A Wet Day at Malabar Headland – 19 July 2022

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

My previous trip to Malabar Headland had also been in bad weather and the bird life had been pretty disappointing. I can recall vowing then, not to return on wet, cold, windy days. Since that time, the east side of the National Park has been closed due to shooting at the adjacent rifle range. And it seems that since that time I had forgotten my vow.

This trip turned out to be very quiet. I saw no signs of the Peregrine Falcons, and few other birds were around except for a pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles who made a very brief visit. Continue reading →

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Wattamolla Walk 18 July 2022

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

It was nice to join Brian Everingham and others in the National Parks Association of NSW for a very pleasant walk in Royal National Park. In the party were Brian, Ross, John, Valerie, Sue, Deb, Suzanne, Lydia and myself. The weather was fine.

After meeting at the carpark, we headed down to the lower area and checked out the flood damage to the fence above the lagoon. On the way we saw this Grey Butcherbird – Continue reading →

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Gardens of Stone Walk – 17 July 2022

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

My friend Enmoore had been wanting to do a traverse of Mt Banks for a fair while and we had planned to do it this day, but strong winds were forecast, so we adopted Keith’s suggestion for a walk in the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area instead. This turned out to be very good – we travelled through very interesting country and the wind there was lot more moderate.

We also found a number of Aboriginal art sites in some of the overhangs in the valleys. In the party was Enmoore, Keith, Phil, Marshall and myself. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Coachwood Glen – Blackheath – 16 July 2022

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

I spent a very interesting morning with members of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group Inc at Coachwood Glen on the Megalong Road at Blackheath. We found wide range of fungi. A lot of area was very wet – waterlogged by recent rain and consequently a lot of the fungi we found was growing on logs.

Thuemenidium sp. “Australasia”

Here is selection – Continue reading →

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More Birds at Barton Park – 15 July 2022

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Dave Noble

This was a full day spent at Barton Park, and I was fortunate to see good range of birds including a Sacred Kingfisher, a Jacky Winter, a Buff-banded Rail, an Osprey and a Swamp Harrier.

First, was a Welcome Swallow – Continue reading →

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Mid Mountains Heritage Walk – 14 July 2022

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Dave Noble

Bob and myself travelled up the Blue Mountains and then set off down a creek looking for Aboriginal sites. There was a track down the creek, which we followed, and we also left it quite often to check out overhangs for any art or tools.

We investigated a lot of overhangs without finding any definite art. The creaked we were following joined up with a larger creek, and in an overhang a short way down, Bob found some shaped pieces of hard rock – old stone tools. Continue reading →

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Birds at Sydney Park and Barton Park – 13 July 2022

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Dave Noble

After the Greenway Bird Survey, I travelled to Sydney Park where I met up with Sue. I wanted to show her the Pacific Baza but despite a lot of looking, and listening, we could not find it. So we then travelled down to Barton Park to see what birds were there. We had a very pleasant day out.

Here is a selection of photos from each of the parks. Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 13 July 2022

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Dave Noble

Photographically this survey was somewhat limited in scope. The cold winter weather resulted in not much bird activity. The highlight however were watching a flock of Spotted Pardalotes at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station, who were in warm sunlight.

We heard quite a few birds bit did not see too many other birds along the Greenway as we walked towards Hawthorne – except for Noisy Miners, Common Mynas and Magpies. Continue reading →

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Wolli Creek and Cooks River Walk – 12 July 2022

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Dave Noble

After the Mudlarks Bird Survey, I was keen to check out the Wolli Creek area to see if any fungi was out. I was joined by Valerie.

We travelled by bus to Bardwell Park and then set off down the Two Valley Track. The fungi turned out to be very poor. The ground was perhaps still too waterlogged. We did however see a lot of orchids. All Greenhood Orchids of two species. Continue reading →

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Mudlarks – Cooks River Bird Survey – 12 July 2022

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Dave Noble

Early in the morning, I joined the Mudlarks, surveying the birdlife along the Cooks River. The group met on the Lang Street Bridge at 7:30, and then we proceeded upstream.

Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading →

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