Umbagong District Park, Latham

Sun 10 September 2023 08:20am

Lia Battisson

Description: Umbagong District Park is in Latham and has Ginninderra Creek running through the middle of it.  A lot of work has been done over the last months to upgrade the bridges and this work is due for completion before the official re-opening on 1 September, just in time for spring.  We will explore the Park, which has not been visited by COG for some time. It will be an easy walk.

Meeting place: Meet in the car park on Dalley Cres, Latham, at 8:20 for an 8:30 start.  The carpark is about 50 metres from the intersection of Florey Drive and Dalley Cres.

Walking distance: 4 to 5 kms

End time (approx.): 11:30 am

What to bring: Water, morning tea, sunscreen, a hat and sturdy shoes.

Name of leader and contact details: Please register with the leader, Lia Battisson by email to liabattisson@outlook.com, providing your name and mobile number, and the name and mobile number of an emergency contact.  Do so before 7pm on Friday 8 September 2023 as numbers will be limited to 15.

Post event report

On a beautiful spring morning, Lia Battisson led a group of eight on an enjoyable and productive walk around the recently re-opened tracks in the Umbagong District Park in Belconnen. In total, 35 species were seen or heard during the 2-hour walk, which began, before we’d left the carpark, with some members spotting a Collared Sparrowhawk and all of us seeing two Australian Magpie nests under construction.

We saw several species of parrots, several different honeyeaters including ten Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, and several thornbills including a group of four Yellow Thornbills. Among the species heard but not seen were an Olive-backed Oriole and a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo. At the beginning of the walk, Lia had promised us a surprise. This turned out to be a pair of Tawny Frogmouths, the male sitting on a typically scrappy nest and the female in the fork of a nearby tree.

Other highlights were three Red-browed Finches and good views of a single Australian Reed Warbler. The visiting student from the UK who was participating in her first COG outing was thrilled to see her first kangaroos and a Swamp Wallaby.

Thanks to Lia for leading this walk.

Wendy Whitham

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