Life Images by Jill

Monday, 9 November 2026

Birds and wild flowers - Wellington Dam, Western Australia

Hi all, I hope you and yours are doing well. I've often read how getting out into nature is healing for mind and body, and I totally agree.

Yesterday we went up to Wellington Dam in the Collie Hills, conveniently located only about 45 minutes from where we live. I have blogged about it several times before. Here is a post from November 2022 - Camping and bushwalking at Potters Gorge, Wellington Dam. It has been an odd season this year, and I noticed that this previous post was around the same time in November, but with far more wildflowers. The reason might have been that last time we camped for a few days, and walked more of the trails, whereas this time, it was only a day trip, and we only walked part of one of the trails.

We parked at the carpark at the camping ground at Potters Gorge, and after a quick snack set off along the Seka Trail. This is a 9.8 km loop bike/walk shared use trail, which we have completed previously, but we just did a short walk today from the carpark up towards the main road.

A few pea flower varieties

Below is a Blue Lady orchid and a Leopard orchid - the only orchid types we saw, however there were many Blue Ladies scattered around.

This is also a Blue Lady, though a lot paler..... it was growing in the top of a burnt out fallen tree log

Below are two different varieties of Trigger plants. The one on the right had a finer softer leaf

And a few more - clockwise from top left - Clematis, Hibbertia, I don't know the blue one - it was on a vine, Fringe lilly, common Milkwort, and Cottonheads.

Clockwise from top left - Banksia flower, Banksia cone, bracken fern that grows everywhere, the start of a new tree growing in an old rotting log, Tassell bush leaves, and prickly Hakea without the flowers.

Below is most likely - The Holly-Leaved Mirbelia (Mirbelia dilatata) - which was flowering in glorious profusion.

When we returned to the carpark to have our picnic, the 28 parrots were loving it.

Parrots known as "28s"— are specifically a subspecies of the Australian Ringneck parrot (Barnardius zonarius) found in Western Australia. They are named after their distinct call that sounds like the number twenty-eight.

This cheeky one sitting on our table obviously thought that lunch might be offered, but when we weren't forthcoming he joined his mates to nibble on the flowers of the Holly-leaved Mirbelia bush behind us. Much more suitable for a 28.

Also sharing our picnic area was a Wattle Bird and a Magpie.

And a Blue Wren - flitting around so fast I was very happy to get this pic. Earlier this year I bought a 400mm lens for my camera, and now can take mush better photos of birds. Smile.

Squawking up in the trees, were Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos. We saw the red tail as some flew off, as opposed to the white-tailed black cockatoo. This one was intent on her lunch. If you look carefully you might be able to see she has a eucalyp gum nut in her claw which she is chewing on. She - because of the yellow spots on her head and chest.

Our lunch view of Wellington Dam at Potters Gorge picnic and camping area

Oh, before I forget. Many thanks to Eileen and her followers at Viewing Nature with Eileen blog for putting me onto the Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell Lab. - We used it during our bushwalk and it is fabulous.

Just download it to you phone. When you hear a bird call you want to identfy - just open the app, record the sound and you will receive an ID. We were bushwalking at Wellington Dam yesterday and could hear birds way up in the canopy which we couldn't see.

Below is a very bad representation of what you see on your phone screen. My husband enjoys taking photos of birds, and is fairly knowledgable, but we hadn't heard of the Western Gerygone before, though we had heard its call previously. You can see on the screen shot another 2 birds he recorded. He double checked the ID in his bird book when we got home.

That's it from me today. I hope you have enjoyed some of the wildflowers and birds at Wellington Dam. Next time I will be back with more about the Wellington Dam and the amazing dam wall mega mural.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate every one of you and value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
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Saturday, 24 October 2026

Orchid season in Manea Reserve, Bunbury, Western Australia

Hi all, I hope you and yours are doing well. I love this time of year - spring in Western Australia. With pleasant temperatures and blue skys, making it a perfect time to get out and walk in the bush to see the wildflowers.

Today I am sharing a few from the last month or so at Manea Reserve which is located on the edge of Bunbury, only about 15 minutes from where I live. I have talked about Manea's orchids and wildflowers before. It is a place we visit every couple of weeks during spring, as some of the flowers, especially the orchids, come and go very quickly.

There is an easy 2.4km compacted limestone path which winds through the park - allow at least one hour, more if you are stopping to take photos. They ask you not to leave the path, so as not to trample on small plants, and also as the park has a problem with Dieback (Phytophthora) which is easily spread on the soles of shoes. Please clean your shoes at the boot cleaning stations.

The entrance to the park is on the corner of Sommerville Drive and Winthrop Avenue, in the suburb of College Grove.

There are many orchid varieities in Manea. Below is one of the most spectacular - the Blue Lady orchid - Thelymitra crinita

These are sun orchids - Thelymitra - of which there are many varieties so similar to each other to my eye.

