will even grow indoors. They prefer part shade to filtered sun and well-drained soil.
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Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena). Aptly named by sailors who knew the sight of a swallow meant that land wasn’t far away, these lovely, fast moving, birds are found right across Australia and chase flying insects in almost any habitat from urban settings through to forests. They skim across any body of water, snatching up insects as they go.
When you do see them sitting still you might notice the bristles along their beak. These help guide their insect prey into their mouths as they fly at high speed, whilst also protecting their eyes.
If you winder how fast they fly, we are told 30-40kmph when foraging but with the capability to reach speeds of 50-60kmph. No wonder they are difficult to photograph in flight.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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South Africa and Australia share a Gondwana connection (pollen fossils suggests Proteaceae ancestors grew in Gondwana 75–80 million years ago.) Australian native Proteaceae include Hakeas, Banksias, Macadamias, and Grevilleas.
Found growing north of the glasshouse is the South African Proteaceae bed, and flowering at present is the Protea cynaroides, commonly called the king protea.
It is a distinctive plant, having the largest flower head in the genus.
It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa. This area, called the fynbos region, is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters.
Protea cynaroides is adapted to survive wildfires by its thick underground stem, which contains many dormant buds; these will produce the new growth after the fire.
The king protea is the national flower of South Africa and is commonly seen in cut flower arrangement. It also dries very well.
Photo Helen Wildman
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Torresian Crow (Corvus orru). This is the corvid, (member of the crow family), that you will see at the garden. It is found right across the northern half of Australia, starting around Forster in NSW. It is more often found in coastal and tropical areas, though there are inland places where they can be seen.
There are actually six members if the corvid family in Australia, (3 crows and 3 ravens) and they are notoriously difficult to tell apart and it would take a full blog post to explain the differences and even then people struggle. Their call is one significant factor and the majority of corvids in the Coffs Harbour area are Torresian Crows.
A highly intelligent and curious bird, they require tall trees, (over 10m), for nesting, which is why the garden is a favourite spot. The Torresian crow eats more grains than other corvids, but also enjoys fruit, insects, eggs and carrion. They thrive in urban environments because of the amount of garbage we leave around. Please don’t leave waste around, or feed them.
They form monogamous pairs and generally stay in the same area.
Photos Cheryl Cooper
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The Orange Trumpet Vine (Pyrostegia venusta) is looking glorious over the walkway to your right after you enter the garden.
A woody climber with dense hanging clusters of flaming orange tubular flowers, this plant is native to South America and flowers at the end of winter and early spring.
It is certainly a plant that is well suited to the conditions here and will grow in a range of soils.
One warning note. It can become invasive if not kept under control within the boundaries of your garden, so not recommended for those bordering national parks.
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Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus). Found right across Australia, this stocky and colourful bird used to be regularly seen around our lake, but not so much lately. They can be mistaken for dusky moorhens so look closely.
They can also be found in New Guinea and it is believed that the NZ version (the Pukeho) is descended from the Australian swamphen.
They have stunning purple/blue chest feathers and a distinctive red beak. Part of the rail family they enjoy wetland areas and feed on a wide variety from soft shoots of rushes to frogs and snails and even stolen eggs.
Photos Cheryl Cooper.
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Yellow Prickly Moses (Acacia hubbardiana) is a native of the coastal lowlands of north east Queensland from Bundaberg down to Brisbane and can be found in the garden across from the lake near the pond just off the main path.
It is a shrub, growing to 2 metres and enjoys moist sandy, or stoney soils.
It is currently in flower and the flowers are clearly to be enjoyed from a distance as those thorns are sharp.
It flowers, as many wattles do, starting in winter through spring. Enjoy.
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Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) This tiny, fast-moving bird, is one of those that pass by you in the blink of an eye. If you are lucky, and very quiet, you might catch one resting on a branch.
They are widespread across Australia with some populations very mobile. Occasionally you will see a silvereye with quite a rufous underside and these guys come from the Tasmania population and travel as far as south eastern Queensland.
They love fruit and also feed on insects and nectar. Other than in the breeding season they are generally seen in groups, moving through the foliage, taking insects as they go and looking for suitable feeding trees.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Azaleas are in the genus Rhododendron and there are thousands of different varieties. If you are looking for a splash of colour then head to the Japanese garden near the lake, where we have many varieties growing, including beautiful miniatures.
Azaleas grow well in this area and manage drought fairly well. They certainly prefer well-drained, acidic (4.5-6 ph), soil.
Azalea festivals are popular throughout Japan, and they are certainly popular here too. What is your favourite?
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Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina) A larger black bird with white in the tail and on wing edges and sharp yellow eyes. This bird can be seen in the garden all year round.
They are found throughout eastern Australia, from far north Queensland down into Victoria, but not in Tasmania.
Currawongs feed on a variety of food including small lizards, insects, fruits and they do take a number of small and young birds and will take prey to the size of a young possum, sometimes hanging food in a tree and eating it over a period of time.
Currawongs have adapted well to urban environments where manicured gardens are often lacking in good cover for small birds so they become easy prey. It is really important to provide a thick understory where small birds can seek shelter as many of our smaller birds are disappearing.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Amazon Lily (Urceolina amazonica, formerly known as Eucharis amazonica). This beautiful lily is a native of Peru, and is now grown around the world. This one is just off our main path and it is lovely to see these flowers in mid winter. They do grow well in pots and seem to flower even more profusely when pot bound. They can be frost tender. They grow to about 70cm and develop clumps in the ground. It prefers tropical or sub-tropical climates and needs good light, but prefers shade rather than direct sunlight.
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Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata), also known as a maned duck due to the mane on the back of the males’ head, which is darker and almost chestnut brown in colour. The female has a lighter head and two very distinctive stripes above and below the eye.
These birds are frequent visitors to our lake and can be found right across Australia except in the far north of NT and the most arid sections of WA.
These ducks are primarily herbivores, feeding on grasses, clover and any other herbs they can find, with the occasional insect. They prefer shallower water where they can wade the edges.
Both birds feed the young which might stay with their parents for up to a month after fledging (meaning after they have developed their flight feathers).
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Bracken Fern (Pteridium esculentum) also known as Austral Bracken is a common ground cover fern found throughout the garden in the sunny areas under the natural forest. The harder dark green leaves of this species, as compared to similar softer leaved ferns, make it a hardy and invasive fern. The underground rhizome, densely covered in red-brown hairs, from which the leaf fronds shoot give this plant good resistance to fire.
The Gumbaynggirr name for this fern is ‘gamiiny’ and the sap from the base of the stem us sometimes used to treat bites and stings. The leaves could also be layed down to make a picnic rug that kept the ants at bay. Take care: all parts of Bracken Fern are poisonous. Photo: Graham Tupper
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Australian Long-finned Eel (Anguilla reinhardtii). Residents of our lake and also of Eastern Australia, including Tasmania and Lord Howe Island, plus New Guinea and New Caledonia. They can be found in rivers, lakes and swamps, but appear to prefer running water. They are carnivorous feeding on aquatic invertebrates and also fish, turtles and even small birds.
They are generally around 1 metre in length, though some landlocked eels have been known to grow to 3 metres and weigh up to 22kg.
These eels spawn in the ocean, so have already crossed land to reach our lake. They really are remarkable creatures. The eels spend a number of years in fresh water, (the similar NZ species have been known to spend up to 60 years in freshwater), before migrating to the ocean to spawn themselves.
Photo with thanks to Amanda Purcell.
