I went for a morning walk along the Cooks River – from Illawarra Road – to the Princes Highway, and then walked back the same way. I was on the lookout for birds.
In particular, I was looking for the Sacred Kingfishers I had observed in the mangroves along the revere recently.
Just past the SWSOOS I spotted a few Little Black Cormorants–
And a single Little Pied Cormorant –
In Gough Whitlam Park, I spotted the pair of Tawny Frogmouths. They were perched in a casuarina in a different thicket this time. But it was not too far from where they often perch.
I spotted the one above first, and didn’t spot the second one at first. Can you see it in the photo below?
Here is the second one, the female, from a better angle.
And here you can see both – with the male closer.
Then in the am groves nearby, I did spot a Sacred Kingfisher –
It flipped around the face the other way, but then flew off.
These Sacred Kingfishers, this season, are very tricky to photograph. Flying off very quickly – and often to the far side of the river.
Further downstream, another Little Pied Cormorant –
I then looked in Waterworth Park. Nothing of note.
This Little Pied Cormorant was at the junction of Wolli Creek and the Cooks River –
And a short way up Wolli Creek was this White-faced Heron –
Here are some Inkcaps, in different stages –
Crossing the bridge over the Cooks River, I could see a Heron sitting on the mudflats near the saltmarsh. A Striated Heron or a juvenile Nankeen Night Heron? Perhaps the latter.
The birds along the river at the Princes Highway in Cahill Park were a bit disappointing. I ddi see this Little Pied Cormorant –
There was also a Sacred Kingfisher, but it flew off upstream under the bridge as soon as I arrived. I ddi not see it return.
Here are some Little Black Cormorants on the sand at the creek –
And in the trees of Cahill Park, a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo –
Foraging on the river, a White-faced Heron –
I then walked back upstream.
One more Little Black Cormorant –
