The ‘NEWLINE PADDOCK’, definitely not the same thing as
Newline Quarry, which as the sign says is 2km down the road. For its few
small hectares, this sheep-harbouring enclosure has been chock-full of birds at
times, including Hooded Robins, a nesting Little Eagle and, back in 1995 when
it was first attracting attention, a pair of Regent Honeyeaters. The
paddock is one of a series that served to hold stock back when the abattoirs at
Oaks Estate was operating, and is in a buffer zone under the Canberra airport
flight path. At the top corner a fortified crater was a fireworks store
from the Golden Age of the Roman Candle in the ACT, and is now used for other
hazardous materials. With less variety of birds these days since
the lush weed growth has been largely eliminated, its signature species are
Brown Treecreeper, Crested Shrike-tit and Peaceful Dove.
