Barrabup Pool

Visited: spring and summer

Recommendation: I loved visiting this area. It is peaceful but full of wildlife. From birds to skinks, there is so much to see and the setting is so stunning.

Barrabup Pool is a few kilometres north west of the little (and very nice) town of Nannup. It has been used as a recreational area for over 100 years since logging operations began. In early morning, still light it is gorgeous, surrounded by Marri trees and native bush. The campsite was a hundred metres up the hill behind the pool. It was small and very quiet. 

Sitting next to the pool I tried to identify the calls of the numerous birds I could hear. Robins, fantails and fairywren hopped around on the ground while black cockatoo feasted on the blossoms in the canopy. It was a dream. 

Then a Red-winged Fairywren appeared on the deck in front of me. These birds have been so shy and difficult to photograph since I have been seeing them in Western Australia. Here, they were all over the place and out in the open. A female buzzed around me and I could hear chicks crying for food. I stepped away so she felt safe to return to them. A fledgling chick hopped around my feet and it took me ages to get a photograph of it when it was far enough away. Dad followed it around offering advice. I am ticking off getting great shots of the species of fairywren and these little ones were amazing.

Red-winged Fairywren (Malurus elegans)

I could hear lots of Western Whistlers calling across the trees. It was like a chain as they answered each other. I have seen lots of females but no males. I thought I might stand a good chance here and it wasn't long before I spotted one. He sang for me as well.

Western Whistler (Pachycephala fuliginosa)

There were Grey Fantail everywhere and I loved watching them as they sat on the railings of the bridge dashing off to catch bugs before returning. I was trying to photograph one on the ground who was displaying his full tail when I saw it feeding a youngster. Baby fantail are always incredibly cute and as this one sat and waiting for more food I was able to photograph and video it.

Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)

There were some other animals that seemed to be enjoying the pools. I saw a Sand Monitor stalking the areas around the pool and campsite. It, like so many of the other creatures here, was quite tame and tolerant of me. It was relatively small but still impressive. The whole area was full of King's Skinks and when I sat quietly, they would come out onto the steps to sun themselves. I love that the skinks in this photograph look like they are also a family enjoying a day out. 

White-breasted Robin (Eopsaltria georgiana)

One afternoon I sat at the picnic table in the campsite and listened to the sounds of the forest. The pardalote were noisy in their activities - the striated in the leaves and the spotted poking around in the bark. Silvereye and thornbills came and went chattering in groups and higher up I could hear Rufous Treecreeper and Western Whistler with their repetitive calls.

It was also great to see different pardalote in the same place. I don't know about the overlap, but I usually only hear one or the other. Even better to get them out in the light posing nicely!

A rustling behind me caught my attention and I turned to see a Scarlet Robin perched in the familiar robin like pose on a tree. I snapped away and then watched. The female, male and juvenile were working their way through the site feeding and chatting.

Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang)

I spent one evening wandering about looking for marsupials, snakes and nocturnal birds. I started walking down the road from the campsite to the pool. A Brush-tailed Possum was sitting behind the campervan. It had a white tip to the tail and I understand that is quite unusual in these animals. Another possum was less co-operative at the pools. I also saw several bats, a sleepy Kings Skink but little else. 

Brush-tailed Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

On my last night, I moved down to the Workman's Pool campsite. The pool wasn't as nice as Barrabup Pool but as that was the domain of the Timber Plant Manager and this was left for the employees, it was to be as expected. But what it did have was a patch of protected grass in the middle of the site. I suspected it might get some visitors and it did. The rosella and ringneck fed across the grass and were very tolerant of me. It was great to get clearer shots of the stunning rosella.

Western Rosella (Patycercus icterotis)