If you have enjoyed exploring the Dawn Road Reserve, perhaps you didn’t know that it is part of the wonderful Mountains to Mangrove Corridor that is under threat from over-development in nearby suburbs. One local wildlife group is running a petition to ensure a narrow strip of land is preserved to ensure the corridor remains…
At our May 2016 Dawn Road Reserve Bushcare working bee, volunteers were treated to a special encounter with a pair of delicately coloured birds who seemed quite interested in what we were doing but not at all put off by our presence. With their rose-pink head, neck and underbelly, a paler pink crest with a…
THIS FILE HAS REPORTS & IMAGES FROM THROUGHOUT 2015 Dawn Road Reserve Bushcare has returned for 2016, with our next 2-hour working bee on Sunday, March 13, 2016, from 8am, at the end of McConachie Court. Please come along and join our happy crew as we do lots of important work in your neighbourhood. *** Remember to…
UPDATE (January, 2016): On New Year’s Day, 2016, we saw a smaller koala in the same tree and noted evidence around the base and up the trunk of significant scrapings and climbing marks! This is wonderful news. Will try to get a photo of this second koala over the coming weeks, but they are shy…
The Dawn Road Reserve is filled with birdlife and, led by Dawn Road Reserve Bushcare mentor Janet Mangan, a handful of volunteers combed the reserve for a couple of hours on Saturday morning, May 23, noting and sightings of birds in and around the bushland. From the outset at a point under the powerlines, we…
The stunning blue triangle butterfly (Graphium sarpedon) is very active and frequently seen around the Dawn Road Reserve. Also known as the common bluebottle swallowtail, its host plant is usually camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) trees, a serious weed that can be found across the Reserve. It will also feed on other, nectar-rich native plants. Sources:…
UPDATE (25/1/2016): Watch the fascinating lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly online. Known as the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus or wanderer butterfly), this insect is referred to by enthusiasts as the king of butterflies. While this insect is a regular visitor to the Dawn Road Reserve from late summer onwards for up to eight months (their usual…
While you are far more likely to see – or hear – wallabies in and around the Dawn Road Reserve, particularly at night, you may be lucky during the day or evening to see the occasional eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). Our local wallabies – thought to be either red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) or black-striped wallabies (Macropus dorsalis) – are…
Usually, the shy eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodnina longicollis, or sometimes known as the snake-necked turtle for obvious reasons) keeps fairly close to the creek, but when we’ve had a decent downpour and the normally quiet Albany Creek starts roaring, these delightful creatures head for higher ground. In this case, this turtle ended up wandering around a local backyard…
Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata)– medium-sized ‘goose-like’ ducks with a dark brown head and a paler grey or brownish body, with two black stripes along the back – are frequent visitors to the Dawn Road Reserve. This pair (female at the rear, male in foreground) are scavenging along the recently cleared embankment just before revegetation began.…
Regular visitors in and around the Dawn Road Reserve are the rather noisy sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita). You’ll hear one squawk to its mate or offspring, or evens dozens of them calling to one another as their flock scans the horizon for likely sources of food. According to Birds in Backyards, the large, white sulphur-crested…
NatureWatch - Albany Creek 