Glenbrook

Glenbrook Lagoon - Turtle Island

Yesterday Ken and I drove down to Glenbrook to visit the Lagoon.  We were here last January and wanted to see how the new Turtle Island was progressing.  At the time of our last visit I was not aware of the significance of the raft we saw floating out on the Lagoon, but I am now fully aware of the nature of this raft.  It is an eco habitat to provide a safe nesting place for turtles.  The project is a collaboration between Blue Mountains City Council, Western Sydney University and local volunteers.  I believe already three nests containing eggs have been found on the floating nesting place, known as Turtle Island.  Glenbrook Lagoon is home to a number of turtle species, including Eastern Long-neck and Sydney Basin turtles.  The turtles face danger, as foxes destroy 95 per cent of their nests so the  island will provide an excellent refuge.  The island contains nest boxes, sand, turf and soil.  The turtles find the materials they like and nest.  The island can hold up to 30 nests.  The floating island will make it harder for foxes to get to the eggs.

Glenbrook Lagoon is a haven for remnant bushland.  It is an active bushcare site and a valued recreation point for the community.  There is a lovely track through the bush and along part of the Lagoon.  It is not possible to walk completely around the Lagoon and at some point the track links up with local streets.

This was our point of entry from where we parked our car.  We were surprised at how cold it was and the trees looked dark and gloomy.  The water level in the Lagoon was much higher than it had been when we were last here in January.

Here is the floating raft known as Turtle Island.  Foxes are able to swim, but it depends on their motivation.  If there is an abundance of food on land then there would be no reason for them to swim out to the island.

This is part of the track, running along the back boundaries of houses in the area.  This track eventually meets up with a local residential street.  However, it is a quiet area and we saw some ducks waddling safely beside the road.

This is part of the remnant bushland.  We were quite shocked at the state of this bush as there were lots of logs and trees lying around and we thought it looked ill-cared for.  However, there may have been a reason to leave the logs and branches in that state as they would provide habitat for the local fauna and other insects and creatures.



We enjoyed our little trip to the Lagoon again, but it was a cold afternoon and we had not brought coats with us, so we did not spend very long outside.  We drove around the Lagoon and stopped to view it at various entry points along the way and then hurried back to the warmth of our car.