Guess I will hop on the trip bandwagon. What else can
you do on a rainy day.
I was in WA in August, south-east of Perth. I spent
several days wandering around the Boyagin and Dryandra nature reserves.
Basically their bird populations are about the same. The Dryandras
(sorry, Banksias) were coming in to flower and a few eucalypts were also
flowering. This dry, low, untidy looking scrub attracts honeyeaters like
flies to a honey pot. Frequently seen were:
brown honeyeaters, tawny-crowned honeyeaters, western
spinebill, white-naped honeyeaters, yellow-plumed honeyeaters, white-cheeked
honeyeaters, singing honeyeaters, New Holland honeyeaters, red wattlebirds, also
scrubwrens, babblers and golden whistlers.
A myriad other species live in other habitats in these
reserves, but I didn’t have time to work though them all. The
honeyeaters are a photographers dream because their habits are predictable.
Red-capped robins were also seen in the she-oak thickets. Plenty of
raptors, painted button quail, bush-stone curlews, various woodswallows,
psittacines etc.
Don’t forget the mammals and reptiles. Dryandra
has a special sanctuary for small marsupials with the public allowed in for
night walks three times a week. That is a highlight not to be
missed. Numbats and woillies also live freely in the reserves, but are
not easy to see. If you spend enough time there, you are bound to come
across an echidna.
Dryandra Village is run by a non-profit organisation and offers
basic accommodation in former forestry workers’ cottages. Take
everything: food, bedding, you name it, and do your own housework before you leave.
Boyagin is equidistant from Brookton and Pingelly.
Pingelly has a motel and Brookton a B&B. Both have caravan
parks. They have pubs, but beware if you want to sleep at night. I
spent one sleepless night at a pub. The locals say the loud music from
the bar below can be heard blocks away.
For me, the trip was well worthwhile. Attached is one
of my trophies.
Margaret Leggoe
