Outing Report - Keith's Hidden Valley Mt French, 21 July 2018

Waterhole at the head of the gorge

We were back on Mt French again this month. It is such an unusual mountain being one of the rhyolite peaks of the Scenic Rim. It has a diversity of habitats - eucalypt woodland, montane heathland, Fassifern Scrub on the slopes, and dry rainforest or vine scrub in the gorges and gullies. 
          
Mt French is a plateau with cliff ramparts on most sides. We explored a small gorge on the eastern slopes below the cliffs, leaving our vehicles where the national park is on either side of the road. The first thing we noticed was the bird calls and had about a dozen birds identified while we gathered on the road. We soon noticed a small waterhole at the head of the gorge where Red-browed Finches and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were going down to drink. In the canopy overhead were Grey Fantails, Silvereyes, Eastern Yellow Robins and Olive-backed Orioles. This number of birds is unusual for Mt French which is known for its botany, not its birdlife.

Gathering at the head of the "Hidden Valley"

                 
We split into two groups, one group headed down into the gorge while the remainder skirted along the top. There was no track so we were bush-bashing and the ground was covered with large rocks hidden by undergrowth including plenty of vines, and logs. 
                     
Many specimens of the trees logged from Mt French in earlier times were found in this section: Hoop Pine, Narrow-leaved Ironbark, Yellow Stringybark and Tallowwood for example. Considering the stony ground and thin layer of soil there were some fine trees. Further around the edge of the gorge we struck off back to the road passing through dense heathland which obviously could be swampy in wetter conditions. Then a stretch of very healthy Grass Trees until we came to some that clearly were suffering from die back. Past that section we came upon a thicket of Dogwood.They were young plants and not in flower but they will be a riot of colour later.    
              

Python Tree trunk

After a quick bite of morning tea the national park on the southern side of the road beckoned. We walked along the track which became increasingly overgrown until we lost it altogether. Then we had to watch out for all the vines that tried to catch us and trip us up. This patch of vine scrub is a delight with much botanical interest. Our first stop was at a large Python Tree. It's trunk was smooth and cold to the touch. It was twisted and with lichen and patches of green giving it the appearance of a carpet python in the shadowy scrub.
            

Kay and Ron in the Vine Scrub (well named) 

There were so many vines and we became fascinated with the way they twisted around other plants. Becoming almost one as they twined upwards towards the light. Corky Milk Vine was in abundance. It is the food plant of the Common Crow butterfly's caterpillars. Zigzag Vine is another butterfly attracting plant. Four-barred Swordtail and Pale Green Triangle caterpillars feed on this one.
              
There were several of the endemic Boonah Tuckeroo. Its conservation status is listed as "vulnerable" because it's only found in vine thickets between Boonah and Ipswich. We spent some time examining another "vulnerable" species, Marblewood. This is one of the largest, and one of the few rainforest acacias.

Eventually the scrub became so impenetrable that we turned back for lunch. As the vehicles were only about 200 metres away it wasn't long before we were all relaxing and chatting about what we had seen that morning.

Species List

Birds: Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Common Bronzewing, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Fan-tailed Cuckoo,  Rainbow Bee-eater, White-throated Treecreeper, Brown Gerygone, White-throated Gerygone, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, White-throated Honeyeater, Varied Triller, Golden Whistler, Little Shrike-thrush, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Olive-backed Oriole, Pied Butcherbird, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Rose Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Mistletoebird, Red-browed Finch. 

Butterflies: Evening Brown. 

Mammals: Evidence of Bandicoot (scratchings).

Some plants we noticed on the way

Canopy: Marblewood (Acacia bakeri), Forest Oak (Allocasuarina torulosa), Hoop Pine (Araucaria Cunninghamii), Bossiaea rupicola, Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria incana),  Spotted Gum (Corymbia citriodora), Boonah Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis tomentella), Yellow Stringybark (Eucalyptus acmenoides), Narrow-leaved Ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra), Tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys), Gum-topped Box (Eucalyptus moluccana), Ribbonwood (Euroschinus falcatus), Python Tree (Gossia bidwillii), Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus), Penta Ash (Pentaceras australe), Whalebone Tree (Streblus brunonianus), Satinwood (Vitex lignum-vitae).
Understorey plants: Brown Wattle (Acacia brunioides), Hickory Wattle (Acacia disparrima), Chain Fruit (Alyxia ruscifolia - broad leaf form), Broad-leaf Star Hair (Astrotricha latifolia), Large Leaf Hop Bush (Dodonaea triquetra), Axe Breaker (Geijera salicifolia), Dogwood (Jacksonia scoparia), Leichhardt Vine or Zigzag Vine (Melodorum leichhardtii), Canthium (Psydrax odorata), Corky Milk Vine (Secamone elliptica), Poison Peach (Trema tomentosa), Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea latifolia).
Forest Floor: Barbed-wire Grass (Cymbopogon refractus), Blue Flax Lily (Dianella brevipedunculata), Running Postman (Kennedia rubicunda), Creeping Shade Grass (Oplismenus aemulus), Hairy Trumpet (Panus fasciatus), Barbed-wire Vine (Smilax australis), Tree Trigger Plant (Stylidium laricifolium), Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra).