Day 60 of Lockdown. There had been spell of wet and windy weather – not nice for outdoor exercise. On this day, the weather had improved in the afternoon, so I got my bike out and cycled upstream along the Cooks River Cycleway.
One of my aims was also to look for some Tawny Frogmouths in the Croydon Park – Campsie area. I had recently seen a photo of a pair perched in a tree in Federation Reserve. I had never been to this reserve as it is on the opposite side of the river to the cycleway. When I checked on the map – it was just within my 5 km radius for exercise and recreation.
On the way, I looked for the Tawny Frogmouths at Younger Avenue. I saw no sign of them, only their abandoned nest. I hope they have moved to a better site. At The Boat Harbour, I soon spotted the pair of Tawny Frogmouths. They were perched in different trees, not that far apart, and with the female perched very close to a prospective nest.
Here is the female –
And the male –
A few more shots of the female –
A short distance further upstream was a Little Egret. It was hunting in shallow water. Nearby were a few Little Black Cormorants. The Egret was probably hoping to grab some fish or crustaceans disturbed by the Cormorants.
Just then, a Striated Heron landed on the mudflat.
The Heron looked around, and didn’t look too pleased to see all the rubbish.
It soon flew upstream. Then a Royal Spoonbill came past.
On the bike, it didn’t take long to get to Federation Reserve. Its nice park with some good native trees. I looked and didn’t manage to post any Tawny Frogmouths. I also had look along the Croydon Park side of the river – with no luck.
On my ride home, the Little Egret had moved to the Boat Harbour.
