Outing Report - Mt Alford, Saturday, 15 July 2023

From the Fassifern Field Naturalists Club Inc. newsletter

Koala seen on the property

It wasn’t anywhere as near as cold as expected for the July outing. In fact, it was pleasant enough for 17 members to join our hosts at their home. As usual with Nats, we stood around chatting for a while, munching mandarins that were picked from the nearby tree earlier. We eventually set off down the paddock disturbing the Whiptail, or Pretty-faced, Wallabies on the way. The Red-backed Wrens and Silvereyes twittered around us. It wasn’t long though before we were all clustered under a eucalypt admiring a large, healthy, male Koala. It was a great sighting and many photos were taken.

Around the firepit

Eventually the party split into two groups with some taking the high road, and some taking the low road. There were plenty of bush birds with a male Rose Robin and a couple of Jacky Winters being highlights. Once we were all back at the house, we settled around the firepit for our sausages generously prepared and supplied by our hosts. The fire’s warmth invited lots of conversation and laughter. The species list call came before dark and the night-spotting. Forty-three birds, three mammals and one butterfly were accounted for.

Then it was time for a few members to head homeward ..... but a few intrepid naturalists braved the cool by increasingly moving their chairs closer to the fire, before heading out with torches in search of elusive night creatures. There wasn't much wildlife around (probably all tucked up in bed), but we were lucky enough to spot a rufous bettong, a microbat and another red necked wallaby. We heard frogs around the dam but didn't manage to spot the barn owl which is rumoured to sit on the fence wire each night!

Species Lists for Kooroomba Drive:

Birds: Brown Quail, Australian Wood Duck, Australasian Grebe, Peaceful Dove, Great Egret, White-faced Heron, Little Pied Cormorant, Masked Lapwing, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Red-backed Fairy-wren, White-throated Gerygone, Weebill, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Brown Honeyeater, White-naped Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Striped Honeyeater, Varied Sitella, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australian Magpie, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Rose Robin, Restless Flycatcher, Jacky Winter, Magpie-lark, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Mistletoebird, Double-barred Finch.

Mammals: Koala, Rufous Bettong, Whiptail Wallaby, Red-necked Wallaby, Microbat sp.

Butterfly: Wanderer.