Day 64 of Lockdown. I returned to the Cooks River, with a morning bike ride down to Cahill Park and back. The tide was rising and fairy high when I headed back – so I thought my chances of spotting Kingfishers would be limited. But I did either see one or two Sacred Kingfishers or perhaps, more likely, just the one Kingfisher in three different spots.
On my way down the Cooks River, I keep a look out for Kingfishers but didn’t see any at the usual spots of below Illawarra Road, Gough Whitlam Park or Waterworth Park. I kept going and went to Cahill Park at Wolli Creek. No Kingfishers there, but I did spot a Striated Heron –
I then went back across the river to Tempe Reserve. I looked around, but there seemed to be few birds. Here is a White-faced Heron –
Then, I headed back to Cahill Park. Just across the Cooks River, and close to the Princes Highway, I spotted a Sacred Kingfisher –
However, it soon flew off under the bridge. How far did it go? I have no idea.
I then started riding back to Tempe. On the cycleway that goes under the railway bridge, as it climbs up to Tempe Station carpark, I spotted a Sacred Kingfisher perched in the mangroves.
I saw it dive down to grab a crab, but before it could regain a perch, a Noisy Miner, flew down and harassed it, so it flew across the river. I made my way to Waterworth Park to see if it was still on that side. It was, but not for long. After I grabbed a few photos, it took off and flew back to the Tempe side.
I waited for a while, to see if it would fly back. It didn’t, so I looked around for some other birds. A Willie Wagtail was hunting on the grass.
And here is a Magpie Lark –
One of several Welcome Swallows –
And there were a pair of Galahs –
And there were some nice wildflowers. This one is Kennedia rubicundus –
