Toonumbar National Park - April Camp

John and Noela came up trumps again with a terrific camp based at Ironpot Creek Campground in the Toonumbar National Park, NSW.

                

Some excerpts from Noela's report follow:

Toonumbar epiphytes

"The overcast and showery conditions for Thursday and Friday showed the rainforest at its best – mosses, lush and green on all fallen logs and rocks, moisture dripping from the lush foliage and the many varieties of fungi erupting from decaying fallen timber and ground litter. "

"Roadside vegetation on the fringes of the rainforest provided just the right habitat and conditions for the butterfly enthusiasts especially on Saturday and Sunday when the sun shone down from clear blue skies."

"This was our very first camp set up completely in a rainforest setting.   It was great to go to sleep at night to the rustlings and the gentle taps of the leaves and tiny twigs falling on the canvas as the birds settled into their night perches and to wake in the morning to the calls of the Logrunners, Yellow Robins, Scrub Wrens, Lewin’s Honeyeaters and Currawongs."

 "On our last camp night, when we gathered in the shelter shed to socialise, I endeavoured to compile a list of all creatures, great and small, viewed throughout the weekend.
 

Toonumbar fungi

"Bush Rat (Rattus fuscipes), Black Rat (Rattus rattus), Red-necked Pademelons (Thylogale thetis), Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius swainii), Goannas (Lace Monitors) -many, Brushtail Possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and Ringtail Possums  (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) in and around the campground, and many Granny’s Cloak Moths (Speiredonia spectans) sheltering in the toilets. Spotlighting revealed eels and catfish in the clear water of the creek but no frogs."

View of Mt Lindsay and Mount Barney from the "other" side

Bird List:

Aust. Brush Turkey, White-headed Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo-dove, Wonga Pigeon, Wompoo Pigeon, Topknot Pigeon, Tawny Frog mouth, White-throated Nightjar, Pacific Baza, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, Australian King Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Shining Bronze Cuckoo,  Pallid Cuckoo, Fantail Cuckoo, Laughing Kookaburra, Noisy Pitta,  Albert’s Lyrebird, White-throated tree Creeper, Green Catbird, Satin Bower bird, Variegated Fairy-wren, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, White-browed Scrubwren,  Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Brown Thornbill, Spotted Pardalote, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Bell Miner, Aust. Logrunner, Eastern Whipbird, Varied Triller, Crested Shrike-tit, Golden Whistler, Grey Shrike Thrush, Aust. Figbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Black-faced Monarch, Paradise Riflebird, Pale-yellow Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Tree Martin,  Bassian Thrush,  Mistletoebird,  Red-browed Finch.

Butterfly List:

Splendid Ochre (Trapezites symmomus), Greenish Grass Dart (Ocybadistes walkeri), Blue Triangle (Graphium sarpedon), Common Grass-yellow (Eurema hecabe), Common Jezebel (Delias eucharis), Common Albatross (Appias paulina), Brown Ringlet (Hypocysta metirius), Wonder Brown (Heteronympha mirifica) females only, Wanderer (Danaus plexippus), Pencilled Blue (Candalides absimilis).

Interesting Point:

The reference book says the male Wonder Browns (which do not resemble the females at all) are active in Jan-Feb, and the females in Mar-April. It does not say how they meet.