Bird watching by bicycle is a great way to explore larger areas and to find those winter mixed feeding flocks. Come and explore the trails of Mulligan’s Flat and Goorooyarroo Nature Reserves by bike, some of the best woodland habitats in the Canberra area. You will need your own off-road capable bike (mountain bike or similar) and a reasonable level of fitness. Off road cycling ability is essential. Bird watching expertise is optional. The trails we will explore are all vehicular management trails which are mostly in good condition and gently sloping although there are a few short steeper sections and some rough parts.
Meet at the car park at the main entrance to Mulligan’s Flat, Amy Ackman St, Forde at 8:00am.
To participate, please contact Duncan McCaskill by email at:duncan.mccaskill@gmail.com
Eleven people gathered in the Mulligan’s Flat car park on a breezy winter morning to cycle through Mulligan’s Flat and Goorooyarroo Nature Reserves. It was good to have some younger birders on the trip.
Only the Centenary Trail and a couple of other service roads in the reserves are now open to cyclists, so some walking was also required. After a short ride we took our first stop to walk through the woodland. We hoped to find a mixed feeding flock and Red-capped Robins which had been seen some days before. We did eventually find a pair of Red-capped Robins, but no mixed feeding flocks. There were a few isolated birds including a Whistling Kite flying overhead, a Scarlet Robin and a small flock of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. The non-birding highlight was seeing a Bettong bolt away into the distance.
We hopped back on our bikes for a 5km ride into Goorooyarroo to our second stop on the lower slopes of Old Joe Hill. Again, the birds were fairly scarce. We did find 3 species of thornbill, several Scarlet Robins and admired an old Wedge-tailed Eagles’ nest. As we were leaving we finally found our first mixed feeding flock of the day, which included 3 Varied Sittellas.
The species total for the morning was 27.
Duncan McCaskill
