Round Hill Nature Reserve-- what a place! The most immediate impression we (the Canberra contingent of 10 people led by James Nicholls) had was of the lushness following all the recent rain. Apparently the mosquitoes had the same impression of us, given the constant enthusiasm of their attentions. Clearings around our Whooey Tank campsites were massed with yellow, white and mauve daisies, and the wilga, eremophilas, acacias and other plants were in flower.
Walks around the camp area produced numerous Crimson Chats foraging amongst the daisies, large numbers of very active White-winged Trillers, Spiny-cheeked and Singing Honeyeaters, a Spotted Bowerbird and bower, White-browed, Masked and White-breasted Woodswallows, Mulga Parrots, Mallee Ringnecks, Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoos and Black-eared Cuckoos, Inland and Chestnut-rumped Thornbills, Apostlebirds and Pink Cockatoos.
Walkers to the top of Round Hill were rewarded with excellent views of male and female Splendid Wrens as well as the surrounding countryside.
A small quarry with shallow water pools proved a worthwhile place to sit and watch a while. Seen in this area were Splendid Fairy-wrens, Brown-headed, White-eared, White-fronted, Pied and Black Honeyeaters, Little Friarbirds, Common Bronzewings, Crested Pigeons, Bar-shouldered and Peaceful Doves, and a lone Emu. After I left to return to Canberra, watchers at the Shepherd Hill quarry saw the Red-backed Kingfisher, a pair of Peregrine Falcons and a group of Apostlebirds which scared a Restless Flycatcher off its nest and then proceeded to eat the eggs!
A morning searching the old wheat field and adjacent area resulted in good views of Gilbert's Whistler, Yellow-plumed Honeyeater and the yellow-rumped version of the Spotted Pardalote. We had neither sight nor sound of Red-lored Whistler. Other birdwatchers in the area also missed out after putting considerable time and effort into the search for them. Speculation was that we had already missed their vocal period, and therefore lost the main aid to locating them.
I finished with about 86 bird species for the couple of days and there were no doubt a few more species seen or heard by others. With all the great birds we saw, though, nothing gave me as much joy as the squadrons of wild budgies screaming their way through the sky or chittering away in the trees.
Thanks, James, for a most enjoyable weekend away.
Fiona Johnson