Cuumbeun NR (nth sections). Map courtesy NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
On a surprisingly sunny, cloudless, windless, mild Sunday (given the cloudy, rainy, windy and cold days of late), 18 lucky coggies met at 8:30 am for a leisurely amble through this newly created reserve straddling the Captain’s Flat Rd, just up the hill from Queanbeyan. This was COG’s first visit to the reserve, and probably (hopefully?) not the last, so expectations were high for a good species list. The reserve was created in 2001, and consists of 928 hectares, split up into three sections (see map – the southernmost section is to the south, along Wanna Wanna Rd). Our walk was in the section north of Captain’s Flat Rd.
Cuumbeun NR (nth sections). Map courtesy NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
Over the ensuing 3 hours, we covered about 5 kilometres (did I mention it was leisurely?), negotiating fairly undulating terrain, including several small creek crossings (no casualties, luckily). This part of the reserve is wooded, with at least 7 species of Eucalypt identified, over a mostly Acacia understorey, with lots of fallen timber and many hollows (Kathy and I saw juvenile Southern Boobooks here last February). We loosely followed Scabbing Flat Creek (Common Eastern Froglets galore), and completed the circuit via a fire trail that climbs to the highest point in the north, before returning along the eastern boundary to our starting point.
It has to be said that birds were a bit scarce, but we did happen upon several mixed feeding flocks which improved our species count to 33, plus 1 more across the road in farmland (Flame Robin) and 3 more in the other section of the Reserve (Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Grey Shrike-Thrush). Highlights included Brown Treecreeper, Speckled Warbler (heard), Shining Bronze-cuckoo (h), an unusually silent White-throated Gerygone, Scarlet Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin (h), several LBJs (Little Brown Jobs: Brown, Striated, Buff-rumped and Yellow-rumped Thornbills, White-browed Scrubwren and Weebill), several honeyeater spp (Yellow-faced, Brown-headed, White-eared Honeyeaters, and Red Wattlebird), a Brown Goshawk (our only raptor), several packs of Varied Sittellas, Golden Whistlers, Grey Fantail and some more of the usual suspects. Strong Pardalote presence, with good numbers of both Spotted and Striated, and some excellent views of Striateds displaying and investigating a tree hollow, and some Crimson Rosellas doing likewise.
Afterwards, Kathy and I had lunch and a walk in the section to the south of Captain’s Flat Rd, the highlight being a really nice dam with grassy / reedy edges and four species of frog calling: Common Eastern Froglet, Spotted Marsh Frog, Plains Froglet and several Pobblebonks (Eastern Banjo).
All in all, an enjoyable morning’s ‘work’. Kathy and I would like to thank all those who attended.
David Cook