TSR48 Gundaroo

We aim for an early start to visit this open yellow box/red box woodland reserve with a good suite of common and not so common woodland species. Participants should meet at 7.00am in the car park at the netball centre just north of the intersection of Northbourne Ave and Mouat Street, Lyneham, for carpooling. The drive will take about 35 minutes from the meeting point to the reserve. The number of participants is restricted to 10. Wear sturdy shoes and bring morning tea. Please register with Michael Lenz at 6249 1109 or michael.lenz.birds@gmail.com

The 11 members and guests who visited this travelling stock reserve 9km north of Gundaroo had a memorable morning.  Entry was via an avenue of trees by an old section of the Gundaroo Road. After a week of thunderstorms the reserve was at its best. The 12-14 hectares have a good coverage of mainly eucalypts, native grasses and the dam was full.  In that setting the residents and migrants put on quite a performance, like the Drover’s Dream with new acts in succession. The Brown Treecreepers early on were active followed by the White-browed Woodswallows with a male scolding the group then settling onto a nest. There was a varied chorus which included Sacred Kingfisher, Pallid Cuckoo, Grey Shrike-thrush and Noisy Friarbirds. A Diamond Firetail was also recorded. A noisy juvenile Crested Shrike-tit attended by the parents was the highlight near the end of the walk. They stayed in one tree long enough to allow good views of plumage and to hear the begging call. On the way back we stopped at a long paddock 2km north of Gundaroo, beside the Yass River. We had good views of three Banded Lapwings, 2 adults and a juvenile and heard their calls. A flock of 40+ Straw-necked Ibis fed in the paddocks and earlier another flock had wheeled past the reserve. The total number of species counted was 40.

A big thank you to Michael Lenz for sharing his special spot with us.

Bill Graham