Excursion Report – Oxley Common, held 26 October 2024
Report by Penny Mills (excursion leader)
Nineteen people attended the outing to Oxley Creek Common (OCC), Sherwood, on Saturday, 26th October. The last time QNC visited the Common was in November 2012, so another visit was long overdue. As we congregated at the Red Shed, a mother and joey brushtail possum clambered amongst the rafters: an unusual site for the time of day. We also spotted a male brushtail out and about in the canopy of a eucalypt and another brushtail snoozing in an abandoned termite nest beside the track during the walk.
Before we set off, I did make a few safety announcements, including warning everyone of the possibility of snakes being sighted. We meandered along the path which passed through a variety of habitats and vegetation types including mangroves, grasslands, open woodland, wetlands and marshes. At the start of the track near the Red Shed there were several large galls (photo below by Penny Mills) – induced by wasps (Trichilogaster sp.), as well as lots of casuarina mealybugs (Pseudoripersia turgipes) on the branchlets of Casuarina glauca.
We stopped often to photograph the plants, fungi, several snake-eyed skinks, the invertebrates and to record the bird species, of which there were many. Our final species count for the day was 49 different species of birds including fairy-wrens (superb and red-backed), honeyeaters (brown, Lewin’s and noisy miners), striated pardalotes, a sacred kingfisher, a varied triller, egrets (including plumed egrets in their breeding plumage), a female leaden flycatcher (not seen by all) and several brown quails. The brown quail had disappeared from the Common after the 2022 floods but are now making a comeback. It was fantastic to see them again scurrying through the undergrowth.
Various insects were observed on the walk, including several different life stages of the green jewel bug (Lampromicra senator), (photo right by Penny Mills), nymphs of common eucalypt tip-wilter bugs (Amorbus robustus), butterflies including monarchs (Danaus plexippus) and common grass yellows (Eurema hecabe), metallic green acacia leaf beetles (Calomela ruficeps), and a studious orange-tailed potter wasp (Delta latreillei) collecting substrate from the track to turn into mud for a nest to house her offspring.
The tide was out, so when we could see Oxley Creek we had a good view of the exposed mudflats. Plants such as mangrove lilies (Crinum pedunculatum) were growing along side the mangroves. We also spotted a common mistletoe (Amyema conspicua) growing from a soap tree (Alphitonia excelsa) beside the track. Grey ironbarks (Eucalyptus siderophloia) and swamp box (Lophostemon suaveolens) grew beside the track leading to Pelican and Jabiru lakes and some of the native Hibiscus were in flower. Unfortunately, several introduced plants were photographed at the Common, including cockspur coral trees (Erythrina crista-galli) and creeping indigo (Indigofera spicata).
As I forewarned, two snakes were seen on the excursion: a possible green tree snake (which quickly disappeared into the undergrowth) and an impressive-looking venomous eastern brownsnake (Pseudonaja textilis) sunning itself beside the track. Fortunately, the brown snake was non-defensive so after a few quick snaps we left it alone to go about its business.
There was no set finish time, so attendees chose to turn back and finish the walk whenever it suited them. Several of us gathered at the Red Shed to enjoy a late morning tea/lunch. Although showers had been predicted during the day, especially for the morning, the rain held off and the day turned out to be mostly sunny, which made the day that bit more enjoyable. I hope everyone else who came also enjoyed the outing.
