This was a short afternoon visit to try and get some better photos of the Black-backed Bittern. This was my fourth visit in recent times, and the first that I did not spot any of the Bitterns. Also, my visit was cut short by a big storm that was approaching.
I did see some other birds however. Continue reading
After visiting Rocky Creek Canyon, Wendy and myself headed out along a nearby ridge, along an overgrown fire road to look for an old campsite. However the fire road was not only the only thing overgrown, the campsite was completely covered in regrowth. So we ended up camping on a clearing on the fire road.
After a cup of tea, we put up our tents and then set off down to a nearby lookout. This offers very good views of the gorge of Carne Creek. Continue reading
I was heading up to the Blue Mountains for camping weekend with my friend Wendy. Our aim on Saturday was to visit Rocky Creek Canyon. I had been down the canyon with Bob, a few weeks earlier, but as canyons go, it is a relatively easy trip that offers a lot, so was more than happy to experience it again. I also thought that the hot humid weather could create some nice conditions for canyon photography.
We had a great trip. The canyon, as always was a bit cold. But conditions were relatively mild and it was certainly a very welcome refuge from the heat. And there were some nice photographic conditions. Continue reading
In an old issue of Hut News (page 10), Blue Mountains local historian, John Low, tells the interesting story of a former Springwood resident, Robert Scott. He lived in cave in the bush between De Chair Avenue and Scott Street at Springwood around 1920. In 1917, Robert Scott’s dog, Paddy, died. He was so saddened by the dog’s passing that he engraved three memorial tributes to the dog on rock faces at Springwood.
I had earlier seen the one of these tributes on the Sassafras Gully Track – the branch that leaves from the end of Sassafras Gully Road. This had been carved on a rock face a few hundred metres down the track. This had led me to John Low’s article. Continue reading
Bob and myself had finished our canyoning trip early, so on the wayback down the mountains we decided to visit two other sites. The first was to see a natural arch at Katoomba. This is very close to The Devils Hole and has been named the Devils Eye Arch.
It is reached by short track off Cliff Drive. The track starts a short way west of the Devils Hole Track (look for a small car park). It is only a minute or two to get to the arch. Continue reading
It was nice to visit this canyon at Blackheath again. Bob and myself headed up the mountains and parked near Hat Hill on the road to Perrys Lookdown (Hat Hill Road). A hot day was forecast, and we wanted to get the road section done first while it was cooler.
We walked back to the usual parking spot and were soon on the track down to the creek. Early on we spotted some nice Horned Orchids (Orthoceras strictum) – Continue reading
I did a late afternoon walk along apart of the Cooks River checking out the bird life. My first stop was at Marrickville Golf Course to see the Tawny Frogmouths. The chick is now quite large and keenly observing its surroundings.
This is the second nesting for this pair of Tawny Frogmouths for the season. They had two chicks a few months ago. I looked for those chicks and could not spot them nearby, nor the second adult (the female). Continue reading
As part of my project researching the history of Sassafras Gully at Springwood, I am looking for a cave shown in an old photo taken by Harry Phillips (around 1914). Around 1920, there was a cave somewhere in the gully known as “Phillips Cave” and I wanted to see if it was likely to be the one shown in the old photo. So first – try and locate the cave in the photo.
I thought is was likely to be a cave on the track to the gully that leaves Sassafras Gully Road. The track passes through series of caves, and I thought one of these would be likely. Continue reading
I spent the day at Sydney Olympic Park photographing birds. I first went to the Narawang Wetlands at Newington, again trying to photograph the Black-backed Bittern. This time, the light and weather was a lot better, but the bird was a lot more reluctant to be photographed – at least while I was there. The only photos I got were very distant ones. I also finished my visit off there, but this time I didn’t even spot the Bittern.
Quite a few other bird watchers were there during my morning visit – and so many pairs of eyes certainly helped with the spotting. The Bittern was upstream, and seemed to go on short flight every ten minutes or so. It would then vanish again in the reeds. Continue reading
This was a bit of a foolish trip. I could see rain on the way on the weather radar, but I hoped it would mysteriously stop or veer off in another direction. It didn’t! I was keen to get some better pictures of one of the Black-backed Bitterns, but in this I failed. My pictures were no better than those of my previous visit. But at least I was able to see this rare and unusual bird.
When I arrived, around 8 am, at the pond on Avenue of Ocean, there were five other bird watchers present, including Sharon and Maki who I have met before and Carl. I could easily spot the bird by the direction cameras and binoculars were pointed. It was a male.
But, it was starting to rain, and the light was appalling. Nearly all these photos were shot under an umbrella. Continue reading
