Birds and Fungi at Oatley Park – 27 March 2022

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Dave Noble

I had been to Oatley Park recently, and it was fairy soon for a repeat visit, but there was trackwork on many of the railway lines to other places, so that limited my options somewhat. So it was a bus to Sydenham and then a train to Oatley and then the walk to the park. The weather forecast was also not the best, but during the major period of rain, I stopped for lunch in one of the picnic shelters.

I entered via the lower entrance and then walked around the headland track. Here are some photos – Continue reading →

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Fungi at Bola Creek – 26 March 2022

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Dave Noble

I was on a field activity of The Sydney Fungal Studies Group at Bola Creek in Royal National Park. The weather in the run-up had been very wet and there was some discussion about whether we wold be able to go ahead. Already it had been postponed from the previous Saturday. We did decide to go ahead, and it was very worthwhile.

Clavulinopsis fusiformis

The ground was very sodden from the rain, and Bola Creek was very high – making a crossing on the Wollumurra Track impossible. But there was still plenty of ground to explore for fungi. A lot of what we found was under logs or close to the base of trees – more protected area that were not waterlogged. Continue reading →

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A Quick Visit to Sydney Olympic Park – 25 March 2022

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Dave Noble

I decided in the afternoon to make a visit to Sydney Olympic Park to look for some interesting fungi that others had seen there. I had a rough idea of the location, and it look worth taking a bike and riding there from North Strathfield Station. This would allow me to check out Mason Park Wetlands and The Waterbird Refuge at Bicentennial Park first.

Pseudocolus fuciformis

I did not see too may birds at Mason Park wetlands, so I continued on to the Waterbird Refuge. Here was a Great Egret – Continue reading →

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Heritage Walk – 24 March 2022

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Dave Noble

The weather forecast was not the best. It seemed like it would not be worthwhile heading up the Blue Mountains for our usual Thursday walk, so Bob and myself decided to stay closer to Sydney and do some shorter walks concentrating on searching for some Aboriginal heritage sites.

Our first stop was to check out a small cave I had heard about recently that was supposed to have some Aboriginal hand stencils. Continue reading →

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Birds at Barton Park and Sydney Park – 23 March 2022

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Dave Noble

I visited two places during the day – first going to Barton Park, then catching a bus up the road to finish at Sydney Park.

It turned out to be a relatively quiet day. Continue reading →

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Birdwood Gully – Fungi, Orchids and Birds – 22 March 2022

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Dave Noble

The trains to the Blue Mountains were running again – at least to Springwood. So I decided that a trip up to look for fungi would be in order. However the normal mountains express trains were not running from the city, but from Penrith, so I had to catch slower trains to Penrith then catch the V set at Penrith for Springwood. And, the 4 minutes waiting time at Penrith changed to 30 minutes as the suburban train was a little late. So it turned out to be slow trip. But it was nice to be in the mountain’s bush again.

The fungi was not very abundant given the recent very good rainfall. I think rainforest areas have become a bit leached and the fungi is not as plentiful as that in parks and road verges. Continue reading →

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A Good Afternoon at Long Reef – 21 March 2022

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Dave Noble

Some interesting birds had recently turned up at Long Reef Aquatic Reserve on the Northern Beaches recently and I decide to make a visit. The tide was forecast to be low around 5:30 so an afternoon visit seemed ideal.

Common Noddy

After getting off the bus, I walked out to the lookout, and had lunch before venturing down to the rock platform. In the distance, I watched a Kestrel hunting. Continue reading →

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Nurragingy Reserve and Sydney Olympic Park – 20 March 2022

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Dave Noble

I joined local birder, Michael, for a day at Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside, then on the way home, we called into Sydney Olympic Park for a look.

Nurragingy Reserve

At Nurragingy, we first visited the main ponds. Here we saw a pair of juvenile Australasian Grebes. Continue reading →

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Birds at Barton Park and the Cooks River – 19 March 2022

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Dave Noble

I spent a nice day devoted to bird photography. I started at the Landing Lights Wetland at Barton Park, then later went to Tempe and walked home via the Cooks River.

Barton Park

The Landing Lights Wetland was fairly quiet. The lighting was dull and there was a breeze which rippled the water – less than ideal for photography of the water birds. Continue reading →

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Audley History Walk – 18 March 2022

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Dave Noble

I was pleased to be able to attend an event at Audley in Royal National Park focussing on the history of the area. The event was an activity of the National Parks Association of NSW and was organised by John Prats. The guide on the day was local historian, Greg Jackson.

It was a very interesting and informative morning wandering around Audley hearing about  the early concepts of what should be in a national park – including introducing overseas animals such as Boa Constrictors. And there were at least three large aviaries for birds such as canaries. The flats still have many introduced trees. Continue reading →

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