Outing Report - World's End Pocket, Pine Mountain 17 August 2019

Flinders Peak in the distance

It is not often we venture into the Ipswich area and a number of our members had not had the chance to see this part of the world, or World's End! More than twenty people met at the yellow tank and it wasn't long before we were marching to the top of the hill. This track took us through some lovely Dry Vine Scrub. Although this habitat is adapted to dry conditions there were many trees that showed signs of drought stress, and there were copious amounts of leaves strewn across the ground.

Merrilyn, up close and personal
with a Giant Ironwood

One of the first exciting sightings for the day was an Emerald Dove feeding on the road. It soon scuttled into the undergrowth when it saw us coming. Meanwhile some others were watching a number of Caper White butterflies hanging around the Scrambling Caper (Capparis sarmentosa) and hilltopping over the taller trees. We noticed Button-quail platelets on the edge of the track. They were fairly recent but no Button-quail. Further along Keith pointed out a Giant Ironwood (Backhousia subargentea). This is a rare Australian rainforest tree, growing from Boonah to Imbil in south eastern Queensland and near Mullumbimby in north eastern New South Wales.

We walked back to the cars for morning tea where a little green spider kept us company; possibly a type of lynx. 

Green spider

After the break we slipped through the fence into the adjacent reserve and strolled down the slashed track to the lower section of the vine scrub. Here we saw more platelets and as we checked out some fresh droppings to see if they were Black-breasted Button-quail, our fearless leader flushed three BBBQ from under our noses to a little way up the gully. A few of us were lucky to see them on the wing or scattering after they landed. Nobody had a chance to take a photo unfortunately.

All this excitement called for a lunch break so we headed back to Kholo Gardens where we had a very sociable time in the shade. Surrounded by Ipswichians enjoying the balmy weather in this lovely park beside the Brisbane River.

Fauna:
Birds: Emerald Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Black-breasted Button-quail, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, White-browed Scrubwren, Yellow Thornbill, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Varied Triller, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Pied Butcherbird, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, White-eared Monarch, Rose Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Mistletoebird, Double-barred Finch, Red-browed Finch.
Butterflies: Common Grass-yellow (Eurema hecabe), Small Grass-yellow (Eurema smilax), Striated Pearl-white (Elodina parthia), Cabbage White (Pieris rapae), Wanderer (Danaus plexippus), Brown Ringlet (Hypocysta metirius), Meadow Argus (Junonia villida), Glasswing (Acraea andromacha).

Some flora noted along the way:
Grasses: Slender Bamboo Grass (Austrostipa verticillata).
Vines, Scramblers & Climbers: Scrambling Caper (Capparis sarmentosa), Pandorea sp.; probably Wonga Vine (P. pandorana) - too high in tree to identify.
Shrubs: Brush Caper Berry or Caper Bush (Capparis arborea), Small-leaved Canthium (Everistia vacciniifolia). 
Trees: Wild Quince (Alectryon subcinereus), Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa), Giant Ironwood (Backhousia subargentea), Corkwood (Endiandra sieberi), Scrub Blind-your-eye (Excoecaria dallachyana), Crow’s Ash (Flindersia australis), Leopard Ash (Flindersia collina), Long Jack or Yellow-wood (Flindersia xanthoxyla).

Birds for Kholo Botanic Gardens (We didn't explore very far from the picnic spot): Australian Brush Turkey, Pacific Black Duck, Great Cormorant, Australian Pelican, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Lewin's Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Varied Triller, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Torresian Crow, Welcome Swallow.
Butterflies for Kholo Botanic Gardens: Common Grass-yellow (Eurema hecabe), Small Grass-yellow (Eurema smilax), Wanderer (Danaus plexippus).