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Braeside Park
Braeside Park is a metropolitan, recreational and conservation park in the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Braeside. History Before European settlement, the Bunurong people lived in and around the area for thousands of years. In 1851, the Colony of Victoria was established after separation from New South Wales; leases leases held by squatters were withdrawn and the land was surveyed, divided into portions and auctioned. The park since had a history of various owners and land uses. In 1982, Parks Victoria, assumed responsibility for Braeside park. Geography The park's natural environment includes wetlands, heathlands and red gum woodlands. The wetlands are made up of herbaceous native and introduced plant species which provide habitat for water-dependent birds. The heathland is located on sandy well-drained soil with vegetation including trees (mostly the manna gum), shrubs, sedges, grasses, groundcovers and herbs. The red gum woodlands consists of river red gums and a g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelicans
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing. They have predominantly pale plumage, except for the brown and Peruvian pelicans. The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all pelicans become brightly coloured before the breeding season. The eight living pelican species have a patchy global distribution, ranging latitudinally from the tropics to the temperate zone, though they are absent from interior South America and from polar regions and the open ocean. Long thought to be related to frigatebirds, cormorants, tropicbirds, and gannets and boobies, pelicans instead are now known to be most closely related to the shoebill and hamerkop, and are placed in the order Pelecaniformes. Ibises, spoonbills, herons, and bitterns have been classified in the same order. Fossil eviden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Bird
A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabirds that inhabit marine environments. Some water birds (e.g. wading birds) are more terrestrial while others (e.g. waterfowls) are more aquatic, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment. These adaptations include webbed feet, beaks, and legs adapted to feed in the water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water. The term ''aquatic bird'' is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl. Some piscivorous birds of prey, such as ospreys and sea eagles, hunt aquatic prey but do not stay in water for long and lives predominantly over dry land, and are not considered water birds. The term waterbird is also used in the context of conservation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City Of Kingston
The City of Kingston is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, its northern boundary lying approximately 15 km from the Melbourne city centre along the north-eastern shorelines of Port Phillip. It covers an area of 91 km² and has an estimated population of 163,431 people. Suburbs * Aspendale * Aspendale Gardens * Bonbeach * Braeside * Carrum * Chelsea * Chelsea Heights * Cheltenham (shared with the City of Bayside) * Clarinda * Clayton South * Dingley Village * Edithvale * Heatherton * Highett (shared with the City of Bayside) * Mentone * Moorabbin * Mordialloc * Oakleigh South (shared with the City of Monash) * Parkdale * Patterson Lakes * Waterways History The City of Kingston area was originally governed by the Moorabbin Roads Board, which formed in 1862 and became a shire council in 1871, covering a large area of mixed agricultural and semi-urban land. After years of agitation, in 1917 the seasid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whistling Kite
The whistling kite (''Haliastur sphenurus'') is a medium-sized diurnal raptor found throughout Australia (including coastal islands), New Caledonia and much of New Guinea (excluding the central mountains and the northwest). Also called the whistling eagle or whistling hawk, it is named for its loud whistling call, which it often gives in flight. Some authorities put this species in the genus ''Milvus'', despite marked differences in behaviour, voice and plumage between this species and other members of that genus. Description The whistling kite ranges in size from , with a wingspan between . Weights range from an average of for males and for females. As with most raptors, females are larger and heavier than males; though there is considerable overlap between the sexes, females can be up to 21% larger and 42% heavier. Southern birds are also larger than those found in the tropics. Male and female plumages are the same. Adult birds are a pale buff on the head, bre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotted Pardalote
The spotted pardalote (''Pardalotus punctatus'') is one of the smallest of all Australian birds at in length, and one of the most colourful; it is sometimes known as the diamondbird. Although moderately common in all of the reasonably fertile parts of Australia (the east coast, the south-east, and the south-west corner) it is seldom seen closely enough to enable identification. Three subspecies are recognised. The wet tropics spotted pardalote (subspecies ''militaris'') is found in northeastern Queensland, while the distinctive subspecies, the yellow-rumped pardalote (subspecies ''xanthopyge''), is mostly found in drier inland regions of southern Australia, particularly in semi-arid Mallee woodlands. Also occasionally found nesting in burrows in semi-rainforest areas inland from the coast in Mid North Coast NSW Taxonomy The spotted pardalote was described by English naturalist George Shaw and drawn by Frederick Polydore Nodder in the 1792 work ''The Naturalist's Miscellany: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Pied Cormorant
