June Outing Report - Cotswold Road, Maroon, Saturday 21 June 2025

 Adapted from the FFNC July 2025 newsletter report by K. McCosh

Mt Maroon in the clouds
Photo: L. Beaton

Twenty intrepid members of the FFNC Club nearly got swept up into the crush of climbers going up Mt Maroon. There was even a bus load of Irish tourists! There’s a joke there somewhere. All looking for a parking spot amongst the trees of this very interesting Vine Scrub. All intent on getting to the top – somewhere up in the clouds. 

Mt Maroon is a very busy place these days. But we managed to see some big (and therefore old) scrub trees – such as Crow’s Ash and Leopard Ash. Older trees generally have smaller leaves, and those big Crow’s Ash trees had very small leaves. There were lots of smaller trees and shrubs – many with small or spikey leaves that are typical of “Dry” scrubs that dry out from time to time. Some Brush Teak Toechima tenax was impressive, being larger than most. This patch of Dry Vine Scrub is a remnant of much bigger scrubs around the mountain. 

There was also a natural dam there with reeds etc. How did that get there? Mt Maroon began as a rhyolite intrusion into the huge Focal Peak Volcano some 20 million years ago. Most of the volcano has eroded away down to the older sandstone layers, leaving tougher rocks exposed. The Cotswolds are old sandstones and rhyolite intrusions and basalt bits and pieces. 

The birds were a bit quiet, but considering the busy-ness of the place, they were more abundant than expected. One big ironbark tree on the edge of the scrub was just “full” of birds. Silvereye, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Golden Whistler, Grey Fantail, Varied Triller and Rose Robin were all there. We had a delightful morning tea picking out the birds in this tree. A mystery butterfly with two distinctive white spots on a black background near the wing tip gradually went from being a Caper Gull to a Yellow Albatross – a colourful sighting. Noela with the eyes of an eagle saw it perched in thick vegetation!

Species Lists for Cotswold Road, June 2025 

introduced species = *

Amphibians & Reptiles: *Cane Toad Rhinella marina – 1 dead.

Birds: Pacific Black Duck, Australasian Grebe, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Black-shouldered Kite, Dusky

Moorhen, Australian King-Parrot, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, White-throated Treecreeper, Satin Bowerbird, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, White-browed Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Varied Triller, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler 􈄥􍿸 & 􈄥􍿷, Grey Shrike-thrush, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Jacky Winter, Rose Robin, Silvereye (some being the Tasmanian subspecies Zosterops lateralis, Double-barred Finch, Australasian Pipit.

Marsupials: Red-necked Wallaby. 

Butterflies: Black Jezebel Delias nigrina, Yellow Albatross Appias paulina, *Wanderer Danaus plexippus, Evening Brown Melanitis leda.