Birders,
In a moment of madness recently, Steve and I decided that we should
try and to the Grose Valley 2-day walk in a day, and for extra hippy
points we decided to take the train there and back. 27k's later and I
can hardly type, and walking is only a distant memory. But, it allowed
access to some sensational habitat and brilliant views of some
cracking birds.
We caught the train up to Mt Vic, then made good time down to Victoria
Falls. First 6k despatched in 1hr40, we were making good time and
thought we'd do it easily. Heard my first Pilotbird calling from up on
the lookout and became certain that after 18months of searching, today
would be the day when I'd finally see one of these noisy little
buggers. Mt Vic falls are spectacular; an improbable shelf of iron
rich sandstone, cantilevered out over a rubbishy shale cave, dumping
water into space from about 30m above the pool. No time for scenery
though, still 20k to go.
>From here we followed the creek downstream to where it joins the Grose
River. Plenty of Lyrebird activity was seen, though only one calling
bird was heard all day. One area in particularly had been heavily
modified by Lyrebird scratching around activity, probably the female
we saw near by. There was a section of shale and rock hillside, with
loose rocks piled at the bottom of the hill, clearly tumbled down by a
foraging bird. I was surprised at the carnage one bird could cause!
The track rolls on along beside the Grose for 7k, passing through
numerous habitats, some changing abruptly. Vine and turpentine giving
way to grasses and dry sclerophyl, melaluca forests bordering acacia
forests and the iconic Blue Gum Forest. Bird wise most of the classic
Blueys bush birds were heard at least, some seen. Fan-Tailed cuckoos
were calling, WB Scrub Wren and Brown Thornbills were positively
common. We had a great look at a family of 3 Glossies, feeding noisily
and calling quietly in some Alocasurina by the river. I had a possible
Pilotbird sighting down near the Blue Gum forest; a rusty brown bird,
bigger than an Origma, with a broad fan tail with a saw-tooth end.
Virtually couldn't have been anything else, if we were at Barren
Grounds I'd call it a Bristlebird, so maybe it was. I'm not convinced.
Later I chased a calling bird down near the river only to lose it in
the undergrowth. Some dodgy attempted calls from me didn't elicit a
response, except from a very interested Spotted Pard. It came right
down in the tree next to me, looking fairly quizical.
No time for smelling the roses though. It was 2pm before we reached
the junction for the turnoff up Perry's Lookdown, with the crux still
in front of us. The climb up from the Blue Gum Forest is a renowned
widow maker, and I wasn't feeling in the best shape. My knee was
locking into the open position every time I stopped, much like a Tin
Man in the rain. Codeine and Voltaren didn't make much of a dent, so I
just vowed to not stop walking and deal with the consequences later.
600m of stair climbing would surely sort it out. No real birdy
highlights on the way out from here, except when I flushed a Grey
Shrike Thrush from next to the track. It really wasn't happy to see
me. Onward and upward then we pushed on, the whingeing increasing with
the altitude. Topped out around 4pm, with a foreboding mist rolling
into the Valley. There we stood in triumph, shaking our fists at the
Grose, asking "is that all you've got!". Little did we know that the
5k stroll back along the road to Blackheath was actually closed to 8,
and would virtually kill both of us. First the sun went down, then the
rain started falling and still we walked, along this ridiculously long
straight road, where a passing car could be seen for minutes as it
pottered along in front of us.
Wobbled onto Blackheath Station at bang on 6, 10 hours walking with no
more than a 15 minute break at any time, for roughly 27k and a net
loss of 100m, but more like 800m down and 700m back up. A good walk
though, and thoroughly recommended, but I'd do the car shuffle next
time and avoid the 12k from trackheads to stations. Today I'm so weak
I can hardly type. I'm going to spend some time looking at Pilotbird
descriptions and pics today to check if I got enough distinguishing
features. it could still be on the lilst before the end of the day.
EB
--
Evan Beaver
Lapstone, Blue Mountains, NSW
lat=-33.77, lon=150.64
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