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| Parched country near Kilkivan |
Leader: Berry Doak.
Our outing started with a visit to Mudlo National Park for a
walk and morning tea. There were thirty-six in our group, including three new
members and three guests. The park and surrounding district is badly in need of
some good rain. The creek is completely dry but a walk along the bush track
yielded some interesting birds. There was a Rose-crowned Fruit Dove spotted
sitting quietly on a branch and a White-eared Monarch calling but eluding being
spotted by most of the group. A cuckoo appeared to be following us as we walked
along the track. While there was discussion about which cuckoo it was, the
distinctive eye ring and pale feet seemed to confirm it was a Fan-tailed Cuckoo.
A flowering Giant Blood Vine spotted near the track aroused quite a deal of interest.
A Brown Falcon and a beautiful Rainbow Bee-eater
were seen as we travelled to Tony’s property.
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| Rose-crowned Fruit Dove. Photo by Vincent |
This excursion provided an interesting contrast to the two
previous excursions to properties on the upper reaches of the Mary River. The
property straddles the edges of two catchments; the Mary River catchment to the
east and the Burnett catchment to the north and west. Because the property is
further west there is less rainfall and this is reflected in the vegetation
types. The country is more open with Casuarinas lining the seasonal creeks.
Tony led the way to an area where there are patches of scrub along the
watercourse as it leads into the higher country. Clinging to some of the
callistemon trees along the creek were Dockrillia
liguiformis orchids, commonly called tongue orchids.
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| Gympie Nats under the giant fig on the hilltop. Photo B. Hughes |
After exploring the creek, the group made its way to some
large fig trees on the top of a hill where we settled down for lunch. Tony
explained some of his management practices for the property and how he stocks
according to the season. It is evident he has a strong focus on weed control
and is proud of the fact that there is no Giant Rat’s Tail Grass or Cats Claw. Each year Tony and his family walk the creeks
on the property to control weeds that may wash down when the creeks flow. Some flowering Batwing Coral Trees, Erythrina vespertilio, were interesting.
While there are few leaves and the tree has an untidy appearance, the flowers
are bright and colourful.
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| Batwing Coral Tree being visualised (Photo B. Hughes) and result |
The outing proved to be very enjoyable for me. Apart from
exploring a different type of environment, sharing the day with members who
have a great knowledge of the flora and fauna enriches the experience.
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| A Lace Monitor treed in Mudlo National Park |
Editorial addendum: As well as a reasonably good cache of
bird sightings, we also had a record butterfly day with 15 species recorded, all but one (the Evening Brown) observed on Tony’s Perret’s property,
especially along the well maintained and weed-free creek:
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| Large Grass Yellow - its caterpillars feed on cassias, sennas, and other legumes |
Swallowtails: Orchard Swallowtail, Checkered Swallowtail
Whites & Yellows: Large Grass Yellow, Caper White, Yellow
Albatross, Lemon Migrant
Nymphs & Satyrs:
Wanderer, Lesser Wanderer, Common Crow, Blue Tiger, Meadow Argus, Australian
Painted Lady, Glasswing, Evening Brown
Blues: Small Pea Blue
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| Evening Brown looking like another dead leaf on the forest floor |
