Flora and Fauna
A reed island was constructed in the 1960s to provide a summer refuge for birds. 38 species of birds have been sighted including Black Swans, cormorants, spoonbills and pelicans.
The lake also supports long-necked turtles, large skinks, and two species of frogs. Fish common to the lake are all introduced species including goldfish, carp, mosquito fish and English perch.
Vegetation in the 1800s comprised swampland trees; Melaleuca rhaphiophylla, Banksia littoralis, and Eucalyptus rudis. Xanthorrhoea (blackboy), rushes, wattle and tea tree were the common flora, but with land reclamation, rushes were removed to plant lawns and construct sandy beaches. None of the banksia and few paperbarks remain and trees are now generally confined to a narrow strip surrounding the shoreline, mainly on the northern and eastern sides.
Read more about this topic: Lake Monger
Famous quotes containing the words flora and/or fauna:
“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The whole fauna of human fantasies, their marine vegetation, drifts and luxuriates in the dimly lit zones of human activity, as though plaiting thick tresses of darkness. Here, too, appear the lighthouses of the mind, with their outward resemblance to less pure symbols. The gateway to mystery swings open at the touch of human weakness and we have entered the realms of darkness. One false step, one slurred syllable together reveal a man’s thoughts.”
—Louis Aragon (1897–1982)