Most of our party set out from the Griffin Centre at 7:45am. It was a little misty but we had high hopes that the weather in the forest would be nice by the time we arrived there. We met Julianne and Sue on the Captain’s Flat Road and after a bit of car shuffling we were off again. It was a perfect autumn day, without a breath of wind when we arrived in the forest.
We made our first stop in Axle Avenue and spent an hour or so listening and looking, soaking up the atmosphere. The avian highlights were: an excellent view of a Wonga Pigeon in a nearby clearing; 3 Red-browed Treecreepers, and several Lewin’s Honeyeaters. We saw several small flocks of migrating honeyeaters and heard Gang-gang Cockatoos, Pilotbirds and dueting Whipbirds. We drove on to Lowden Forest Park and after morning tea we walked again for an hour or so. There were lots of different fungi about and Jenny pointed out some of the other interesting plants. We saw a female Satin Flycatcher and heard Rose Robins and possibly a Black-faced Monarch but they eluded us. All in all we saw 35 species in the forest and on the way home, a Grey Currawong and a pair of Flame Robins. Once again we benefited greatly from Jenny and Richards’ great skill for recognising calls. Thank you to all present for your generosity in sharing your knowledge and skills.
Surprisingly there were only eight of us. Was this because the walk was on Saturday? With so much of our region affected by fire this was a perfect opportunity to go somewhere that is still intact. Of course it was very dry, but the vegetation seems to be hanging in there. I was rather glad of the dry because that meant that the number of leeches was well down on what is expected in a normal year! Even so a couple of us were attacked. In spite of that I would highly recommend a visit to Tallaganda, just ensure that you take some precautions against leeches!
Lia Battisson