This was another pleasant day spent out on the Headland, but relatively quiet as far as the Peregrine Falcons where concerned. I was glad of Sue’s company on the visit. We also met up with Sam, a fellow bird photographer later in the day.
On the walk out, we saw a number of lizards – skinks and a couple of Jacky Dragons like this one – Continue reading
One of the walks Bob and myself had been considering for a while, was traversing the ledges below the Oronga Ridge. It looked possible to traverse the half-way ledge between Oronga Gully and Banks Gully near Mt Banks. This ledge seemed to have been well explored by climbers and members of the Springwood Bushwalking Club. Bob and myself had earlier had a brief look at the ledge near the Banksy Climbing Area.
Bob parked on the Bells Line of Road at the top of Oronga Ridge, and we set off along the climbers track along the ridge. Continue reading
I took part in the early morning bird survey along the Greenway. The group meets at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station at 7:30 am. Here are some of the birds we saw –
Red Wattlebird
Superb Fairy-wren Continue reading
After the Cooks River Bird Survey, I visited Barton Park for a few hours.
When I arrived, I could see the water level in the main pond at Landing Lights Wetland was quite low. This means suitable conditions for Black-fronted Dotterels. I looked around the exposed mudflats but could not see any. Continue reading
I joined the Mudlarks for their monthly bird survey along the Cooks River. The group meets near the Lang St Bridge at 7:30 am (7 am during the daylight saving period) on the second Tuesday of the month.
This month the group surveys along the upstream loop – to the Boat Harbour and the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands. Continue reading
I joined Brian Everingham on a walk he led in Dharawal National Park and Dharawal Nature Reserve for the National Parks Association of NSW (and the Illawarra Plants Society)
In the party was Brian, Sue, Vivienne, Deb, Ian, Philip, Lawrence, Helen, Derek, Elaine, Michael, Helen and myself.
We first walked down to Maddens Falls, and then returned to the cars, and then set off along a fire road near the carpark that went into Dharawal Nature Reserve. We later returned the same way. We saw a great display of native plants along the way. Continue reading
I spent a very pleasant weekend in the bush on the Asgard Plateau near My Victoria in the upper Blue Mountains. I was with a large group of friends who had all headed out to camp together to celebrate two birthdays.
The Asgard Plateau is a delightful place to undertake some bushwalking or camping. On this trip, we had thought about camping high up on one of the heads, but the forecast was for cold windy weather, so we camped at the most used spot at Asgard Swamp. Continue reading
I was visiting my sister and brother in law at Hazelbrook on Friday night, and on Saturday morning I wandered around their garden with my camera. The Bowerbirds were about.
The Bellbirds were Satin Bowerbirds, and they all seemed to be juveniles. Part way up the drive was a bower. It was hidden in the foliage. Continue reading
Bob and myself were keen to head back to an area we visited two weeks before, where we had looked at a number of Aboriginal sites in the Northern Blue Mountains. On this trip, we went back to the same area and visited some more interesting sites.
As usual on these trips, we started by walking along a fire road. On the way we saw a few orchids – Continue reading
I spent the morning at Rookwood Necropolis photographing birds. My last visit had been very good for photographing Spotted Pardalotes and Scarlet Honeyeaters. That visit had been in the afternoon. This time, I saw a few Scarlet Honeyeaters, and heard a lot more – but they seemed to be spending their time high up in the trees. The same for the Pardalotes. But the pair of Brown Goshawks that I had seen last time where about, and seem to be nesting nearby.
When they are perched in the trees, these Goshawks can be very hard to spot, just by looking around and looking up. But if you hear them calling, then that gives you big clues to where they are. Continue reading