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Fan-tailed cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis). Found throughout eastern and southern Australia, this lovely looking bird delights in eating hairy caterpillars!
It will eat other insects and larvae using a perch to seek out its prey and capturing it, either in the air or on the ground and returning to the perch to eat.
They are “brood parasites”, which means they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds to be raised. These guys like the nests of flycatchers, fairywrens, scrub wrens and thornbills. They particularly like the brown thornbill nests and will lay just one egg, removing one of the thornbill eggs. Their chick tends to hatch first and then proceeds to remove the other eggs and chicks from the nest leaving the parent thornbills just one, very large chick to raise. Nature is interesting.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Swamp Water Fern (Telmatoblechnum indicum, previously Blechnum indicum) can be found growing naturally by the creek path in the botanic garden and is part of the Garlambirla Walk. This native ground fern is widespread in eastern and northern Australian coastal areas and is usually found in sandy soils near freshwater swamps, which is exactly where you find it in the garden.
The Gumbaynggirr name for this fern is ‘gamiiny giiya-bading’. The rhizome, or underground stem of the fern, were gathered and partly dried in the sun, then roasted and pounded to extract the starch. This flour was rolled into small balls and cooked on hot coals. Photo: Graham Tupper
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Brown goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus). An occasional and elusive visitor to the garden, the brown goshawk is a medium sized raptor, (bird of prey).
Found right across Australia and up in to New Guinea, the New Hebrides and New Caledonia, in any wooded areas.
Whilst northern birds are fairly sedentary, southern birds, especially immature birds move north in winter.
They prey on small mammals and reptiles and are particularly fond of rabbits which means wooded areas on farmland are a favoured place. They perch low in the trees, in a hidden spot and burst out into their unsuspecting victim.
They are often confused with collared sparrow hawks (Accipiter cirrocephalus), which look remarkably similar and trying to decide if the bird has a heavy “beetle brow” or a lighter wide-eyed appearance, or that “the goshawk glares the sparrow hawk stares” can be difficult. The collared sparrow hawk has a longer middle talon, but this is not always seen.
Photo Cheryl Cooper (Taken where collared sparrow hawks are rarely seen 😀)
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THE FERN SERIES 3 The Coin Spot Tree Fern (Cyathea cooperi) is easy to distinguish from its cousin the Rough Tree Fern (Cyathea australis) because the trunk is marked with oval and round shaped ‘coin spots’ after the frond detaches. It is also known as the Straw Tree Fern, describing the straw like hairs at the growing tip, and the Lacy Tree Fern, referring to the fronds. It can grow quickly to heights of over 10 metres and has become a popular plant sold by nurseries for home gardens because of the smoother trunk. The ‘trunk’ is actually a group of rhizomes embedded in a mantle of modified roots and quite different to the structure of a regular tree trunk.
The natural range of Cyathea cooperi is from the south coast of NSW to northern Queensland in moist mountain forests and rainforests. In the garden you will find it growing side by side with the Rough Tree Fern around the front pond and in ‘fern gully’ near the picnic area. If you take a stroll to fern gully just pause and imagine….these tree ferns have ancient lineage going back in deep time to the era of dinosaurs….what might be stomping through this gully munching on the fronds if you were transported back in time?
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Great egret (Ardea alba). This is the largest and tallest of the egrets found in Australia and it is found right across the continent other than in the most arid areas.
In the garden you might spot one stalking through the mangroves or settled near the lake.
The great egret can be distinguished from other egrets by its size when in company, but when alone look for a neck that is longer than the body, the distinct kink two thirds of the way up the neck and a line that extends from the bill beyond the eye. Most of the year the bill is yellow, but this can change to black during the breeding season.
The great egret is primarily a fish eater, but will also take molluscs, amphibians and other water insects. It will occasionally take other small animals.
An elegant bird to enjoy.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The Rough Tree Fern (Cyathea australis)
THE FERN SERIES 2 In contrast to the Soft Tree Fern (Dicksonia) the Rough Tree Fern (Cyathea australis) has a rough trunk comprising the remaining bases of the old dead fronds, plus hair like scales. It can grow quickly to reach heights of over 10 metres, sometimes up to 20 metres in very sheltered areas. The natural range is from Queensland to Tasmania. They are found mostly in moist mountain forests and rainforests though it can tolerate drier conditions and more sunlight.
It produces compound pinnate leaf fronds which unfurl and radiate out from the trunk. On the underside of the leaves are rows of brown sori or ‘spore houses’. The name ‘cyathea’ derives from the Greek ‘kyatheoin’ meaning ‘small cup’ which houses the spores in the sori. The Rough Tree Fern is very common in the forests around the Coffs Coast region, unlike its cousin the Coin Spot Tree Fern - which we will cover in the next plant post.
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Noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), not to be confused with the Common myna (Acridotheres tristis), which is brown and a feral pest. The noisy miner is an Australian honeyeater.
Described as bold and curious the miner will defend its territory fiercely.
Living in open woodlands and forests, the miner is found right down the east coast of Australia.
They eat nectar, fruit and insects and generally move around in large groups, which has added to its aggressive reputation.
They will attack larger birds when in groups, consider it “small dog syndrome”.
Always ensure you have smaller, dense shrubs in your plantings where smaller birds can go for cover.
Their “noisy” name is well deserved as their constant pwee, pwee, pwee can be heard whenever they are around.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Soft Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica)
THE FERN SERIES 1 The Soft Tree Fern has a soft dense red-brown hairy trunk and can grow up to 15 metres in height. The natural range is widespread in South East Australia, from Queensland to Tasmania. The ‘antarctica’ in the scientific name derives from the Latin for ‘southerly’, reflecting its distribution. It is mainly found in moist shaded gullies and in cooler rainforests. In the botanic garden you will find it in ‘fern gully’ which is between the main path and the picnic area by Coffs Creek.
The fronds have compound pinnate leaves (like feathers) with the spores in spore capsules (sori) on the underside of the leaves. If you been watching the series Alone Australia, and this is NOT recommended, the uncoiled and very bland tasting young fronds of the fern can be eaten after steaming and roasting to remove the toxins. Only for a survival situation! Otherwise, just enjoy this fern’s luxuriate greenery. Next post: in this series - the Rough Tree Fern.
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Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae)
Firstly did you know that cuckooshrikes are neither cuckoos nor shrikes? They are named this way because their markings can have similar patterns to cuckoos and their beak is similar to a shrike.
Found right across Australia, this medium sized bird can be found in any wooded areas except rainforests.
They eat insects and other invertebrates and also some fruits and seeds. They catch insects in flight as well as from within the leaves.
A quiet bird, more often seen rather than heard.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Floyd’s Grass (Alexfloydia repens) is a perennial, dense ground cover that grows to about 25cm and is only located in the Coffs Harbour area.
It is named in honour of local Botanist Alex Floyd, who discovered it. It is threatened in the wild and the fate of the black grass-dart butterfly (Ocybadistes knightorum) is tied to the fate of the grass, as this is the only food for their caterpillars.
It grows in the shade of casuarina forests and also above the king tide zone of mangrove forests. Ours can be located above the mangrove forests across from the lake on the northern side.
It has been successfully translocated on some highway developments including at Warrell Creek. It also grows in the Bongil Bongil national park.
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Black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris). An elegant raptor, not often seen at the garden, but a pair have just successfully fledged three offspring at the jetty and they will need to move out to new areas so we might be seeing more of them.
