I had heard recently of a family of Barking Owls that had been seen roosting near Narrabeen Lagoon. So, I thought it may be worthwhile heading up that way to see if I could find them. Any spare time afterwards, I could use at Long Reef photographing the local Ospreys.
So I caught a bus to Dee Why and then changed to a local bus and got off near Narrabeen Lagoon, and headed to Jamieson Park on the south side of the lagoon, which seemed a good place to start (Barking Owls had recently been recorded there on the eBird site).
I walked along the path/cycleway and encountered three other bird photographs looking for the owls, but we had no success in spotting the.
I did find a single Tawny Frogmouth –
And here is a Dollarbird –
I spent several hours in the area and had no luck at all in locating the owls, so I walked back to Pittwater Road and caught a bus down to Long Reef.
At the lookout, I spotted a hovering Nankeen Kestrel –
At the bottom, with the aid of binoculars, I spotted an Osprey perched in tree on the north side eating a fish. I walked over to it –
Then another Osprey flew past, so I walked back to the rock platform area.
The Osprey flew around a bit.
Another bird photographer, Cecile was there. I had met her several times befog at Long Reef. We waited for more birds to appear.
Caspian Tern
White-faced Heron
Andan unusual bird at Long Reef, a Chestnut Teal –
Crested Tern
Then an Osprey appeared and started hunting for fish –
It dived, but pulled out.
The osprey flew past.
Then I got call from a bird photographer friend, Phillip. He lives in the area, and had seen the Narrabeen Barking Owls that very morning. He told me where to look for them, and then offered to pick me up and drive over to where they should be. I really appreciated this fantastic offer, and we were soon on the way to them.
We only spotted two of the four Barking Owls. They were roosting in a distant tree.
I am very grateful to Phillip for showing me these very special birds.