By Tim Gamblin

Early twilight and an even earlier pre-dawn chorus of birds signals that time of the year - Birak. Long hot days (by Denmark standards) bring out the reptiles. You’ll start to see the roadkill snakes and catch a shiny, metallic glimpse of local species sunning themselves on paths and bike tracks, warming up for hunting after a long period of cool weather.  

In this article I’ll focus on some of the lesser-known snake families and species in addition to the obvious big hitters that steal the limelight every year; the dugite (derived from the noongar word dookatj) and tiger snake (noorn). Both are in the Elapid family which are the front (usually hollow) fanged venomous snakes. They’re what you’ll see most commonly on the south coast. Colubrids are the rear fanged snakes which are found around the world, but to a lesser extent in Australia. An example being the brown or banded tree-snake in northern Australia. This family have less sophisticated venom delivery, which I can attest to, having been chewed on by a tree snake many years ago; mild swelling was the only symptom. Other families of snakes include the non-venomous pythons. Down here we have the southern race of the carpet python (noongar – wakarl/wargyl), a large species good at climbing and eating mice, rats, birds, lizards and the odd chicken. On another personal note, I had a carpet python swallow one of our chickens subsequently being captured itself by the chicken wire gauge due to the size of its new body lump. I relocated it some distance away and within a week it was back. After a second much further relocation it was back again (it had a distinctive belly scar) and finally after driving many kilometres it never returned. Like most snakes they’re part of the ecosystem and I had no intention of harming it. The reason I mention this scaly tale is that it demonstrates that some snakes obviously have advanced navigation and sensory systems which we don’t yet fully understand.

The Blind Snake photo courtesy Tim Gamblin

Other families include the harmless blind snakes which you might occasionally find under a log or when gardening. They burrow, have tiny eyes, small shiny scales and eat invertebrates like ants. They won’t bite but will produce a strong odour as a defence mechanism that will linger on your hands for hours. I don’t find the smell that offensive; it’s pungent, earthy and musty, but many find it nauseating. The last group are the file snakes of northern Australia which are amazing fish-eating, baggy trousered snakes but because we don’t have them here, I’ll move on. Sea snakes are not a separate group but are also elapids like the tiger snake and evolved from these land snakes for an ocean lifestyle. They are highly venomous but are curious and not aggressive. They have a long lung like land snakes but can absorb air through their skin and thus stay under for hours. It’s a myth they have small fangs. Their presence on reefs is considered a sign of the healthy functioning of that ecosystem. Occasionally a vagrant yellow-bellied sea snake will wash up on the south coast after swimming down on the Leeuwin current. WA has 9 endemic species and more sea snakes than anywhere else in the world but you’re unlikely to see them down here.  

Short Nosed Snake, photo courtesy Charlie Bain

Square Nosed Snake photo courtesy Simon Cherriman

Three small elapids found only in (endemic to) the southwest and on the south coast that are less venomous than the dugite and tiger snake are the short-nosed, square-nosed and crowned snakes. All three are known to rest in stick-ant nests. You’ll see these thatched mounds of twigs mainly in winter in sunny warm positions. Perfect for a snake to hide in. The short-nosed snake is seldom seen as it’s a very shy, small, and nimble snake living in dense swampy country.  It’s large eyes are perfect for hunting frogs and sometimes skinks. Keen herpetologists or ‘herpers’ (like bird twitchers or train-spotters) study reptiles and amphibians and will often have this species on their bucket list to photograph. I hear Nornalup is a good tip. They have a yellow belly like a tiger snake and perhaps this is mimicry to offer them protection. The square-nosed snake is larger, nocturnal and a lizard eater. It often has two shades of colour (one usually being orange) as the latin name bicolour suggests. Not much is known about this species.

Crowned Snake photo courtesy Simon Cherriman

The crowned snake with its grey ‘crown’ is quite commonly seen locally, especially on the WOW and Heritage Rail Trail in coastal heath. The Bardick can come in a range of colours but around Denmark and Walpole I’ve mainly seen them yellowish through to copper coloured. They are stout and vaguely like death adders in appearance. Occasionally you’ll see them in sand dunes. The Gould’s hooded snake is a beautiful species thought to have venom equivalent to a bee or wasp sting, though never chance testing it in case you are particularly sensitive. Quite a few snake species have a ‘hooded’ or dark head like the Gould’s Hooded snake. It may be a way to fast track heating up the head from the sun’s rays, giving its brain and sensory organs a boost. This way it can wake up and plan its day (like our cup of coffee) while its body is safely under cover, hidden from the eyes of predators. 

