I was serenaded by the channel-billed cuckoo flying over the CBD as I
rode into Brisbane this morning - I guess it was on its way to the
Spring Hill fig trees for a decent feed.
I went on an overnight bushwalk to Mt Ballow on the w/e. Although hot,
the sky was very clear and we had stunning views of virtually all of the
scenic rim. We made good time along the rim, crossing Mowburra,
Durramlee, Double Peak before arriving at Junction Pk in the early
afternoon.
Aside from the joy of traversing nothofagus forest and glorious views
from the lookouts, one of the main treats was the presence of a flock of
needletails. They were quartering the Ballow Rim for the entire hour we
spent eating our lunch on the summit of Double Peak.
Sitting at 1260 metres, we had very close views of the needletails as
they frequently passed within 5-10 metres of us [we could see the rufous
on their backs and hear their wings slicing through the air]. They
treated us to some excellent formation flying and it was interesting to
watch them "waggling" like jet fighters.
They obviously liked the Ballow environs, because they were zipping past
our ears while we had morning tea on a lookout near the top of Big
Lonely the next day.
>From an oenological perspective, the highlight of the walk was sitting
back on the nothofagus clad summit of Ballow, listening to the scrub
wrens, whistlers, warblers, rosellas, currawongs, thrushes and lyrebirds
calling while drinking a bottle of Krondorf Special Release 1987
Coonawarra/McLaren Vale cab sav.
>From a botanical perspective, another highlight came when we broke out
of the rainforest halfway down the nose of Big Lonely and emerged into a
stringybark forest - some of the trees were over two metres in diameter.
We were down at Barney Ck in time for lunch and a very nice dip in the
creek [the water temperature was just right]. On our way back to the
car we had a brief look at a grey goshawk [I do wonder how many times
I've atlassed the same bird] and a more extensive view of a flock of
glossy cockatoos having a feed in the casuarinas. It was readily
apparent that glossies are the smallest of the black cockatoos, and one
of them was making a sort of juvenile begging call. The sound of all
the nut cracking activity was rather like someone making popcorn.
The joys of atlassing.
Laurie.
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