A hot day was forecast, and t looks like being hot everywhere, so I decided to head to Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside early in the morning and remain there until it got too hot. The plan was to spot and photograph birds.
It turned out to be a reasonable day and I stayed till around 1 pm. By that time the temperature was around 31°C. The warm conditions meant that a lot of the birds were hiding in the shade, and also the noise of cicadas made it hard to hear bird calls (or perhaps the birds thought it not worth competing with the cicadas).
Not long before this trip, I had finished reading a book “A Wide and Open Land”, written by a friend Peter Ridgeway, where he described a long walk through the woodlands of the Cumberland Plain. I found the book most interesting and the author is a keen observer of Nature. The book contains a lot of natural history but also a lot of human history. I know now, after reading the book, that Nurragingy and Colebee were the first two Aboriginals to be awarded land grants by Governor Macquarie. At Nurragingy Reserve there is a Colebee Centre used for wedding receptions and other events. It is nice to know where names come from.
Now for some birds. The main duck ponds were pretty empty and I looked around for Kingfishers wth no luck. I walked around the perimeter fire road twice during my visit. On the first walk, I saw this Yellow-faced Honeyeater –
Then back at the duck ponds, I heard alarm calls and looked up and saw two Pacific Bazas. Here are some photos –
Later, on another perimeter walk, I spotted a Grey Fantail –
And an Eastern Spinebill –
A small flock of Superb Fairy-wrens were active –
And here is a Spotted Pardalote –
And another Yellow-faced Honeyeater –
Just about leave, I finally spotted a Sacred Kingfisher.
It didn’t remain for long, and then I spotted some White-winged Choughs –
Too hot to stay out, I made my way to the station and headed home.