Bush Forever Site: Brickwood Reserve Byford

DRB Nats 22nd MAY 2021

This excursion was postponed from earlier in the year due to the COVID Lockdown. However, 8 adults and 3 children attended, all Club members.

The site has a well-defined path around the perimeter and a map on the Turner Road entrance is a good facsimile of the pathways into the centre of the block. The trees are mainly Marri (Corymbia calophylla) with some very old specimens, both fallen and standing. A Melaleuca quinquenervia, Broad–leaved paperbark, was seen closer to the sporting recreation ground that has another entrance into the reserve.

There were only 6 species of birds heard or seen, all well known to the area.

  • Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides)
  • Twenty-eight Parrot (Barnardius zonarius semitorquatus)
  • Thornbill (Acanthiza)
  • Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)
  • Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii)
  • New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)

Disappointingly, there had been little rain in recent days, so the creek wasn’t flowing and therefore little insect life or small reptiles were seen. A Shingleback Lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, was seen there previously. There were large quantities of horse dung with Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus fungus erupting at various points in the walk, also a slimy fungus, possibly a Bolbitius titubans (Egg Yolk Fungus). Most of the understorey of the trees was grasses, and small shrubs; the large number of Kingia australis were worthy of note. Orchids were sighted outside the perimeter.

Arlene Quinn