Bio-calendar October

True Spring

(September to October).

True Spring is over by the end of October as the season begins to change to an Early Summer from November.

During October many plants are still in their flowering cycle and animals are in the process of caring for their offspring. The warming sun has awakened the reptiles and mating is underway. Brown elver eels begin their upstream migration from estuaries into rivers and streams. Migratory shorebirds arrive from the Northern Hemisphere.

The following list provides an insight to various life stages for some of the native plants and animals in Victoria during October, bearing in mind there will be some variation across different bioregions.  Please contact SWIFFT so we can add to the list.

Threatened fauna

• Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus; breeding season October to February when they may be more readily observed.
• Barking Owl Ninox connivens; owlets fledging.
• Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris; arrives from Northern Hemisphere migration.
• Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus; peak birthing month in Victoria.
• Growling Grass Frog Litoria raniformis; start of egg laying season October-November
• Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae; passing through Victorian waters on southward migration to Antarctic waters.
• Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster; migration across Bass Strait from the south-west Victoria to Tasmania complete by the end of October.
• Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis; by late October commencement of migration away from Victorian coastline towards Antarctic waters.
• Striped Legless Lizard Delma impar; a time when adults lay two eggs.
• White-footed Dunnart Sminthopsis leucopus; females giving birth September – October.

Threatened flora

• Anglesea Grevillea Grevillea infecunda  - flowering occurs from October to December.
• Button Wrinklewort Rutidosis leptorhynchoides; start of flowering season through to February.
• Candy Spider-orchid Caladenia versicolor; flowering completed by the end of the month.
• Elegant Spider-orchid Caladenia formosa; flowering finished by the end of the month.
• Fragrant Leek-orchid Prasophyllum suaveolens; flowering through to November
• Grampians Bitter-pea Daviesia laevis; flowering October to December (fruits in January).
• Grampians Pincushion-lily Borya mirabilis; flowering September to October.
• Metallic Sun-orchid Thelymitra epipactoides; peak month for flowering which may occur from September to November
• Rigid Spider-orchid Caladenia tensa; flowering completed by the end of the month.
• Tawny Spider-orchid Caladenia fulva; flowering completed by the end of the month.
• Wimmera Spider-orchid Caladenia lowanensis; flowering completed by the end of the month.
• Yellow-lip Spider-orchid Caladenia xanthochila; flowering completed by the end of the month.

Other native flora & fauna

Fauna

• Inland Broad-nosed Bat Scotorepens balstoni; giving birth to one or two young (Oct-Nov).
• Lesser Long-eared Bat Nyctophilus geoffroyi; giving birth to one or two young (Oct-mid Nov).
• Platypus; egg laying (Sept-Oct).
• Short-tailed Shearwater (Mutton Bird); arrives in selected coastal breeding areas e.g. Griffiths Island, Port Fairy, from Northern Hemisphere migration.

Flora

• Contact SWIFFT and contribute to the list.