October Outing Details - Bunya Mountains Camp, 19 - 22 October 2026 (Monday to Thursday)

The Bunya Mountains
Photo: L. Beaton

 Please contact our Secretary before Sunday afternoon (18 Oct), fassifernfieldnaturalists@gmail.com, if you are interested in joining us.

September Outing Report - Goomburra, 19 September 2026

 Adapted from the newsletter report by M See.

There were eight keen natters who met at Kurrajong Picnic Area at the Goomburra entrance on a beautiful Spring morning and we were welcomed with the appearance in the sky of not just one, but three specimens of the club’s emblem, the Pacific Baza. Surely a good sign. Male and female satin bowerbirds were ubiquitous, flying back and forth and the open woodland setting was dominated by eucalypts, casuarinas and acacias with some beautiful Clematis vines trailing over branches. Keith was keen to spot a ribbon gum, Eucalyptus nobilis, which is known in the area. He suspected some of them were, but no flowers or fruits were available to check. Manna gum campground nearby is named for the presence here of the manna gum, Eucalyptus viminalis. 

Peering into the pools
Photo: I. Reynolds

Male & female rose robin
Photo: C. Bonner

The birds drinking at nearby Dalrymple creek seemed to be cooperating for Chris and his camera, and we rambled around along its banks to see what we could see. Festoons of king orchids, Dendrobium speciosum, flowered from an overhead tree branch and an optimistic Stony Creek frog was heard calling along the creek despite the recently dry conditions. Although there was much peering into deep clear pools, no crayfish or mountain galaxias were seen. 

Festoons of king orchids,
Dendrobium speciosum
Photo: I. Reynolds

Located on what was the western slopes of the Main Range volcano, part of the charm of Goomburra is the diversity of habitats you can explore all in one place. We headed off up the mountainside passing grass trees, grey gums, brush box, and also glimpsed Piccabeen palms in nearby gullies before arriving into the cool rainforest glade of the Sylvester’s Lookout track. A soaring grey goshawk put in an appearance at the lookout and the clear weather produced a fabulous view. Being September, the long red flowers of the giant spear lillies, Doryanthes palmeri, graced the sheer cliff faces.

Natters on the North Branch track
Photo: L. Beaton

View from Sylvester's Lookout
Photo: C. Bonner

Fauna list (compiled from member observations over three days by club recorder)

introduced species = *

Amphibians: Stony Creek frog Litoria lesueuri.

Arachnids: trapdoor spider sp. Arbanitis sp.

Birds (44 species): Australian brush-turkey, brown cuckoo-dove, wonga pigeon, shining bronze-cuckoo, southern boobook, Pacific baza, grey goshawk, laughing kookaburra, sulphur-crested cockatoo, crimson rosella, little lorikeet, rainbow lorikeet, Australian king parrot, Albert’s lyrebird, satin bowerbird, whitethroated treecreeper, superb fairy-wren, brown honeyeater, white-naped honeyeater, eastern spinebill, Lewin's honeyeater, yellow-faced honeyeater, bell miner, noisy miner, red wattlebird, noisy friarbird, spotted pardalote, brown gerygone, yellow-throated scrubwren (nest only), white-browed scrubwren, large-billed scrubwren, brown thornbill, golden whistler, grey shrike-thrush, eastern whipbird, varied triller, pied currawong, Australian magpie, grey butcherbird, rufous fantail, grey fantail, rose robin, eastern yellow robin, silvereye, red-browed finch.

Mammals: pademelon, *pig.

Butterflies: Macleay’s swallowtail Graphium macleayanum, small grass-yellow Eurema smilax, scarlet

jezebel Delias argenthona

September Outing Details - Goomburra, Saturday 19 September 2026

We've been to Goomburra before!

Time: 8.30am

Where: Carpark at Kurrajong Picnic Area at the park entrance

Directions: Travelling from Boonah, go to Aratula and then continue on the highway through Cunningham’s Gap until you reach Gladfield which is around 25km further on past the Gap. Turn right at Gladfield onto Goomburra Rd and after 9.3 km turn right again on to Inverramsay Rd. This road continues east for approximately 26km (with a name change to Forestry Reserve Rd) to the park entrance. There are a number of creek crossings to negotiate though they shouldn't be very difficult unless we have a lot of rain between now and then!

Activities: Amble around the lower, flatter areas of the picnic area and the two nearby campgrounds and possibly take in the spectacular views on either the short (950m) Sylvesters Lookout or Mount Castle Lookout rainforested tracks in the higher sections of the park off the Lookout Road.

