Tuesday 22 January 2019

Australia - WA - Dryandra Woodland - A Howl from a Hole!


I have spent the last four days at Lyons Dryandra Woodland Village. This is situated in the heart of the woodland and has several trails taking you through the various habitat types. This area is the largest vegetation in the wheatbelt and supports a host of birds and mammals. There is no WiFi on site which allows any explorer to completely immerse themselves in their surroundings and forget about the outside word for a while.
I made several visits to the Old Dam which is a small pond near the entrance to the village and walked the trails in this area. The small dam was alive with parrots mostly Ringnecks with the odd female Red Capped and Western Rosella thrown in. 


The first evening was productive there with some Yellow Plumed Honeyeaters going crazy at a hole in the branch of a tree. This could mean the possibility of an owl or a snake in or near the hole. I stuck around first getting some pictures of the Honeyeater and amongst the commotion a Southern Boobook Owl emerged from the hole and flew up into an adjacent tree. 


A Rufous Treecreeper joined the protest from a fallen tree trunk. I think I was the only one that was pleased to see the Southern Boobook who quite frankly took no notice of the crazed Honeyeaters. I had to wait until the sun dropped behind the trees to get shots and during this time a group of dark cockatoos with cheek patches flew low squawking over the trees. 


As dusk fell I returned to the accommodation area and began searching for the Bush Stone-Curlews. This was a family party that had already lost two of the three chicks. I bumped into John who said the group was at the front of his house. I crept round to the front of the house and saw the family emerge from behind a bush.


There is a large open field in front of the main accommodation which hosted grazing Kangaroos and Wallabies. The surrounding woodland also holds good numbers. These mammals fascinate me as they “boing” around the woodland stopping to look at the human intruder. I think this individual was a defensive end with eyes firmly on the quarterback “42-25-34 hut hut!!”


At the end of my first morning walk I disturbed a Numbat that was digging away on the path some thirty meters ahead of me. The small ant eater froze looked at the elephant on the path and then scarpered. Wow that was a fast exit considering its small legs!


Dusky Swallow were also regular in the woodland in areas of decaying eucalyptus trees.


The Congelin Dam was slightly larger than the Old Dam but both are an important source of water for the local wildlife. The dam held Western Wattlebird and parrots that all jostled for position at the water’s edge during a morning thirst quenching session.


Carnaby’s Cockatoo finally gave themselves up to the paparazzi in the Village and at this dam. The arrival was always extremely noisy but the group soon settled down high in the trees bordering the dam.


A pair of Collared Sarrowhawk was present at this dam along with many Honeyeaters and other passerines. 


Western Spinebill were seen at both dams and this male seemed curious at my presence. Perhaps it was ticking me off its list!
The WA Endemics tally is looking healthy with all six Dryandra species added to my tally! My next stop will be in Albany where the going could get tricky with Noisy Scrub Bird on the agenda!
Not sure where the line (below) has come from!!

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