Aboriginal Sculptures and Chesnut-rumped Heathwren - Camping in the Pilliga Scrub, NSW

Indigenous sculpture -  Pilliga Scrub

Scultpures crafted by local indigenous people line a ridge-top walking trail from the appropriately named Sculptures in the Scrub camping ground in Timmallallie National Park in the Pilliga Scrub of northern NSW. We spent three nights there after visiting Kwiambal National Park and the Warrumbungles. This is one of the striking scultpures encountered along the top of the circuit trail.

Indigenous sculpture - Pilliga Scrub

Here is the same sculpture, photographed from the bottom of the walking trail looking up to the ridge-top, on the return leg.

Indigenous sculpture - Pilliga Scrub - with fellow campers Kathy & Glenn

The creation of the scultpures is a novel way to showcase this fine national park. The concern is how long it will be before vandals do their worst. Already, bits and pieces have been taken from the works.

Pilliga Scrub

The 3000-sq km Pilliga Scrub is one of the largest remaining tracts of semi-arid woodland in Australia. Thankfully the NSW Government has moved to protect substantial tracts of the scrub.

Chesnut-rumped Heathwren habitat - Pilliga Scrub

Birds were a bit thin on the ground, in part because we encountered unseasonally heavy rain, but we glimpsed Chesnut-rumped Heathwren several times near the campground, though not well to photograph the birds.

White-eared Honeyeater

Others were more co-operative. White-eared Honeyeater was one of the commoner birds in the scrub. Emu, Inland Thornbill, Eastern Spinebill and Yellow-tufted Honeyeater were among other birds seen.

Inland Thornbill

Eastern Spinebill

We spent an evening a little to the west of the park in Camp Cypress, a camping ground in the town of Baradine, where some of the commoner species were present. It was interesting that Yellow-throated Miner was common here but just a few kilometres away in the scrub, Noisy Miner predominated.

Eastern Rosella

Red-rumped Parrot

Yellow-throated Miner

Australian Raven

On the way home we stopped in tall eucalypts at the western base of Cunningham's Gap - a traditional site for Musk Lorikeet, a scarce species in Queensland. Several groups of lorikeets were seen.

Musk Lorikeet