A Great Start to 2012

The members' January Get-together was time for friends to have a good chat. With 48 people sitting down for lunch in Stockyard Hall, we had almost half our membership at one function. This is quite an amazing feat for any club. Well done Natters. 

Lunch at the Hall After a scrumptious morning tea we wended our way up Sawpit Gully Road for a few kilometres. Here we parked the cars and walked back down to a little gully with steep sides covered in thick vine scrub. Butterflies were in abundance, especially the Australian Caper Gull, Cepora perimale. Members had good views of them as they settled on the damp ground at the side of the road.

Australian Caper Gull, Cepora perimale

As some Natters followed the small creek up the gully others walked up or down the road remarking on the abundance of Madeira Vine which is gradually smothering this lovely section of scrub. Noisy Pittas and Black-faced Monarchs were heard but not seen emphasizing the thickness of the vegetation as those monarchs were right above us but never showed us a glimpse of their distinctive colouring.

Then back to the Hall for lunch. We were fed until our eyes bulged and we could eat no more. It was a more leisurely stop next when we called in at Carol's place in Rockmount. While some people preferred to sit on the verandah and relax, a group went looking for koalas on the ridge and others went down to the creek. Nora became entangled with a Garden Orb Web Spider, Eriophora transmarina. These can vary greatly in colouring and patterning (For more information on this hairy little beast see www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_orbweavers/Garden_sp.htm).

Garden Orb Web Spider, Eriophora transmarina

Carol had told us about a good lookout on the way home through Preston with panoramic views from Toowoomba down to Gatton, and it was well worth the stop. While we there several members heard the Rockmount Bellbirds calling from the valley to the south-east. It was a lovely way to end the day.

Picnic Point and Tabletop from the Preston-Boundary Road

Christmas Social at Jondaryan Woolshed

Oakey Bank of NSW

Enjoying each other's company
after morning tea.

It was a perfect sunny day, but not too hot at all.

We gathered outside the old Oakey Bank of NSW and went straight in to morning tea; damper & syrup, billy tea or coffee, of course.

After being introduced to our guide, Jeff, we set off on the tour. Many of our members hadn't been to the Woolshed since their children were young so they were interested in the changes. The old homestead, and the cold house were particularly noteworthy, and there was lots of conversation in the schoolhouse. 

Being given the gen on the schoolhouse

On tour

Caper White, Belenois java

There were plenty of birds and butterflies about, but no lists were kept as it was a social day, but Ernie told us he saw a Rufous Songlark, and the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters came in close by. 

Shearing demo

Of course the highlight was the woolshed itself and the shearing demonstration. Eventually Louise, the events coordinator, had to come and tear us away as lunch was waiting. This was "Swaggie's Roast" with the beef and veges done over the open fire.

Afterwards Michael entertained us with his poem for the beardies which had us chuckling and was so appropriate for the day.

Michael entertaining us with his poem.

Then there was time to wander about by ourselves, looking at the machinery shed or some fascinating photos in the little history annexe of the Oakey Bank. We all agreed it had been a delightful day. 

Who frightened who out of their skin?
Diana at Oakey Creek

Photos by Jim Ball, Lesley Beaton & Di Turner.

Bellthorpe Camp

Happy Bellthorpe Campers with David Clark

Twenty-one exhausted but exhilarated people had a wonderful 3 days at Bellthorpe Cottage, the property of David and Wendy Clark. The weather was perfect and the views stunning.

David was an attentive host, leading all the outings, whether on the property or further afield. On the first night he also gave a talk on Bellthorpe, the cottage and the district; people, history, geology, wildlife and farming practices.

Jim, Maria and Diane 
at the shed

Glenda not only supplied us with desserts and yummy slices, but had organized some interesting activities, and everything went like clockwork. Facilities were set up in the shed making everything very easy and civilized.

Our first walk was through the rainforest down to the waterfalls. On the way David showed us points of interest and explained the difficulties in building the tracks. In true Nats style people wandered off into the bush to check out fungi or birds, or anything else that caught their eye. Diane got a glimpse of the Paradise Riflebird which made her day. 

Bellthorpe was also affected by the January deluge, and the Bellthorpe Road is still closed. The picture above was taken when a few of us had a recce in November 2010. The one at the right was taken on the camp. You can see how large logs were just swept aside like small branches. (Remember to right click on an image and open in a new tab for an enlargement.)

