A keen group
of Nats, for once carrying their morning tea, set off from the car park at
Crows Nest National Park to walk about a kilometre to the Falls. It was a mild,
sunny morning for a stroll through the eucalypt forest.
There were bird sightings (see Bird List) and several
flowering shrubs that created great interest. Among the latter was the Seven
Dwarfs Grevillea, Grevillea floribunda subsp. tenella (Crows Nest Form) (photo below). Some
specimens were flowering well and were a magnet for photographers, since we
were in the only location where this grevillea is found. There was also a local
variety of correa, Correa reflexa, with very straight, pure green
flowers that were partially concealed by a pair of folded-down leaves. Slender
Westringia, Westringia eremi-cola, was also in bloom.
Moth larvae had
been at work on the Soap Ash, Alphitonia excelsa. The smaller instars
behaved as leaf miners, with older caterpillars making quite conspicuous
shelters from the leaves by pulling the two sides together.
On reaching the Falls, the group admired the granite cliffs and creek
falling twenty metres to the rockpool below, before finding themselves perches
on rocks or logs for morning tea. The highlight of this stop was the very close
sighting of a Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby that did not seem at all fazed by a
large party of chatting Nats. Some then took the more challenging walk to the
Lookout with views of The Valley of the Diamonds. Others wandered back via the
lower creek track and Bottlebrush Pool, where they had a very interesting
encounter with the President of the Australasian Native Orchid Society (Qld),
Graham Corbin, who happened to be searching for orchids with his parents, also
enthusiasts. Graham was very generous with his time and expertise, and led
several Nats to the tiny but exquisite flowering Acianthus exertis and
Chiloglottis diphylla. He explained that the latter uses sexual
deception to ensure pollination by specific wasps. The orchid's lip has raised
calli whose structures mimic the flightless female of the wasp pollinator.
Back at the picnic area, the Nats enjoyed lunch before setting off for
Tricia and Adrian Allen's property at Grapetree. Their extensive garden was at
its best, having been open to the public the previous weekend. Every-one
enjoyed a walk and then the excellent afternoon tea Tricia provided. It was
hard to think of going home and many lingered, there being few better places
for a chat and stroll on a sunny winter afternoon.
Thank you, Tricia and Adrian, for sharing your
beautiful property and for your generous hospitality.
Bird List (Complied by Tricia Allen from
Members’ sightings)
Straw-necked Ibis, Wonga Pigeon, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, King Parrott,
Pale-headed Rosella, Tawny Frogmouth, Laughing Kookaburra, Variegated Fairy
Wren, Red-backed Fairy Wren, White-throated Gerygone (H), Spotted Pardalote,
Brown Thornbill, White-browed Scrub Wren, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Eastern
Spinebill, Noisy Miner, Yellow-faced Honey-eater, Scarlet Robin, Eastern
Whipbird (H), Rufous? Whistler (H), Grey Shrike-thrush, Grey Fantail,
Australian Magpie, Torresian Crow, Currawong, Red-browed Finch.
(Report by Diane Pagel)
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| Seven Dwarfs Grevillea, Grevillea floribunda subsp. tenella, |
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| Podaxis beringamensis |
Above photos taken by Mike Ford
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