Harrisdale Swamp is a Bush Forever nature reserve, south of Perth, within the City of Armadale. The reserve is relatively large and is part of Jandakot Regional Park. It is rich in flora and fauna, which is the main reason for visiting this place. Anyone with a keen interest in wildlife, wildflower photography (more on this below) will find great delight at this reserve.
It has some interesting history, dating back to World War II, when the area was used for growing potatoes to feed soldiers. More on this here. Fortunately, it was declared a reserve in 1991 due to its high conservation values.
There are walking trails within the reserve. Some of them are impassable in winter during heavy rains. There are no facilities within the reserve.
Birdlife is abundant there. When the wildflower season is over, I will be paying more attention to the various birds within the reserve. I already spotted numerous Blue wrens and heard Golden whistlers but I need to go back and hopefully take pictures of them.
Orchids at Harrisdale Swamp (blooming in August)
I was visiting Harrisdale Swamp weekly this year. After sufficient rain I was delighted to discover and photograph 11 types of orchids growing there. There are more types of orchids growing there, but some of them were not flowering, like Red Beaks. Many native wildflowers, other than orchids grow there too.
Pterostylis crispula Slender snail orchid (left above), Pterostylis sanguinea Dark banded greenhood (above middle), Diuris corymbosa Common donkey orchid (above right).
Leporella fimbriata Hare orchid (above left), Pterostylis recurva Jug orchid (above middle), Cyrtostylis huegelii Midge orchid (above right).
Prasophyllum parvifolium Autumn leek orchid (above left), Pterostylis vittata Banded greenhood orchid (above middle), Pterostylis ectypha Thick sepaled Snail Orchid (above right).
Caladenia flava Cowslip orchid (above left), Pheladenia deformis Blue Fairy orchid (above right).
Various wildflowers
Philotheca spicata Pepper and Salt (above left), Bossiaea eriocarpa (above middle), Brachyloma preissii (above right).
Conostylis prolifera (above left), Drosera pallida (above middle), Running Postman Kennedia prostrata (above right).
Fungi
In winter, after a good rain, you can see plenty of fungi in the bush.
