Wolli Creek and Cooks River Walk – 7 July 2021

Day 11 of lockdown. A nice day was forecast, so I decided to do a longer exercise walk. I caught an almost empty bus to Bexley North and then walked down Wolli Creek via the Two Valleys Track to Tempe and then walked home via the Cooks River (the other branch of the Two Valleys Track).

I had a very interesting day. Along the way, I was able to observe fungi, orchids and birds.

I will start with some of the fungi I saw. These were found at various spots along Wolli Creek.

Hygrocybe aurantipes –

I was pleased to find this at a spot where I had seen it growing in great numbers on two previous seasons. This season, I have mainly found Hygrocybe austropratensis out at this spot. Earlier I did see a few Hygrocybe astatogala and what could have been a falling to bits Hygrocybe aurantipes.

Further downstream, below Girrahween Park, I found some small Earth Stars and some coral fungi nearby.

Near the climbing area is a good spot to look for waxcaps. I found quite a few Hygrocybe austropratensis –

And a single Gliophorus graminicolor –

There were quite a few Hygrocybe virginea –

Further downstream, near the old swimming pool, I found some small species of coral fungi –

On the lower area, near Nanny-goat Hill, I found a Russula rosea –

And a Cortinarius rotundisporus –

Below Turrella Reserve, I went off the main track near the old quarry and found some nice waxcaps out. There were lots of the red ones. I think they are all Hygrocybe collucera –

And a found these Hygrocybe batesii –

All the way along Wolli Creek, I had seen a lot of Greenhood Orchids. Mainly Pterostylis nutans –

And now for some birds. Here are some I saw along Wolli Creek –

New Holland Honeyeater

Grey Fantail

Superb Fairy-wren

Laughing Kookaburra

And at Turrella Reserve – Superb Fairy-wren

And one of many Welcome Swallows –

At Waterworth Park, I looked for Sacred Kingfishers, with no luck. The day before, when my myself and Valerie had seen one, the tide had been low and it had been sunny on the rocks. Now, the tide was low, but the rocks were in shade. Perhaps that was why the bird was not around?

I continued to Gough Whitlam Park where I stopped for short lunch break.

From the bridge over the billabong outlet, I saw a large school of small fish.

Nearby a Little Pied Cormorant was perched. It did not seem interested in the fish. Perhaps it had already eaten its fill?

Continuing upstream, I spotted a Sacred Kingfisher near Illawarra Road. It was perched in a tree and had a crab in its beak.

I then watched it. It took seven minutes for it to eat the crab.

I don’t know why it took so long to eat the crab. It later caught two more crabs. They looked about the same size but it ate them much quicker. The bird seems to kill or disable the crabs by swinging them around and bashing them on the branch. And it does this a few times. But perhaps if it is the first crab of a feeding session, the bird needs to also build up some digestive juices? or it could be that the particular crab was a difficult one?