This is the third of four field trips to sites on Canberra’s Western Edge. For more information see: https://conservationcouncil.org.au/western-edge/
Description: Mt Arawang is part of Cooleman Ridge Nature Reserve, between Tuggeranong and Weston Creek. We will walk around the base of the hill. It is an easy walk, mainly flat. Seventy species have been recorded in Cooleman Ridge Nature Reserve, including 4 species of Raptor, Speckled Warbler, Restless Flycatcher, and Golden and Rufous Whistler.
Meeting place: Meet at 8am near the gate on the western side of Namatjira Drive, where Chapman ends/begins, where there is space for a few cars. There is also space for a few cars on the eastern side of Namatjira Drive, at the end/beginning of Fisher.
Walking distance: 3 kms around the base. If there is interest, we could walk the track over the summit as well.
End time (approx.): 10:00 for the base loop, and an extra 45 mins to an hour to traverse the summit.
What to bring: Water, sunscreen. a hat and sturdy shoes.
Name of leader and contact details: Please register with the leader by email to liabattisson@outlook.com providing your name and mobile number, and the name and mobile number of an emergency contact. Do so before 7pm on Friday 27 March 2026 as numbers will be limited to 15.
Mount Arawang is at the southern part of the Cooleman Ridge Nature Reserve, with parking about 500m further south on the east side of Namatjira Drive at the bottom of Fisher.
Our group of 10 people enjoyed a walk on the fire trail circumnavigating the base of Mount Arawang. It was a beautiful morning, following a few days of rain. There were quite a few birds along the eastern side, but our identification by call was hindered by the traffic noise from the nearby road. It was easier to hear the birds as we walked around the western side.
The highlights included three small flocks of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. It was good to learn their single-note contact call – ‘chip’. They were feeding with a few Weebills and Spotted Pardalotes. One flock included a White-naped Honeyeater. These were all in trees rather than flying overhead. Some flocks were in eucalyptus trees with plenty of white flowers. We saw small flocks of Striated Thornbills, two Striated Pardalotes (one was a juvenile), three Brown Thornbills, one Rufous Whistler and heard several Golden Whistlers. Five Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes were perching on top of dead trees (three in the same tree, shuffling their wings). We also saw Silvereyes, a Noisy Friarbird and ten Grey Fantails.
Thank you to Lia for a very interesting walk.
If you are visiting Mount Arawang, it is also possible to walk to the summit, and the least strenuous (but still challenging) trail is over a metal bridge about 500m from a small carpark at the Kambah horse paddocks on Namatjira Drive.
Judi
