21.3.22
Minnippi
Having been a bit flat and de-motivated the last few weeks, due in part, to the rain, flooding (although none of my family or friends were directly affected), the war in Ukraine and the increase in fuel costs, among other more personal issues, I pushed myself to get out in the bright sunny morning.
I know I shouldn’t complain, I know I should be positive and upbeat and optimistic. I’m healthy, financially comfortable and all my family are well. I haven’t been flooded out and all my possessions lost or destroyed. I’m not being bombed or shot at by some bastard Russian with a twisted concept of how the world should be. I know all that. But some days I just feel like pulling the sheet back over my head and waiting for it all to go away.
It too will pass I guess. Sometimes I think we take so much for granted that we focus on the smallest things and allow them to dominate our thoughts and feelings. While in other parts of the city/world people are dealing with total shit in their lives. Things we can’t even begin to imagine. Its just hard to rise above the emotional stress sometimes – for me anyway. I’ll get over it.
The walk at Minnippi did little to lift my spirits. Birds were very quiet and I kept a list, but didn’t include it in my database as it was pretty poor. There was no ‘bird of the day’.
Butterflies – 8 species, nothing unexpected. In order of appearance - Varied Eggfly (3 males), Common Crow (~5), Evening Brown (2), White-banded Plane (1), Orchard Swallowtail (3 males), Wide-brand Grass-dart (3), Black Jezebel (2) and 1 Blue Triangle. I didn’t walk the Airfield Track, just got to the Raptor Lookout, had a smoke and trudged back to the car.
11.3.22
Oxley
I needed to get out and have a walk, having spent most of the last 10 days at home. On site at 6.45 I found the gate closed and so parked across the road. Fearing the worst I headed in. However, the track itself and most of the infrastructure was fine. It was clear the flood had passed through some sections at, at least, head height, but in general there was minimal damage. I was alone on the track, meeting only one other birder half way back. There was also a dead cow stinking it up on the river side of the track between the two culverts.
The birding, though, was very quiet. An almost complete absence of small birds – I saw no Fairy-wrens, Quail, Scrub-wrens or Grassbirds and only heard a couple of Lewin’s Honeyeaters and, near the end of the return walk, 4 Brown Honeyeaters. The ponds had survived well, but were largely deserted. All that invasive infernal Hyacinth had been flooded out of the main pond on the right and dumped in the small pond on the left of the track – that may be a positive outcome, if it doesn’t return.
Notably – a Pacific Black Duck pair had a family of 4 medium-sized, but flightless, ducklings which they had managed somehow to get through the flood, and a pair of Australian Grebes on the main pond were the first I’ve seen here since August 2019. Other than that it was very quiet.
Butterflies – a few, but nothing small. 3 Varied Eggflys, 4 or 5 Evening Browns, 2 Chequered Swallowtails and, 50 meters from the gate on the return walk – 2 or 3 Common Crows, 1 Purple Crow, a Glasswing and a Black Jezebel fed around a flowering tree. All looked fresh, like recent hatches which made sense as I doubt many adults would have survived the days of torrential rain and the resultant high waters.
6.3.22
Sandy Camp Wetlands
Mr D picked me up at 6 and we were on site by 6.30. Quite a birdy morning with 40+ species. Almost as many photographers/’birders’….. Nothing outstanding but an interesting contrast to the previous day’s visit to Minnippi. It didn’t appear that this area had suffered greatly from any flooding, possibly just flowed out and away without building up and the lack of any river/creek in the immediate vicinity probably made a difference.
Only a few butterflies – Common Crow (1), Evening Brown (2), Glasswing (1 – new for me for site) and the first Black Jezebel of recent months around a flowering tree opposite the entrance.
We had breakfast at 9 Bar & Kitchen.
5.3.22
Minnippi
The flood water was dropping, the rain had stopped – possibly only temporarily – the sun was shining. I thought I’d try for a walk at Minnippi. I had visited a few days ago, but had found the river so swollen the flooding reached the carpark so had had to abandon that walk.
The car failed to start just before 7. I rang RACQ and a guy was on-site within 15 minutes. The battery replaced ($250) and he was gone 10 minutes later. Amazing service!
So….. On site at 7.45. Already heat building and humidity increasing.
It was very quiet. The pond brown and dirty looking, the surrounds covered in a light brown dusting of mud and everything waterlogged and partially flooded. The water had obviously gone through the lower areas at at least waist depth.
All in all the 75 minutes I spent were very dead. I recorded 26 bird species and, a bit surprisingly, 6 butterfly species.
Bird of the morning was a Pale-vented Bush Hen I flushed from the track between the Avenue and the pond, but the perched up Oriental Dollarbird half way back along the cement track was a nice opportunity.
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| Oriental Dollarbird |
Butterflies – Common Crow (6), Evening Brown (~10), Monarch (3), Varied Eggfly (1), Cabbage White (4) and 1 Orchard Swallowtail.
The only ‘permanent’ damage appeared to be the ‘Rose-crowned Fruit Dove tree’ which had suffered a catastrophic collapse, snapping off halfway.
