How to get un-lost on Mt Ainslie!

The ANPS walk today was on the lower Eastern slopes of Mt Ainslie.  The highlight in the plant direction was probably the array of Acacias (which can still be called that).  Here follow some snaps of those:
 Acacia paradoxa
Acacia pycnatha
 Acacia dealbata (I think: I have subsequently found there is a lot of the broadly similar A. baileyana in the area, which I had not considered, since the Forces of Botanical Purity (FBP) have generally eradicated it from most everywhere else in the ACT.)
Acacia genistifolia

I only came across one flowering gum tree today.  This was Eucalyptus sideroxylon the Red Ironbark.  It is way out of range and thus has been deliberately planted.  I'm surprised the FBP are not all over its case.  It is a beautiful tree when in flower:

There was not a great deal else in flower.  In the tree department a large Allocasuarina verticillata had some nice female flowers.
At the small end of town a few Xerochrysums were evident and some daggy Chrysocephalum semipapposum here and there.  A Leptorhyncus squamatus did provide some excitement.

There were very few fungi around.  This was the only one I noted.
In terms of insects I have 2 entries.  The first is the case left by a departing cicada: one of about 6 found on the underside of a eucalypt branch: note the split in the back!
The second is a much more debatable sighting.  We noticed these white blobules (sorry about the technical term) on the underside of a eucalypt and all I can suggest is that they are insect egg masses.  Other opinions or diagnoses most welcome.
I took 2 photos of birds today: one Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and one  female Australian King-parrot.

I also came across a nice mixed flock of small birds.  Several species of thornbills, Superb fairy-wrens, my first Western Gerygone of the season and a squad of 6 Varied Sittellas searching the trees above.  After  watching these I became aware that the rest of the group had moved on.

Normally the group doesn't move quickly: the plants that are being looked at, identified or photographed don't move that swiftly.  Also the conversations as to what has been found usually give a clue as to the group's whereabouts.  However in this case they were on the track of a rare daisy (Brachyscome dentata) and Deek hath no speed like an ANPS group after a rare daisy!  After a few minutes flailing around and up and down the hillside I decided to seek the advice of a Virgin - mobile that is!  On getting the leader's number (I get some more goose-points for not having it in my phone book already) a call was made and answered.

So then the solution to getting un-lost on Mt Ainslie was easy: follow the cooees!

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