Found throughout mainland Australia, though in higher densities near the coast, this kite is great to have around as its preferred prey are rodents, especially the common house mouse that can cause great problems to farming communities. Hence they like open areas and farmland.
Let’s hope we see them more often at the garden.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Napalese Cherry (Prunus cerasoides), also known as the wild Himalayan cherry, blossoms in June here and so is in full flower in the garden right now.
A native of the Himayalas and located in temperate forests through to tropical highlands it grows to 30 metres in height.
You’ll find it between India and China, not far from the Chinese pavilion, on the water course there.
This flowering will be followed by yellow fruits that turn red as they ripen.
The honeyeaters are loving the pollen being produced so the tree is also alive with rainbow lorikeets, blue-faced honeyeaters and noisy miners.
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Brown Gerygone (Gerygone mouki). You pronounce it ger-ig-ony. Another of those tiny, fast moving birds that flit by in the bushes.
The white eyebrow and red/brown eye are what gives this one away. It also has a distinctive fluttering movement as it catches flying insects.
Found only on the east coast of Australia, this little bird likes wet gullies, rain forests and mangroves.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) . Also known as the wandered, this delightful butterfly is a milkweed butterfly from the family Nymphalidae.
It is prevalent in North America and is thought to have only arrived in Australia in the 1870s. In Australia they can be found in all the eastern states and SA.
It likes urban areas, (where milkweeds are often prevalent.)
Their colouring tells predators that they are poisonous, which they are, (from the milkweed), and though they generally won’t die, anything that does eat one is sick enough that they will never do it again,
In North America they are known for their mass migrations and have been recorded travelling at 40kph!
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Tiger spider (Trichonephila plumipes). This lovely lady was spotted along the creek walk recently. One of the orb weavers, these guys are found in the top end and along the east coast of Australia plus in Indonesia and the Pacific Islands..
Easy to see how it gained its name. Those leg stripes are very tiger like.
Females have bodies that can reach 34mm in length, whereas the males are much smaller and lucky to reach 5mm. It is thought that the males remain small to enable them to evade being eaten by the female after they mate. However this is a balancing act as if the male is too small, the female won’t be interested in him at all.
Interestingly, they can store uneaten prey within their web for long periods. They have also adapted well to urban life, likely because there are less predators in a concrete environment.
They aren’t a problem for humans so just enjoy their beauty and amazing web building skills.
#coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #feelnsw #ecodestination #tigerspider #orbweaver
Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis) Another of Australia’s wonderful song birds.
Differentiated from its grey cousin by the distinctive black bib and black head, making it look like a hood.
Widely dispersed across Australia, in the garden they can often be seen in the lawn area just past the entrance. (We suspected it was because people taking a break there might feed them, but we know you wouldn’t).
They generally find their food on the ground. Finding a perch close by to watch for small mammals, reptiles, birds and larger insects. They then fly back to their perch and suspend the morsel to aid in eating it.
Their habitat preference is for drier forests and woodlands, and they are often seen in parklands.
That beautiful, sometimes mournful single note you hear, might just be a pied butcherbird.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
#coffsharbourbotanicgarden #ecodestination #coffscoastnsw #feelnsw #piedbutcherbird
Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio aegeus). Sometimes also known as the large citrus butterfly, (their larvae do enjoy citrus leaves).
This species is found throughout eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. It is especially prevalent in Queensland.
The females tend to be more brightly coloured.
Although a part of the swallowtail family, that feature is entirely absent in this variety.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen). A bird we all know and one of our best song birds, well actually one of the world’s best song birds!
Found right throughout Australia, except for the most arid areas, and found in the garden on the lawns and in the mulched beds looking for tasty treats of insects and insect larvae.
Though they love human handouts, unless it is something like a mealworm, you really are only helping yourself and not the bird. Raw meat can cause calcium depletion from the bones and bread lacks nutrients that they need. Offer them a bird bath and let them do their thing.
Known to be aggressive in the breeding season, they are just defending their nests. Can’t blame them for being great parents. 😀
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Large-billed Scrubwren (Sericornis magnirostra). One of those small, fast moving little birds that are very hard to photograph, but lovely to see when you can.
The trademarks to look for are the pink legs and the larger than usual bill for such a small bird.
Found along the east coast, from Cooktown in Queensland to just north of Melbourne. It prefers wet forests, including rainforests and is often seen on tree trunks and in the foliage looking for the insects and spiders it loves to eat. This also differentiates it from other scrubwrens which generally feed on the ground.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
#coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #feelnsw #sharecoffscoast #ecodestination #largebilledscrubwren
Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus). A medium sized raptor, but one of our most stunning.
Found throughout the Indian subcontinent, south east Asia and the northern and eastern coasts of Australia, down to Victoria.
They are seen cruising the creek occasionally as they enjoy fish and will often try to steal them from other fish catchers, as well as catching their own. They will also feed on small mammals, carrion and insects.
They nest near water and often use mangroves for nesting.
Easy to identify with their glorious colours.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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#brahminykite
The Importance of Eucalypts
Eucalypts are important to wildlife and people but are sometimes taken for granted in their home country.
Did you know that they are the world’s most widely planted hardwoods, providing firewood, building timber, woodchip for paper, eucalyptus oil and a rich source of nectar.
Eucalypt plantations can be found in more than 90 countries, with the largest in Brazil at over 1 million hectares. Portugal and Spain produce more than 50% of the world’s eucalyptus oil, with Australian production being only about 5%.
Eucalypts are an important wildlife habitat. Tree hollows and bark provide nesting and refuge sites for native animals. Leaves, nectar, pollen and seeds are important food sources for native animals and the introduced honey bee.
Just think of the market names for honey like Yellow Box, Jarrah, Redgum. Indigenous Australians have long used eucalypts for medicinal purposes, food and tools as well as shields, dishes, musical instruments and canoes.
The Garden has many eucalypt species including those on the Garlambirla Plant Walk, where the Blackbutt’s bark is identified for making boats and shelters, and the Bloodwoods for healing and men’s ceremonies.
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Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus). A garden regular, the grey butcherbird can be differentiated from the pied butcherbird by two main things. Firstly the grey does not have the black bib of the pied and secondly its call is quite different. More of a laughing, lilting call, as opposed to the pied’s melodic single notes.
They are aggressive birds, feeding on small mammals, birds and larger insects.
Their name comes from the fact they often hang their prey in trees as a way to ensure they stay put whilst being consumed.
Young birds are brown and less timid than the adults.
Please don’t feed them. They are whole food eaters and need to eat the bones and internal organs. Raw meat alone means calcium is leeched from their bones to aid digestion.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The Shining-leaved Stinging Tree (Dendrocnide photinophylla) is a rainforest tree growing to about 30 metres high found in warmer and drier types of rainforest. Its natural distribution is from north of Seal Rocks to southern Queensland. It can be found in the warm temperate rainforest section at the botanic garden not far from the big rainforest sign board and map opposite the Glasshouse.
Stinging Trees are like the giant versions of the Stinging Nettle and belong to the same family (Urticaceae) with fine hairs on their leaves which do sting. This species has smaller leaves and less of a sting than its more famous cousin the Giant Stinging Tree (Denrodcnide excelsea) with larger leaves and which is common in Dorrigo National Park. Both should be admired as majestic leafy trees but not touched! The sting is thought to be a protective measure by the trees to reduce the grazing of the leaves. The bark is smooth grey with little bumps. The fruit of the Stinging Trees is eaten by a range of birds including the Regent Bowerbird.
