Our final activation for Tuesday 21st November 2023 was the Porcupine Bushland Reserve VKFF-4272. The reserve is located about 6 km southwest of Avoca and about 188 km northwest of Melbourne.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Porcupine Bushland Reserve. Map c/o Google Maps.
This was the first time the park was activated for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.
The Porcupine Bushland Reserve is about 8 hectares in size and was established on the 24th day of August 1982. (CAPAD 2022)
Above:- an aerial view of the Porcupine Bushland Reserve. Image c/o Google Earth.
The park is located on the southern side of Porcupine Lane which runs off the western side of the Pyrenees Highway. The park is listed on maps and CAPAD as the Porcupine Bushland Reserve, but the dilapidated sign shows Porcupine Rd Bushland Reserve.
It was totally dark by the time we reached the park, so we operated from the 4WD running the Icom IC-7000, 100 watts, and the Codan 9350 with the 1.5 metre stainless steel whip. I used the special event callsign of VI10VKFF.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK2IO/p (Stony Creek Nature Reserve VKFF-0986)
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK3APJ
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK5HS
- VK3SG
- VK4SMA
- VK3YV
- VK3TNL
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK2IO/p (Stony Creek Nature Reserve VKFF-0986)
- VK3PF
- VK3KAI
- VK3APJ
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK5HS
- VK3SG
- VK4SMA
- VK3YV
- VK3TNL
- VK5GY
- VK2WGW
- VK1CHW
- VK3PDB
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
We then headed back into Avoca and attended the Avoca silo night display. By day there is an image of a Barking Owl. By night the silo is turned into a spectacular night-time interactive show that highlights the glow in the dark strontium paint that was used.
The Avoca silo art is the work of Jimmi Buscombe, with work commencing on the silo in March 2021. It is Australia’s 47th painted silo art location. (Australian Silo Art Trail 2024)
The video below displays the very distinctive double note ‘woof-woof’ call sound of the Barking Owl which is very similar to a dog’s bark.
The number of Barking Owls in Australia has declined rapidly. It is estimated that there are only 50 pairs left in Victoria. This has mainly been due to habitat loss and degradation. (Birds in Backyards 2024)
There is a nightly projection of images onto the side of the silo from a projector at the old railway station. The gentleman from the railway station(which is now an art gallery) who was conducting the display was extremely friendly and informative.
To add to the fun there is an interactive glow wall on the silo. We were lined up alongside the silo and asked to stretch out our arms. Not knowing what to expect, when we walked away from the silo wall we were amazed to see our images in ‘shadow art’. We even got to ‘sign’ on the silo wall with the UV torch.
References.
- Dcceew.gov.au. (2023). Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2022 – DCCEEW. [online] Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/2022 [Accessed 8 Mar. 2024].
- http://www.australiansiloarttrail.com. (n.d.). Avoca Silo Art. [online] Available at: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/avoca. [Accessed 8 Mar. 2024].
- http://www.birdsinbackyards.net. (n.d.). Barking Owl | BIRDS in BACKYARDS. [online] Available at: https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Ninox-connivens. [Accessed 8 Mar. 2024].
VK5PAS 