Natting in the Rain - Picnic Point Outing

 TFNC and ANN visitors.

TFNC With our ANN guests

The TFNC crowd came out in force to welcome our visitors from the Australian Naturalists Network, and it was great to see members who can’t always get to our outings. Luckily the weather brightened slightly and so we went ahead with the Picnic Point walk. The Fantail walk has great views out to Tabletop and further east. The flowering vines were particularly noticeable.

Smilax 

australis, Barbed Wire Vine

Lunch was also at Picnic Point, and Ed gave a short talk about the history of the Australian Naturalists Network and a vote of thanks to TFNC. The rain got heavier at this point so we abandoned the afternoon program and voted to go to the Cobb and Co Museum where the "Butterfly Man from Kuranda" exhibition was on. We all had a great time.

Clematis aristata,
Old Man's Beard

There were plenty of birds on the outing, but only a few species. The overcast to rainy weather meant they were very active and noisy. Walking down the escarpment makes great viewing as you are above or looking out to the high canopy. Some of the birds are locals, so our interstate and overseas visitors were either getting rare sightings or first sightings. These included Pale-headed Rosellas that came down to the small dam at the end of Tobruk Drive, and the male Red-backed Fairy-wren in all his finery. However the bird of the day and the one that excited our Japanese visitors the most was the Striated Pardalote going in and out of his nesting burrow in the cutting at South Street.

Members’ Bird List - 22 species: Australian Brush-turkey, Pacific Black Duck, Rainbow Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Variegated Fairy-wren, White-browed Scrubwren, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, White-throated Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Eastern Whipbird, Silvereye, Red-browed Finch.