Photo Graham Tupper
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Glossy black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami). Smaller and quieter than its noisy yellow-tailed cousins, the glossy black is the only cockatoo with a red- tail in our vicinity.
Found across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, these birds are sadly endangered. Part of the reason is that their primary food source comes from the cones of she-oaks (Allocasuarina and Casuarina), that many humans find “scrubby” and so remove them.
Females have patches of yellow on their heads and black barring on their red tail feathers, whereas the male has no yellow and their red tails are a solid red, like this chap.
You often don’t hear their calls, but you may hear the cracking of the seed cones if you are in range of some fruiting she-oaks. We must both preserve and restore she-oak forests to ensure we can all see these beautiful creatures well into the future. They are already one of the rarest cockatoos to see.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Cat’s whiskers (Orthosiphon aristatus), is in flower at the moment at the garden entrance and another display can be found along the main path.
A native of northern Australia and parts of Asia this is a plant species in the family Lamiaceae.
Often used as a medicinal herb in some cultures for wide ranging ailments, for us it a beautiful flowering plant that the butterflies and bees just love.
It is a fast growing perennial which loves well drained soil and it thrives in sun or part shade,
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Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta). Small and lively, this honeyeater is often heard before it is seen. Found across much of Australia except the southern states and the more arid parts of WA.
You are most likely to spot one in the garden along the creek walk. Though they live woodlands, they also like to be near water.
As the name implies it’s main food source is nectar, but it will take insects.
As with many of our native birds, tree clearing is the greatest threat to their continuing survival.
Photo Cheryl Cooper.
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The Black Batflower (Tacca chantrieri). We have featured the white batflower (tacca integrilfolia) before and this is its equally spectacular black cousin.
First described in 1901, it is a native of south east Asia.
The `bat wings` are black bracts (which resemble petals) above purplish flowers with more bracts looking like long whiskers radiating out underneath. It is a tropical herb in the yam family from the rainforests of Asia and enjoys subtropical conditions of Coffs Harbour in the right soil.
One theory as to why this strange flower shape is that it mimics a small mammal with the flickering `whiskers` so as to lure in female midges to help in its pollination. Mimicry is most likely the reason but the intricacies of its shape may always be a mystery.
Both the white and black batflowers are blossoming at the garden right now. They can be found behind the flower pots on the right as you enter the garden, near the first pond, down the first track to the left off the main path and in the glasshouse. Enjoy.
Photo by Patsy Caves.
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Leaden flycatcher (Myiagra rubecula) One bird where the female is more colourful than the male, having this rufous colouring under the chin and on the chest, whilst the males are a dark glossy blue/black and white. They are prevalent right across northern Australia and right down the east coast. It is also found in New Guinea and nearby islands.
The small bristles that surround its bill, assist in capturing insects on the wing.
It prefers coastal, tall and open forests, feeding in the mid canopy, catching insects on the wings and around leaves. Southern groups move north for the winter season, returning in spring to nest and raise their young.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunnnghamiana) is the most common tall native palm of the Coffs Coast region, alongside the Cabbage Tree Palm. The Bangalow Palm has a slender smooth graceful trunk, marked with rings where the fronds were once attached, rising up to a smooth green crownshaft at the top above which radiates the feather shaped fronds. This palm grows naturally in or near rainforests in coastal areas, usually alongside creeks and water courses. It is found from Batemans Bay in the south to central Queensland in the north. In the botanic garden it can be found growing naturally by the main path and in the Palm Swamp Rainforest.
The pink-mauve flowers of the Bangalow Palm cascade from a multi-branched panicle at the base of the crown shaft, with male and female flowers arranged spirally in small groups. The fruits are orange-red when ripe and birds such as the Figbird, love to eat them which helps spread the seed.
The feather shaped fronds make the Bangalow Palm easy to distinguish from the Cabbage Tree Palm with its fan shaped fronds. However, the Bangalow Palm looks very similar to the Alexandra Palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) which is native to Cape York but is now widely planted along the NSW coast, and with a few planted near the pavilion at the front of the garden. The underside of the leaf frond is silvery in the Alexandra Palm and green in the Bangalow. The Alexandra Palm stem often is often more swollen at the base. The sheaths of the leaf that hold the frond to the stem were often used to carry food items or water after the ends of the sheath were tied.
Photo of young bangalow palms with stringybark tree Graham Tupper.
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Spectacular Rustgill (Gymnopilus junonius). This large, and, yes, spectacular fungi was photographed in Coffs Harbour recently. They primarily grow around and on tree trunks as they are a wood rotting fungi. It is found down the east coast of Australia, including Tasmania, New Zealand, South America and Europe.
Certainly not edible, some have been found to contain neurotoxins but stunning to see with caps from 8-30cm in width!
Photos Cheryl Cooper
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Spectacular Rustgill (Gymnopilus junonius). This large, and, yes, spectacular fungi was photographed in Coffs Harbour recently. They primarily grow around and on tree trunks as they are a wood rotting fungi. It is found down the east coast of Australia, including Tasmania, New Zealand, South America and Europe.
Certainly not edible, some have been found to contain neurotoxins but stunning to see with caps from 8-30cm in width!
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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It’s the time of the year for Processionary caterpillars (Ochrogaster lunifer), also known as bag-shelter moths to be seen. A garden lover, Rowan Brown, sent in this video of a procession crossing a bike path. Nose to tail the group moves to a new feeding ground and this tends to happen in late summer and early autumn. Don’t touch them as their hairs can cause skin irritations, plus we really shouldn’t interfere with nature at work. They love to feed on wattle leaves and move again in May when they breakup to look for somewhere to pupate.
Their other name, bag-shelter moths, arises from the fact they often group together in a silken bag at the base of a tree during the day. (They are nocturnal feeders and each creates a strand of silk as they move). Fascinating creatures!
Have you seen any? Add your photos in the comments, we would love to see them.
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Grey shrikethrush (Colluricincla harmonica). Found all over Australia except for the most arid areas, plus our major islands and in southern parts of New Guinea.
A forest dweller, their numbers have been decreasing with human habitation, which is why the forested areas of the garden are so important.
Often found foraging on the ground, around fallen logs looking for its favourite foods, which are many and varied and include insects, spiders, lizards, frogs and even some bird eggs. They will eat fruit occasionally too.
A medium size bird of around 24cm. Though not as colourful as many if our birds, still a sweet treat to see.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The Cabbage Tree Palm (Livistona australis) is one of two tall palms which are native to the Coffs Coast region. It grows all along the NSW coast, ranging from northern Victoria to Queensland and is found in moist forests and on the edges of rainforests and swampy areas. It can be found beside the main path in the garden and in the Palm Swamp Rainforest.
The Cabbage Tree Palm has fan shaped fronds and a rough stem. In contrast to the feather shaped fronds and smoother stem of the Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) the other native tall palm of the Coffs region (to be featured in a plant post next week).
The young Cabbage Tree Palms have leaf stalks lined with sharp spikes and being a plant with ancient lineage it is thought this was designed to deter grazing by the now extinct megafauna of Australia. The flower spikes bear sprigs of creamy white flowers and the young fruit is red turning slowly black as it ripens. This palm is able to survive fires, unlike the more fire susceptible Bangalow Palm. The growing tip at the top of the palm can be eaten and was known as ‘cabbage’ by the early white settlers, however cutting out the growing tip will kill the plant.
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Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis moluccus). Ok who just said “bin chicken”? Poor bird. Widespread throughout northern and eastern Australia, these birds moved into Western Australia in the 1950s and their range is expanding there too.