Level of Fitness: The Sylvesters Lookout and Mount Castle Lookout tracks are rated grade 3 and suitable for most fitness levels. (Grade 3: Formed track, some obstacles, 20km or less. May have short steep hills and many steps. Some experience recommended.) 

Facilities: Picnic tables, wood BBQs. Toilet facilities at the two campgrounds. No water available, and if using the bbq, possibly your own wood.

What to Bring: suitable clothing and footwear for walking in the bush, morning tea (and lunch if you want), drinks, chair, binoculars, insect repellent and sunscreen.

Upon Arrival: Please register in the Attendance Book and pay your $2 per person participant fee. 

August Outing Report - Mt French, 15 August 2026

brown wattle Acacia bruniodes

The Mt French outing is always a botanical event, and Keith and Barry didn't let us down with their knowledge of the local flora. We were a little disappointed with the flowering though the brown wattle Acacia bruniodes and the Brisbane wattle A. fimbrata put on a display. The Bossiaea rupicola had finished flowering, and the Jacksonia scoparia didn't look if it was going to flower at all. 

Brisbane Wattle, Acacia fimbrata

We came across some magnificent spider sacs on our way to the east cliff lookout. Nobody seemed to get a good photo of them so I've used one from my garden. They are quite amazing. 

magnificent spider,
Ordgarius magnificus

Once at the lookout, most members listened to Keith explain the rock formations, Barry checked out the flora, and I watched a couple of Elegant Snake-eyed Skinks or Wall Skinks Cryptoblepharus virgatus.

The heath offered us much more in the flowering shrub line, such as small-fruited may Gaudium microcarpum once known as Leptospermum microcarpum, and New England beard heath Styphelia neoanglica.

Species Lists compiled by the Club Recorder from members observations.

introduced species = _* 

Fauna

Arachnids: magnificent spider Ordgarius magnificus – egg sacs. Birds: pale-headed rosella, white-throated honeyeater, eastern spinebill, Lewin's honeyeater, noisy miner, spotted pardalote, white-throated gerygone, white-browed scrubwren, brown thornbill, pied currawong, grey fantail, Torresian crow. Marsupials: red-necked wallaby. Other Invertebrates: Ants; spiny ant sp. Polyrhachis sp. Reptiles: Dragons; lace monitor or goanna Varanus varius - injured. Skinks; elegant snake-eyed skink Cryptoblepharus pulcher (sometimes called fence, or wall skink).

Flora discussed or taken note of on the day (not a comprehensive list):

Grasses: *red Natal grass Melinis repens. Herbs: tree trigger-plant or larchleaf triggerplant Stylidium laricifolium. Vines, Scramblers & Climbers: climbing asparagus fern Asparagus africanus, wonga vine Pandorea pandorana. Grass Trees: Johnson’s grass tree Xanthorrhoea johnsonii, coastal grass tree Xanthorrhoea latifolia. Shrubs: brown wattle Acacia brunioides, fringed or Brisbane wattle Acacia fimbriata, Bossiaea rupicola, triangle-leaved hopbush Dodonaea trianularis, hop bush Dodonaea triquetra, prickly or native hibiscus Hibiscus heterophyllus, dogwood Jacksonia scoparia – not flowering, *lantana Lantana camara, small-fruited tea tree Gaudium microcarpum [formerly Leptospermum microcarpum], Grove's paperbark Melaleuca groveana, New England bearded heath Styphelia neoanglica. Trees: kurrajong Brachychiton populneus, smooth-branched ironbark Eucalyptus dura, thin-leaved stringybark Eucalyptus eugenioides, small-leaved fig Ficus obliqu, shiny-leaved canthium Psydrax odorata subsp. buxifolia.

August Outing Details - Mt French National Park, 15 August 2026

Mt French showing its two peaks,
Punchagin on the left
 and Mee-bor-rum on the right
Photo L. Beaton

Time: 8.30 am 

Where: Mt French N.P. car park

Directions: Travel south of Boonah on the Rathdowney Road for about 750m. Turn right at the Dugandan Hotel into Mt French Road and follow it all the way to the parking area at the top of the mountain; bitumen road all the  way.

Mt French is a very popular place for climbers on the weekends so the car park can become crowded. If you can arrange to take someone with you in your vehicle it would help, as parking is limited in the parking area. 

Activities: This morning outing will suit all fitness levels though the Mee-bo-rum track goes over rocky heath with stone slabs. Apart from admiring the views from the North and East lookouts we will be doing our usual birding, butterfly and insect identification, and especially noting the native flora though it may be too early for flowering. The vegetation is mostly montane heath on exposed rock faces with open eucalypt forest in areas with more soil. In sheltered areas there  are some patches of rainforest. Endemic flora species occur on the peaks that can be found nowhere else on earth.

