Waite Conservation Reserve

A little rain, a little warmth and the Yellow Stainer Mushrooms appear. If you scratch the surface of the mushroom and wait a minute you will see why it is called a Yellow Stainer.
They look like an edible mushroom that you would buy from the shop. BUT, they will give you nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting, shortly after eating. Leave them alone.

The rain over the weekend should help to green up the landscape. For those of you who would like a longer walk which uses the trails in the Reserve, you could try this.

Start at McElligott’s Car-park, walk up Brown Hill and then onto Springwood Park, through to Gate 89 on the Brownhill Ridge Track. Then follow the Sheoak Loop and the Yurrebilla Trail to take you back to the start. There are good views to Brownhill and Ellison’s Creek Valleys as well as to the city. About 8.5 kilometres.

An even longer walk is to start from the Car-park and walk up the Brownhill Creek until you reach the footbridge at the Manure Pits. Cross over it and walk through on the easement that takes you past the house and onto Springwood Park. Once through the gate you can climb up to the Brown Hill Ridge Track via the Springwood Trail. Continue on to Gate 89 and return via Sheoak Loop and Yurrebilla Trail. About 11 kilometres.

This pair of Tawny Frogmouths appeared to be quite oblivious to the 200 plus walkers that went past them today.

Sunday looks like a good day for walking in the Reserve. Cool, cloudy and with light winds.
Bring a snack, sit at Randell’s table (Stop 8), or any of the other 9 tables in the Reserve and enjoy the wildlife.

The SA Blue Gums are well into flower and the Rainbow Lorikeets know it. Meanwhile the River Red Gums are getting ready to flower too. If you find fallen buds or flowers it is easy to tell one from the other. SA Blue Gums always have their buds & flowers in groups of 3, while River Red Gums have their in a cluster of 5 or more. The bark is also a guide. Blue gums tend to lose theirs in strips, while River Red Gums lose theirs in blotches.

If you would like to know more about Eucalypts, why not go along to hear Dr Dean Nicole, a world authority on them, talk about the weird and wonderful world of Eucalypts, next Wednesday evening, 7:30pm in the newly rebuilt Gatehouse on Claremont Avenue. There is only space for 60 people, so RSVP to [email protected].

The echidnas have been busy in Koala Gully, digging out ants from behind the retaining boards on the edge of the trail. Today the 75 mm deep board at this point was replaced with a 225 mm deep board. Hopefully this will solve the problem.

Today was the day for the Five Peaks Run. The weather today was much kinder than 2025 and as a result, the runners looked happier.

The weekend is ideal for walking in the Reserve.
Be aware that runners involved in the Five Peaks event will be on the trail from approximately 11 am to 4 pm on Sunday

As you walk up from Hartley Grove to enter the Reserve, take the time to smell the Grey Box flowers as you walk past. They smell strongly of honey, which is why they attract honeybees.

Breeding season is underway for Fallow Deer. |
Do not approach a male deer (buck) at this time.
Bucks spread their pheromones to attract females by thrashing vegetation. This is what happened to a young eucalypt on the Waite Loop this weekend.