November 11, 2022
ALTERED DATE FOR THE FEBRUARY CLUB MEETING
Please not the February Club Meeting will be a week later than usual:
Tuesday 14 February Club Meeting: The Henry Carmichael Theatre, Level 1, The Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney at 7:30 pm. “Olfactory misinformation: Using “fake news” to protect shorebirds from invasive predators”. Speaker: Dr Catherine Price.
November 6, 2022
In case you missed the presentation of prizes for 2022 photo competition . . . .
Here is a video displaying the top ten images and the prize winners:
and yes, there are more than ten images in the top ten. So good were the images that the judges had a hard time discriminating them.
Many thanks to the judges who gave generously of their time and expertise.
Congratulations to the winners and to all of the photographers for such wonderful images.
May 16, 2017
Lake Cowal in the last flood
Report by Malcolm Carnegie,
Photography by Malcolm Carnegie
Projects Manager – Lake Cowal Foundation
Commencing in late June 2016, flooding rains over much of inland NSW through to the end of October 2016 saw the Lachlan River and Bland Creek fill Lake Cowal to a flood peak equivalent to that of 1990.
Once full, water flows from the north of Lake Cowal near Bogies Island into Nerang Cowal. From here, the Manna and Bogandillon Creeks flow into the Bogandillon Swamp and ultimately back into the Lachlan River.
When full, Lake Cowal covers an area of approximately 13,000 hectares with a length of 21 kilometres by 9.5 kilometres at its widest point, having a maximum depth of 3.5 metres, and taking a period of up to three years to dry mostly through evaporation, provided no significant inflows occur.
During the Spring/Summer/Autumn of 2016/17 a variety of waterbirds took the opportunity to breed in both the lignum areas and fringing river red gums of the lake. Species feeding and/or breeding in the various habitats of the lake included:
- Royal Spoonbill and Yellow-billed Spoonbill;
- White-necked Heron and White-faced Heron;
- Nankeen Night Heron;
- Great Egret;
- Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant and Pied Cormorant;
- Australasian Darter;
- Eurasian Coot;
- Australasian Grebe and Great Crested Grebe;
- Red-necked Avocet;
- Black Swan;
- White-headed Stilt;
- Whiskered Tern;
- Sacred Kingfisher;
- Plumed Whistling Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Blue-billed Duck, Chestnut Teal and Pacific Black Duck;
- Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis and Glossy Ibis;
- Magpie Goose observed and breeding for the first time since 1990.
Presently approximately 2,000 Australian Pelicans are fishing the shallower northern sections of Lake Cowal with the water level presently relatively stable through the winter months. With no further inflows, the lake is expected to have water in it through to the 2018/19 Summer.
Pelican rookery photographs were taken by by Vince Bucello at Nimmie Caira.