Despite the generally cooler temperatures at the coast the lack of rain had left the Park looking way below it's best - all parched and crunchy and the lakes well down on their usual levels. Even so the 17 members who joined the campout agreed that the variety of habitats and the spectacular scenery along the beach still made this a top spot for a campout.
During the six days we recorded 94 species. Compared with the list of the October 1989 campout (106) we missed out on 39 species, most of which were seen in areas outside the Park boundaries, but we added 27 of our own.
Within the environs of the campsite we discovered Latham's (Japanese) Snipe, Brush Bronzewing, Wonga Pigeons doing the cleaning up around the camp sites, and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike. And in a short foray with spotlight we flushed a Powerful Owl.
Around the edges of Wallagoot Lake were Grey Goshawk, Southern Emu-wren and White-fronted Chat, while in the shallows were Pied Cormorant, Little Egret, Common Greenshank, Red-necked Stint, Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpiper. The really big tick was a lone Banded Stilt, thanks to Fiona who noticed that it wasn't a Black-winged Stilt after all. That was until a little bird later informed us that it had been there for months!!
Saturday, the day of the long march, coincidentally turned out to be the warm one but sergeant-major made no concessions and by the end, the 10km seemed more like 100km. Fortunately on the way we encountered an Azure Kingfisher, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Rufous Fantail and, after sighting endless quantities of chewed casuarina cones, two adult and one juvenile Glossy Black-Cockatoos.
In the evening, after a snooze, we made up for the hardships of the morning with a bountiful feast with plenty of wine and food and a floorshow put on by the Possum McDonald troupe. David ran rings around the beasts.
And speaking of those beasts some found their antics rather less than amusing after lights-out. Martin certainly didn't acquire his mansion-like trailer accommodation for brush-tailed possums to play slippery slides on it at 3am and he made this clear to them on 33 occasions during the first night. Apparently most got the message - one thump was enough. Being a fairly wise and respectful bunch we decided not to thump two Lace Monitors or about six Red-bellied Black Snakes preferring to watch them make their retreats each with a decidedly disdainful look in their eyes.
Malcolm Fyfe