Birds at Tempe and the Cooks River – 12 November 2022

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Dave Noble

I started the day by taking part in the bird survey with the Tempe Birdos at the Tempe Wetlands.

Here are some of the birds we saw in the survey – Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland – 11 November 2022

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Dave Noble

Another visit to Malabar Headland. Why not? With the recent fledging of the Peregrine Falcon chicks, it has been incredible to watch their incredible flying and the also the efforts of their parents in teaching them the skills they need in order for them to survive.

Sue joined me for this visit, and we met at Maroubra Beach at 10 am. We were soon walking out towards Boora Point. Continue reading →

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Victoria Brook and Rienits Mine Walk – 10 November 2022

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Dave Noble

This was a very enjoyable walk with Bob in the upper Blue Mountains. We had, on an earlier walk, tried to visit Rienits Coal Mine in Victoria Creek – and although we must have been very close to it, we had not searched it due to high water flow. Bob suggested a round trip, visiting the interesting “S bend” section of Victoria Brook, then continuing to the junction of Victoria Creek and then walking upstream to the mine, then exiting onto the ridge nearby.

During the walk we saw a very fine display of wild flowers including many species of orchids, a very nice action of creek (almost canyon), some waterfalls and historic graffiti, and then a historic old coal mine. Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 9 November 2022

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Dave Noble

After a previous very busy day, I was glad to have a relatively quiet day. I did get up early however to take part in the monthly Greenway Bird Survey between Taverners Hill and Hawthorne Light Rail Stations.

Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading →

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Photographing the Lunar Eclipse – 8 November 2022

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Dave Noble

The 8th of November was a very full day. An early start with the Mudlarks, then a long afternoon at Malabar Headland, and then an evening lunar eclipse.

The photo above was taken in the suburban inner west of Sydney, at about 10 pm. Details – 600 mm, 1/4 second, f 6.3, 3200 ISO. I think this is a realistic image of how bright the eclipsed Moon appeared to the eye, from my viewpoint.

And there is more. I later saw some published photos that showed a conjunction of the eclipsed Moon with Uranus.  Had I photographed Uranus? I checked the position of Uranus at about 10 pm on that date in Stellarium and found I had indeed recorded the planet. Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland – 8 November 2022

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Dave Noble

I spent an amazing afternoon out on Malabar Headland. The resident family of Peregrine Falcons put on an incredible display of flying and was a privilege to witness this. I met Sue at Maroubra Beach and we walked out to near Boora Point. We later met up with Ian, the visiting Peregrine Falcon photographer from South Australia.

Later in the afternoon more bird photographers arrived including Shane, Roscoe and Sol.

Anyway, here are some of my photos which record the bird’s incredible speed and their interesting behaviour. Continue reading →

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Mudlarks – Cooks River Bird Survey – 8 November 2022

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Dave Noble

This was a very busy day. I later intended to make another visit to Malabar Headland, but first I got up early and walked down to the Cooks River, to join the Mudlarks at 7 am, at he Lang Street Bridge, for their monthly birds survey.

As we met up near the bridge, there was mist rising up from the river. Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland – 7 November 2022

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Dave Noble

This was an outstanding day for photographing the resident family of Peregrine Falcons on Malabar Headland. On this day, I was joined by Ian, a visiting bird photographer from South Australia.

Ian had contacted me, originally via a comment on this blog, and we arranged to meet up while he was visiting Sydney. At this time of the year, he usually photographs Peregrine Falcons nearer his home on the Murray River. But with the current water levels being far too high for safe navigation on the river this possibility was ruled out. So he travelled to Sydney and on one of the days of his visit, we met up at Malabar and walked out onto the Headland.  It was good to meet him and  share our joint passion for observing and photographing these very special birds. Continue reading →

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Nurragingy Reserve – 6 November 2022

Posted on November 12, 2022 by Dave Noble

I spent a nice day at Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside. As usual, I was on the lookout for Azure Kingfishers, and as usual lately, I didn’t spot any. And also, as usual, I did spot a pair of Sacred Kingfishers.

I wandered around the Reserve a fair bit during my visit, including three trips around the perimeter fire trail – and each one was relatively quiet. A bit disappointing. But Nurragingy is always a nice place to spend some time. Continue reading →

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Local Tawny Frogmouths – 5 November 2022

Posted on November 12, 2022 by Dave Noble

On this day, I visited, mainly on a bike ride, some of the local Tawny Frogmouth nests in order to check on their progress.

Morton Park

Continue reading →

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