Wilabalangaloo Reserve in Berri, South Australia | Community organisation

Wilabalangaloo Reserve

Locality: Berri, South Australia

Phone: +61 403 957 755

Address: Old Sturt Highway 5343 Berri, SA, Australia

Website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/places/wilabalangaloo-reserve

Likes: 206

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Community organisation
• Hiking trail
• Nature reserve

23.01.2022 23 new ‘snags’ have been added to the river as part of a successful re-snagging pilot project by the Department for Environment and Water. The project aims to r...ebuild in-stream woody habitat for native fish and other aquatic life. These snags were installed this winter and now there are a total of 47 snags introduced into the River Murray ecosystem. Snag materials came from the Katarapko Floodplain project which was completed in June 2020. Trees removed during construction have been used to create snags that will now provide increased habitat to support bigger populations of aquatic life including native fish, bacteria, algae, micro-organisms and invertebrates. You can see the new snag sites first hand downstream of Lock 3 near Overland Corner and downstream of Lock 4 near Bookpurnong (eastern riverbank). See more

22.01.2022 MALLEEFOWL Malleefowl are a fascinating species, mostly well known for laying their eggs in a huge mound of sand and leaf litter. They are getting pretty rare i...n our area, but there are a few around Gerard, and Berri Barmera Landcare has been working with the Gerard Country Rangers, providing and planting Malleefowl food plants with them on their land, giving the birds a better chance of survival. Malleefowl occur in mallee and other woodland areas in the southern parts of Australia, and are the size of a chicken. They are beautifully camouflaged and freeze or sneak off in the vegetation when approached, so they can be hard to see. Malleefowl are omnivorous and eat seeds, flowers and insects. Pairs mate for life, and occupy a territory that may hold several mounds. In winter, the male digs out a depression 3m across and 1m deep working backwards with its large, strong feet. During late winter and spring, he collects leaf litter, sticks and sand and builds up the mound to half a meter or more above ground level. After rain he mixes the materials to encourage the decomposition process which produces heat to incubate the eggs, and creates an egg chamber into the mound. If the conditions are wet enough, the female will lay an egg every several days somewhere between September and February, in total producing anywhere between 2 and 30 eggs, often laying the equivalent of a whopping 250% of her body weight. The male continues to maintain the nest by adding or removing materials daily to keep the temperature at a constant 33 degrees. He has the amazing ability to determine the temperature to the exact degree by sticking his bill into the materials! After 50-100 days the eggs hatch. The chicks scratch their way to the surface and have to get through up to a meter of sand, which can take between 2 and 15 hours. Sounds exhausting to me! Once out, they will disappear into the scrub quickly and an hour later they can run well. By the end of their first day they are already strong flyers! They have no contact with siblings or their parents, and have to fully look after themselves straight away. They are very vulnerable during this stage and many are taken by foxes, cats and natural predators. Besides predators, Malleefowl also struggle due to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, changed fire regime and drought and climate change. Their distribution has retracted by 50% and they are now listed as threatened. In our area, you can still get lucky sometimes and see them on the highway towards Paruna, and in some of our dryland National Parks, especially south of the river. See more

21.01.2022 Cannonball saltbush (Dissocarpus paradoxus) sure does live up to its name! These silvery little plants are popping up around the place at the moment. Their litt...le prickly seed heads might make you suspect they are a bad guy, but they are actually a native species. Plants grows up to 50cm tall and have woolly branches. They may also be known by the other common names of curious saltbush or ball bindyi. #myMRlandscape See more

17.01.2022 This is Round-leaved Pigface (Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum), and it seems to be flowering everywhere at the moment. I have seen whole carpets of it ...in the Pike area, and also in Rillis Reserve near Loxton. It grows mostly on grey clay, usually with Bladder Saltbush and Black Box. It grows as a prostrate, succulent shrub, from two to 30 centimetres high. Unlike the other Pigface species, its leaves are round in cross-section, and its flowers are various shades of pink and purple. Flowers don’t open till late morning, and on overcast days, the flowers may not open at all. Round-leaved Pigface is important in reducing erosion, it’s salt tolerant and also acts as a fire retardant. To top it off, all parts of Disphyma are edible, the leaves can be used for stir fries, salads and for pickling. Pigface for dinner tonight anyone? See more

14.01.2022 Fantastic going! Let's hope the funding continues to allow you to keep up the most excellent work!

12.01.2022 Rabbits are very destructive and have hampered the efforts of our wonderful volunteers revegetate the reserve. Today and tomorrow we are smoking warrens to reveal those hidden entrances and fumigating then. Sorry bunnies, but you have to go.

11.01.2022 The Pike restoration is a fantastic project so get along and find out more.

09.01.2022 Riverland volunteer celebration! Please join the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and Riverland Landcare to celebrate the amazing contribution that you and other volunteers make to managing the Riverland’s precious landscapes! The event will include a fabulous free lunch at the historic Overland Corner Hotel, a number of great guest speakers (inc First Peoples of the River Murray and Mallee Region and the River Murray Youth Council), and the opportunity to catch up w...ith members of the new landscape board and other local volunteers from across the Riverland. Families welcome! When: Sunday 23 May 2021, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm Where: Historic Overland Corner Hotel, 205 Old Coach Road, Overland Corner Cost: FREE RSVP by: Friday 14 May 2021 More info / RSVP: Miranda Leckie, Email: [email protected], Phone: 0438 457 367 This event is supported by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and the landscape levies.