Gowrie Junction Highlights

Ben, explaining the walk

The two properties we visited in August were adjacent to each other with patches of very similar dry rainforest also known as vine scrub. Certainly on Ben & Jean’s property the vines were very much in evidence.

We wandered through three distinct habitats on the Stahmann property: vine scrub, pasture/dam and cabinet-timber plantation. 

Gathering at the dam

Stahmann property, Gowrie Junction, the pasture/dam area (27° 27’ 30” S, 151° 53’ 57” E, within 200m): Birds: Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead, Australasian Grebe, Crested Pigeon, Little Pied Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Straw-necked Ibis, Dusky Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Galah, Pheasant Coucal, Laughing Kookaburra, Noisy Miner, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Apostlebird, Welcome Swallow.

Butterflies: Greenish Grass-dart or Yellow-banded Dart Ocybadistes walkeri, Small Grass-yellow Eurema smilax, Cabbage White Pieris rapae, Wanderer Danaus plexippus.

Stahmann property, Gowrie Junction, the vine scrub area (27° 27’ 20” S, 151° 53’ 30” E, within 300m): Birds: Pale-headed Rosella, Variegated Fairy-wren, Striated Pardalote, Lewin's Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Grey-crowned Babbler, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler, Australasian Figbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Red-capped Robin, Silvereye.

Butterflies: Cabbage White Pieris rapae, Brown Ringlet Hypocysta metirius, Yellow-spot Blue Candalides xanthospilos.

Bugs: Brown Shield Bug Dippilana membranacea.

Brown Shield Bug Dippilana membranacea.

Marsupials: Red-necked Wallaby Macropus rufogriseus, Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus.

Cabinet-timber plantation edges: Butterflies: Small Grass-yellow Eurema smilax, Cabbage White Pieris rapae, Meadow Argus Junonia villida, Common Grass Blue Zizina labradus labradus.

It was not a good time of day for birding by the time we got to Ben & Jean’s place but their garden was alive with birds. Some of us went for a walk around the property with Ben while others were given a guided tour of the garden by Jean. 

Gundry property, Gowrie Junction (27° 27’ 57” S, 151° 53’ 27” E within 200m)

Birds: Crested Pigeon, Superb Fairy-wren, White-browed Scrubwren, Weebill, Lewin's Honeyeater, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Striped Honeyeater, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Olive-backed Oriole, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Silvereye, Double-barred Finch.

Butterflies: Lesser Wanderer Danaus chrysippus.