Here on Noongar boodjar (country), the season of Makuru is nearly upon us - the coldest and wettest time of the year, usually coinciding with June-July.

Blue and purple flowers will start to emerge and animals begin to pair up in preparation for breeding next season. In particular, keep an eye out for 'wardongs' (crows) flying in pairs, and suspiciously quiet as they cease their cawing for a mate.

You might also spot more 'mali' (black swans) on our lakes and rivers as they prepare to nest and breed.

Post your pairs on Wild About Freo's iNaturalist page and contribute to our collection, over 780 observations and counting!

Source: Nyoongar Calendar, Bureau of Meterology via Jason Barrow, ECU

Did you know that Fremantle residents can apply to have a street tree planted on their verge at no cost?

Once an application is received, our parks and landscape team will inspect your verge during the following April/May and talk to you about what's most suitable. Planting then happens in the winter months between April - July, to make sure your tree survives.

All you have to do is complete the e-services (Parks & Landscape) form for a New Street Tree, or you can call us at 1300 MY FREO (1300 69 3736).

Perth is home to at least 71 reptile species and is believed to house more reptiles than any other urban area in the world (WWF 2013).

One of the slithery creatures you might spot in the warmer months is the bobtail or shingleback skink, Tiliqua rugosa (Yoorn in Noongar language). Between December and April the females give birth to 2-3 live young, which can be up to 40% of the mother's body weight!

Aside from basking on our roads on warmer days, bobtails love to hide in grasses, leaf litter, paddocks and some gardens. If you want to create a more bobtail-friendly backyard, consider:

• Having a native garden with lots of vegetation, encouraging insects (their food!)
• Creating safe places for them to hide
• Having wet areas for them to drink from
• Using environmentally friendly pest-control and staying away from chemicals

Fremantle’s own Rous Head is a major breeding site for Australian Fairy Terns, a vulnerable species of small seabird.

The birds have been seen attempting to breed in the area for many years, however a colony had never been established as their shallow sand nests make them vulnerable to human, predator and vehicle destruction. In 2013 Fremantle Ports established the Rous Head Fairy Tern Sanctuary, providing a safe, enclosed breeding site.

Since then there have been a record six continuous nesting seasons at the Port's Rous Head Fairy Tern Sanctuary and a large increase in colony numbers, however the birds nested at other locations during the 2020 season. Researcher Claire Greenwell says that they change location to be less predictable to predators.

Fairy Terns can arrive anywhere from late November when bait fish become available, so keep your eyes peeled to see them circling as they scout for nesting sites for 2021.

Visit the Fremantle Ports website to find out more about the Fairy Tern Sanctuary.

You can find out more information about the Rous Head sanctuary by clicking here or visiting the Fremantle Ports website.

Chances are you've seen the beautiful Western Australian Christmas tree (Nuytsia floribunda) in flower, but you may not know how special the species really is.

The WA Christmas tree/moojar tree has great significance to Noongar culture and people. Ken Macintyre and Barb Dobson from Anthropology from the Shed say:

"When Noongar spokespersons were interviewed by us... the Elders reported that few people today understand the significance of the moojar tree (Nuytsia floribunda) commonly known as the Western Australian Christmas tree. They said that the moojar was regarded as “highly spiritual” because it was associated with the spirits of the dead who according to the ‘old people’ “camped” on the branches and flowers of the tree on their way to Kurannup – the land of the ancestors across the Western ocean. They said to us: ‘We don’t like to go near this tree.’"

You can read more about this interview by clicking here or visiting the Anthropology from the Shed website.

The WA Christmas tree is also highly unusual. It has no relatives and is the largest mistletoe in the world, and the only one that grows in the ground rather than on the stems of plants. It's also hemi-parasitic, using it's roots to extract water and nutrients from nearby plants - the roots have even been known to invade PVC-wrapped telephone cables.

WA Christmas trees are under ongoing threat from clearing and livestock damage, and replacements are notoriously difficult to grow. By appreciating and understanding their importance we can help protect them.

Keep an eye out for these unique plants between October and January, and make sure to upload any pictures on iNaturalist.

From October 5-11 we're commemorating Australian Wildlife Week! Each year during the first week of October, the Australian Wildlife Society encourages people all over the country to celebrate wildlife to foster a positive relationship between nature and humanity.

We're also celebrating a massive 200 observations on the Wild About Freo iNaturalist platform! If you haven't already, jump over to iNaturalist and take a look at some of the impressive photos we've been enjoying - spiders and skinks, mushrooms and motorbike frogs, boxfish and banksias just to name a few.

Thank you for all your submissions, and keep them coming.

Western Australia is lucky enough to be part of the East Asian – Australasian Flyway, one of nine major migratory bird flyways in the world.

In about September each year, hundreds of thousands of migratory birds begin to arrive in WA’s north and south west. These might include species like plovers, sandpipers, stints, curlews and snipes.

These birds make round trip migrations of up to 26,000km per year between their summer breeding grounds in the northern hemisphere and their feeding areas in the south.

Nearby Thomson's Lake is an official site under the Flyway Site Network, and other sites in the area are an important part of the flyway. Visit the Flyway's website to find out more about the types of species you could spot: eaaflyway.net/the-flyway/

Keep your eyes and ears peeled - it's breeding season and the local frogs are out and about. They might be hard to spot but luckily they're easy to hear!

If you've ever wanted to find out which species are in your backyard or local wetland, the WA Museum is here to help you learn to speak Froglish. Click here to go to their Frogwatch website where you can listen to some common frog calls, and then match them up with what you've heard on your walks.

In the Fremantle area, listen especially for the Moaning Frog, Motorbike Frog and Western Banjo Frog. Ribbit!

Consider collecting more than photos on your observation walks this August - from August 17-23 it's Keep Australia Beautiful Week!

This year’s theme is “Litter: Prevent the Spread”.

The campaign is inspired by the unprecedented circumstances triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting lockdowns and restrictions across the country, and the public’s increased use of single-use items to prevent the spread of the virus. Keep Australia Beautiful is calling on all Australians this year not only to stay safe, but also to help prevent the spread of litter in our beautiful country.

Find out more about how you can stop the spread at the Keep Australia Beautiful Website by clicking here or visiting kab.org.au

National Tree Day started in 1996 and has grown into Australia's largest community tree-planting and nature care event, this year landing on Sunday 2 August.

Please wear closed-in shoes. BYO water bottle, gardening gloves and a trowel (if you have one). Hot drinks and morning tea provided. For more information, visit facebook.com/events/657706534820421/