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Giday all,
The lower blue mtns is looking a little the worse for
wear..all of my favourite local bird watching spots are very black and some are
still smoking. Hope others on the list in affected areas are safe and
well.
Before the fires came too close I managed to get
down to got to my local Sooty Owl roost, an hours walk from home (near Glenbrook
Creek). Got great views of an adult bird cave roosting in excellent light. It
didn't seem too worried by my presence and gawking....3 days later this gully
was burnt by the fires, as yet I haven't been able to check the roost as the
track down is still smoking...
I was able to tag along with the local bush fire
brigade when they back burnt across the Hwy from my house, just in case any
injured wildlife came out. Surprisingly very few aminals were seen appart from
Lampropholis and Saproscincus skinks. One juvenile Satin Bowerbird made its own
way out of the fire, but no parent birds have been back. Unfortunately I found
one dead ringtail possum in the burnt area.
I went spotlighting 4hrs after the burn (with hard
hat firmly in place) and was pleaseantly surprised to see 5 Bushtail
possums emerging from hollows in the burnt area. It will be interesting
to watch the return of animals to the area as it recovers.
The Crested Hawks were calling loudly from my front
garden yesterday, proably looking for somewhere away from the fires.
Cheers,
Graham Turner
Blaxland,
Lower Burnt Mtns, NSW
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