Members who associate Nimmitabel with cold weather, wide open plains and the occasional patch of stunted snow gums would be amazed at the variety of habitats and landforms, as well as the size and the density of some of the trees that occur on "Garuwanga". Gurawanga is the property of long time COG members Geoff Robertson and Margaret Ning, only 10 km to the north east of Nimmitabel. Any concerns about weather being too cold round Anzac Day were also soon overcome by the warmth of their hospitality.
Perhaps it was also due to the previous Easter long weekend that only 5 other members joined me on this camp-out. We spent the weekend exploring the variety of habitats on the property for their bird life, including the open grassland and shrubland, snow gum woodland, large patches of forest, the Casuarina nana heathland and rocky outcrops as well as spots on the Kydra (Numeralla) River on the northern boundary.
In spite of the season, and parts of the property being rather quiet, we managed to record over 40 species for the weekend. Highlights were the Crested Shrike-tit (good views for all), Grey Currawong, Red-browed Treecreeper and the Spotted Quail-thrush, which disappeared quickly while only a few had seen it. A Superb Lyrebird imitated a grey currawong perfectly before decamping when it spotted us. We also added 4 new species to the bird list for the property, Common Blackbird (on the river), Noisy Miner, Varied Sittella and Crescent Honeyeater. While the last named could be heard calling at a number places, including in the still flowering silver banksia, typically it was difficult to see and only fleeting glimpses were obtained. While we searched hard for hooded robins, which are known to occur on the property, none was seen.
The weekend was not only about birds and we learnt about the vegetation, particularly the grasses, forbs, flowering plants and smaller shrubs. Here the expertise of Geoff and grasslands expert Rainer Rehwinkel (a co-author of the book Grassland Flora - A Field Guide for the Southern Tablelands) proved invaluable. We examined and identified many of the species occurring at Garuwanga. To my untrained eyes the similarity in appearance of many of the native grasses and broad-leaved species with the introduced weeds was surprising.
On Saturday afternoon we visited the Kybeyan area where a rare gum (Eucalyptus parvifolia) and wattle occur, both of which have very localised occurrence and a restricted range.
Thank you very much Geoff and Margaret for inviting COG and making us so welcome. By necessity the weekend was only a snapshot of the area and the birds that occur there and we're very keen to take up invitation to come again and add further to the properties bird list. This should probably occur in late spring to maximise the number of migrants and breeding activity.
Jack Holland