One of those birds that is thriving because of humans, rather than despite them. Sure they might get into your bin if you leave the lid open, but they also do a great service for farmers when locust plagues strike. Moving in, in great numbers, to destroy this pest.
They actually love crayfish and mussels, but they will also survive on human food scraps if necessary, and let’s face it, that is often necessary as we develop natural areas more and more.
They can look quite elegant in their breeding plumage, as shown here and they make great parents.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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The Square-leaved Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea johnsonii) can be found planted between the garden carpark and the garden entrance building.
It also grows naturally along the path by Coffs Creek on the Garlambirla Walk.
Different species of Grass Tree can be found from swampy heathlands on the Coffs Coast to rocky dry ridges well inland. The thin leaves of this species appear as a squashed ‘square` in cross section, as the common name suggests. This species is found in well drained soils north from the Hunter Valley into southern Queensland. Grass Trees are fire resistant but are very slow growing plants with a growth rate of between only one to three centimetres per year depending on the species and the location. How old do you think this plant might be?
Grass Trees had many uses by First Nations people in Australia including to make a sweet nectar drink by dipping the flower stalk into water and to use the resin from a small cut in the trunk after heating and mixing for joining axe heads to handles and other uses. Take the Garlambirla Walk along the creek side path in the garden to find out more on how the Gumbaynggirr people used this fascinating plant.
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Common tree snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata). Sometimes also called a green tree snake, for obvious reasons. This non-venomous beauty can grow to around 1.5m in length.
It can be found from The Kimberleys in WA, right across the top of Australia and down the east coast to the NSW south coast.
A very shy creature, it will likely be gone before you even see it. Also as the name implies, it is an active tree climber.
It certainly won’t be wanting to eat you, far preferring tadpoles, frogs, lizards and even fish.
If you see one, simply stand still and enjoy the beauty of this lovely reptile.
Photo Graham Tupper.
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Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus). As today is the International Day of Forests, we thought a forest dweller appropriate and spangled drongos are very much forest dwellers, especially wet forests.
That beautiful red eye, satin black feathers and forked-tail are the characteristic of this skilful flyer.
They are found throughout eastern and northern Australia and in New Guinea and eastern Indonesia.
Catching insects on the wing, they are fabulous to watch. Though insects make up the majority of their diet they will also take fruit and nectar.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Begonia lana. Begonias are such popular plants with many varieties grown both indoors and outside. This specimen is a cane begonia and is thriving in a shaded area above the village green. Begonias are perennials and bees love them. They like filtered light and well-drained soil and this one has grown into a substantial bush with glorious blooms.
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Magpie Lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) A bird most locals are familiar with and one you’ll regularly see in the garden.
However, can you tell the difference between the male and the female? A lucky photo here captured them both. The male is on the left, with a black face and a white eyebrow. The female is on the right with a white face and no eyebrow.
The magpie lark is found throughout mainland Australia, less often in Tasmania and also in Timor and southern New Guinea.
A ground feeder, they can be seen hunting for insects and larvae as they wander around.
Sometimes called a mudlark, as they construct a bowl-like nest with wet mud, which they line with feathers and grass.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Crepe ginger (Cheilocostus speciosus) This quite unusual plant is in flower on the Botanists walk, (past the glasshouse and to your left). It is a native of South East Asia from India right across to Queensland and has naturalised in many tropical countries from Costa Rica to the West Indies. In many areas of Asia it is used for medicinal purposes, but here it is grown as an ornamental.
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Naskrecki`s Bush Katydid (Ozphyllum naskreckii)
It’s been a warm and loud summer, even at night, and this is one of the critters responsible for the nighttime noise.
Sometimes called the bush cricket, katydids are not related to crickets, nor are they grasshoppers. There are over 3000 species worldwide (found on all continents except Antarctica), and about 1000 species here in Australia.
This one likes rain forests and other wet forests and they are active at night, so this was a chance encounter indeed.
The noise is made by stridulation, (rubbing together): of parts of their wings, not their legs, but their wings aren’t great for flight, rather they use those large back legs to leap away from predators such as bats, birds and reptiles.
They consume leaves in the main, but also smaller insects and also pollen.
Definitely something you will hear more often than see, but a fascinating group of critters for sure!
Have you seen one? Do let us know.
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Yellow-faced honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops).
The yellow streak on the face, is the giveaway to this bird.
Medium sized, as honeyeaters go, and found throughout all the eastern states, South Australia and Tasmania.
Fast-moving and always on the probe for nectar and pollen in flowers and picking up insects on the way. They also consume fruits and seeds, so any flowering or fruiting tree in the garden may be a venue for their activity.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Frangipani “Everlasting Love” (Plumeria pudica) Also known as the “hammerhead frangipani” (Make of that what you will 😃)
A native of Panama, Columbia and Venezuela, our plant can be found diagonally across the lawn from the glasshouse not far from the toilet block.
This is a beautiful small tree, (up to 5m), fast growing with glossy green leaves. It has a long flowering season over Spring and Summer.
It prefers well-drained soil and sun- tropical and tropical climates.
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Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata).
This medium sized hawk seems to have taken a liking to the garden as it has been sighted twice recently.
It loves tropical forests in coastal northern and eastern Australia, down to about Sydney.
Its favourite foods are large insects such as large mantids and stick insects and frogs. This wet weather means the frogs are in fine tune in our wetland forests and this has probably attracted the bazas.
It is easily recognised by its prominent crest and barred chest and wings.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Pink Bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia). This magnificent tree that stands on the creek walk, near the turn to “rare and endangered plants”, is believed to be around 500 years old. This is a very significant tree here in Gumbaynggirr country. The red keno (sap) was used to cover weeping skin wounds, as a bandaid would today. Over time it stopped wounds from bleeding as the tannin has a healing property.
It was also used as a glue to put axe heads onto handles. Mature trees like this are extremely important for wildlife. It can take over 100 years for hollows to form and a tree of this age might be home to several species. You can read more about this tree and other aspects of our local plant life by picking up a leaflet and following the 900m circuit walk “Our Habitat, Our Home.” #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #feelnsw
The powerful owls (Ninox strenua), aren`t usually seen at the garden until April, when they breed over winter. However there have been several recent sightings of not one, but two owls at the garden, including this sighting by Cheryl Cooper on February 22nd.
Where to find them?
It`s not easy and they may be high up, but as you walk down the main path you will see a sign, on your right, "Proteaceae. Melaleucas". Turn right here and start looking. They tend to be somewhere between this corner and part way along the path that leads to the creek walk that is diagonally across from this corner, so walk the paths in this area and look for dark shapes.
They like trees with a reasonable canopy they can hide beneath, but can be seen surprisingly low down at times.
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Varied Triller (Lalage leucomela). Only around 19cm (less than 8”) in size, is found along the coast from the Manning Valley in NSW up and around the top end to northern Western Australia.
They are occasional visitors to the garden and you might find it in any of our forested areas or along the mangroves.
They love fruit, so look for them in fruiting trees and flowering eucalyptus trees. They will also eat seeds, nectar and insects.
The male is more distinctly black and white, with rufous under the tail, with the female having a brown appearance with more distinctive barring on the chest. The white-eyebrow is another feature to look for.
They make a trilling call, hence their name.
Sadly their numbers are in decline due to forest clearing along the east coast.
Photo Cheryl Cooper
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Dillenia (Dillenia turbinata), this large, evergreen tree is in fruit near the Chinese Pavillion.
These trees are native to Asia, from China through to Vietnam.
