October 19th 2009
Week 5
Monday - Day 29
By 9 a.m. we were set to leave Narrogin but phoned the Barma Mia sanctuary at Dryandra to book in for a night walk. Alas they were trapping all week and all tours were cancelled until Friday. Damn!!! Don’t they know how far we have travelled???
Undaunted we packed up and made our way out to the Congelan Camping Ground and set ourselves up in the regal manner to which we are accustomed. The fire wood and concrete pit set up for us by the rangers were definitely appreciated.
The camp is established around an old railway siding, long since dismantled with only a few remnants of its past glory. We are in an individualised setting with grass surrounds and mainly sheoak trees to attract the birds. The concrete fire pit and table complex makes the whole quite acceptable.
I walked around the area nearby but found little but very annoying flies. Eventually after a late breakfast we ventured to the Old Mill Dam where we did a one hour plus walk through the bush. We netted some rufous treecreepers which was a highlight but not the numbats which we are here to see. The Dryandra Village was our next stop, a place for group accommodation and the like. Fortunately a visiting scientist from DEC came out to speak to me and gave me a quick overview on how to spot numbats.
Back at camp we organised ourselves and following another walk in the area. I started a camp fire. The logs supplied by the ranger were great and we enjoyed a luxurious meal of steak, caramelised onions, grilled herb tomatoes and salad.
We’re enjoying a warm camp fire with copious glasses of wine. Thank God I can fix the typos caused by tonight’s over indulgence! The sky again is filled with stars. The occasional call of a mopoke or startled cockatoo breaks a warm silence. Add to that the occasional wind that causes a whistling sound through the sheoaks and you have a great atmosphere.
Bird Sightings: Australian grebe, Yellow plumed honeyeater, Rufous treecreeper, Purple crowned lorikeet, Sacred kingfisher, 138 birds 4 new birds
Dryandra
October 20th 2009
Tuesday - Day 30
My early morning walk got me lost at the CongeIin Dam. I netted a red tailed black cockatoo which was exciting as all I’ve seen so far are short billed white tails.
I was keen to find a numbat so Glenda and I had a quick breakfast and reached the start of a 2 hour walk at 9 a.m. Yesterday’s researcher described them as “lazy little buggers …who are around about 9 a.m. and back in their burrows an hour before sunset”.
With this in mind I started off promptly leaving Glenda to read around the Old Mill Dam as the track is fairly uphill according to the brochure. That’s pretty much how I found it asI crossed a couple of ridges and passed through some different terrain and plant types. I’m not into flora in a big way but some of these trees looked like light iron barks with pastel shading. Lots of dead logs and branches were about with the occasional pink ribbon nearby. Were these places the researchers had marked? No bloody idea!
For two hours I tramped, stopping occasionally to listen and try to detect some movement. The more I looked the more I realised how little I knew of them. Did they make a call? Did they hop, scurry or sneak? Frustrating! I was eventually rewarded with an echidna in an area where I thought I might be lucky. As echidnas enjoy termites than maybe numbats might be around to share in the prize.
I returned to Glenda and we returned to the van. It was time to try the new shower tent. I put the generator on and Glenda prepared the electric shower pump and boiled some water. Looking like the Tardas Glenda entered and soon had the water flowing. From the outsides the shower tent looked sturdy enough but from the inside the sound of …someone showering was all I could fathom. She emerged 5 minutes later a refreshed and cleansed person. My turn followed with no incident.
It was good to have christened the shower and yes, it does make bush camping manageable. As long as we’ve got fuel and water we can stay out until the supplies fail. Battery power isgreat for the van and with the extra battery for the Waeko we’re doing it well.
Glenda cooked up some strawberry pikelets for lunch which made another outing a possibility. This time we headed back to Old Mill Dam and did the 23 km Darwinian Drive that led us back to our campsite. No numbats and not many cars about.
Tonight’s repast was a gnocchi bake with salad. I don’t cook at all well so I tended to the camp fire. Apparently no fires are allowed in the open from November 1st, so we’ve 11 more days to enjoy the special warmth of an open fire.
Not long after nightfall I put the torch on and gave a preliminary sweep of the forest floor. A tiny glint like the reflection of glass or a tiny eye caught my attention. It was about 20 metres away and appeared white. I ventured towards it expecting a tiny piece of glass or tin. As I reached down to touch the spot a wolf spider, no more than two centimetres from top to toe moved slightly. I moved considerably further! I’m not arachnophobic but the last thing I expected was a reflection from a tiny spider over 20 metres away. Who said I was going blind?
