Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve, Orange
Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve, Orange, NSW
On my way to Sydney early in May of this year, I travelled between Lake Cargelligo and the city of Orange in New South Wales. As I approached Orange, I saw a tourist sign pointing to the Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve. I had been looking for a place to pull off the road, have lunch and do a spot of birding while I ate. This reserve seemed to fit the criteria well, so I pulled off onto a rocky dirt track leading down into the valley below. While it was a little bumpy, a non-4WD car can negotiate this track with care. There were no such concerns with my Ford Ranger 4WD.
Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve, Orange, NSW
The picnic ground (photo above) was pleasant with scattered trees and several picnic tables for visitors to use. While I ate my lunch I made a list of the birds seen or heard.
Bird List:
- Australian Magpie (photo below)
- Australian Raven
- Noisy Miner
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Red Wattlebird
- Galah
- White-plumed Honeyeater
- Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
- Crimson Rosella
- Rufous Whistler
- Striated Pardalote
- Welcome Swallow
It is not a big list, but the wind was chilly and it was just after midday which is generally not a good time for birding. My opinion is that this would be a great place to go birding on a sunny, spring day, preferably early in the morning or just before sunset.
Australian Magpie, Borenore Karst CP
The main attraction of this reserve is the cave next to the picnic ground. In the photos below (and above) you can see some of the rocky landscape which surrounds the picnic grounds. There is a walk visitors can take through one of the caves which I would like to have explored, but my torch was in a hard to get to box in the back of the ute. I really needed to get on the road again, anyway, so I gave the cave exploration a miss. I will be better prepared next time I pass this way.
Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve, Orange, NSW
Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve, Orange, NSW
Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve, Orange, NSW (click to enlarge)
Hi Trevor I live at Borenore, have always had a love for birds since I was a kid. My father had lots of bird averies and different varieties of finches. Now I’m well into my fifties I am hoping to have more time to sit and appreciate the beauty of our bird life. Currently enjoying a blue hay nesting in our shed and family of diamond fire tails.