Level of Fitness: All levels of fitness, mainly flat track or flat rock slabs. (Grade 2: Formed track. May have gentle hills and some steps. Clearly signposted. No experience required.)

Facilities: toilets and picnic tables

What to Bring: Morning tea, a chair (just in case there’s not enough room at the tables), enthusiasm, and love of our local environment.

Upon Arrival: Please register in the Attendance Book and pay your $2 per person participant fee. 

July Outing Report - Purga Nature Reserve, 18 July 2026

Scarlet Robin, Petroica boodang
Photo: G. Pardey

Harding's Paddock was closed due to a wild pig infestation, so the Natters went to Purga Nature Reserve instead.

A very interesting sighting they had was the Scarlet Robin. It happily posed for photographs.  A pair of Australian King Parrots were caught on camera, as well.

 

Scarlet Robin, 
Petroica boodang
Photo: G. Pardey

  

Female Australian King Parrot,
Alisterus scapularis
Photo: G. Pardey

Male Australian King Parrot,
Alisterus scapularis
Photo: G. Pardey

********************************         More to come.         **********************************

June Outing Report - Spring Creek Rd:Rabbit Fence and Queen Mary Falls, 20 June 2026

 Adapted from the newsletter report by H & K McCosh

Keeping to the fenceline
Photo: L. Beaton

A clear blue sky greeted us in June when we went for a ramble up on Main Range. There are some huge trees near the rabbit fence. The Brush Box are humungous – and they perhaps look like 
coppice growths – very, very, old coppice. The central trunk dies but the root ball sends up a few coppice shoots in a ring around the old trunk. So, the root ball may be 2,000 years old. Maybe germinated after a serious fire along the rocky ridge?

Then there were a few huge Teak trees (Crow’s Ash or Flindersia australis) over 2 metres in diameter. They were no doubt too big to log. Just a rare treasure now. 

We all listened to a couple of Albert’s Lyrebird singing out their repertoire of bird songs and symphonies. Winter is their breeding season so the males hold a territory and sing all day. 

A stately Crows Ash, 
a rainforest remnant
Photo: L. Beaton

Then off down the valley and up and over to Spring Creek area. Such spectacular scenery and sheer cliff walls of the Condamine Gorge. We eventually got to Queen Mary Falls for a walk and lunch. Some folk saw a Platypus in a pool below the falls. How cute is that?

We were surprised by the number of Yellow Box (E. melliodora) trees in the picnic area. Of course, further west is the Darling Downs and a different Bioregion (Brigalow Belt Bioregion) and a lot of different box trees. A bird of note was a Raven – very distinctive call. We don’t usually see them except when “out west” further.

After the bird tally we rambled back home. A very pleasant outing indeed.

Platypus at Queen Mary Falls
Photo: C. McAllen

Species Lists

introduced species = _*

Rabbit Fence Fauna

Arachnids: Ticks; Bush Tick Haemaphysalis longicornis.

Birds: Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Laughing Kookaburra, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Albert's Lyrebird, Satin Bowerbird, White-throated Treecreeper, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote, Brown Gerygone, White-browed Scrubwren, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Thornbill, Golden Whistler, Eastern Whipbird, Pied Currawong, Australian Magpie, Grey Butcherbird, Australian Raven, Eastern Yellow Robin.

Butterflies: *Wanderer Danaus plexippus, Small Green-banded Blue Psychonotis caelius.

 Queen Mary Falls Fauna

Arachnids: Ticks; Bush Tick Haemaphysalis longicornis.

Birds: Laughing Kookaburra, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella, Little Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Satin Bowerbird, Superb Fairy-wren, White-naped Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Bell Miner, Noisy Miner, White-browed Scrubwren, Golden Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Pied Currawong, Australian Magpie, Australian Raven.

Monotremes; Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus.

Flora discussed or taken note of on the day (not a comprehensive list):

Fungi: lots, but most remain unidentified.

Orchids & Epiphytes: Pencil Orchid Dendrobium teretifolium, Greenhood sp., Orange Blossom Orchid Sarcochilus falcatus, australis, Staghorn Platycerium superbum, Elkhorn Platycerium bifurcatum.

Trees: Hoop Pine Araucaria cunninghamii, Giant Stinging Tree Dendrocnide excelsa, Yellow Box Eucalyptus melliodora, Sydney Blue Gums Eucalyptus saligna, Crows Ash Flindersia australis, Brush Box Lophostemon confertus.

