Ferns Along Seabrook Creek

...at the Frenchs Road Nature Reserve.

Anyone interested in ferns would thoroughly enjoy visiting the Frenchs Road Nature Reserve. The site consists of 34  hectares of remnant forest along Seabrook Creek, not far from Somerset and Wynyard in Tasmania.

Quoting from the sites information brochure:

The native vegetation of the Reserve is predominately of two types:

•  Dry Stringybark (Eucalyptus obliqua) forest on the drier and low nutrient slopes with Tea Tree and Wattle.  
• Wet (Stringybark ) forest in the lower areas and along the creek (riparian zone). This wet forest understorey consists of majestic tree ferns with epiphytic ferns, tall blackwoods (Acacia melanoxylon) Tasmanian Pepper and the occasional Sassafras and Myrtle-Beach.

The purpose of my visit was simple. No, not ferns. Birds! I was particularly looking for Pink Robin and Scrubtit.  Unfortunately the birds had other plans for the day. There were plenty to be heard but very few to be seen aside from a Grey Fantail, a Superb Fairy-wren, and a Brown Thornbill. Honestly, that was it! I see a greater variety of birds in the town centre. Next time I'll have to go a little  earlier in the day, when the birds are more active.

Watch the video and listen to the invisible birds :-)

Despite the lack of avian accompaniment I still enjoyed my short walk along the damp and ferny banks of Seabrook Creek. Since the birds refused to co-operate, my attention soon moved on to the ferns  (they can't hide). I came home with several photographs needing to be identified. While reading Gouldiae's Blog recently I was motivated to learn a little more about our local ferns and this was an opportunity to get started. Currently my only reference on the subject is a small book with black and white photos from 1975. Unfortunately that book is temporarily packed away in storage so I resorted to the Internet to identify them. Feel free to offer corrections :-)

Kangaroo Fern - Microsorum pustulatum

Fishbone Water-Fern - Blechnum nudum

Scrambling Coral Fern - Gleichenia microphylla

Bat's wing fern - Histiopteris incisa

Manfern or Soft Tree Fern  lining the bank - Dicksonia antarctica

For a "A Closer Look at at a Fern", click here.

Linked to Our World Tuesday