Greetings fellow Foxies
Whinbin Nature Reserve adjoins Whinbin Rock about 20km east of Highbury on the (sealed) Whinbin Road. Although only 38 hectares in size its strategic location on a ridge provides a valuable bird breeding refuge within substantially cleared farmland. About a quarter of the reserve had been mined for gravel and sand, but this area has been replanted, and trees and other vegetation elsewhere is in good condition.
Whinbin Nature Reserve adjoins Whinbin Rock about 20km east of Highbury on the (sealed) Whinbin Road. Although only 38 hectares in size its strategic location on a ridge provides a valuable bird breeding refuge within substantially cleared farmland. About a quarter of the reserve had been mined for gravel and sand, but this area has been replanted, and trees and other vegetation elsewhere is in good condition.
There are a range of land types, with the most common being sandy and loamy gravels, tall woodland loams and sandy duplex. There are no waterways or sheoak jam country that signifies good orchid country. On my two visits I found greenhoods, cowslips and a few fringed mantis orchids.
There are no internal or boundary roads or tracks apart from one on the south-western side that leads from Whinbin Road to a renovated sand pit.
The northern side of the reserve has little interest for bushwalkers apart from a line of salmon gums with a few delightful understorey plants. I was surprised to see a grevillea on that loamy soil, but the plant, Grevillea huegelii is found further east.
There are no internal or boundary roads or tracks apart from one on the south-western side that leads from Whinbin Road to a renovated sand pit.
The northern side of the reserve has little interest for bushwalkers apart from a line of salmon gums with a few delightful understorey plants. I was surprised to see a grevillea on that loamy soil, but the plant, Grevillea huegelii is found further east.
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A walk through the southern side of the reserve takes one through kwongan bush with scattered mallees, on open wandoo on the western side, and a breakaway on the eastern side. Below the breakaway, the country varies from dense blue and brown mallet, open woodland and tammar gravel to the north east.
 Eucalyptus pluricalis mallee |  Acacia shrub |  Petrophile glauca |
 Acacia squamata |  Lysinema pentapetalum |  Chloanthes coccinea |
I suggest a visit to this reserve from mid-August to mid- September when many of the bushes are flowering and before kangaroo ticks become active. There is a good WIFI signal for Telstra users you can track your location using Google Maps
 Constipated salmon gum? |  Tree art |  Huge tree burl |
Line of salmon gums and brown mallet with dryandras on the low mesa upslope
Mixed tree forest south west of the reserve
Kwongan gravel
Red morrell and mallet below a breakaway