This was short afternoon trip to Sydney Park to wander around photographing birds.
I first looked for the Tawny Frogmouth family. My search was in vain. I could not find them. I assume the parents have moved the family a fair way. No sign of the Powerful Owl either. So I went down to the ponds. Continue reading
Bob and myself did a very interesting walk at Faulconbridge. Growing up in Springwood, I had visited Peggys Pool as a kid, but had never been back. It is a very short walk to he pool – only 400 m or so. But I had never been beyond – to the Blue Gum Forest or to Meeks Falls, further downstream. We planned to visit these places, and then do a second trip to try and locate some nearby Aboriginal art caves.
I can recall, on a local history excursion at School (Springwood High School) and on it being told that “Peggy” used to operate an illicit still in the area, and that the pool had been named after her. I have not been able to find any primary supporting evidence for this so far. What I did find, was from the Blue Mountains Geographical Encyclopaedia and from old newspapers. The land the pool is on, was once part of John Meeks’ estate – Everton. Continue reading
I was keen to visit Malabar Headland again to photograph the young Peregrine Falcons in flight. This time I was joined by Valerie, Sue and Brian.
The weather was fine most of the day (we did have a short shower later). We met at Maroubra Beach and then walked into the National Park. Continue reading
I joined Brian Everingham and others from the National Parks Association of NSW on a walk in Royal National Park. The plan was to start at Wattamolla and walk along the Coast Track to Little Marley Beach, and then walk back the same way.
In the party was Brian, Sue, Suzanne, Annyce, Vivian, Fiona and myself. We had a glorious day – the weather was great and we enjoyed a profusion of wild flowers. Continue reading
The forecast was not ideal, and it turned out to be a bit wet and quite blustery, but the juvenile Peregrine Falcons are growing fast, so I’ve been taking more opportunities to visit the Headland.
This was a last minute decision so I was by myself. It was one of those rare weekend days that the Eastern Section of the Malabar Headland National Park is open to the public, and so I expected to see a lot of other people, but with the weather, it was relatively quiet. Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
