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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Kawana Forest Walking Trail, Sunshine Coast, QLD

The Kawana Forest Walking Trail is a short easy walk in Meridan Plains that borders the suburb known as Kawana Forest. It starts opposite Tulipwood Court, loops into remnant paperbark and eucalypt forest and comes out again at Lillypilly Court. We extended the walk by taking the pathway east to Kawana Wetlands. Before we even entered the walk we saw Pale-headed Rosellas and Brown Cuckoo-Doves feeding on the forest edge.

Pale-headed Rosella
Brown Cuckoo-Dove
It was a good morning for butterfly sightings.

Monarch Danaus plexippus
Brown Ringlet Hypocysta metirius
Regent Skipper Euschemon rafflesia
The forest is a habitat for endangered microbats and nesting boxes have been provided for their use. I think it would be a great walk to do at night; be on the lookout for microbats and sugar gliders. Groves of Piccabeen Palm and Cabbage Palm can be seen on the walk. In the forest we saw Golden Whistlers, Olive-backed Orioles and Grey Shrike-thrush.



Piccabeen Palms

Cabbage Palm
We came back out of the forest and walked along the path to the wetlands area. Scarlet Honeyeaters were feeding on flowering native plants.

Scarlet Honeyeater, male
Scarlet Honeyeater, female
 In the wetlands area we saw Great Egret, Royal Spoonbills and Purple Swamphens.


Royal Spoonbill and Great Egret
Royal Spoobills









2 comments:

  1. Wow, never realised how a Great Egret dwarfs a Spoonbill, which itself is a rather hefty bird!

    That Regent Skipper is gorgeous - I've never seen one before.

    I would love to get to know microbats better or survey them but you really need to be able to mistnet or record and analyse their calls for definite ID and I hate guessing!

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  2. Sometimes if I don't have photographic proof I don't feel I can claim I saw something, which is just silly really.

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