The COG Easter campout was on a private property, near Tullamore, where 18 members enjoyed perfect camping weather, the first dry Easter for many a year. We camped in a lovely area of Bimble Box. It was bounded on one side by open grassland and callitris forest on another, providing a large range of birds near camp. Our hosts were Janet and Ted Mortimer, and a big thank-you goes to them for allowing us to stay on "Pine Grove", which they manage with a conservation bias. They joined in many of our social and birding activities during the weekend and were always helpful with local knowledge (and poultry for those able to cope with the business end of the process). The birds were a particular treat, as many are species not seen around Canberra (such as Singing and Striped Honeyeater, Spotted Harrier, Black Falcon, and Major Mitchell Cockatoo). One morning as we walked over the adjoining hills, an obliging Southern Boobook Owl perched on a branch for the group to observe and photograph. The bird list for this area totalled 105 species.
Mice!! They were the biggest surprise in the fauna department. At night they were everywhere!! Half of the participants found them nibbling holes into their tents. Margaret McJannett awoke with a mouse in her hair. Ian Fraser was still trying to eliminate a marauding mouse in his car’s glove box days later. Of the methods utilised (and proposed) to dispose of the mice, the prize went to leaving a wine cask in a container so that after the mouse chewed a hole into the bladder, it drowned happily. There was much discussion about the better uses of wine compared to marinating the wildlife.
Ian Fraser and Margaret McJannett did a wonderful job with pre-trip planning and organising the camp; rewarding us with visits to a variety of natural areas in the surrounding region. These included Genaran Hill (a wildlife sanctuary on private property, fenced against feral animals, and in which Crescent nail-tailed Wallabies and Bush-tailed Bettongs have been reintroduced) with Green Hood orchids, and some participants caught a brief glimpse of a Bettong. Buldodney State Forest produced a variety of birds including Speckled Warblers that were not too shy. The fascinating ruins at Woggoon Nature Reserve (permission is required to visit here) were alive with birds when we arrived, a dozen species were tallied without moving, including Olive-backed Oriole, Mulga Parrots, Crested Bellbird, and Red-capped Robins. At lunch a Bar-shouldered Dove was seen by some and after lunch, a walk in the nearby mallee/spinifex revealed a Gilbert’s Whistler. Farmland, watercourses, and roadsides during the car caravans generated some exciting finds (Grey-crowned Babblers seemed common and flocks of Superb Parrots, a Black Falcon, and a pair of Ground Cuckoo-Shrikes were also seen). Due to Ian and Margaret’s efforts we christened the new COG gazebo at the first night’s group dinner. It was a big success, with a range of tasty fare. Thanks also to David and Noela for ‘volunteering’ to cart the privy.
John Goldie