The main entrance to Buckanbe Park is from Glenburnie Road. Although like many suburban parks, it can also be accessed from side streets.
The entrance from Glenburnie Road.
As soon as you turn into Glenburnie Road from the busy Canterbury Road, you think you are already at your destination. The narrow, sealed road almost meanders past the wide nature strips full of vegetation of trees and shrubs.
The wide path meanders.
Arriving at Buckanbe, the first impression is of a small park about the size of a large housing block.
The wide concrete path makes easy going.
Appearances can be deceiving and it was, as the wide path seems to meander on and on.
Splashes of colour are frequent.
A pleasant surprise was soon after entering, sighting a large pond, half covered with lotus plants, although only one was in flower.
The only lotus flower.
Watching the ducks.
Several ducks called the pond home and seemed almost oblivious of human visitors.
Three black ducks.
A solitary wood duck.
There is a prominent sign reading, "Please do not feed the ducks." A local resident on her morning walk explained that the pond had to often be cleaned of mouldy bread that people had fed the ducks.
Good advice.
The main path which circumnavigates the park is wide and mostly concrete, very suitable for wheelchairs, but has some gentle slopes.
Several open grassed areas are in the central part and lots of seats are at almost every turn, so you can sit and enjoy your surroundings.
The path, grass and seat.
The whole park is extremely well cared for with most of the area landscaped with a few natural bush areas.
Apart from the gum trees, all the other vegetation appear to have been planted. There are numerous small trees, shrubs and native flowers.
Getting ready.
Full bloom.
The most prolific bush are numerous red bottlebrushes which would attract the honeyeaters.
Wattle bird amongst the bottlebrush.
Some of the many bottlebrush throughout the park.
Throughout the park were multiple plantings of native grasses, with one area just dedicated to them.
The area devoted to native grasses.
Bracken ferns are considered a pest in many parks and reserves as they can quickly spread and take over areas. In Buckanbe, there is small area of bracken confined to one location.
The contained area of bracken ferns.
Apart from the ducks, the only other birds I saw were wattlebirds, no doubt attracted by the flowering bottlebrush flowers. They are a very attractive bird to watch as they feed.
Wattle bird.
A real poser.
Houses border three sides of this park, but they are not obtrusive. Many have gates leading into the park and would be a very desirable feature to have.
A meeting in the park.
A seat opposite the pond is a good place to watch the ducks swimming.
A very pleasant scene.
It may not be huge, but a very pleasant half an hour could easily be spent wandering around and just sitting for a few minutes on the many seats and admiring what you see before you.
