Green Cape
For some time now, COG has visited Green Cape every second year to stay in the former lighthouse keepers’ cottages and enjoy the wonderful wildlife watching (birds and whales, in particular) in Ben Boyd National Park and in the surrounding seas. With the likely privatisation of the cottages from 2021, we have booked the cottages in October 2020 for a final visit. There are only 14 places available for this trip. The commitment is for a 4-night stay – no concession for shorter stays. Accommodation costs are $326. There is also an $8 fee per car per day to enter Ben Boyd National Park. This can be paid at a self-registration booth on arrival. An alternative is a single park pass which costs $22 and is available online.
To register, email smlashko@gmail.com. This trip is now full but there are likely to be cancellations between now and October so if you would like your name added to the waiting list, please contact me. More detailed information will be sent to participants closer to the date.
Post event report
With commercial activities threatening future visits by group such as COG, this year’s visit to Green Cape was a memorable one.
As usual, we made the effort to rise before sunrise each morning and make our way to the Cape lookout to observe seabirds. On the first morning, some were able to spot both Shining Bronze-Cuckoo and Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo between the cottages and the lookout. A small but steady stream of Short-tailed Shearwaters were well out to sea, with just a few Wedge-tailed Shearwaters passing by. On the second morning the birds were much closer, and it was estimated we could see about 5000 birds, mainly Short-tailed Shearwaters, with many sitting on the water just off the point. This was a sight most of us had never seen before – truly breathtaking! Fluttering Shearwaters could be seen among them, and Crested Terns were diving through the rafts of Shearwaters. On the third morning there was still a steady stream of Short-tailed Shearwaters, and we also saw several Shy Albatross, a Northern Giant-Petrel, and three Arctic Jaegers flew over our heads and out to sea. The resident White-bellied Sea-Eagles were seen regularly, and on one occasion one picked a shearwater off the water.
On Wednesday evening we took our drinks and snacks down to Pulpit Rock Road hoping to add Eastern Ground Parrots to our bird list. We were welcomed by a group of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos, and several Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters. At dusk, our target birds could be heard calling on both sides of the road, but none were seen.
A walk from Pulpit Rock Road to the lighthouse gave us wonderful views of Striated Fieldwrens, Southern Emu-wrens, Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters and Eastern Whipbirds. The other major walk, from Pulpit Rock Road to Bittangabee and back, yielded Scarlet Honeyeaters, a Black-faced Monarch, Crescent Honeyeaters, a Rose Robin and Superb Lyrebirds, among others. There were also quite a few Small Duck Orchids and Sun Orchids along the way.
We also visited City Rock, where there’s been quite a bit of work done to improve the track, and Pulpit Rock, where the adventurous could explore the rock pools and we could all admire the wonderful views.
As usual, the shared evening meals were great, and one afternoon several took advantage of the offer of a lighthouse tour with ranger Gus. On the last full day, the weather turned quite nasty, with driving rain, and a bird-themed jigsaw filled in many hours.
Many thanks to Peter Fullagar for expert assistance with bird identification and counts, and to the drivers who helped with transport during the week.
