Saturday and Sunday – Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary and Devil’s Kitchen Geological Reserve

By Val Hocking and Emily Noble

Emily Noble, who works part-time at Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary for BirdLife Australia, escorted 37 of us around this favourite place near Linton. We began by stopping at a roadside area to view flora there. It included Red Parrot-pea, Waxlip Orchids, Common Bird-orchids, Rabbit-ears and the last of the Leopard Orchids. A couple of Purple Beard-orchids were also in flower. Emily was able to share, via photos on her phone, one being pollinated by an iridescent blue Hairy Flower Wasp that she had captured in action earlier in the week.

For the rest of the morning we parked near the Clare Miller Environment Centre, hearing a little of the Sanctuary’s inspiring history. We walked a lovely trail through the “Bird Paddock” past Gordon’s Lagoon for an hour and a half, viewing more wildflowers such as Yellow Stars, Austral Bugle, a few Golden Moth-orchids, Chocolate Lilies, a patch of Lowland Bird–orchids and a Rufa-type Greenhood. We also looked out for woodland birds, finding 51 species over the weekend, including Rufous and Golden Whistlers, Eastern Yellow Robins, Striated and Spotted Pardalotes, Shining Bronze-cuckoos, Sacred Kingfishers, Silvereyes, Mistletoebirds, and Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes. We enjoyed a late lunch on the Centre’s verandah before adding to the orchid list after lunch when we headed to part of the Sanctuary known as the Orchid Block, viewing a large group of flowering Small Spider-orchids.

A short drive took us to our final stop for the day: Devil’s Kitchen Geological Reserve, for a look at the impressive basalt cliffs towering above Woady Yaloak River (hidden by River Bottle-brush). Locally uncommon Grey Mistletoe were flowering and fruiting in Black Wattles there, with a Mistletoebird searching for its sweet, tasty fruit. One group saw the Peregrine Falcons known to nest on the cliff wall but the Welcome Swallows that also nest there were seen on both days. Eight other birds were recorded at this site over the weekend too, along with Tree Violets, Sweet Bursaria and pink-flowered Inland Pigface.