They grow in mixed evergreen forests and wetter valleys and can grow to 30 metres tall.
They produce lovely yellow flowers and these plum-like fruits.
The fruits are not toxic, but are sour. In their homelands they are devoured by monkeys and elephants.
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Wonga Pigeon (Leucosarcia melanoleuca), is a shy, mostly ground-dwelling pigeon that is often described as plump! (Some of us can relate.).
In the garden you might spot one towards the rear of the garden, towards the mangroves. You need to approach quietly, as this bird does not like to be seen, despite its beauty.
It also has a monotonous, repeated “woop” call that can be heard two kilometres away.
Widespread in eastern Australia from south-east Queensland to Victoria’s Gippsland. It prefers dense coastal forests.
It forages on the ground for food, eating seeds, fruit and the occasional insect.
They nest high in trees, with both parents participating in the work of incubating and feeding young. Certainly this authors favourite pigeon. What’s yours? Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #ecocertified #feelnsw
Golden everlasting daisy (Xerochrysum bracteatum) . Also known as paper daisies.
We have a beautiful display of them in our Waterwise Garden, (behind the front pavillion) at the moment.
We are all looking for hardy, water wise plants as our temperatures rise and this is a beauty.
Found widely in coastal areas of Australia, they are easily cultivated. They like sunny, well-drained areas and the perennial varieties are fast growing.
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Mistletoe Bird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum). So named because it loves the berries of mistletoe plants and it also helps to spread mistletoe plants as the seeds pass through its system very quickly and the sticky seeds attach to their feathers as they pass out of the body, forcing the bird to wipe itself on a branch, thus starting a new plant as the seed transfers to the tree.
Mistletoe birds occur right across the Australian mainland. They are small and fast moving, so not always easy to spot.
By the way the mistletoe itself is a good thing. There are over 70 native species and they help maintain the ecosystem by attracting pest controlling birds, they feed not only mistletoe birds but several othet bird species, gliders and possums and even koalas enjoy them. They are actually more nutritious than their host tree.
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Crepe Myrtle- Pride of India (Lagerstroemia speciosa). Have you noticed that huge, flowering tree as you walk up the main path? That’s a Queens crepe myrtle, giant crepe Myrtle or Pride of India. It has many common names and is just one of the many crepe myrtles that grow well in Australia.
Ours might have exceeded the height of 6m which is generally the maximum, which shows it is easy to grow in this climate and is why you often see crepe Myrtles as street trees.
It is a native of tropical parts of South East Asia and flowers from late spring. You might notice the pink carpet of flowers on the path beneath your feet first. Look up. It’s a great sight.
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Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia). As it is World Wetlands Day tomorrow (2nd February), we wanted to feature a wetlands bird and we are lucky that this regal bird occasionally drops in to check out our lake. They don’t tend to stay too long as they prefer shallower water areas where they can wade and collect their favourite crustaceans and water insects as they walk. They are found widely in Australia, in all but the most arid areas and southern WA and SA. They are easy to identify having a black bill and that yellow patch above the eye stands out on the black facial skin. The small patch of red you can see here is also normal colouration. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #feelnsw
Narrow Leaved Geebung (Persoonia linearis).
Ever wondered about our logo? It’s a geebung! Strictly speaking it was based on the broad leaved geebung (Persoonia stradbrokensis), however the narrow leaved geebung is in flower right now, in the heathland area across the main path from the glasshouse and you can certainly see the resemblance to our logo.
It is currently bush size, but can reach a height of 5 metres. The flowers are tiny, so look closely.
Can you believe there are some 100 species of geebung in Australia ranging across many habitats from heathlands to forests.
This one likes dry sclerophyll forests and is adapted to fire-prone areas. It regrows epicormic buds from beneath its thick bark after bushfires.
Green fleshy fruits appear after the tiny yellow flowers, and the fruits are loved by possums, wallabies and currawongs, so this is an important feed plant for several species. We love it! #ecocertified #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #feelnsw #sharecoffscoast
Shooting Star (Pavonia x Gledhillii). This 19th century hybrid of pavania makoyana and pavania multiflora, belongs to the Malvaceae family. It hails from Brazil and needs a subtropical climate, good light, but no direct sunlight, and a reasonable water supply. You’ll find this unusual plant just off the creek walk, to the left towards the lake. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #feelnsw
Scaly-breasted lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus). A similar size and shape to the Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus), but quieter and much more green, so it blends in well and is often missed. This is basically a coastal bird and can be found from the tip of Cape York, right down the east coast to around Wollongong. It prefers lowland forests and woodlands and feeds, using its brush-tongue on nectar and pollen, mostly from eucalypts, but they will also feed on other native flowering plants. Protecting the bristles on these tongues is another reason NOT to feed wild birds, especially sunflower seeds. When cracking the shells they can damage the bristles making it difficult for them to extract the nectar they need for good health. They nest in hollows anywhere from 3-25m above the ground, with both male and female sharing parenting duties. So don’t assume that bird is a rainbow, check carefully in case it’s the scaly. Photo Cheryl Cooper. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #feelnsw
Australian Native Stingless Bee (Tetragonula carbonaria). Did you know we have a hive at the garden? You’ll find it at the end of the Water-wise garden. These tiny. (3-5mm) bees, live in a colony that may number many thousands of worker bees and one queen. They live in the warmer northern and eastern parts of Australia. They are important pollinators for the garden. Get to know them via this short video. They are completely harmless and very cute. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #feelnsw
Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera). This stunning plant is flowering in our first pond right now. (right hand side just after you enter.) They are of the family, Nelumbonaceae. They are adapted to grow in slow moving floodplains and a stand of lotus can produce thousands of seeds. Some germinate immediately, others are consumed by animals and others can lie dormant in silt beds, especially through droughts, germinating when rehydrated. Some 1300 year old seeds germinated in China, and this could well be why they are considered a symbol of longevity in that country. It has a wide range, covering much of India and Asia. There are some wild populations in northern Australia, however they are likely from human transportation. If you would like to grow your own, you need a rich loamy soil and a water depth between 30cm and 2.5 metres. They prefer warmer temperatures, though deeper water helps protect the roots system from the cold. Come down and enjoy them Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #feelnsw
Crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes). A regular in the garden and widespread across Australia. It is one of only two native pigeons in Australia with the distinctive erect crest, (the other being the Spinifex pigeon (Geophaps plumifera). When looked at closely they are quite a colourful bird and their courtship routines are definitely worth a watch. They make a distinctive whistling sound when they fly. The whistling is created by air passing over a modified primary feather on the wing. Their preferred habitat is lightly wooded grasslands and they feed on seeds, with some insects and leaves. Take a second look next time you spot one. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #feelnsw
White Bat Plant (Tacca integrilfolia). Not hot enough outside? Why not step into our Glass house to see this spectacular plant in full bloom. The bat plant is a plant from tropical and subtropical areas in South East Asia. It has very striking and unusual flowers with bat-like wings and long white “whiskers”. The large glossy leaves are also very ornamental.
The plant grows well in a shady areas in a warm humid spot. There is also a Black Bat Plant, (Tacca chantrieri). Bat plants can also be found growing outside in the gardens in shady areas near the main entrance. Photo Janet Holmes #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Yellow-striped flutterer (Rhyothemis phyllis). This beautiful dragonfly was spotted recently in the garden by one of our volunteers. They love ponds and they fly fairly slowly, gliding over their territory. They are a considered a small to medium sized dragonfly, being about 9cm from wing tip to wing tip. They are widespread throughout south east Asia. Dragonflies are great to have around as they feed on mozzies, flies and other flying insects. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw.
