I spent most of the day at the Northern Beaches trying to keep out of the rain. I was after photos of raptors.
I started off at Rat Park where I had a look to see if the Osprey were at their nest. I saw no sign of them. I did see, briefly, a Nankeen Kestrel. Continue reading
This was a cold, wet and very windy day. But it is easy to get talked into an outing to photograph birds. I had been talking to Micheal and he was keen on a trip to Malabar Headland. It was one of the rare Sundays the east side of the National Park was open, and with the prospect of a shooting festival all the next week, it sounded like a good plan to join him. But the weather had different ideas.
Earlier in the morning, looking at the weather radar, it looks like a band of rain was about to pass over. So we set off for Malabar. At the carpark, it was quite windy and a bit wet. But the rain soon eased. So we set off for Boora Point. When we got there, there was no sign of the Peregrine Falcons, and it also seemed to be far too windy for them to perch in their usual spots on the cliffs. But a short time later, we spotted one flying off and heading west along the cliffs. Continue reading
This was a full day of bird photography. I started off with the Tempe Birdos at their monthly survey. Then I walked down to Barton Park and enjoyed a few hours there.
At Tempe, I joined the group surveying the wetlands. Being early it was quite cold and not that many birds were active at first. Continue reading
It was nice to spend a day out on Malabar Headland again. This time I was with Valerie and Sue. We were looking for Peregrine Falcons and Whales. Well – we did not see any whales at all, but we did see two Peregrines.
It was sunny weather, but very windy. It was a cold wind coming from the south. This resulted in big seas, and that was probably why we didn’t see any whales. Continue reading
Bob had never been to Oatley Park, and I had suggested a visit there, and we thought we could combine it with looking for Aboriginal art sites. Digi Dave had shown me an art site on a previous visit – a small cave with some charcoal drawings. It seemed likely that there could be more art scattered throughout the park.
Lime Kiln Bay is on the west side of Oatley Park and that name comes from the early colonial activity that took place there – making lime, an ingredient of cement used for building work. But the lime would be made from shells – and that in turn suggests middens. And that means Aboriginal occupation sites. Continue reading
After break at home due to bad weather and other commitments, I was keen to head outside. Perhaps too keen – as the weather was not that good. I first visited Sydney Park – where I spent most of my time photographing the Pacific Baza. Then I had lunch and headed to Barton Park. But while I was there – it was raining most of the time – so I left for home early.
The Pacific Baza at Sydney Park was easy to find. I walked around a bit and listened for Noisy Miners. When I could hear some in a confrontation, I walked closer, and when I saw Merril, another bird photographer I knew I was getting close. It rained lightly on an off for the next hour or so while I was following the Baza as it hunted in the trees. Continue reading
In 2016, I used Google Sites to create a website of photos of the Waterfalls of the Blue Mountains. Later Google changed the format of their websites and I found I had two versions of the webpages and it was difficult to update things.
I have now reworked that website, and placed all the photos, with some maps and more information on my own website. The new Menu Page can be found here. The new website will be still a work in progress as I add photos of new waterfalls.
I was joined by Valerie for a trip to Oatley Park. Wet weather was forecast, so we didn’t expect to be able to walk around all day. We enjoyed a pleasant morning stroll though parts of the park, enjoying the scenery. It ended up raining not long after noon, so we left for lunch at a nearby cafe.
Oatley Park is fortunate in having high quality bush, relatively free of invasive species in a densely populated part of Sydney. On a visit you can appreciate the trees, the flowers, the rocks and the animals. Continue reading
For our walk this week, Bob and myself visited “Mr Fat”, which is probably the largest tree in the Cumberland Plain. I had read about this tree in Peter Ridgeway’s excellent book – “A Wide and Open Land“, his account of a 179 km walk across the Cumberland Plain. Bob had also read the book, and so Mr Fat was on both our lists of places to visit.
Peter Ridgeway had given us some good advice on the best way to get to the tree. Bob parked at the end of a road at Camden and we set off at first along a cycleway to the Nepean River. Continue reading
On my way home from the Maritime Museum, I stopped off at St Peters and spent an hour or two at Sydney Park. Like my previous visit, the Pacific Baza dominated my photos.
I had heard reports of there currently being two Pacific Bazas at the park – but I only saw one. It was easy to find, due to the noise made by Noisy Miners and other birds harassing it while it hunted in the trees. And when I saw another bird photographer pointing his camera up into the trees, I knew I was at the right spot. Here are some photos – Continue reading
