Diario del proyecto Yellingbo and surrounds

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
It was great to have two new people join us for a survey today. It's always surprising how much you start to see in the Australian bush when on the surface it just looks like a field of green foliage in front of you - though we had plenty of that too! There wasn't much warmth in the morning air, but it was still and mild. Very few insects buzzing about, just the odd butterfly that we couldn't get a photo of. The Hairpin Banksia and Yellow Hakea are flowering beautifully, with many of these two species along the stretch of track running alongside Cockatoo Creek swamp that we walked. The wet depressions we walked past were refuge for quite a few different plant species in flower, whilst the Common Eastern Froglet were making a racket in these same patches. Though the bird life wasn't plentiful this morning, the ones we did see were enjoying the sun high in the Eucalyptus canopy or hawking for the insect life along the track and swamp edge. Their eyes are clearly better than ours! A relaxed morning with great company. Thank you!

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
I don't think we could have wished for a better morning. A sunny, still day combined with the easy conversation of 9 like-minded people as we walked the Yellingbo tracks on our Bird & Frog survey. Ron's keen eyes spied a Tasmanian Grey Fantail with its very dark plumage setting it apart from the Grey Fantails commonly seen. Crossing the Bass Strait heading north in winter, it's quite a trek for a small bird! Our list of 36 bird species seen today included a Whistling Kite, 4 honeyeater species, lots of Red-browed Finches anD a raptor we could hear but couldn't see high in the Manna Gum. No ID for that one - next time perhaps :)
A chorus of Common Eastern Froglets rang through the bush, enjoying the wet swampland areas. The wildlife is just part of why we come together though. A large part of the joy in surveying the Yellingbo bush for its wildlife and flora is meeting new people and sharing the Yellingbo bush with them. It's hard to care about this special piece of bush behind the locked gates if you don't know about it. Two weeks ago we loved meeting Donna and Lou, whilst today we met Robert who as a new kid to the area over 30 years ago attended Macclesfield Primary School taking the total enrolment to 7 kids. Now one of the larger primary schools in the area, how things change!