A keen, albeit small, group met David McDonald at the Uriarra Homestead dam and quickly totted up 29 species. Nice to see a Musk Duck and Latham’s Snipe lurking in the grassy bank. Hoary-headed Grebes predominated and, with a couple of Dotterel, we mainly saw bush birds.
A short drive along Mountain Creek Road took us to the open woodland of this travelling stock route. This patch is adjacent to The Mullion community centre, spreading over a ridge and down to the Mullion Creek. Quiet strolling gained us 33 species of birds you would expect.
We backtracked to Tinkers Creek and were grateful for the deep shade afforded by this protected remnant. While it could be circumnavigated in 10 minutes, we found 21 species, with a good sighting of a Brown Goshawk and heard a Rufous Songlark. David pointed out that this small area had been surveyed into small blocks according to his map. With the creek bordered by a line of mature pine trees, a rough stone road bisecting the forest and various long mounds, we came to the conclusion that there might have been a bit of gold prospecting in this area last century. There were also lots of wild flowers for the botanists amongst us to query. This is a delightful spot to be remembered and re-visited and morning tea never tasted so good.
Shirley Kral