WA Naturalists' Club

26/08/2026

Many birds nest during the season of Djilba (Aug-Sept), so you might spot Wattlebirds in your garden in search of nesting material (we saw one at the weekend in Kings Park botanic garden), or W***y Wagtails chasing away ravens or magpies many times larger than themselves. (Images: Red wattlebird by Mick Stephenson; W***y Wagtail chasing Magpie, by Sardaka.)

25/08/2026

Get out anywhere enjoy nature

13/08/2026

Just a couple of the birds seen at the excursion to Herdsman Lake on Sunday 11 August, by Josh Mackie.

12/08/2026

This is the time of year when it becomes apparent why the south-west is one of the most special places on earth. More than half our local plant species are endemic to this corner of Australia - found nowhere else in the world!
And you don’t have to go far from the centre of the city to see the best of our wildflowers. Around September, over 1700 species of plants burst into bloom in Kings Park. but almost every pocket of bushland in the south-west comes alive at this time of year. And around 50 new species are identified every year! Images are from Kings Park (Aug 2016) by T Marwood - Hypocalymma robustum and Hybanthus calycinus.

05/08/2026

The season of Djilba (Aug-Sept) is a transitional time of the year, with some very cold and clear days combining with warmer, rainy and windy days, mixed with the occasional sunny day or two.
This is the start of the massive flowering explosion that happens in the Southwest. It starts with the yellow flowering plants such as the Acacias (image A. pulchella or Prickly Moses). Other colours that are around at this time of year are cream, combined with some vivid blues such as Leschenaultia (image T Marwood), Dianellas, and purple Patersonia and Hoveas (image of H. chorizemifolia by T Hammer).

28/07/2026

Images from July fungi excursion in Perth Hills, by Kirsten Tullis.

10/07/2026

Some good news for the Club's faunal emblem!

This native marsupial is stepping back from the brink!

02/07/2026

During July, our local peppermint trees (Agonis flexulosa) begin to flower, providing an important food source for many small creatures such as the Western Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) which has gone from relative abundance in the south-west before European settlement to Critically Endangered due to habitat loss and introduced predators (image by A Wayne at DBCA).
(Agonis flexuosa image overlooking Freshwater Bay, Swan River, Gordon Edwards on Wikimedia Commons)

02/07/2026

Have you noticed an increase in the numbers of Black Swans (Cygnus atratus) flying in to the lakes and rivers of the south west in readiness for breeding season?
You might also see Purple Swamphens, Pacific Black Ducks, Wood Ducks and Black-winged Stilts (pictured at Lake Claremont) appearing in greater numbers on the freshwater lakes.
Swan image: on estuary in Fitzgerald River NP, with West Mt Barren in background, by Jolanda Keeble.

08/04/2026

This Friday night - stuff you didn't know about fungi that could change the way we manage land...

We’re only just beginning to understand the complex role fungi play in our unique landscapes. But the more we learn, the more we understand just how dependent we are on fungal diversity.