Below from left - Rattle Beaks - Lyperanthus serratus, one of the Mantis orchids, and the Common Mignonette orchid - Microtis media

Leopard Orchid - Thelymitra benthamiana

One of the white spider orchid varieties

Below we have clockwise from top left - Enamel orchid, Pink Fairy orchid, Donkey orchid, and Cowslip orchid

Not flowering this time of year, but I thought I would include it, hiding in the leaf matter, the tiny Helmet orchid - Corysanthes recurva

These are trigger plants -

And a few other flowers - top left is the Pixie Mop from the Petrophile family, top right I think is Pepper and Salt, bottom right is one of the Butter Cups - Hibbertia, and bottom left a drying flower head.

Below on the left we have two of the pea family, top right are one of my favourites - Orange Stars - Hibbertia stellaris, and bottom right is Holly Leaf Banksia - Banksia ilicifolia

This is the flower of the Bull Banksia tree - Banksia grandis - on the left in bud, and on the right the flower head.

And because I know you love seeing our wildflife, I will risk sharing photos I've shared before -

When you hear screeching look up - it is most likely a Forest Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, found in jarrah, marri and karri forests, it is listed as Vulnerable in Western Australia. They love to eat hard seed pods of eucalypts, casuarinas and banksias, using its strong beak to tear them open. Their red/orange stripes on their tail are magnificent to see in flight - but hard to capture with a camera. From what I have read this is a female because of the yellow spots on its head and the yellow/orange stripes on its chest.

More information at: Birdlife Australia

And Western Grey Kangaroo, mummy with a joey in her pouch -

mother and youngster. Please keep your dogs on a lead.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of the flowers from Manea today. A fabulous online site for identifing orchids is - Western Australian Native Orchid Study and Conservation Group

I also use the book - Orchids of South-West Australia by Noel Hffman, Andrew Browns and Justin Brown.

And Dr Eddy Wajon's series of Colour Guides to Spring Wildflowers of Western Australia.

Here are a few previous posts I've written about orchids and wildflowers, if you would like to see more.

Wildflower Season in Western Australia - 2026

Wild Orchids in Manea Reserve - November 2025

Going for a walk? - take your camera - 2022

Hunting for wild orchids in the Western Australian wheatbelt - 2021

Manea Reserve - Down in the Western Australian bush this week - 2021

Down in the bush - the woods - this week - 2020

Hunting for wild orchids - 2019

If you are looking for a translate button - it's there near the top on the right hand side.

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Until then, enjoy your day...Life only comes around once, so do what makes you happy, be kind, and be with people who make you smile.

Sunday, 11 October 2026

Wildflowers in the Dryandra Woodland, Western Australia

Hi all, I hope you and yours are doing well. Here in Western Australia spring has sprung, and we have had a mixture of rain and cool nights, and then a burst of summer sun.

I hope you enjoyed my last post from our recent camping trip with our friends, and Meeting a Numbat and other Wildlife in the Dryandra Woodland, Western Australia. As promised I am back to share some wildflowers from Dryandra with you.

Dryandra Woodland National Park, located just a couple of hours south of Perth, and north east of our home in the South West of Western Australia, has a several walking tracks ranging from 1km to 12.5 km, so there is plenty of opportunity to see wildflowers, especially during spring.

Spread over 27,000 hectares, there is a mixture of woodlands in Dryandra, ranging from marri, jarrah, wandoo, sheoak and mallet trees, and soil types creating environments for over 850 species of plants. With less than 7%of the original vegetation remaining the the western wheatbelt, Dryandra is of critical conservation importance.

We camped at Gnaala Mia campground, so our first walk was along the 3km walk trail that circles the Gnaala Mia campground. If you recall in my last post, we saw numbats and echidnas along this trail, as well as wildflowers.

Please note I am not a botanist, but I will do my best to identify the plants.

Below is the Pink Coneflower - Isopogon crithmifolius - a shrub which grows to about 1.8 metes tall with gorgeous showy pink flowers August to November.

Below are three examples of different Petrophiles. The one on the right is Tangled Petrophile - Petrophile divaricata.

Below is the Golden Dryandra - Banksia (Dryandra) bobilis. There are 92 species of Dryandra, all entirely endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. In 2007 the species of Dryandra was abosorbed into the family of Banksia.

In the collage below you can see 4 stages - the flower forming, known as the perianth. As the flower opens the styles detach and curl or loop outwards. The final stage is a pincushion look.

The Golden Dryandra is a tall shrub to four metres tall, and its flowers are up to 50 millimetres in diameter. Old leaves persist giving the shrub a brown, shaggy appearance. The shrubs can form dense impenetrable stands which provide safe havens for woylies to nest in.

I think they look very sculptural and somewhat prehistoric.

