Macquarie Marshes

We were tempted to linger longer at Lake Cargelligo because when we parked near the town on the lake's shore for lunch the brilliant sky was mirrored in the still water and the pelicans, cormorants and, surprisingly, a single Black-winged Stilt, were parading backwards and forwards for our entertainment.

There is a campsite on the north side of the lake near the weir that we may stay at another time. Through the binoculars I could see hundreds of pelicans on that side of the lake. But we decided to head further north.

Lake Cargelligo

So we moved on to the Macquarie. I must make a note to tell someone in authority that the Macquarie River is flowing the wrong way - it should be flowing south instead of north. After all, its water runs out to sea near Goolwa in South Australia!

Fairy Martin nests high on a water tower at Warren.

We met the river at Warren (where I noticed that Fairy Martins had taken advantage of an overhang high on the water tower and built their bottle-shaped nests in a closely-packed community) then drove north for about 100 km to the Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve and booked in at the famous Willie Retreat near the Macquarie River. We've only had time to explore a small section of the area along Gibson Road but I can see why birds are attracted to the area now that there is a management plan in place to ensure water in the marshes instead of being diverted to cotton farms. It's actually much more diverse than I had realised because as well as the marshes and flats there are sandy woodlands.

My bird list isn't very long because a) it's not the optimum time to visit, b) I'm a lazy birdwatcher and only started seriously looking this afternoon, c) I don't own a telescope and d) I got distracted by several interesting birds and time flew by.

The birds I spent most time with were the half-dozen delightful Jacky Winters in the woodland, the Mulga Parrots and the dozen Black-faced Woodswallows plying for insects along a section of fence beside the road.

Black-faced Woodswallow, Macquarie Marshes

It would be wonderful to spend some serious time here in spring. Not in summer though. Myra, owner of Willie Retreat, told me that in one long hot spell last summer, when the temperature was in the high forties or more, she nearly dehydrated herself by going out around her house paddock with a basket to collect the birds that had fallen out of trees and taking them home to restore them to health,

Pied Butcherbird's lunch

We camped for the night at Rankins Springs and found it to be a spot worthy of a revisit in spring because it looks like it's a very 'birdy' area - the natural bush is right on the edge of town. We were also intrigued to explore the railway infrastructure there because as its the end of the line it has a turntable as well as a huge watertank and grain silo structure.

Rankins Springs turntable

Rankins Springs 'end of the line'

Rankins Springs silo

So, here comes the natural history element to this blogpost. While I was photographing the railway line etc. I noticed a Pied Butcherbird on some fallen timber and casually took a couple of photos. Later I was looking at the photos on the computer and saw that the butcherbird was having lunch at the time! A reptile expert may even be able to identify his menu choice for me. I hope it's not a threatened species.

Pied Butcherbird and lunch.

Tocumwal blowhole

Where I grew up a blowhole was where ocean waves rushed in to a cave and blew out through a hole in the ceiling of the cave. So I was intrigued when I saw that there was a blowhole at Tocumwal near the Murray river, a long was from the sea. We went to have a look of course.

It was a bit tricky to find because there aren't any signposts anywhere. And the granite outcrop is a minor bump on the horizon, just a few metres above the flat farmland that surrounds it.

View of Tocumwal Blowholes from the entrance gate.

The information board at the entrance calls are the area Tocumwal Rocks and describes the several deep holes in the top of the granite mound and Aboriginal legends associated with the area. They believe that the holes are connected to the Murray River about ten kilometres away, via a tunnel through which the spirit travels. It would have been a sacred place and I can see why.

There is a photo on the information board showing the deeper of the two holes when it is nearly dry.

Photo on the information board

When we visited the holes there was water overflowing from the hole and trickling down the granite slope, supporting a variety of plants. Even in times of drought and low water in the river, the hole will bubble and overflow with water, like a fresh water spring.

Tocumwal blowhole

A different (shallow) rockpool on the same outcrop.

So, we didn't see any 'blowing' but it was a fascinating area to visit.

Tocumwal

Sometimes (often?) I'm appalled at my ignorance.

I had no idea that Tocumwal was the biggest aerodrome in the southern hemisphere in World War II. It must have been an amazing sight, and amazingly noisy, when the trainee pilots were flying all over the local countryside. We went out and had a look at several huge hangers that still exist near the present aerodrome. They're on private property now but must be positively cavernous inside and we wondered if the farmer uses them for storage. 

WW2 aircraft hanger, Tocumwal

But I digress. I really wanted to chat about the Murray River. This section of the river has some beautiful sandy beaches and I was really pleased to see the amount of debris in the river. Fallen trees and branches lined the banks providing shelter for fish and other creatures that call the river home.