Crimson Chat (Epthianura tricolor). Alas not seen at the garden, but two have been visiting Sandy Beach in a very rare sighting of this beautiful bird on our coastline and we wanted to share them with you. Usually only seen west of the great dividing range and through to coastal western Australia, they are very small birds, only around 10cm, and they prefer arid and semi-arid areas of grassland and low bushes. They primarily feed on insects on the ground, though they do have a tongue that allows them to take nectar in the same way lorikeets do. If they have an active nest, one of both parents will fake an injury to lure potential predators away from the nest. A fantastic visitor to our coast. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
The Slender Riceflower, (Pimelea linifolia ). The local form of this plant forms an attractive groundcover with clear white clusters of flowers set against bright green foliage. It often flowers in response to rain and can be seen flowering now in the native heath garden opposite the glasshouse.
It has a widespread distribution in Eastern Australia and is quite variable in form ranging from a small shrub to a prostrate groundcover. The local form grows on headlands in the native grassland community in the Coffs Harbour area. It is sometimes available for sale by specialist local nurseries and performs well in a native garden in full sun with other low growing shrubs and grasses. Photo Janet Holmes #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa). A common duck on our lake and found right throughout Australia, other than our most arid areas. It’s a versatile species enjoying many types of water, from inland lakes to tidal mudflats. Closely related to mallards, the Pacific Black has a clear quack to its call, that species like the Australian Wood Duck don’t have. It feeds on aquatic plants and small amounts of aquatic insects and molluscs. Please DON’T feed any of our birds. It can damage their health in ways you will not see. Many thanks. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is from the mallow family malvaceae. Native to China, this beautiful specimen can be found near our lake, as you might walk from the lake back to the main path. It is an unusual hibiscus in that it can survive and even thrive in cooler climates. It likes moist, but well-drained soil. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius). This medium sized parrot is always a delight to see. They are fairly quiet and shy birds so not as commonly seen as Rainbow Lorikeets. Females are similar in colouring to males, though may be duller, and juveniles are very dull. They can be found right across south-eastern Australia from SE Queensland down to and including Tasmania and across Victoria to the border of South Australia. They will eat seeds, fruit, flowers, nectar and insects. Another reason to let some grasses go to seed. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnewsofthearea #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), bought to Australia almost two hundred years ago and is the common domesticated bee across Australia, providing pollination for agricultural crops, honey and beeswax. They are a social species and live in colonies that vary in size from 40,000 to 80,000 bees. They are a fairly docile species and will only sting if threatened. Look out for them on any of our flowering plants. This one taken at the garden by visitor, Amanda Purcell. Thanks Amanda. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
The Cassowary Plum (Cerbera floribunda) is fruiting now in the Queensland section of native Eastern Australia plants garden area by a path near Coffs Creek, and near the small pond on the botanist`s walk.
This rainforest tree hails from far north Queensland where the fruit is swallowed whole by Cassowaries. As plump as this very large plum coloured fruit appears to be it has very little flesh around a very large and very tough seed. Be warned that the flesh contains toxins dangerous to humans and other mammals. Cassowaries have evolved an ability for the fruit to pass through their gut and to digest the flesh without harmful effect and this plant relies on the Cassowary to distribute its seed. Nature is a marvel.
The Cassowary Plum can grow into a tree up to 30 metres high. Typical of rainforest trees they also have very large leaves which are up to 30cm long and 5cm wide. The tree in the garden is still a youngster and is about 5 metres high. Photo Graham Tupper. As an added bonus listen to this podcast talking about the cassowary and its feeding habits. As it says, “no plants, no animals” https://youtu.be/Ot_DRZl4GjQ?si=TSpX3lqMSxtRYyiV #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) A regular visitor on the lake now. It is a common bird across the world being found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of north Africa. It is a member of the rail and crake family. It is easily spotted with its distinctive white bill and forehead shield. They love vegetated swamps and lagoons and feed via diving, up to 7 meters. They generally feed on vegetation with some insects and tiny fish. Please don’t feed our lake birds. It is detrimental to their health. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Yellow Fortnight Lily (Dietes bicolor). Belonging to the Iridaceae family, this African plant can be found in our South African garden near the glasshouse. Known as the fortnight lily as even though its blooms are short lived, perhaps only lasting one day, it flowers about every two weeks. It’s a hardy plant and very resilient in our harsh climate. Though it flowers best in full sun. It is shade tolerant. It is ideal for a waterwise garden. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris). This stunning honeyeater has a thin, down-curved beak made especially to drink the nectar from flowering plants. They do also eat insects. Look for them where you see any colourful flowering plant, especially natives. Their movement between plants also makes them an excellent pollinator. Found down the east coast of Australia, primarily from midway along the Queensland coast, south into Tasmania. If you would like them in your backyard, plant native flowering bushes and have a clean bird bath. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis). Yes one of the oldest and rarest of plants, and critically endangered with only about 50 trees remaining in the wild. It’s an Australian native conifer and can grow to 20m in the wild. Only discovered in 1994, there is now a major ongoing conservation effort which we can all be part of. https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/conservation-programs/wollemi-pine-conservation-project. We have one just inside the front entrance to the garden on your left just before the cafe area. Have you seen it? #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Macquarie River Turtle (Emydura macquarii) live in our lake. Sometimes you will spot them in the water, and, if you are lucky, you’ll find one basking on the edge, like this one. Approach quietly or they will be off in a flash. It is a wide ranging species, found in lakes and rivers of the eastern half of Australia. Already listed as vulnerable in South Australia, it is great to have them in the garden. They take about ten years to mature into an adult and may live as long as fifty years or more. Sadly foxes and pigs predate on their nests and plastic waste and cigarette butts can cause them harm in the water. They eat plant vegetation, molluscs and crustaceans. Photo Cheryl Cooper. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Buff-banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis). This elusive bird has been spotted a few times at the garden. Around the pond to your right, as you enter the gardens, and further along the creek trail. It is found throughout Australia, South East Asia and New Zealand. It favours dense habitat near water and will usually be alone. Check any gullies and drainage areas. Considered a medium size rail, they are about 30cm in length. Go quietly and you just might spot one. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius ) is in flower at this time of year. One of the only Australian deciduous trees, it loses its leaves just before flowering. It is from the family Malvaceae. Sometimes called the Illawarra Flame Tree, it can be found from the Illawarra in southern NSW up the east coast and into Queensland. If you are in Dorrigo or Ebor you might spot the red dots within the green rainforest. These are flame trees. We have one in the carpark. They are popular with birds when in flower. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Azure Kingfisher (Ceyx azurea). There have been several sightings of this stunning little bird along the creek walk. Native to northern and eastern Australia, plus parts of Indonesia and New Guinea, it’s never far from water and plunges from branches into the water to catch fish, aquatic insects and sometimes even frogs. They then return to their perch, bash the item on their perch and swallow it head first. They nest in riverbank burrows that are 80-130 cm long. Listen for their single “pip” call and watch for the flash of blue as they dive. Photo Joshua Woods # coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). This cheeky chap was spotted at the garden recently by visitor Amanda Purcell, and our thanks to Amanda for sharing her photo. We know of at least 3 koalas that reside in the garden. All look healthy and there is an abundance of their favourite food trees there to sustain them. How lucky are we to have these lovely creatures living right in our city? #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw #koala
Bush Ranger Dwarf kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos hybrid) of the Haemadoraceae family. This stunning kangaroo paw is in flower right now in our Waterwise garden area. Growing to around 60cm this plant is ideal for borders and rockeries and it’s stunning colours just pop! It doesn’t like wet feet so is ideal in dry areas with sandy soils. It flowers from spring right through to autumn. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus). One of our larger honeyeaters, with a distinctive black head with a casque (bump) on the beak, a red eye and white feathers at its throat. You will generally hear it before you see it. The call is loud and harsh. They are found right down the eastern coast of Australia and up into Papua New Guinea. They like open dry forests and eucalypt woodlands. Their menu includes nectar, fruit, insects and very occasionally eggs and even baby birds. They form long term pairs and the females build the nest. Some call them ugly, others find them quite handsome. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Peron’s Tree Frog (Litoria peronii) is a large frog, up to 7cm in length, with a loud call that sparks up around dusk.