I believe this is another of the Dryandras - possibly Pingle - Banksia (Dryandra) squarrosa. You will note the prickly leaves that are a feature of Dryandras and Banksias. Hence why the bushes are impenetrable! There are a lot of prickly bushes in the Australian bush.

Below is Parrot Bush - Banksia (Dryandra) sessilis. The Noongar peoples know the plant as budjan or butyak. Below you can see the stages of the flower forming.

I believe this to be the King Dryandra - Banksia (Dryandra) proteoides. The large flower heads are surrounded by reddish-orange bracts which remain on the branches for many years. I'm sharing this photo that I took on a trip to Dryandra in June 2023.

Below is Styphelia acervata (kick bush) a low prostrate ground hugging plant which features stiff, tough foliage with sharp tips on the end of each leaf.

The plant produces small berries (karlburi) that are a traditional bush tucker food. The local Noongar people (who call the plant Cadgeegurrup) traditionally use a stick to carefully pick through the sharp leaves to harvest the fruit, however early settlers used their boots to kick the flat clumps over to expose the underside. Not very eco friendly!

I thought I had a photo of the whole plant, but found that I don't.

Below you can see two types of Quandongs - on the left the Desert / Sweet Quandong - Santalum acuminatum - with the broader leaf. On the right with the narrow leaf is the Bitter Quandong - Santalum murrayanum. Both are parasitic plants belonging to the Sandlewood family. Both are also edible, but the Sweet Quandong has a much better flavour. I have made jam with them in the past, and they are delicious. The green ones in this picture are not yet ripe. Trust me you don't want to sample the Bitter Quandongs - yes very bitter even when ripe!

Below is the Painted Lady - Gompholobium scabrum. This slender shrub grows to about 1.5 metres tall. The beautiful pea flowers range in colour from pink to mauve and flowers July to October. We saw this bush on the way to the Lol Grey walk trail.

Below is Sandplain Poison - Gastrolobium microcarpum - a bushy shrub to 1.5 metres tall which flowers August to October. You see them all over Dryandra. It contains fluoroacetate, which is highly toxic to introduced mammals, such as cats and foxes, but has little effect on native mammals. This toxin has been manufactured synethetically and is called 1080, and has been used to reduce numbers of introduced foxes in Dryandra under the Western Shield program. You can read more here - Australian Geographic - the plant that saved the numbats

Below are a few wild orchids. We found the best place to find them was on the flat grasslands around the old rail formation on Congelin Siding walk. There is also a camping area in this area.

Below you can see clockwise from top left - Primrose spider orchid, one of the red spider orchids, jug orchid, possibly the Blue Beard orchid, Little Laughing Leek Orchid, one of the cowslip orchids, a group of cowslips, Sugar orchid, and in the centre, my favourite the Lemon Scentred Sun Orchid also known as the Vanilla Orchid.

Lemon Scented Sun Orchid also known as the Vanilla Orchid - Thelymitra antennifera. Flowering September to early October, it is a common orchid from Shark Bay to the Great Australian Bight, and inland to the Goldfields. Only 2-3 cm wide, I love their little faces which look like, to me, like they are wearing sun glasses.

We had never seen the Primrose Spider orchid before - Caladenia xantha. It is always lovely to see something new. At first we thought we had discovered the rare Lemon Spider Orchid - Caladenia luteola - but were advised it was actually the Primrose Spider orchid. No matter - it was a special find for us.

And those flowers I shared last week? I believe these to be 3 varieties of Hakea - a genus of about 150 species of shrubs and small trees in the Proteaceae family and closely related to Banksias and Grevillias. I am thinking as they were growing near the Arboretum, they were probably planted. But so gorgeous don't you think? More info here - Dryandra Aboretum

If you would like an overview of Dryandra, the 23km Darwinia Drive is a good one to follow, with information boards at five pull-over bays, with short walks. The information bays highlight the different soil types and plants of Dryandra. It is a good gravel road suitable for 2WD, and easily done in a morning or afternoon, but why not slow down and take a picnic!

One of the walks we did was the Woylie Walk, a 5.5km circuit trail starting at the Old Mill Dam picnic area. The walk went through a variety of woodlands of wandoo, powderbark, kongan heath, jarrah, rock sheoak and mallet plantations.

The ground beneath mallet trees is unusually bare. The bark has a 55% tannin content - one of a group of chemicals that prevents other plants germinating, resulting in bare earth under the trees. This is known as allelopathy which reduces competition for nutrients, water and light. The trees dense canopy screens out sunlight, further inhibiting undergrowth. The bare earth also inhibits bush fires.

I wrote a comprehensive blog post about mallet trees in 2023 - where you can read about the mallet trees, the plantations and the mallet industry here - Walking through the mallet trees in the Dryandra Woodland

Honestly there are so many wildflower species in Dryandra - over 850 in fact - it would take me forever to photograph, identify and share them with you. But below are a few more.

The gorgeous red one in the centre is the Grey-leaved Bottlebrush - Beaufortia incana