Kwinana Rockingham Mandurah Branch, 26 May 2024
The May field excursion was to Lake Richmond, and a good turnout of ten members and three visitors met at the northwest corner of the lake on a fine morning.
For the benefit of new members and the visitors, Colin gave a summary of the significance of Lake Richmond for KRMB, explaining that the founding members of the Branch were largely responsible for its conservation and that the walk would take us along the walking trail, named after the late Anne Mueller, who raised many thousands of dollars for the conservation activities through the sale of homemade jams. This walking trail was recently upgraded to a concrete path for the first portion.
Just as we were about to set off, we noticed a large flock of Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos. We saw Galahs and Little Corellas feeding on the grassed area near the pergola. On the lake were Musk Ducks, Pacific Black Ducks, Australian Shelducks and Eurasian Coots.
We made our way out onto the boardwalk, which allows closer views of the lake. Many Pelicans were resting on an exposed sand bar, with a few Pied Stilts and Red-capped Plovers wandering along its shoreline. We also spotted Australasian Grebes, Black Swans, Little Black Cormorants, and Grey Teal on the lake.
We then continued walking around the lake. Close to one of the inlets drains, we saw tiny froglets in the leaf litter on the trail’s edge, later identified as Squelching Froglets (Crinia insignifera). Another frog sighting followed shortly after, and a couple of Slender Tree Frogs (Litoria adelaidensis) were found on Typha stems. Broken eggs of a Snake-necked Turtle were also found along the edge of the trail, the unfortunate result of predation.
Further along the trail, we saw a Black-shouldered Kite on the top of a Casuarina sp. tree. To our delight, it took off and hovered above the area of sedges between the walking trail and the lakeshore, allowing us to take a few nice flight photos.
Other raptors were also sighted: a Swamp Harrier, Whistling Kites, a Brown Goshawk, and an Osprey. Some small bird species were seen in the shrubs along the trail, including an Inland Thornbill, Silvereyes, Western Gerygone, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, and Singing Honeyeater.
Very few invertebrates had been seen, but Daniel did find a Middle-bar Acacia Leaf Beetle (Peltoschema suturale) and a Jumping Spider (possibly Maratus sp.) eating a termite along this area of the track.
We then made our way up to the lookout installed several years ago, which gives good views over the lake. We would add Buff-banded Rail, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, White Ibis, Great Crested Grebe, Common Greenshank, Australasian Darter, and Purple Swamphen. Along the trail, we spotted flora, including Yellow Tailflower—Anthocercis littorea—and Angled Lobelia—Lobelia anceps.
We then returned to our starting point, with those in the front spotting a Tiger Snake along the way. Near the pergola, we spotted two Lesser Wanderer Butterflies (Danaus cecilia), a great way to end the walk. It had been a great morning, with 45 species of birds entered into Birdata.
Colin Prickett