Day 40 of lockdown. I decided for my exercise for the day to ride in the afternoon to Sydney Park and back. Taking a bike rather than walking would allow me to check out some of the new cycleways. Also – it would give me another opportunity to photograph some of the birds at the park.
I was able to photograph a good variety of birds, including an elusive Lewin’s Rail. Here are some –
Chestnut Teal
Welcome Swallows
Australian Magpie
Hardhead
Little Black Cormorant
Black Swan Cygnet
Australasian Grebes
There were three Australasian Grebes in the main pond.
This one had caught a Dragonfly. For some reason it ran on the water to eat it in the middle of the pond.
This one is running away from an Eurasian Coot.
And later, another sequence. Perhaps the Grebe was too close to the Coots nesting site?
And some photos of the Eurasian Coot –
In this sequence it is not chasing another bird.
And the eel was not near it.
Like my previous visit. I was on the lookout for Rails. This time I manage to get photos of both a Buff-banded Rail and a Lewin’s Rail. Each one was visible for a very short time – a second or two.
Buff-banded Rail
The Buff-banded Rail appeared at 4:14 pm. Two days before, I had seen it in the same location many times between 4:19 and 4:51 pm.
Lewin’s Rail
I had heard the Lewin’s Rail making its call from about 10 m away from this spot. When I went closer, the call was moving and the bird was not visible. I went back to this spot and I could hear the call not that far away. It made a very brief appearance at 5:07 pm.