Eight of us met at the car park at 9.00am above Bickley Brook on a pleasant dry Sunday morning.  There are good facilities such as BBQs, picnic furniture, parking and toilets, (where there were a lot of Potuguese caterpillars).  There were a lot of ants throughout the area and we had to take care whenever we stopped and stood around on the paths as we could become their meat.

We walked down to the Brook and back, and then along the road past the dam wall and returned via the path along the fence that encloses the reservoir.  There is some revegetation around the picnic area and soil protection with a hessian-like cover on the slopes.

While there were many weeds there were plenty of wild flowers to be seen.  The hill had large patches of the attractive white flowering shrub Trymalium odoratissimum ssp odoratissimum and we saw about fifty different natives in flower, from large and plentiful Calothamnus to tiny pink trigger plants.  Many of the Eucalypts appeared to be quite stressed.

The Brook in the valley was narrow but flowing fast with plenty of water.  There we heard two different frogs, Crinia insignifera and the slender tree frog, while a little fish was sunning itself by the bank.

Birds sighted included several different honey eaters, Red –capped Parrots, Red and White-tailed Cockatoos, and a Brown Goshawk that circled constantly.  On the reservoir we saw Wood, Black and Musk Duck as well as Great Cormorant and a White-faced Heron.  The bird list totalled 26 different species.

A very long hairy caterpillar was seen on the bark of a gum along the path beside the reservoir fence.

Most of us then took our picnic lunches to Margaret and Stan Telfords’, this years holders of the Bellamy Boots for KRMB Naturalists of the Year.  Their garden was in full bloom with a lovely array of natives and some exotics and veggies.  Many of the natives have been there for decades and make an impressive sight.

We had been fortunate with the weather and had enjoyed a lovely Sunday morning.

Lynette Davies