Yathong 2022…….
Yathong is a Nature reserve managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service that is located south of Cobar and north of Hillston, NSW. It is pristine Mallee country with rich red soils and an abundance of Australian Mallee Flora and Fauna. In the week of the 5th-8th September 2022, I headed to Yathong with two close mates, Stuart (General) and Matt (Serjeant Squatski). Together we were the Grebes, a fictional band that tour together across Australia and producing classic Oz rock hits (this is what we like to think anyway). The Grebes travelled to Lake Cargelligo on the first day and stopped at several locations on the way including the Charcoal Tank near West Wyalong and the Lake Cargelligo wetlands. Many iconic and beautiful bird species were observed with some of my favorites being the White winged Fairy Wren and the Variegated Fairy Wren. Lake Cargelligo is a quaint little town on the edge of the expansive lake system of the Lachlan River. We stayed in a nice little motel and enjoyed a meal at one of the local pubs.
The second day began well with a stop at Chat Alley on the Mount Grace road. We saw a Swamp Harrier gliding over the vegetation looking for prey. A beautiful Splendid Wren was also spotted here amongst several other species. We continued on to the Round Hill nature reserve which was some of the best Mallee country I had seen. Walking through Mallee can be daunting because it is easy to lose your bearings and become lost in the low dense vegetation. The soils were a rich red colour that contrasted with the blue, white and yellow flowering ground covers. We saw a Chestnut Quail Thrush, Shy Heath Wren and many more beautiful bird species. Later that afternoon we arrived at Yathong reserve and our accommodation at an old but recently renovated Shearing station. The facilities there were fantastic with a modern kitchen, ablutions block and bedrooms. We spent some time that afternoon looking around the reserve and visiting the Wagga Tank dam. Unfortunately, rain was forecast and so we were constantly checking the radar for encroaching weather.
On the third day we saw that 25mm of rain was expected later in the day and so we did some morning exploration of mallee in the reserve and then left shortly after lunch to prevent being trapped in the reserve for days with unpassable road conditions from when the red soil tracks would become waterlogged. Unfortunately for Stuart we didn’t see any Jewel beetles which we were hoping to see lots of, but the array of bird species seen made up for this disappointment. We decided to head for Leeton via Hillston and Griffith. Stopping for something to eat at Hillston was interesting and if you ever go to the take away there, be aware that the coffee sizes are MEDIUM AND LARGE!! which was clearly explained to us by the cranky woman behind the counter. We avoided most of the rain and arrived in Leeton late that afternoon.
The final day was a trip from Leeton to Canberra and we stopped off at the Fivebough wetlands and saw some very nice shore birds, but the weather was extremely windy which made it hard to focus with our binoculars. We stopped at several other locations and Matt decided to stay out in the area for a few more days before heading back to his home on the coast.
This was an epic week with some great experiences and lots of fun. We traveled 1400 kilometers, saw 102 bird species and 30 of these were Lifers for me so I was very happy with the adventure. Here are some photos from our trip so I hope you enjoy them. Thanks Stuart and Matt for a great week and I’m looking forward to the next Grebes tour
