thistlemouse's Journal

A guided walk for beginner birdwatchers (aka "bird listeners", lol).
Not very successful in photographing the birds, and I certainly need more practice with binoculars. It was enjoyable being in a group learning about and seeing the migration of birds. With some bonus animal traces including koala tracks and poop!

A guided walk around the reserve, learning about the flora, fauna and the history of the area.
With the recent rain, the area was very green and lovely to walk through. The platypus are long gone, and the water dragons were still in bed - their sunning rock currently amassed with green moss and lichens.

Returning partway along the track, we spotted tiny flowering helmet orchids. Their cute heart-shaped leaves and dark coloured hoods, we had walked straight past them without even realising they were there! As our guide was about to head off I called her over and we all spent time admiring these little bubbies.

Further along, I spotted more tiny orchids in flower. After taking a few photos, I excitedly turned around to show the group but for one heart-stopping moment I realised I was all by myself! Luckily it was a bend in the track and I quickly caught back up with them. :)

Admiring the beautiful ferns as we walked up past the multi-layered sandstone, we headed back up to the park and out into the sunshine.

A semi-planned adventure, exploring a section of the Castlereagh Nature Reserve. I had been expecting sand, but the sticky red clay mud was all I came across. Several sections of track are flooded and other areas are too muddy to pass safely.

With some knowledge from previous walks, I was able to actually identify some of the plants I saw! :) The highlights for this adventure would have to be the kangaroo (or wallaby or wallaroo) track and also the green grevillea. The flowers blended in so much that I noticed them as I was taking the photos, a wonderful surprise. :)