Bird Sightings: Red tailed black cockatoo, , Sittella (race piliata), 140 birds 4 new birds, ECHIDNA
October 21st 2009
Wednesday - Day 31
Today was numbats or break day. I’d tramped much of the walking trails and the area within the vicinity of the camp plus we had driven many trails and roads. Glenda wanted to drive to Williams to get a new kettle for the gas stove so around 9.45 she headed off while I geared up for a last walk.
The day was warming up as I headed west along a track that paralleled the main dirt road on the tourist drive. There were more branches and limbs on this side so I thought I’d have a chance. About 3 kilometres along and a turn to the north I ran into an older couple, Trevor and June who had come from the eastern direction of the T intersection we were standing at. After a chat I retraced their walk as they had spotted a numbat the previous year “just after the next right turn”.
I soon spotted two new birds for the trip but realised Glenda would be starting to worry given my ability to lose myself in the bush. The walk to the next intersection was up and down some small hills and gullies but looked good for numbats. A few scratchings in termite mounds was encouraging. By 11.15 I knew I wasn’t going to get back on time so I started to do a Cliff Young shuffle, not that I couldn’t jog or run the distance, but because it was the safest way with my camera back pack, binoculars, water bottle and any other item that might help me convince you that I’m still capable of speed and endurance.
I arrived around midday and Glenda admitted she was a little uneasy about where I was. She had no luck with the kettle so we’re boiling water up in a saucepan. The ranger came by and said we could have one more night with an open fire which was reassuring.
Early afternoon we did the 8 km trek I did this morning in the car to see if our luck might change. Sadly it didn’t so the numbat has escaped us and so has its chance to get its photo splashed on this diary and our blog site. I don’t know who is more put out.
Bird Sightings: Western spinebill, Tawny crowned honeyeater, Black fronted dotterel , 143 birds 4 new birds , WESTERN RINGED TAILED POSSUM
Dryandra - Collie
October 22nd 2009
Thursday - Day 32
“I’ll never understand a friendly possum.” Or should that read,
“I’ll never stand under a friendly possum” again!
Last night at our last camp fire two adult and two juvenile western ring tailed possums came down from the trees outside our awning to say hello. I enticed them with some apple to which they retreated up and down the tree. As I waited patiently by the trunk I was suddenly rained upon. Is that any way to treat the hand that’s feeding you?
We left Dryandra numbatless and said our goodbyes to Trevor and June who were about to head off on their search. After three days and around thirty kms we scored numb feet as opposed to numbats. I may laugh about it one day.
Our drive took us through taller forests and grazing land until we reached Collie. This place is built on coal mining and has a rich history in this industry. Lots of dams and picnic areas are advertised but we need some time in the van cleaning up. Glenda spent most of the afternoon on the computer helping Em with an assignment while I basically lazed about.
Tonight we went out for a meal just to give Glenda a break from the cooking and me a break from the dishes. $88! It’s a mining town with big wages but hey! What about the retired nomads? Give us a break. And the meal was ordinary. We’ll not go out for a meal again until Ceduna on the way home and oyster heaven.
Collie
October 23rd 2009
Friday - Day 33
The sky remained overcast all day as Glenda worked on updating the blog site. I drove to the river that runs through the town but it wasn’t inspiring. It seemed to be struggling, whether from drought or perhaps the damming projects in the area.
I scored an eastern swamphen or pukeko as the New Zealanders call them plus three of its chicks. I spotted some Sydney grey gums and some spotted gums by the river. Huge trees and obviously planted by some early town planner who appreciated Australian natives.
Glenda made a chilli con carne for lunch on rice with a dollop of natural yoghurt. This set us up for the rest of the day.
Early afternoon two English people from Perth arrived to set up their van next to us. The guy asked us for some help with his awning as they weren’t too experienced. It was an older model to ours but Glenda worked out quickly that it was the same design in principle. They were both impressed with her skill as am I.
It’s a sad fact that I need structure in my life. While I love spontaneity and taking the opportunity when it arises I find it very difficult to just wait for things to happen. Consequently I’ve been very restless this week as we’ve no real plan for the next few weeks other than some vague timeline and places to see. Glenda realised the symptoms so today we listed the things we wanted to do and the places we wanted to see. As a result a schedule has emerged that will see us moving sensibly around in an anticlockwise direction, taking in most of the places we need to visit and allowing us to inform friends and colleagues when we might be able to meet up.
That done I’m feeling so much better. I’m definitely not a control freak but I do like some control in what’s happening. We can redo or reschedule as needed.
