Thirteen members and two interstate visitors made the annual trek to this box-ironbark forest northwest of Canberra. On arrival the air was filled with the calls of White-winged Trillers and Rufous Songlarks in courtship song and flight, with Sacred Kingfishers and Brown Treecreepers also very vocal. The Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters were around but were difficult to get good sightings of. Other highlights were Red-capped Robins at the nest, four Superb Parrots that flew past and Jacky Winters in the usual edge habitat in the area off the Cootamundra road. We also startled a very large Lace Monitor (Tree Goanna), which typically headed up a tree. It had large bands of light and dark colour over the body and tail, indicating it is a form found in the western part of the southeastern Australian range of the species.
In all we saw 60 species at Jindalee. Low lights were trail bike riders and a group cutting timber for firewood (which seems to be increasing). Jindalee State Forest is on a priority list of state forests which the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service has identified as important habitat for threatened species such as Superb Parrot, Regent Honeyeater and Painted Honeyeater. COG has made representations to the NSW minister for the environment to have Jindalee better protected and managed, and we hope that a decision will be made soon, effectively excluding activities like sheep grazing and timber cutting, which adversely affect the quality of the habitat.
On the return trip, we stopped at Binalong, where there were wonderful views of a family of four Gang-gangs (including juveniles) feeding on the Cootamundra wattle seeds in the park. Later, in Binalong, there were Dollarbirds, Little Friarbirds and a pair of Sacred Kingfishers taking turns to gouge out a nest hole by flying hard at a partial hole (no wonder they occasionally break their bills!). Several atlas sheets were completed, including our regular 2-hectare site at Jindalee.
Jenny Bounds