David Noble Blog

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 →

Over the years, I have seen and photographed two of the three Bittern species found in Australia. The one I had missed was the Little Bittern, or what is now called the Black-backed Bittern. Some of these illusive birds had recently been seen at the Narawang Wetlands at Newington – and they are part of the Sydney Olympic Park.

So I caught a bus close to the wetlands from Strathfield. I walked down to the Avenue of Oceana, which provides a good view of the pool they had been seen near. I saw two other bird watchers. They had only been there a few minutes and had not seen the bird. But a minute or two later we saw a bird flying towards the far end of the pool. It was a Black-backed Bittern. I managed to get a few photos before it moved out of sight into the reeds. But it was facing away.The black back indicates it is a male. Continue reading →