Bird Sightings: Eastern swamphen, 144 birds 4 new birds
Collie – Workers Pool
October 24th 2009
Saturday - Day 34
We left Collie around 9.30 a.m. after giving our neighbours, Martin and Wendy some help with their awning one more time. It reminded me of the trouble we had with our first awning years ago, the one that broke off on route down Tathra NSW way and we didn’t realise it had gone for about 100 kms later. Backtracking failed to find it. I’m sure Martin and Wendy will soon get the hang of it as we did although we still have the occasional over 50s moment.
Today’s plan was to visit a small town known for its art and novelty shops followed by a drive towards Nannup for a river camp. We reached Balingup around 11 a.m. and enjoyed the shops which included a goldsmith and another devoted entirely to lavender products. Hmmm..some of the claims of these lavender mixes sound worth trying…
Unfortunately the site at Wright’s Bridge had been burnt out and too dangerous to stay at. As a consequence we moved on through small winding hills to Nannup. On the way we tried again to photograph W.A. kangaroo paw which is a prolific wild flower on the edge of many roads. The park was small and was asking $30 per night with power or $28 without. The woman in the info centre was very helpful and suggested we try Workers Pool in the forest about seven kms out of town. A bird list that gave Baudin’s cockatoo and not Carnaby’s convinced me that a night or two there would be worthwhile.
The campsites were well put together and separated with fire places. Signs said no fires after 1st December so we collected some wood during the afternoon at various times. The pool itself wasn’t inviting so we walked the 1.3 kms to Barrabup Pool which was much better set out and somewhat like the pools around Creswick in Victoria where I spent some great times in my youth. We came across lots of wild flowers including cows lip orchids and old man’s beard.
A chance meeting with a giant skink was rewarding, it was over 30 cms long.
Late afternoon the first of many red tail cockatoos came over. They are more robust looking than the white tailed blacks with a more prominent crest. How I was going to recognise the Baudin species was interesting. It really came down to the difference in the birds’ respective calls. Birds have a range of calls, some to make continuous contact with their flock or as an alarm to warn them. With the red tails, apart from the obvious red tails and large crest their calls have a screech that is basically one syllable. It is not as highly pitched as the Carnaby black tail so they were easy to distinguish.
The two white tail blacks were the problem. Every guide states that they are practically identical with the exception of the beak. Baudin’s black tail has a slightly longer beak that is specialised for breaking into the nuts of the tall marri and jarrah trees. Unfortunately when perched their beaks are often covered by their cheek feathers which are pushed forward. Given the height of the trees a clear visual sighting is difficult.
The solution then, apart from the habitat is in the calls. Both species occasionally mix so the Carnaby, which prefers smaller trees and is found from the wheat belt that we just came from to coastal areas, is also found in taller forests with Baudin cockatoos. A single pair of white tailed black cockatoos appeared late afternoon. Their calls to each other were different to Carnaby calls. I can illustrate this although describing bird calls is always going to be difficult. Both birds have a three syllable call within their repertoire. It sounds like “Maria” but each is enunciated differently. So “how do you solve a problem like Maria”? (sorry). The Carnaby species sounded much higher in its pitch and was drawn out with an upward emphasis on the middle syllable; “mareeeah…mareeeaah”. Baudin’s cockatoo was quicker and the emphasis was equal on all three syllables; “mareeah, mareeah”. I hope this is meaningful and worthwhile. For me it’s the second time I’ve ever relied on sound as my prime source for identifying a bird, the first time without having a recording to compare it with.
Tonight we were entertained by more possums, this time a young one on its mother’s back made for a cute display. No, I did not fall for the standing under the tree trick.
Bird Sightings: Baudin’s Black cockatoo, 145 birds 5 new birds, GIANT SKINK
October 25th 2009
Sunday - Day 35
It was a warm night with a slight tilt in the level of the van that caused me to slowly slide towards the bottom of the bed. Another night of lost sleep will find me irritable which is not a pretty thought.
I took a stroll around the camp grounds around 8ish just in time for the cockatoos to do their fly over. Over about 60 minutes mostly red tails hopped from treetop to treetop always avoiding a direct pathway over our clearing. This was a bit frustrating as a wanted a picture of one to illustrate the points I made yesterday least I sound the complete twit. One female was fleetingly obliging for a quick shot which revealed the large crest and the spots on her feathers that are absent from the white tails.
The day started a little chilly as demonstrated by a family of white breasted robins that fluffed up at their morning conference.
It was a hot day and we read or knitted for much of it. I did a few short walks but generally it was enjoy the bush and whatever. A chance meeting with a bungarra was worth a close up of this big goanna. Tomorrow we’re heading to the coast near Busselton. I’m meeting up with some martial arts groups for two trainings before heading down towards Margaret River and more new territory.
No comments:
Post a Comment