My friend Wendy had organised a walk around the Blue Gum Swamp circuit in Blue Mountains National Park at Winmalee. This was an excellent place to visit – it had been raining, and the rain was forecast to stop in the early morning, at about the time we would be setting off, and it was the right time of year for a lot of orchids to be flowering. Plus the Blue Gums along the swamp are quite remarkable – and not burnt out by the recent bushfires.
On the walk were Wendy, Don, Enmoore and myself. The rain had stopped and held off for most of the walk, except for one short squall. We started off walking down through the swamp area – and then returned via the Shaws Ridge Fire Road. We saw orchids out all along the way. Here is Wendy photographing a small orchid –
Here are some of what we found –
Bearded Orchid – Calochilus sp.
Sun Orchid – Thelymitra sp.
Cymbidium suave
Greenhood Orchid – Pterostylis sp.
Rock Orchids – Dendrobium speciosum
Bearded Orchids – Calochilus paludosus
Flying Duck Orchid – Caleana major
Bearded Orchid – Calochilus campestris
Caldenia carnea
Caldenia catenata
Here are some photos taken along the walk –
One of a number of Waratahs we saw in flower –
Here is a New Holland Honeyeater –
And a Large-billed Scrubwren –
We heard this Sacred Kingfisher before we spotted it –
The Blue Gums (Eucalyptus deanei) that grow along the creek are particularly special.
A male Golden Whistler –
An Eastern Yellow Robin –
A female Golden Whistler –
A White-naped Honeyeater –
A Yellow-faced Honeyeater –
Heavy rain hit us on Shaws Ridge – but only lasted a few minutes.
An Eastern Spinebill –
Thanks to Wendy for organising this really nice day out.