Day 57 of Lockdown. My friend Valerie lives close to the Cooks River in Earlwood. This places her in a LGA of Concern, and from Monday 23 August, her time allowed outside for exercise is a maximum of one hour. So I suggested to her that we do a long walk on the last day she could.
White-headed Pigeon
She agreed and she joined me on a repeat of a walk I did about two weeks ago – along most of the Two Valleys Track which runs along Wolli Ck and the Cooks River. We did the walk and it was both interesting and enjoyable. Great exercise in the closest bit of bush to both of us (Wolli Ck Regional Park).
We met down on the Cooks River, near the Lang Street Bridge. The we set off, walking upstream to the Boat Harbour.
We looked near Younger Avenue for Tawny Frogmouths – but could not spot the pair that are often there.
On earlier walks (last year) we had both observed a pair of nesting Willie Wagtails. We looked to see if we could spot any new nests. No luck, but we did spot the Willie Wagtails –
At the Boat Harbour, there were a lot of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. Here is one of them.
We soon spotted both of the Tawny Frogmouths.
Near the boom, there was a single Little Pied Cormorant.
We crossed the river at the old Sugar Mill, then walked up Cup and Saucer Creek. O the way we saw a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets –
Then along a few roads to Illoura, near the start of the track down Wolli Creek.
Here is a Little Wattlebird –
At Illoura, we saw quite a few New Holland Honeyeaters.
Further along we spotted a female and male Golden Whistler.
Near the Bray Avenue Wetlands, we spotted an Eastern Yellow Robin.
And quite a few Silvereyes –
And a Grey Fantail –
Then we crossed into Girrahween Park.
We spotted a pair of Eastern Rosellas. Here is one of them –
The rock climbing area was busy but not that crowded. A bit further along is the old depression era Swimming Pool –
Valerie spotted some Greenhood Orchids –
And on the lower path, near Turrella Reserve, we saw some birds, including this White-browed Scrubwren.
And here is a Red-whiskered Bulbul just about to grab an insect.
We looked for ducks in Wolli Creek at Turrella Reserve. Here is a Hardhead –
And a pair of Chestnut Teals –
Near the start of the track to Jackson Place, we saw a bird lurking in the shadows. It was a White-headed Pigeon. A new native bird for me in this area.
On Jackson Place, we heard the loud calls of an Australasian Figbird. We soon spotted it –
We continued on to Waterworth Park.
Here is a Red-browed Finch feeding on the grass –
And there was a single Galah –
We looked for Sacred Kingfishers, but none seemed to be around. The tide at the time was quite low. Continuing along the Cooks River at Gough Whitlam Park and towards Illawarra Road – again, we spotted no kingfishers.
We crossed the river at Illawarra Road, and had rest break at the Golf Course. It was then that we saw a Sacred Kingfisher fly into the mangroves on the far side. It later was chased out by a Noisy Miner.
The Sacred Kingfisher sped off downstream.
We then continued along the bank at the Golf Course all the way to Wardell Road. It had been a very pleasant walk.