I was keen to make another visit to photograph the raptors of the Northern Beaches, so I made the trip to Rat Park and Long Reef.
I visited Rat park to see how the Osprey nest was going. I thought that the Osprey chicks may now be flying. Continue reading
This was a pleasant day walk in Royal National Park. I travelled down with Sue on the train to Cronulla. Then we caught the ferry to Bundeena and were soon through the streets and on the Coastal Path.
The weather was fine, and t was hot enough not to want to do a longer walk. It is late in the season, but there were plenty of wild flowers to see along the way. Continue reading
The canyoning season has started late this year – at least for Bob and myself. The cool weather has not been that encouraging. But, with a warm day forecast, Bob suggested visiting Wotta Canyon in the Blue Mountains. It is short canyon in a tributary of Birrabang Creek. I had been down Birrabang Creek many ears earlier, and had not really encountered any sections of canyon of great note. But perhaps it was time for another look? So I suggested we go down Wotta and then walk down to the junction and exit by walking up Birrabang Creek.
This turned out to be a good plan. We had a nice day out. It turned out to be a fairly short day, and we were back at Bob’s car in the earlier afternoon. Continue reading
I thought it still worth visiting malabar Headland to see the juvenile Peregrine Falcons, although it must be getting near the end of the “season” – the time period the juveniles are still relatively close to the nest area, and so easy to spot and observe.
This time, I was again joined by Sue. It turned out to be a very worthwhile visit – I was able to get a good set of photographs of the juvenile Peregrine falcons interacting. And we later saw a Sea Eagle fly past, and we finished by spotting a pair of juvenile Buff-banded Rails. But things started off very quiet. We walked out to arrive near Boora Point around noon. On the way, we had no been able to spot any of the Peregrine Falcon family. Continue reading
This was another very good day of bird photography spent at two sites on the Northern Beaches. I started at Rat Park where I watched the Osprey family. Then I went to Long Reef.
At Rat Park, as I walked in, I could see the male Osprey on the cross spar. Continue reading
Some friends were keen to do this walk on the ledges on the south side of Mt Banks, and invited me to join them and show them the way in the tricky spots. I had done the traverse earlier in 2016, and was happy to do it again. The walk offers some amazing views of very steep and rugged country, and it is quite remarkable that a relatively easy route is possible.
In the party were Enmoore, Brent, Su Li, Steffy, Dave W, Phil and myself. Phil, a botanist, was particularly keen to look for the rare Isopogon fletcheri which does grow in small numbers on some nearby cliffs. Continue reading
Another afternoon visit to the Headland. This time I was joined by Sue – and we ended up having a very quiet visit.
We met at Maroubra Beach about 2:15 pm and walked out towards Boora Point. Near Dead Mans Gulch, I spotted an adult Peregrine falcon flying from the Magic Point area towards the Rifle Range. Continue reading
I had the afternoon free, so set off again to visit Malabar Headland. I was keen to get more photos of the Peregrine Falcons, but they were not that active. But a passing White-bellied Sea Eagle livened things up a bit.
I arrived around 3:30, and met Biggles out on the cliffs. He had seen one of the juveniles and a parent. He was worried about the other juvenile – was it still alive? Apparently about 50% of juvenile Peregrine Falcons die in their first year after fledging. It is a dangerous life they lead. Continue reading
Bob had been keen on a walk to Wentworth Cave on the Grose River for a while, and had worked out a route from the north. This part of the larger Grose Wilderness has the name “The Devils Wilderness”, and that is appropriate as it is wild and rugged. Not easy country.
Doug joined us on the walk, and we all travelled out along the Paterson Range in Bob’s car. We parked where the road descends down to Burralow Swamp. A branch of the fire road continues along the ridge, but is blocked by a barrier. Continue reading
After a very good visit the previous afternoon, I was keen for another visit, and this time I was joined by Sue and Valerie.
We walked out from Maroubra Beach at about 1:30 pm, and we reached the clifftop where we expected the Peregrine Falcons to be around 2:15 pm. There we met Biggles, another bird photographer. A first the Peregrine falcons were fairly quiet – perhaps the juveniles were resting? Continue reading