Happy hour

After 3 hours we were more than ready for happy hour. Good company, tasty nibblies plus a little restorative beverage soon had us ready for the evening's activites. 


Wednesday dawned bright and clear to the sound of bird song. Some early risers went on a walk down near the dams and were rewarded with good sightings of Wompoo Pigeon and Green Catbird. 

One of the dams along the creek

                                                                                 

Rose-leaf Bramble, Rubus rosifolius

At 8.30 we were ready for the day and we set off for Bellthorpe Environmental Park where the Bellthorpe Progress Association has been clearing exotic weed. At the end of one of the tracks was a lovely view of the Glasshouse Mountains with Pumicestone Passage behind.

Glasshouse Mountains View

From there we backtracked to the Bellthorpe State Forest. After squeezing us all into the 4WDs we wended our way along a forestry road until it was time for morning tea including more of Glenda's scrumptious snacks. From here we walked along the track  which meandered through rainforest grandeur with huge trees towering above us, wildflowers sprinkled at our feet, and treefern tracery.

Lunch  was at the Bellthorpe Conservation Park on the site of the old Brandon's Mill. There is very little left of the mill now, and none of the town at all. While we were there all the exotic pines were being cut out and we scavenged some of the wood for our camp fire. David had shown us photos of the mill in its heyday so this virtually empty 14 ha paddock was difficult to picture as a thriving community with a school and homes as well as the mill. In 1998 it was recommended that the area be heritage listed as one of the best preserved sawmill communities, however this obviously didn't happen. There were plenty of birds, butterflies, and flowers to keep us happy as we strolled around the site and surrounding roads.

That night after happy hour and tea we went into the rainforest searching for fireflies. It was eerily beautiful to see them flickering through the trees. Then it was back to the camp fire where Phil played some tunes on his penny whistle.

Coming back from the rainforest walk

Despite the late night we were ready at 8.30 for another walk on the property. This time to the waterfall from the upper track and back past the shed. All that was left to do was say our thank-yous to David and Glenda. David was presented with a gift and an honorary membership for 12 months. This was followed with much acclamation and determination to return. 

 

Looking from the eastern boundary
 to the western boundary with cottage and camp site

For more information on: 

Bellthorpe Cottage - http://bellthorpe.bigpondhosting.com/default.htm 

Bellthorpe National Park - http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/bellthorpe/ 

Brandon's Mill -  http://www.daff.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/50796/qld_se_saw9.pdf 

Bellthorpe in the 1950s. This is a lovely website of one man's life and family. During the 1950s they lived at Bellthorpe. He writes a good story - http://g1uqf.weebly.com/bellthorpe.html

All lists compiled from members’ sightings 

8-10 November 2011

Bellthorpe Cottage and Cabin Bird List: (26° 49’ 46” S, 152° 42’ 55” S – Bellthorpe Cottage ) Australian Brush-turkey, Pacific Black Duck, White-headed Pigeon, Spotted Dove (Spot Turtle Dove), Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Wonga Pigeon, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Topknot Pigeon, White-necked Heron, White-faced Heron, Straw-necked Ibis, Brown Goshawk, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Pale-headed Rosella, Eastern Koel, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Southern Boobook (heard), Laughing Kookaburra, Sacred Kingfisher, Dollarbird, Noisy Pitta (heard), White-throated Treecreeper, Green Catbird, Regent Bowerbird, Satin Bowerbird, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Variegated Fairy-wren, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, White-browed Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Fairy Gerygone, White-throated Gerygone, Brown Thornbill, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Scarlet Honeyeater, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Cicadabird, Crested Shrike-tit, Golden Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Spangled Drongo, Rufous Fantail, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Leaden Flycatcher, Satin Flycatcher, Black-faced Monarch, Paradise Riflebird, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Red-browed Finch. 67 species

Bellthorpe Environmental Park: (26° 51’ 50” S, 152° 44’ 48” E) Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Crimson Rosella, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Noisy Pitta (heard), Satin Bowerbird, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Lewin's Honeyeater, Eastern Whipbird, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Pied Currawong, Spangled Drongo, Rufous Fantail. 17 species