July Outing Details - Hardings Paddock, Flinders - Goolman Conservation Reserve, 18 July 2026

The Bush Stone-Curlews seen
when we last visited "the Paddock"
in 2022.
Photo: J. Flanagan

Date & Time: 8:30am, 18th July 2026

Where: Hardings Paddock off Carmichaels Road, Flinders Goolman Conservation Reserve, Goolman.

Directions: From Boonah head north on the Boonah-Ipswich Road for approximately 38km then turn right into Carmichael Road. 

From Ipswich direction head south about 5km from
Yamanto on the Ipswich-Boonah Road and turn left into Carmichael Road. 

Carmichael Road is mostly unsealed but no problem for normal cars. Follow the road for about 4km through a couple of right-angle bends until you come to the gate for the reserve, then down the hill to parking and amenities.

Activities: Excellent for a wide range of bush birds of dry eucalypt open forest and some waterbirds (according to Birds QLD). Rose Robin, Thornbills and Jacky Winter likely, with Buttonquail and Quail thrush also possible. Insects may be a little light on in this cooler weather.

Level of Fitness: Easy walking on the flat around the camping/day use area and a Bush Tucker trail or, for the more enthusiastic, a short stroll up the hill on the Gamlen trail to one of the perched lagoons.

Facilities: Picnic shelters and toilets available (wheelchair accessible). 

What to Bring: BYO drinking water. As usual bring chairs and snacks and maybe a hot thermos and travel rug!

Upon Arrival: Please register in the Attendance Book and pay your $2 per person participant fee.

Go to the City of Ipswich online brochure for more details. 

June Outing Details - Rabbit Fence & Queen Mary Falls, 20 June 2026

Admiring the magnificent trees
along the Rabbit Fence

Time: 8:30 am

Where: Rabbit Fence on Spring Creek (The Head) Rd.

Directions: About 40 minutes from Boonah. 

From Boonah head south and get onto Carney’s Creek Road and then get onto The Head Road, signposted as the 'The Falls Drive' and 'Queen Mary Falls' (about 29kms from Boonah). Go right to the top, past Teviot Falls, and over the gap and down into the Condamine River valley. Wilson’s Peak will be on your left. The Rabbit Fence meets the road about 5kms past the Falls. There are places to park here.

Activities: We will take a short stroll along the rabbit fence to check out the giant Brush Box trees, and maybe hear Lyrebirds calling. This is an area of big trees, so wherever you look will be fascinating. There is lots to see just walking along the road. Then we check out some groves of eucalypt trees further down the valley – Manna Gums and New England Blackbutt. Stop off at Carr’s Lookout for a lookout. And then down to Queen Mary Falls for a short walk to see the falls and then lunch. It is winter but there will still be lots of birds.

Level of Fitness: Easy if you stay on the tracks. To cross into NSW you have to climb a gate but there's plenty to see on the Queensland side of the fence.

Facilities: Toilets at Boonah and Queen Mary Falls (and Killarney). Picnic tables at Queen Mary Falls.

What to Bring: Morning tea and lunch. Chairs, water and other stuff. It could be cold. 

Upon Arrival: Please register in the Attendance Book and pay your $2 per person participant fee. 

April Outing Report - Shed Day, 18 April 2026

 Adapted from the FFNC newsletter article of P & T Shields.

Dr Christina Zdenek addressing the members

The afternoon commenced with quiz on bird identification but with a twist – only parts of each bird were visible for people to use for identification. A great deal of amusement and comments were made.

Dr Christina Zdenek followed with an extremely interesting talk on how certain kinds of rat poisons are killing our owls (and eagles, quolls, and pets) and what Birdlife Australia is doing to try and stop that.

The second-generation rodenticides are

banned from public sale in many countries (e.g. USA, Canada, EU and Malaysia) but not in Australia. Birdlife Australia believes that widespread public use of long-lasting second- generation rodenticides is killing wildlife on a major scale and is focused on preparing submissions to the Federal regulator as well as campaigning secondary targets such as retailers.

Following a break for afternoon tea, one of our members, B Jahnke, presented a thought-provoking talk on “Educating the public”. He compared the syllabus for secondary education in biology in the 1980s with the current Queensland syllabus, highlighting the major differences and wondering aloud whether current students are obtaining the fundamental knowledge and principles to study biology (i.e. understand our living world).

His talk stimulated much discussion and gave us all some thoughts to consider into the future.

Nothing better than a convivial chat
around a fire.

As dusk came some of us convened to the “waterway” to enjoy an evening meal and bonfire.