The Australian pied cormorant (''Phalacrocorax varius''), also known as the pied cormorant, pied shag, or great pied cormorant, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. It is found around the coasts of Australasia. In New Zealand, it is usually known either as the pied shag or by its Māori name of . Older sources may refer to it as the "yellow-faced cormorant". Taxonomy The Australian pied cormorant was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it in the genus '' Pelecanus'' and coined the binomial name ''Pelecanus varius''. Gmelin based his description on the "pied shag" from Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, that had been described in 1785 by English ornithologist John Latham in his book ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham had based his own description on a specimen in the Leverian Museum and on a watercolour by Georg Forster that belonged ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Black Duck
The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the gray duck in New Zealand, where it is also known by its Maori name, . Taxonomy The Pacific black duck was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other ducks, geese and swans in the genus ''Anas'' and coined the binomial name ''Anas superciliosa''. Gmelin based his description on the "Supercilious duck" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a water-colour drawing of the duck by Georg Forster who had accompanied Jam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birdwatching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using formal scientific methods. Birding, birdwatching, and twitching The first recorded use of the term ''birdwatcher'' was in 1901 by Edmund Selous; ''bird'' was introduced as a verb in 1918. The term ''birding'' was also used for the practice of ''fowling'' or hunting with firearms as in Shakespeare's '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'' (1602): "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding." The terms ''birding'' and ''birdwatching'' are today used by some interchangeably, although some participants prefer ''birding'', partly because it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area. Definitions Included among the variety of definitions for grasslands are: * "...any plant community, including harvested forages, in which grasses and/or legumes make up the dominant vegetation." * "...terrestrial ecosystems dominated by herbaceous and shrub vegetation, and maintained by fire, grazing, drought and/or freezing temperatures." (Pilot Assessment of Global Ecosystems, 2000) * "A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groundcover
Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the herbaceous layer. The most widespread ground covers are grasses of various types. In ecology, groundcover is a difficult subject to address because it is known by several different names and is classified in several different ways. The term groundcover could also be referring to “the herbaceous layer,” “regenerative layer", “ground flora” or even "step over." In agriculture, ground cover refers to anything that lies on top of the soil and protects it from erosion and inhibits weeds. It can be anything from a low layer of grasses to a plastic material. The term ''ground cover'' can also specifically refer to landscaping fabric which is like a breathable tarp that allows water and gas exchange. In gardening jargon, however, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' with over 2,000 species. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical Asia and tropical South America. While sedges may be found growing in almost all environments, many are associated with wetlands, or with poor soils. Ecological communities dominated by sedges are known as sedgelands or sedge meadows. Some species superficially resemble the closely related rushes and the more distantly related grasses. Features distinguishing members of the sedge family from grasses or rushes are stems with triangular cross-sections (with occasional exceptions, a notable example being the tule which has a round cross-section) and leaves that are spirally arranged in three ranks. In comparison, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucalyptus Viminalis
''Eucalyptus viminalis'', commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is Endemism, endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and cup-shaped or hemispherical fruit. Description ''Eucalyptus viminalis'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of , sometimes to , and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, often powdery, white to pale brown bark that is shed in long ribbons, sometimes hanging on the upper branches, and sometimes with rough, fibrous bark on the lower trunk. Young plants and coppice regrowth have Sessility (botany), sessile, lance-shaped to curved or oblong leaves long, wide and arranged in opposite pairs. Adult leaves are arranged alternately, the same shade of green on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide, tapering to a Petiole (botany), petiole lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_male_(21325231196).jpg "Click for more on -> Spotted Pardalote")
