I spent an enjoyable afternoon, cycling along the Cooks River to Tempe and then towards Botany Bay with a long stop at Barton Park. I had my camera with me to photograph birds.
At The Boat Harbour, I spotted one of the resident Tawny Frogmouths, but it was too obscured by branches in the tree for a good photo. At the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetland, I noticed the lower of the three pools was very green due to algae.
In this pool I spotted an Eastern Long Necked Turtle resting on a small island.
I then headed slowly downstream along the cycleway. At Tempe, on the bridge crossing the Cooks River I spotted a White-faced Heron and an Egret, both hunting for food. The heron flew off, but the Egret stayed and I was able to get some photos –
I then continued on the Barton Park and the Landing Lights Wetland. In the main pond were the usual Black-winged Stilts, and a White-faced Heron having a scratch.
I also spotted a few Black-fronted Dotterels.
While I was photographing these and some of the Stilts, I noticed a raptor flying rapidly overhead. I quickly turned my camera its way and managed to get a few photos of it. It turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon.
As it flew past, I noticed some more raptors. They looked like Black-shouldered Kites. Perhaps they had taken off to see what the falcon was up to.
They then flew away. I went back to photographing the Dotterels.
The White-faced Heron was still scratching –
I was about to leave, when I notched a bird sitting on one of the tall lamp posts above in the sporting area, near the grandstand.
I moved closer – and could see it was one of the Black Shouldered Kites.
I then waited to see if it would take off. But I became distracted by a New Holland Honeyeater, very close by, hunting for insects.
And then a Cormorant cruised past –
Then the Kite did take off. I was ready.
It flew to the Chinese Market Garden and hovered looking for prey. Within a few seconds it dived. Then it was out of sight.
I saw it fly back to the lamp post, with something held in its talons. It looked like a small rat. It then settled down for a feed.
My last photographic subjects was a Willie Wagtail hunting in tall grass.
A surprise on my way home was seeing a group of people blocking the cycleway at Myrtle St, Marrickville. I moved onto the road to pass them, and look back and saw they were all watching a rather large snake. I stopped and got my camera out.
It turns out, it was was a Boa Constrictor Gaboon Viper – probably an illegal pet that had escaped. This snake is venomous, potentially deadly to humans if bitten, but they are seldom aggressive.
One of the bystanders had called a snake handler to the site.