Bellthorpe State Forest: (M=Old Brandon’s Mill Site only, 26° 49’ 21” S, 152° 40’ 46” E at Crane Pivot) Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Wompoo Fruit-Dove (M), White-faced Heron (M), Purple Swamphen (M), Masked Lapwing (M), Australian King-Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Pale-headed Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, White-throated Treecreeper, Satin Bowerbird, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Variegated Fairy-wren, Spotted Pardalote, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Scarlet Honeyeater, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Cicadabird, Grey Shrike-thrush, Olive-backed Oriole, Pied Butcherbird (M), Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Paradise Riflebird, Welcome Swallow (M), Red-browed Finch. 31 Species

Miscellaneous in the Bellthorpe Area: Cattle Egret, Buff-banded Rail, Willie Wagtail. 3 species Total species: 78

Long Live the Field Nats! Our 60th Anniversary Weekend

At the tree planting

The fun started on Friday evening with a re-enactment of the first meeting held in November 1951. Ernie & Ben played the roles of President and Secretary respectively with other members playing minor parts. Diane P's script made sure there were a few laughs. Then Neil gave a good impression of a 1950s learned gentleman by the means of using a jacket and tie to change from a 21st century learned gentleman. He gave Keith Walker's talk of  "How to Study Birds" also given on that august night sixty years ago. Neil commented on the changes in our way of studying birds since then. All this was followed up with the film shown at our Club's first general meeting, "Wildlife in Bushland", kindly given to the club by Stephen Fleay, David Fleay's son. There was quite a crowd with visitors, and past members and it was a very convivial night.

Sunday was also a day of nostalgia. We met at Olcott Hall in Russell Street where Ernie gave us some history of the place, and TFNC's connection. Pastor Nick was there to allow us to look at the upstairs room where our Club had its beginnings.

From there we went on to the Bicentennial Waterbird Habitat for a lovely morning tea in the sunshine.

Neil recounting the history of the Bicentennial Waterbird Habitat

At 10.30 am precisely we planted our Grass Tree, Xanthorrhoea australis. Not only our logo but a symbol of longevity, just like Toowoomba Field Naturalist Club Inc. By then more Natters had joined us and we were quite a crowd.

Planting the Xanthorrhoea

In 1951 the Field Nats went to a property in Middle Ridge on the outskirts of Toowoomba. It probably belonged to Mr Robert Angus Moncrieff our first president who lived very close to Nielsen Park which was where we adjourned for a stroll and lunch on Sunday.

The original 3.25 hectares (8 acres) block was donated by 97 year old Mable (I believe this is the correct spelling) Nielsen in 1990 to the State Government with Toowoomba City Council acting as trustee as long as the land is utilised as a park. In 2005 two more blocks to the north were acquired making the park a reasonable bushland reserve. The park contains some of the oldest trees in Toowoomba and also part of the old bullock trail up the range. 

Lunch at Nielsen Park

Nielsen Park is close to the escarpment so there were plenty of birds, and we even glimpsed some of the local wallabies. Although as with all our bushland the exotic weeds are prevalent, there was plenty of natural bush to keep the botanists happy. It was a very pleasant pre-lunch walk. Lunch was a very social time with even more members arriving, and Ben spoke about his link to Angus Moncrieff.

We all agreed it had been a delightful day. Our thanks go to the 60th Anniversary Committee who made the celebrations such a success. Hip, hip, hooray!   


Remember to see an enlargement of any photo, right click on the image and open in a new tab.

Photos by Cheryl & Phil, and Di T.

Wildflowers at Hartmann Park, Crows Nest

Pink and cream Stylidium laricifolium

At Hartmann Park we set off with Kym and her naturalist pre-schooler, Jamie. Lovely yellow Donkey Orchids soon had the cameras clicking. We almost walked on the Chloanthes parviflora with their mauve flowers, growing on the side of the track. Xanthorrhoea was everywhere. Perhaps the highlight was the masses of Stylidium laricifolium or Tree Trigger Plant. A fascinating plant on which the narrow leaves grow in a thick mass up the stems giving the plant a furry look. The tiny pale pink, four-petalled flowers grow up the stem above the leaves. We had difficulty finding any to trigger and decided maybe the rain had set them off. Along the track we found only two specimens of  Stylidium graminifolium, a very different upright plant with fine strap leaves supporting its base.

