Almost two years ago exactly we visited Terrick Terrick National Park for the first time, the weather was drizzly however once this cleared we enjoyed the campground in the shade of the native Callitris Pine trees. There was little or no ground cover and the red soils were evident. This years visit couldn't have been more different. The weather was hot and sunny, and due to the recent wet weather, the area around the campground was thick with luxuriant golden grass.

This campground is not for the arachnophobe, as at dusk we saw hundreds of colorful Orb Weaving spiders busily building webs in the trees bordering the camp. Other arthropods were also present, we spotted a scorpion hole near to where we had set up our table and in the morning found a tiny brown one, a couple of cms long, under our tent, most likely not venomous enough to cause any harm. The mosquitos were numerous and loud enough to sound like a distant Grand Prix track at dusk which meant we had to retire to our tent earlier than expected.

Many of the bird species seen last time such as Hooded Robins, Rainbow Beaeaters, Brown Treecreeper and Restless Flycatcher were still present near the camp, however there were no woodswallows, and this time we did not see a Gilbert's Whistler, although we did hear one off in the distance.

After setting up camp we decided to take a walk along the cemetery track near to the Mitiamo Cemetery to look for Diamond Firetail. Initially we didn't see many birds other than Red-rumped Parrots and a few Brown-headed Honeyeaters and a Red-capped Robin, since it was a warm afternoon that wasn't surprising. Once we got to the Cemetery Track we saw a large bird sitting high up top of a tree which was a Dollarbird, something we didn't expect to see here. A bit further along the cemetery track we flushed some Diamond Firetails out of the grass, there were many other small birds in the area, a family of three Hooded Robins including a juvenile being fed, Yellow Thornbills, Southern Whiteface and a Jacky Winter.

The next morning we visited a couple of spots along the Bendigo Creek, the most interesting spot was the small track leading to the creek opposite Allen Way. Here we saw Zebra Finch, White-fronted Chat and Rufous Songlark.

Further information on Terrick Terrick National Park can be found at these links:
Notes of Friends of Terrick Terrick

Terrick Terrick National Park