On the garden nocturnal tours the guides sometimes refer to it as the `manical cackle` frog due to it`s distinctive call. It can be heard around the front ponds at the garden from September to December where it forages for insects by night and rests inside dark hollow branches or under thick bushes by day.
This award winning photograph of a Peron’s Tree Frog was taken by volunteer guide Karen Hutchings at the botanic garden.
Karen is also a member of the volunteer team which also conducts a regular fauna survey at the garden. The focus of the survey during November is to identify more of the frogs and reptiles that call the garden home. You can assist by simply asking for a `fauna survey record` form at the front desk of the garden and submit any observations after you enjoy your visit. For the frogs you might also need to record the call and then try to identify the frog from the call. The Australian Museum has a free app “Frog ID” you can download to your phone to assist with identifying calls. For details see https://www.frogid.net.au/frogs/litoria-peronii #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), is in full flower and aroma at the moment. In the family the family Apocynaceae it’s origins are in Asia, including Japan, Korea, southern China and Vietnam. An evergreen climbing liana, or simply a beautiful climbing plant to most of us. It is ideal for pergolas, can successfully hide wire fences and can even be used as a ground cover. Not just beautiful but practical, a perfume can be extracted from its flowers, whilst a fibre can be created from its woody stems. Enjoy. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Rufous songlark (Megalurus mathewsi), what this bird misses out on in the colour department it certainly gains in the musical delight it brings. We were very excited when one was spotted in the garden recently by local photographer, Barry Callister. They are small birds, around 16-19cm, and not easily spotted. They are found right across Australia and particularly in NSW. An insect eater they can often be spotted on the ground and also nest there, making them highly vulnerable to roaming cats and dogs. Photo Barry Callister. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw #barrycallisterphotography
Butterfly Iris (Dietes grandiflora) are simply stunning when flowering. This is a large iris, native to South Africa, which has adapted well here in Australia. You’ll find them along the main path in the garden. They prefer dappled shade to full sun for best flowering, but will tolerate shade. The clumps grow rapidly and so this plant has been designated an environmental weed in parts of WA and Queensland, so handle with care. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Spectacled monarch (Symposiachrus trivirgatus), found in the north east and along the eastern coast of Australia down to about Port Stephens. Their range also extends into Papua New Guinea and Timor. They are spring and summer visitors to the garden and can be found in the woodland areas, emphasising how important these natural forest areas are to our birds and other fauna. They do prefer wetter areas and might also be spotted in the mangroves. Another insect eater, it forages in leaves, along the tree truck and in vines. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Hippeastrums from the amaryllidacea family, have been flowering prolifically this year. From South America they are a popular plant in many Australian gardens and come in a stunning variety of colours. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
The eastern barn owl (Tyto javanica) is rarely seen by people. They sleep during the day in tree hollows, or in caves, and become active during the night. Their distinctive heart shaped facial feathering directs sounds to the owl`s ears. These ear canals are at a slightly different height to one another giving barn owls an amazing ability to track the source of a sound. Barn owls the use this, along with their superb night vision, to hunt for rodents, lizards and small birds at night. Barn owls can be found on every continent except Antarctica, and are thought to be fairly common in Australia.
Tree hollows are very important home for this owl and for so many of our wildlife species, providing both safety and concealment from predators. In these big thick trees they also assist the animals to save energy in thermo regulation - helping them to stay warm or cool. Something that a nesting box’s cannot always provide. Small hollows can take at least 100 years to form in a tree and the bigger hollows only form in trees which are many hundreds of years old.
This eastern barn owl, in its cosy hollow home by Coffs Creek, was photographed in the botanic garden by a volunteer from the garden’s fauna survey team. Photo: Lillian Stormsong @stormsong_photography #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Blue Sky Flower ( Thunbergia grandiflora), is an evergreen vine in the family Acanthaceae, and it’s currently in flower along the main path. A native to India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, this hardy plant has found favour in many countries around the world. It is fast growing and prefers moist conditions. It is easily propagated via cuttings or layering. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Striated heron (Butorides straitus). Sometimes called the mangrove heron, because that is where you will find them, this elusive bird has been spotted a few times along the creek walk recently. They are an amazing, almost prehistoric, bird to watch. They crouch low and wait for their prey to appear. Feasting on crabs, other crustaceans, molluscs and smaller fish, you cab understand why their preferred habitat is mangroves and other tidal areas. They can be found around coastal Australia from Victoria, around to Broome in WA. It’s also found in Papua guinea and several other continents. Favouring warmer climates. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Pincushion (Leucospermum cordifolium). From the Proteaceae family and originating in the Western Cape region of South Africa, this hardy evergreen plant can be found just behind the new glasshouse. It’s common name clearly comes from the flowers, which resemble pincushions. It is a rounded and spreading shrub of about 1.5 metres in height and 2 metres wide. The flowers are long lasting and very colourful. It prefers acid soils and it is pollinated by birds. So many links between our flora and fauna. We need both to have true abundance. Photo Cheryl Cooper #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Land mullet (Bellatorius major, previously Egernia major), Australia’s largest skink and named for its shiny, black fish-like scales. We are lucky enough to have quite a number in the garden and one can often be seen along the nature trail. They are shy and nervous and will hide from loud noises. They like ground level hollows and therefore leaving fallen trees is a must to develop good land mullet habitat. They prefer rainforests and are found along the east coast of Australia from Gosford, NSW through to the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. Though they do eat insects and other small invertebrates, berries, fruits, leaves and flowers can make up to 80% of an adult’s diet. A regular garden visitor, Ellany whelan took this photo. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Striated pardalote (Pardalotus striatus), one of the smallest birds you will find in the garden at between 9-11cm in length, (a fairywren is 14cm). More often heard with their cherp, cherp, cherp along the creek walk, particularly near the grassed area at the start of the creek walk. They are found right across Australia , other than in the very driest areas. They are insect eaters and forage in the tops of trees, occasionally coming closer to the ground. They like eucalypt forests and woodlands. Listen for the song and then watch for movement. They are a delight to see. Photo Cheryl Cooper. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw
Swamp Orchid ((Phaius australis and Phaius tankervilleae var australis) The pride and joy of the gardens. This rare and endangered plant can be seen along the main path in several places. It is one of the largest of Australia’s ground orchids and has become endangered due to extensive land-clearing and irresponsible collecting for home gardens. It is one of the most spectacular flowering plants in NSW. The garden is part of a significant conservation effort increasing the numbers of plants in this safe environment and propagating them for others. They are coming into full bloom right now, so don’t miss them. #coffsharbourbotanicgarden #coffscoastnsw #sharecoffscoast #visitnsw Photo Cheryl Cooper