Crown snake photo courtesy Rob Brown-Cooper

The Bardick photo courtesy Tim Gamblin

Gould's Hodded Snake photo courtesy Tim Gamblin

The dugite is slender when young, feeding largely on lizards, and gets more robust with age as it transitions to mammals. They can be quite dark down here, even black and are sometimes mistaken for tiger snakes. To make matters more confusing, tiger snakes may not always have stripes.  It makes sense for southern species to be darker so that they can absorb heat faster than their northern sun-spoiled cousins. Dugites prefer dry sandy areas unlike the frog-eating tiger snake which has the well-known preference for damp habitats (they also eat reptiles and mammals). Dugites may live up to 20 or 30 years and lay eggs, while tiger snakes produce live young. I’ve seen small (10-15cm) recent hatchlings of both species eating geckoes – one under my house and another at the waters edge at Ocean Beach.  

I won’t go into the first aid procedure or the horrific old fashioned and sometimes comedic remedies as can be sourced online or through a first aid certification. However, I will say that snakes are typically timid and will look for a way out - they don’t like to tangle with humans. The images here of snakes being held are by professionals. Please don’t approach snakes. If you need one removed, the Shire will have contacts of licensed reptile handlers.  

By Robyn Pickering BirdLife WA 

The Bardanitch skulks in swamps and lakes in the south-west of WA and is rarely seen. Boomers use cryptic camouflage to hide in thick rushes and reeds but wake all around them with their foghorn-like booming at dawn and dusk. The Bunyip creeps up and devours small creatures in wetlands. So, what are these creatures? They’re all pseudonyms for the Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), an endangered waterbird found in Australia and New Zealand. They are positively booming at Eungedup wetlands!

Its a member of the heron family and its mottled brown plumage and vertical stripes on the breast provides perfect camouflage among the reeds and rushes. This camouflage helps it to stalk prey and is also a defense strategy. When approached by people it will either crouch down slowly below the surrounding vegetation or stand still with its bill raised high to further emphasize the vertical striping camouflage. While it may look a bit snooty, having its long thin bill in the air, it makes it difficult to find!

The male calls during the breeding season with a deep resonant series of booms that sound like a foghorn or air blowing over a bottle. The call is can be heard over several kilometers away in still conditions due to the low frequency of the call. So, while they are difficult to see, their loud carrying calls provide organisations like BirdLife and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to survey them.

Bitterns prefer swamps and lakes that have large areas or rushes or sedges but can at times be found in flooded paddocks and estuaries. These habitat preferences mean that the species is largely confined to fresh and brackish wetlands, particularly during the nesting season when it uses tall sedges to construct its nest. Bitterns are omnivorous, and eat a wide variety of fauna including frogs, fish, gilgies, tadpoles, small birds, mice and insects, but will also eat leaves and other vegetation.

In WA the Australasian Bittern is found in wetlands in the south west from Yanchep to Cape Arid. Its main strongholds are the Muir-Unicup Wetlands and south coastal wetlands from Augusta to Cape Arid. Eungedup Wetlands, near Wilson Inlet hosts a number of them each year and is a significant place for them in Western Australia as survey data indicates that less than 150 Australasian Bittern remain in the state.

Southerly Magazine article on Eungedup Wetland

Dr Elke Reichwaldt, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation 

Caitlyn O’Dea and a team of scientists from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) have been out on Nullaki (Wilson Inlet) monitoring seagrass for five days in December. The team carried out a huge survey, using boat, kayak and drone to monitor almost 240 sites. Caitlyn said that the seagrass was seen to be flowering abundantly and producing pollen in many areas of the estuary. The survey collected data on the abundance, density and health of the seagrass, which will be analysed and made available in 2023.

Ruppia megacarpa the only species of seagrass in Wilson Inlet

Seagrasses are the only marine flowering plants that live and grow completely submerged underwater. Ruppia megacarpa (commonly known as widgeon grass) is the only species of seagrass found in Nullaki (Wilson Inlet). The seagrass meadows provide food and habitat for animals, produce oxygen and can contribute to good water quality, making them an important part of the estuary ecosystem. The DWER regularly monitors the distribution and condition of seagrass because it is an important indicator of the overall health of the estuary and quality of the water entering from creeks and rivers. For further information, visit the Healthy Estuaries WA website: https://estuaries.dwer.wa.gov.au/strategies/science-for-management/seagrass/

Ruppia megacarpa in Wilson Inlet (requires light for photosynthesis)

October and November were cold and wet for most of the state.  Spring rainfall was more than double the 1961-1990 average for Western Australia as a whole and the second highest on record.  October was in the top 10% of rainfall records for much of the south coast.  The cold weather and lack of sun led to a slow start to the growing season.  

In the next couple of months, the warmer sea surface temperatures north of Australia increases the likelihood of tropical cyclones developing. These tend to come earlier during La Nina years such as this.  Summer rainfall in our area is typically attributed to isolated thunderstorms and tropical cyclones and it is therefore harder to provide reliable long range forecasts for this time of year.

