Nine others, among them old friends, joined me in this evening walk under the pines at the Uriarra Road end of Bluetts Road, past an old pond and up a slope into a belt of mature eucalyptus forest, freed by COG some years ago from the vulgarity of trail-bike riders. The trail beckoned invitingly to go still further down the other side of our wooded hill; but time - that 'old gipsy man' - and other considerations forced us to turn back. The skies remained deeply overcast, this being perhaps one of the causes of a dearth of obvious avian activity. However, some 18 different species were seen or heard, mainly the latter, which is rather better than par for the course. The dollarbirds were new to the area, at any rate for me; but the most remarkable occurrence was the timely rescue of a young Grey Fantail hopelessly tangled in spider web. Its plight was noted by a sharp-eyed Dianne Deans, and the actual rescue was effected by Mike Ogden. I carried a (fortunately furled) umbrella all the way. And passing blackberries regaled us.
Richard Mason