Hot winds cease and temperatures cool.
Iuk (eels) are fat and ready to harvest.
Binap (Manna Gum) is flowering.
Days and nights are of equal length.
Lo-An Tuka, the Hunter, is the star Canopus, seen almost due south at sunset.
❝ We used to set a fishing line at night time, mostly in the lagoons. We got eels out of that… they’d go down to where Badger Creek runs into the Yarra. If eels were running that plentiful they’d make a net and put that in. ❞ – Martha Nevin, 1969.
— Eastern Kulin Seasonal Calendar [Melbourne Museum]
eel, from early January to late February, when kangaroos start breeding, wombats are seen at night and native cherries ripen [eMelbourne Seasons]
❝ Further south it becomes noticeably cooler towards the end of the month, and in Sydney some birds have already begun to fly north. In Melbourne and Adelaide pre-migration flocking has begun. Berries are ripening and marsupials are active. ❞
– Banksias and Bilbies
❝ After rains, moths are active, many toadstools appear, ducks are nesting and plants make new growth. Berries are ripening, marsupials are active, and grasshoppers are on the move. ❞
– Gum Leaves and Geckoes
❝ Late Summer, February – Mid March.
After the dry hot summer, the Autumn rains arrived and the days became cooler. People started burning those parts of the land where the scrub or tussock grass had become too dense during the summer, but they were advised by their elders where and when to burn, taking the weather into account so that the fires did not spread too far. It was important to clear the undergrowth and provide fertilising ash so that the small tuberous food plants could grow well after the rains came in March. Burning also made it easier to catch animals. Plants which had suffered from lack of water during the summer were now able to renew growth. DJAAK, Wattle gum wattle gum, was plentiful, and in the middle of this month the WARRAK Banksia or Honeysuckle, Long-leaf Box and Silver-leaf Stringybark came into blossom, providing sweet nectar, and attracting birds. March has been called the Eel Season, Eel because the female Short-finned eels were moving down the streams to the sea; the male eels had been leaving in smaller numbers during the spring and summer. These were an important food, and among the vegetables there were the starchy roots of the water plants, which began to die down after their summer growth. Some late summer fruits such as mistletoe berries were also available. Birds started to flock before heading north for the winter, to be replaced by other birds which will soon start to arrive from Tasmania. ❞
– Dr. Beth Gott Seasonal Calendars for the Melbourne Area
❝ late summer, from early February to early April, when young birds disperse as others begin to migrate northwards, the Yarra River becomes muddier, young platypuses emerge and eels move downstream. ❞
– Alan Reid (1993) six seasons for the middle Yarra region [eMelbourne Seasons]
Coastal Scrub: kangaroo apple in berry
Wetlands: elodea waterweed stems break and migrate; many mayflies hatch; second brood of swaphens are running
Towns: leaf curling spiders in gardens; case mother caterpillars moving; mason wasps store caterpillars in nests; soldier beetles on melaleucas
Towns: European wasps appearing; gang gang cockatoos feed on crab apples
Wetlands: Many aquatic insects emerge as adults, attracting swallows and martins; river redgum flowers attract honeyeaters; daphnia waterfleas encyst in mud of drying waterholes
Towns: emerald & anthelid moth on windows; bluebottle wasps dart around lawns; harlequin bugs on mirror bush
Towns: tailed spiders in gardens; clara satin moth on windows; orb weaver spiders common; puffball fungi appear; starlings gain spotted plumage
Beach: sea hares laying egg strings in rock pools; baby cunjevois wash up attached to sea-nymph grass; mangrove seeds are sprouting
The Seven Seasons of the Kulin Nation
Gariwerd calendar
There are six distinct weather periods recognised in the Gariwerd seasonal cycle. The language groups, Djapwurrong and Jardwadjali are the languages used by the custodians for the Grampians/Gariwerd region.
Kooyang (Eel season) – Late summer January-March
☀️ Hottest and driest time
☀️ Scarce surface water
☀️ High bushfire risk
☀️ Night sky is bright with stars
References
Reid, A.J. (1984) Gum Leaves and Geckoes: Gould League Nature Diary. Gould League of Victoria.
Reid, A.J. (1995) Banksias and Bilbies: Seasons of Australia. Gould League of Victoria.
Gott, B. Melbourne’s 6 seasons [Friends Of Herring Island]
Eastern Kulin Seasonal Calendar [Melbourne Museum]
Reid, A.J. Seasons [eMelbourne]
Last Month: February (2024) | Last Year: March (2023)
Visible Procrastinations 
Pingback: April – Waring Wombat Season | Visible Procrastinations