Finding hidden keys to increase productivity and reduce nutrient loss

By Kylie Cook

Sampling pasture plants during spring growth for lab analysis helps farmers pinpoint which nutrients and minerals are limiting growth in their pastures. Improving understanding on a paddock-by-paddock basis then allows farmers to apply fertilizers with the elements most needed, boosting productivity and avoiding waste. This allows more nutrients to be retained on farms and less lost to waterways. 

This year, plant tissue samples were collected by farmers during spring growth, in the pre-flowering to beginning of flowering stage. The samples were analyzed to measure macro-nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) and trace elements (e.g. cobalt, copper, selenium, molybdenum) present in the pasture plants’ leaves. Trace elements are present only in tiny amounts within the plant or soil but are vitally important to both plant and livestock health at the correct levels. 

Independent agronomist Graham Mussell spoke to a roomful of Wilson Inlet farmers in November, highlighting that nutrients and minerals identified as “marginal” in sample results were actually in the target or optimal range, having just enough for productive pastures and no excess. The terminology used may lead farmers to believe they should apply more of that nutrient, when in fact it was not deficient and wouldn’t lead to large increases in pasture growth. 

Plant tissue testing complements soil testing as it provides a more direct estimate of what livestock are receiving in their pasture-based diets. Sometimes, certain conditions can prevent uptake of a particular element from the soil into plants; or prevent absorption by the animals. Graham explained this could be the case with molybdenum – with increasing pH, molybdenum becomes more available and when in excess, can prevent animals from absorbing copper, potentially resulting in fertility problems. 

Farms across the catchment were almost universally low in selenium and cobalt, illustrating the continuing need to provide mineral supplements to livestock to prevent deficiencies which can have large impacts on animal health and fertility. 

The farmers present were convinced of the value of both soil and plant tissue testing. As Graham pointed out – at today’s fertilizer prices, it’s more important than ever to use soil and plant tissue testing to make sure your pastures are getting what they need.

WIGG is funded in part by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.

Contact Shaun Ossinger; 0401 291 457; [email protected] for more information. 

By Kylie Cook

Future Farming Field Day

Farmers met at the RegenWA Future Farming Day in Carrolup to hear Bruce Maynard speak about his no-kill cropping methods and livestock handling techniques. Kylie Cook from WICC attended the event hosted at the Kowald's farm and facilitated by Perth NRM|RegenWA.

Bruce has spent decades developing his farming techniques and sharing them with others. This year he received the 2022 Bob Hawke Landcare Award for his work promoting sustainability in agriculture. 

Bruce’s cropping methods involve adding diversity to existing pasture, allowing a greater range of species to grow together. At Bruce’s own property in NSW, his pastures contain over 100 species of plant and crops are dry-seeded with a disc seeder directly into the existing grassland. “Every different plant brings different nutrients at different times to the soil surface,” Bruce says, “introduced or natives – I’m happy to have them all” (although plants which become dominant, excluding others, are discouraged). By dry-seeding, Bruce gives the planted seeds a head start (by creating a small amount of soil disturbance) but allows other plants to grow alongside the grain crop. 

By allowing other plants to live within the crop, Bruce freely admits that yield is lower, about a quarter to a third of conventionally grown crops with high levels of weed control. But, growing crops this way costs less than 10% of a conventional crop – a prospect that is increasingly appealing to farmers facing big increases in input costs. This method also boasts a reduced risk of environmental damage – since there is less susceptibility to wind or water erosion – which can be considered a huge long-term benefit. 

Diverse pastures also allow livestock to have a more varied diet year-round. A diverse diet minimises the risks of toxicity, stimulates appetite and improves animal performance, but animals must first become familiar with and learn to incorporate new foods. 

Stress-free stockmanship was also discussed – delving into the mind of the cow! Bruce explained that animals graze differently for their individual needs, and that animals can choose from a greater range of options when not experiencing stress. 

He has trained his herd to eat weeds, recognize and respond to signals. This creates positive interactions with humans, reducing stress during transport and yarding. By applying self-herding techniques, we can set up circumstances that encourage animals to make choices that are both comfortable for them and favourable for us and the landscapes we manage.

Animals also experience peer pressure – the group guides how individuals behave. Livestock behaviours have direct effects on other parts of the ecosystem – soil, plants, other animals and people. 

Bruce pointed out that our livestock are already receiving signals from us (like coming for hay when hearing the tractor) but we can take these signals to a new level to improve stock wellbeing and performance. He offers a range of signals – visual, sound and smell – that tell animals when a reward is available. Preferably the signals can are not tied to a certain person or vehicle – a whistle or bell is a good place to start. 

More information – including free printable guides can be found at: Self Herding (farmingsecrets.com)