Meet at 8:30am (note earlier time) on at the car park at the end of London Bridge Rd Googong.. The basic walk will be 3km return but there is a possibility of returning over the Bridge which might add another 0.5km. It may be warm and there isn’t much shade so carry water.
Wed 16 December 2015 08:30am
Martin ButterfieldPost event report
Twenty-five members and guests gathered on a fine and mild morning, and indeed so it continued throughout the event.
The dominant bird at the start was Noisy Miner, although possibly the Australian Hobby seen by some late arrivals calmed them down a bit.
As we progressed along the track towards the Homestead several small flocks of rosellas were noted and once out of the trees the calls of smaller passerines became evident. A Fuscous Honeyeater was recorded and White-winged Trillers, White-throated and Western Gerygones, and Rufous Whistlers were clearly heard. Dusky Woodswallows were reasonably numerous hawking off dead branches and a flock of Tree Martins was seen on the skyline. A small number of Welcome Swallows were hawking above the grass (far more were hanging out at the Homestead).
On arrival at the Homestead the first group of Southern Whiteface (including a dependent young) was seen. It was difficult to count numbers as there appeared to be several groups and we eventually agreed that 8 birds was a conservative count. A Brown Treecreeper was both heard and seen in a large tree behind the homestead. Two ‘brown’ Flame Robins and a Speckled Warbler were seen in this area.
We then followed a mown trail beside the River, passing through the edge of the bush. A number of bush birds were added to the list, including Brown-headed Honeyeaters and at least 2 more Brown Treecreepers. Two Nankeen Kestrels were hunting in the grass around the Bridge and 4 Wedge-tailed Eagles soared overhead.
We totalled 51 species for the walk.