This was the first of two afternoon visits to the Headland to photograph the juvenile Peregrine Falcons while they are still flying together close to the nest area. The first of these visits I made by myself and while I was there, I was the only bird photographer around.
It was a very good visit. Both the juvenile Peregrine Falcons were active during my time on the Headland. Continue reading
I, and some fellow birders from the Greenway Bird Survey Group, had been invited by the Inner West Environment Group to attend a special ceremony on the Greenway – The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Tree Canopy Project – Commemorative event. This is a long title, but what it was for was – the Inner West Environment Group had obtained funding under the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Tree Canopy Project for some tree and shrub planting in a section of the Greenway along the Hawthorne Canal, near the Hawthorne Light Rail Station.
So a plaque was being unveiled and a few trees were being planted to start this off. Continue reading
Our bushcare group had recently done some weeding at Lion Island. This was back in June. A followup session had been organised, but had to be postponed due to bad weather, but now it was finally going ahead.
Once again, Enmoore had organised the group, with the help of NPWS rangers Andrew and Robyn. Continue reading
After the previous visit the day before, I was keen to go again – but only late afternoon this time. Sue and Alana planned to walk out on the Headland in the late afternoon and I planned to walk out separately and meet them.
This time, I walked in from Malabar. When I arrived at Boora Point, around 3:20 pm, I spotted a White-bellied Sea Eagle flying overhead. Continue reading
Another visit to the Headland. Would the juvenile Peregrine falcons still be around? I hoped so. I checked my records (earlier blog entries) from previous years, and looked at the activity of the juvenile Peregrine Falcons after they fledged and concluded that it would still be worth making more visits, perhaps until the middle of December. I knew that as the juveniles grow, and they do grow very fast, they tend to fly further away from their nest area and so are much harder to locate. And when you do spot them – they can fly a long distance away very quickly – so may not stay around to be photographed.
This time, I was joined by both Sue and Valerie. My high expectations seemed to be dashed however. We did spot a Peregrine falcon fly past at speed along the cliffs when we were walking in around 11 am, and then a bit later – another brief flash. But they were both too short an appearance to get photos. The Headland is a pleasant spot to spend some time, and we experienced beautiful weather, but by 3 pm things were slow to say the least. Continue reading
I had suggested this walk to Bob awhile back. It was one I had done a few years ago, and wanted to repeat. I think it is one that has the potential to be a classic Sydney Walk – as it goes along a very nice section of the foreshore of the Georges River and Salt Pan Creek and links several reserves and Gorges River National Park. It does however, have two section of road walking.
On my previous walk, I had started from East Hills and walked to Padstow. This time it was more practical to start from Padstow and walk the other way. Bob drove to Stuart Street Reserve on Salt Pan Creek and then, we set off along the coastal path. Continue reading
It was still very windy weather – so I didn’t want to venture too far, but I did want to spend some time outside. So I visited two local sites – first a short walk to Morton Park on Canterbury Road at Dulwich Hill to see the Tawny Frogmouths. Then, later, a walk along a section of the Cooks River between Wardell Road and Canterbury Road.
I had, from earlier visits, thought that there were chicks at the Morton Park Tawny Frogmouth nest, and if so, then they may now have fledged. This turned out to be the case. When I arrived, I first looked for the nest, and found it vacated. So then I looked for perched Tawny Frogmouths. I soon spotted a single adult with a single chick. Continue reading
Sydney is currently experiencing some very windy weather, and the 21st was perhaps the windiest day of late. But we made the best of it on our walk. It was led by Brian Everingham for the National Parks Association of NSW.
We met at Kurnell, near the Kamay Botany Bay National Park entrance. In the party was Brian, Valerie, Deb, Vivianne, Suzanne and myself. Because of the wind, we decided to walk in the sheltered forest first. So we parked near the Visitor Centre and walked around the loop of the Banks-Solander Track. Continue reading
This was an afternoon walk, from my place, and then along the Cooks River, mainly busting the local Tawny Frogmouth nests, then continuing on to Barton Park – where I inspected the latest habitat destruction caused by the new development of the sporting fields.
First stop was at Marrickville Golf Course to check how the Tawny Frogmouth family were doing. I soon found all four birds – the two parents and their two chicks perched on the same branch. Continue reading
Another day on the Headland, with Valerie and Sue. I was trying to get more photos of the juvenile Peregrine Falcons in flight.
We had fine cool weather, with a strong wind coming from the south this visit. We spotted the Peregrine Falcons throughout the day, but they really didn’t do too much flying – and none together. Continue reading
