Today was another one of those perfect SEQ autumn days (blue sky, low- mid 20s temp, little breeze), so a Main Range bushwalk was in order. Since it had been a while I had popped out to the Mt Matheson Cct at Spicer’s Gap (one peak to the south of Cunningham’s Gap).
The high density of Bell Miners means that the eucs are a bit hammered in places, and the other birds are a bit scarce. However, I was interested to see a large number of ground thrushes along the convict road. The elevation in the area is in the overlap between the preferred Bassian – Russet-tailed zones. However, most of them weren’t in rainforest habitats.
Also of interest was a group of E Whipbirds in the canopy of a tall casuarina amongst the sclerophyll. The highlight was close views of a group of Red-browed Treecreepers in the eucs alongside the old convict road through the Gap (made a nice change from the ubiquitous WTTCs).
Since there time, a coffee stop at the Kooroomba Vineyards (Lavender Farm) was in order. The views of Mts Barney, Ballow, Clunie and Moon, and Wilson’s Peak were brilliant as usual, and the freshly-baked choc chip muffin (still hot from the oven) and cream was excellent. Watched a Black-shouldered kite hovering in the distance while finishing a long black.
Regards, Laurie. ===============================
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