G'day to all,
From the 20th to the 28th September I camped in and
explored Gluepot, just north of where the Murray enters from
VIC into SA. This was my first trip to the
reserve, and it was everything and more than what I had heard and expected.
No doubt delightful Spring weather added its own charm as did the arrival of
various inland species of birds. As many would know, this and adjoining areas
contain one of the largest old Mallee woodlands in Australia. I have been in
quite a few areas of Mallee, but none was so beautiful as Gluepot. It was an
idyllic trip and time, with generally warm golden days and cool starry nights.
The area was simply alive with birds. Not only diversity of species, but numbers
of species.
The woodlands rang with the calls of White-wing
Trillers, White-browed, Dusky and Masked Woodswallows, White-fronted, Pied and
Black Honeyeaters, as well as the more common Yellow-plumed and White-eared
Honeyeaters. Budgerigars, Cockatiels and of course Galahs and the resident
Australian Ravens and Little Crows,Yellow-rumped form of the Spotted Pardalote
and the Black Mallee form of the Grey Currawong, Mulga
Parrots, Purple-crowned Lorikeets, Blue Bonnets and Ringnecks added not
only to the song of the bushland, but colour as well. I have never seen so many
Black-eared Cuckoos, Chestnut-rumped Thornbills and Chestnut Quail-thrush, and
while they were not so common as in other places, Shy Heathwrens and Southern
Robins were calling and making timid appearances.
In open areas Crimson and Orange Chats were putting
in an appearance with their White-fronted cousins. The Painted Honeyeaters, at
least six, were still on the reserve, excitedly calling and flying among the
flowering Mallee with the Woodswallows, and other birds. It was busier than
Bourke Street at peak hour, with all the comings and goings of the birds at mid
morning. It was good to see flocks of Blue-winged Parrots, and for the first
time Little Corellas were recorded on the reserve, as were Banded Stilts.
Striated Grasswrens were elusive, but regularly put in an appearance, as did the
Malleefowl.
Several straight Black-eared Miners were also seen,
though most of the nearby resident flocks of miners showed evidence of
hybridization with the Yellow-throated Miners. As many would know a project
underway, led by Rohan Clarke, is seeking to relocate the more obviously
Yellow-throated Miners to other areas in an effort to assist the more straight
Black-eared Miner genepool strengthen. Rohan said that in the area not open to
the public on the reserve, there are good straight Black-eared Miner
colonies.
There were also unexpected glimpses of birds such
as Spotted Harriers, and one couple Steve King and his wife saw a pair of
Scarlet-chested Parrots. This was the one bird I was after for my life list, but
I was not meant to see it this trip. Just before my arrival an Australian
Pratincole had been sighted also. There were good numbers of White-browed
Treecreepers, and there were several sightings of Red-lored Whistlers. I was
pleased to see a pair. Gilbert's Whistlers were everywhere, making the bush
simply ring with their glad calls. There was evidence of many birds breeding.
The flora of the area was equally breathtaking - at
least to me it was! In the open stands of Mallee and Belah the light on the
regularly scattered Blue bush, with its silver blue colours glowing in the
golden Spring sunshine, the odd yellow flowering Desert Cassia and Thorny Acacia
and various Eromophelia, everlasting white and yellow daisies and weeping
silver bushes with delicate lilac flowers made a picture not easily
forgotten. Among the flowering scattered herbs and grasses the red soil was
coated with a striking dark sepia patina and white, lime and silver lichen.
There were many wildflowers - I wish a knowledgeable person in the local flora
was there to explain and name the varieties to be seen. The way the trees in
many parts grew wide apart, almost in glades, let in the light, giving a magical
depth of space and serenity. I was struck with the number and variety of
Butterflies as well - the blue and pink-mauve varieties were especially
beautiful - again I wished there was someone to explain and name
them.
