Saturday 21st October, 2023 - Lake Parramatta Reserve

Start time: 12:49pm
Duration: 3 hours, 51 minutes
Distance: 5.2km (approx)
iNaturalist observations: 14

Today, I decided to return to Parramatta Lake Reserve after my trip here on Monday was cut short due to bad weather conditions. I walked the whole circuit track this time, starting from and finishing at the entrance on North Rocks Rd.

The trail consists of 4 main walking tracks:

• Upper Lake Track (Rocky and narrow paths)
• Resevoir Track (Rocky and narrow paths with steep uphill and downhill steps to and from below the dam)
• Heritage Path (Paved footpath)
• Arrunga Bardo walk (Mostly a wide, flat dirt track)

From the beginning of my walk to the Lower Hunts Creek Crossing, the rocky terrain was abundant with many different kinds of trees and shrubs of all sizes, including turpetine, various eucalyptus and angorpha species, hop bushes, sweet pittosporum, many acacia species and geebungs. The forest floor was covered in leaf litter and had lomandras and ferns, gradually increasing in number the closer I got to the creek before reaching the dam where they became the main component of the understory. Yellow-faced honeyeaters were very common and heard calling throughout the bushland.

A photograph overlooking Lake Parramatta, right near the water on the bend on the Upper Lake Track. A swan-shaped pedal boat hired from Parramatta Row Boats can be seen. Image by myself

At around an hour and a half into my trip, I stopped off at the picnic tables to have lunch, before continuing on to the Arrunga Bardo Walk. Here, I came across many different waterbirds, wrens and a sulphur-crested cockatoo feeding on acacia seed pods. Once I reached the western side of the Upper Lake Track, the undergrowth became denser as I got closer to the Upper Hunts Creek crossing.

Though the creek area was smothered with many invasive plants, I came across quite a special surprise. For the first time in my life, I saw a wild echidna!! I only briefly saw the spines of its back before it waddled back into the bushes.

After that, it was getting late, so I decided it was time to finish up. I made a few observations on my way back to the entrance, noticing some grass triggerplants on the way back, which I had not noticed elsewhere on the trail before. Although I didn't get as many photos as I would've liked to, it was overall a good day. I learned more about Parramatta's biodiversity and came across a few surprises like the dollarbird and the echidna. With the warming weather bringing early summer temperatures, I think it might be time to go coastal next to enjoy the cool breeze.

Below are some of the common and/or notable species I observed and was able to identify:

📷 = Observations posted

Plants:

• Acacia decurrens (Sydney green wattle) 📷
• Acacia falcata (Sickle wattle)
• Acacia fimbriata (Brisbane wattle)
• Acacia suaveolens (Sweet wattle)
• Acacia ulicifolia (Juniper wattle)
• Actinotus helianthi (Flannel flower) 📷
• Angorpha costata (Smooth-barked apple)
• Banksia serrata (Old man banksia)
• Banksia spinulosa (Hairpin banksia)
• Cyathea cooperi (Australian tree fern)
• Dodonaea lanceolata (Hop bush)
• Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt)
• Grevillea linearifolia (White spider flower) 📷
• Lambertia formosa (Mountain devil) 📷
• Lomandra longifolia (Spiny-headed mat-rush)
• Ozothamnus diosmifolius (Sago flower) 📷
• Patersonia sp. (Purple flags) 📷
• Persoonia linearis (Narrow-leaf geebung)
• Pimelea linifolia (Slender rice flower) 📷
• Pittosporum undulatum (Sweet pittosporum)
• Stylidium graminifolium (Grass triggerplant)
• Syncarpia glomulifera (Turpentine)

Birds:
(Full list on eBird checklist:) https://ebird.org/checklist/S152714297

• Aythya australis (Hardhead)
• Cacatua galerita (Sulphur-crested cockatoo) 📷
• Caligavis chrysops (Yellow-faced honeyeater)
• Eolophus roseicapilla (Galah)
• Eurystomus orientalis (Oriental dollarbird)
• Fulica atra ssp. australis (Australasian coot)
• Gallinula tenebrosa (Dusky moorhen)
• Malurus cyaneus (Superb fairywren)
• Malurus lamberti (Variegated fairywren)
• Manorina melanocephala (Noisy miner)
• Phalacrocorax sulcirostris (Little black cormorant) 📷
• Platycercus elegans (Crimson rosella)

Reptiles:

• Amphibolurus muricatus (Jacky dragon)
• Eulamprus quoyii (Eastern Water Skink)
• Intellagama leuserii ssp. leuserii (Eastern Water Dragon)

Mammals:

• Tachyglossus aculeatus ssp. aculeatus (Eastern Short-beaked echidna) 📷

Insects:

• Euploea core (Common crow butterfly)
• Meriphus sp. (A genus of small weevil)

Posted on October 22, 2023 03:15 AM by ben-johnson