The miniature white flowers of the Leucopogan were more difficult to see, as were the tiny flowers of the purple Hylanthus and Glycene Pea Glycine tabacina hiding in the grass.

Kym pointed out New England Blackbutts Eucalyptus montivaga and told us there was a very rare suite of eucalypts in this park. Jamie pointed out his favourite flower Pimelia linifolia. We got to smell the leaves of the Platysace lanceolata (a member of the carrot family.)

A banksia was in flower, and the very thick stem of the Parsonsia vine was easy to see. Here Kym pointed out Angophora woodsiana, another member of the unusual suite of trees. 

Amata nigriceps in a Toowoomba garden

Further along the track Jamie’s sharp eyes found a lovely black and orange moth on the underside of the Xanthorrhoea. It was a White Antenna Wasp Moth, Amata nigriceps.

Arriving back at our starting point we agreed it had been a very successful walk, and as we headed for the cars Jamie pointed out Great Cormorants flying overhead.

                                                                                                                                                   by Donalda

Applegum Bird Walk in October

By the time I arrived at Bullocky’s Rest there was great excitement as Grahame and Donalda had already seen a Buff-banded Rail which was a new species for the area. There were only five people brave enough to turn up on a rainy, early morning but we had some great birding with 44 species seen or heard in about 2 hours.

There were plenty of wildflowers in bloom especially a little Pink Rock Orchid, Dendrobium kingianum which Donalda and I found beside the track. Another delight was the sighting of two Eastern Water Dragon Physignathus lesueurii at the Pump Hole.

Pink Rock Orchid

The rain had come on more heavily by then but it didn't deter the birds with the smaller bush birds in abundance.

We arrived at Hartmann Park for morning tea, and while we were waiting beside the creek Donalda and I had a good sighting of an Azure Kingfisher. This was a new species for the park.

  

Bird List for Crows Nest Outing, compiled from members’ sightings

Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Crested Pigeon, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant (o’head), Australian White Ibis (o’head), Straw-necked Ibis (o’head), Buff-banded Rail, Dusky Moorhen, Masked Lapwing, Galah, Rainbow Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Pale-headed Rosella, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Azure Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Sacred Kingfisher, White-throated Treecreeper, White-browed Scrubwren, White-throated Gerygone, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Brown Thornbill, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Noisy Friarbird, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Olive-backed Oriole, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Rufous Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Leaden Flycatcher, Magpie-lark, White-winged Chough, Apostlebird, Welcome Swallow, Red-browed Finch.

Also seen in and around Crows Nest: Australasian Grebe, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Little Friarbird.      Total: 47 species                                                                                                                             

White Mountain, September

It was a lovely time to venture into the far western edge of the Helidon Hills area, near White Mountain. Our first stop was at the creek crossing below Greg's place to look at the havoc caused by the January flood.

Jenny & Nick in the ravaged creek

After morning tea we had an invigorating walk through his property. A particular plant of interest was the Climbing Orchid Erythrorchis cassythoides or Black Bootlace Orchid. 

Erythrorchis cassythoides 

 

The black stems

                                                                                    

Looking at the long dark stems you can see the reason for its name. Go to Trish Gardner's blog for more about this lovely orchid,  toowoombaplants2008.blogspot.com/2009/09/black-bootlace-orchid.html. Other plants that caught our attention were Large-leaf Hop-bush Dodonaea triquetra, the vulnerable Four-tailed Grevillea Grevillea quadricauda, and the Koala Fern Caustis blakai subsp macrantha. 

Four-tailed Grevillea

Plenty of Koala Fern 
on the rocky slopes

John and Bob coming through
the Koala Fern and Grass Trees

Bird list: +/- 250m from S27º 25.724'  E152º 05.377' The honeyeaters were out in force on this fine spring day. The Scarlet Honeyeaters particularly were calling and fluttering everywhere. So though there was plenty of activity only 12 species were recorded on the morning. Perhaps some quiet time beside the creek may be worth investigating in the future. We also saw Button-quail platelets. Possibly Painted Button-quail as they've been recorded at Paradise Creek which is close by. Lorikeet sp. (Rainbow/Scaly-breasted), Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Laughing Kookaburra, White-throated Treecreeper, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Pied Currawong. 

Relaxing at lunch

Photos by Lesley & Heather.