Stubble quail and other denizens of grassland
Yesterday morning (24 January) I decided to take myself for a bike ride down Woolcara Lane to see how Yanununbeyan SCA etc had stood up to the December and January deluges. The short answer to that question is reasonably well but that is not the focus of this post.
About 6km from home, going along Captains Flat Rd as it passed the Carwoola (note this is an anagram of Woolcara) a pair of quail flushed from the side of the road, heading for the shelter of the tall grass in the paddocks. As I wondered which species of quail (Brown or Stubble) they were, I became aware of Stubble Quail calls coming from the paddock. These calls became constant - at least one calling bird every 200m throughout the next 16km or thereabouts, until I entered the SCA. Being a medium sized bird they didn't stick out of the grassland.
A number of local residents had commented on the higher than usual number of Stubble Quail in the area. Comments have also been made on the COG chatline.
Two bird species which did stick out of the grass, but only because they flew over it, were Red-rumped Parrots (not common in this area for some reason) and Southern Whiteface. The latter birds were surprising as they were flitting around about 10m above the ground in a large dead tree, I usually see them feeding on the ground or lurking in dense shrubs (hawthorns being a favourite haunt).
The other animals which poked out of the grass were some black cattle. Once past Woolcara Homestead the track isn't fenced so in places the cattle were poking out of the road, where I wished to ride. I thought briefly of a Roger Miller song; visually checked the masculinity of the beasts (negative, at least for all the big ones) and pedalled on through. Having had some experience of cattle sinking the boot in to my body when they get a surprise, I was careful not to startle any of them.
Of course 40 minutes later when I returned, I got the pleasure of doing it again. Equally predictably, the second weave-through was slower because the wind had got up and was blowing straight in my face. At least that meant the blowflies couldn't keep up with me.
About 6km from home, going along Captains Flat Rd as it passed the Carwoola (note this is an anagram of Woolcara) a pair of quail flushed from the side of the road, heading for the shelter of the tall grass in the paddocks. As I wondered which species of quail (Brown or Stubble) they were, I became aware of Stubble Quail calls coming from the paddock. These calls became constant - at least one calling bird every 200m throughout the next 16km or thereabouts, until I entered the SCA. Being a medium sized bird they didn't stick out of the grassland.
A number of local residents had commented on the higher than usual number of Stubble Quail in the area. Comments have also been made on the COG chatline.
Two bird species which did stick out of the grass, but only because they flew over it, were Red-rumped Parrots (not common in this area for some reason) and Southern Whiteface. The latter birds were surprising as they were flitting around about 10m above the ground in a large dead tree, I usually see them feeding on the ground or lurking in dense shrubs (hawthorns being a favourite haunt).
The other animals which poked out of the grass were some black cattle. Once past Woolcara Homestead the track isn't fenced so in places the cattle were poking out of the road, where I wished to ride. I thought briefly of a Roger Miller song; visually checked the masculinity of the beasts (negative, at least for all the big ones) and pedalled on through. Having had some experience of cattle sinking the boot in to my body when they get a surprise, I was careful not to startle any of them.
Of course 40 minutes later when I returned, I got the pleasure of doing it again. Equally predictably, the second weave-through was slower because the wind had got up and was blowing straight in my face. At least that meant the blowflies couldn't keep up with me.
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