Birdwatching at Taren Point Shorebird Reserve, Quibray Bay and The Cooks River – 10 December 2020

This was a nice day out with friends Valerie, Sue and Deb. We started out at the Shorebird Reserve at Taren Point.

We saw a number of birds there, including a Striated Heron and a pair of Bar-tailed Godwits.

We also saw some Pied Oystercatchers, but they were flying past at speed. We then started walking along the path towards Shell Point and the next observation platform. Here is a Red Wattlebird –

Along the way, we saw a nice Eastern Curlew –

At Shell Point, the is an artificial island. It is a nesting site for birds. Here are some Silver Gull chicks –

On the Oyster-beds where a number of birds. Here is another Eastern Curlew –

And some crabs –

I think this one is a Grey-tailed Tattler –

And one of the Bar-tailed Godwits –

Walking back to Taren Point Shorebird Reserve, we observed another Eastern Curlew –

We then drove out towards Kurnell. Our first stop was the observation platform at Quibray Bay. Views here are a bit restricted due to mangroves that are growing higher. Here is a distant view of some Whimbrels –

Our nest stop was Cape Solander, where we had lunch. But it was very windy – so we didn’t stay long. We headed back and stopped at Woolooware Waders Lagoon. We walked down a rough track and spotted some distant Black Swans.

It seemed quite difficult to walk around this lagoon – as there was a lot of Lantana and other weeds. We then farewelled Deb, and headed to the cafe at Gough Whitlam Park for coffee and to check out the Tawny Frogmouths.

The Tawny Frogmouth chick seems to have fledged as the nest was empty. We spent a bit of time looking around the trees but could not spot it or its parents. But on the island in the Billabong, we saw this nice juvenile Striated Heron –

And in the trees nearby was this Olive-backed Oriole –

The Striated Heron was hard to observe, as it mostly stayed behind the vegetation.

Here is a juvenile Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike –

As we were leaving, we spotted a Striated Heron hunting near the Billabong outlet. We stayed for at least 30 minutes watching it.

We then headed to Valerie’s place, and Sue and myself then walked up the Cooks River to look for the Tawny Frogmouths.

At Younger Avenue, there was no change –

Here is a Rainbow Lorikeet –

At the Boat Harbour, we located the five Tawny Frogmouths. Here are some of them –