For those of you who may not have been there, GrQ15 is part of
Canberra's eastern 'nose'. It is bisected by the Goulburn-Queanbeyan
railway, which also forms the ACT/NSW boundary. The section between the
railway and the Kings Highway is nearly all pine plantation (Kowen) but
there is a buffer strip between the pines and the railway line. The
conservation value of the buffer has been much reduced because it has
mostly been previously cleared, it has an operations track through it
and a firebreak has been bulldozed through it as well. It looks very
messy even from space (Google). Within GrQ15, all parts of the southern
side of the railway are abutted by what I assume to be private land. The
country is undulating. Some of the pasture is well-managed and looks
productive. Some has been almost entirely cleared with only scattered
mature trees remaining. Some of the pasture is reverting back to bush.
There is also a fairly dense stand of remnant vegetation. This ranges
from the poor higher elevation areas with E. Rossi and lower
areas/valleys which have Yellow Box and a mixture of other gums. I am
not sure what happens with GrQ15 further south but believe that it has
the Molongolo flowing through it. This morning I walked about 6km
through Q15, birding as I went. I covered part of the pine plantation, a
considerable length of the buffer strip and then walked along the
railway adjacent to the private lands. The tally was 31 species.
Notable for their absence were: Speckled Warbler, Brown Treecreeper,
Hooded Robin and the raptors. Some of the country looked 'right' but
perhaps there was not enough of the right habitat and perhaps the
remnants are now too fragmented and small to sustain them. Maybe they
were there and I missed them. One area in particular looked very much
like the areas that support Hooded Robins in Mulligan's Flat.
Highlights were: White-throated Treecreepers feeding in pines,
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos ditto and Four Common Blackbirds feeding
in a Hawthorn shrub. Two Common Bronzewings were flushed from under a
Wild Cherry. There were White-eared, Yellow-faced and White-naped
Honeyeaters as well as an Eastern Spinebill and several Red Wattlebirds.
There were several Scarlet Robins and a single Flame Robin. One part of
the track through the pine forest contained hundreds of flying lady beetles.
From there I moved to the tip of Canberra's nose, to Brooks Hill
Reserve which occupies part of what I take to be the scarp formed along
the Lake George Fault and is in GrP14. The Reserve is managed by a
Trust. The western boundary of the reserve forms part of the ACT/NSW
border. The Reserve fits between the Kings Highway and the railway. The
western boundary is adjacent to private land, currently grazing sheep.
The difference in vegetation between the grazed and non-grazed areas is
stark. The Eastern boundary is adjacent to the Carlton Estate which is
distinguised by streets named after AFL teams. Tastes differ, but the
thought of living on Collingwood Street... Part of the reserve contains
the old Bungendore Road and the trees from the old road reserve are fine
specimens. Most of the rest of the reserve looks as if it was cleared,
with many small re-growth trees. There are areas of heavy mistletoe
growth. Parts of the reserve had much fallen timber. Again no Brown
Treecreeper, Speckled Warbler or Hooded Robin or a single raptor, noting
that it was in the heat of the afternoon and they might have been lying
doggo or playing possum. Apart from that, the bird list is as expected.
Highlights were five Varied Sittellas preening and a Brown Thornbill
which, with good mimicry, had me looking for a Grey Fantail.
White-eared, Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters were about. There
were two Grey Butcherbirds and four Laughing Kookaburras. The tally was
23 species.
Con
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