Hawthorne Canal Photo Walk – 6 March 2022

With the recent spell of very wet weather in Sydney and other places, I have spent fair b of time looking at weather forecasts and studying the rain radar looking for breaks. On this day, it looked better in the afternoon, so I headed out to the station with the intention of catching a train to St Peters and spending a few hours at Sydney Park. Then the train I boarded stayed stationary at the station and the guard’s voice over the PA said they had been instructed to wait due to a broken down train at the next station. So I decided on Plan B – and got off the train and caught the light rail to Taverners Hill and then started off along the Greenway Path down Hawthorne Canal.

The light was very gloomy on the first section, and not may birds were out, so I continued on to Marion St. Now there was a lot more light, but the birds we still elusive. Continue reading

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Wolli Creek – Cooks River Walk – 5 March 2022

After the early morning bird survey on the Greenway, I headed home and then caught a bus to Bexley North. My plan was to walk down the Two Valleys Track along Wolli Creek to the Cooks River, then walk upstream along the river to home.

Except for the high humidity and a very wet park in places, I had a very pleasant walk. On the walk, I was on the lookout for fungi and birds. There was not that much fungi out in the bush sections. I think more time is needed in bushland areas compared to parks and garden beds where a lot of fungi has popped up due to the large amount of recent rain. Continue reading

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Greenway Bird Survey – 5 March 2022

The local Greenway Bird Survey around the Waratah Mills loop was postponed from last Saturday to this Saturday. The weather was dull and gloomy – but no rain.

Here are some birds that we spotted – Continue reading

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Eagle Rock Walk in Royal National Park – 4 March 2022

I had suggested this walk to Bob as being a good one to do after a period of wet weather in order to see a series of high waterfalls with a good flow. The waterfall along the coast south of Wattamolla would perhaps be the highest in the Sydney Area  (and that are not in the Blue Mountains or Southern Highlands). Our walk had originally been planned for the day before (our usual Thursday walk or canyon) – but the forecast was not very good so we put it off a day.

We enjoyed a very good walk – in mostly fine weather. It was hot and steamy and we did have some rainy periods, but on the whole it was reasonable. And the waterfalls were amazing to witness. Continue reading

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Sydney Park, Barton Park and the Cooks River – 3 March 2022

There had been a lot of wet days lately. This was originally planned to be a day walking on Royal National Park with Bob, but a super bad weather forecast we decided to postpone that walk for a day. However the day turned out a bit better than expected. The nasty weather cell hit the Hunter rather than Sydney. While we did have some rain, it was not that much. I had an early lunch and headed out. My plan was to first visit Sydney Park, then if the weather permitted visit some other nearby locations.

Sydney Park.

Continue reading

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Cooks River Birds – 1 March 2022

This was quite a wet day, but the rain seemed to be easing in the afternoon, so I caught a bus to Tempe with the  intention of walking back via Tempe Wetlands and Reserve and then along the Cooks River. I did get caught in some rain later on, but I enjoyed my time outdoors.

Juvenile Striated Heron

I did not see or hear too many birds at Tempe Wetlands, and it was similar at Tempe Reserve, except when walking along Holbeach St, I spotted an Egret and a Darter. But, by the time I unpacked my camera, both had flown away. So my photos start at Fatima Island. Continue reading

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Birds at Long Reef – 28 February 2022

The weather in Sydney recently has beeb quite wet, and it is nice to try and find a gap in the rain to spend some time outdoors. For a while, I had been wanting to head back to Long Reef on the Northern Beaches to see the migratory birds before they leave, and also the local raptors.

Ruddy Turnstone

The forecast for the afternoon looked a fair bit better than the morning forecast, and the tide was lowest around 2 pm, so I caught a bus to Collaroy and walked out to Long Reef. Continue reading

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Looking for Eleanor Falls – Sassafras Gully via the Victory Track – 27 February 2022

Wet weather was forecast , but not as wet as the previous few days, so I caught an early train to Faulconbridge, and was soon walking down the Victory Track. The water in the creek was nice and high – which would help me get a few photos of waterfalls.

Eleanor Falls

A few posts back, I had spent some of the wet weather stuck indoors working on a project researching the history of Sassafras Gully at Springwood. One question I had not answered was where were Eleanor Falls? I had thought I had found their likely location – in Parkes Gully, and higher up in the creek than Clarinda Falls. But that spot only fit if you assumed the creekbed had moved. That assumption was reasonable given that the only information we have on the falls was an old postcard. Continue reading

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Sydney Park – Birds and Fungi – 25 February 2022

With continued wet weather, it has been difficult to get outside. But after seeing a break on the weather radar I decided on a late afternoon short excursion to nearby Sydney Park. The ponds at the park were very full and the one at the Island Pond was full of vegetation growing on the water. The lower large pond had fair bit of this too.

I wandered around with my camera. I first looked for the resident Tawny Frogmouths – but had no luck spotting them. So I headed to the ponds. Continue reading

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Murphys Glen and Pyramid Falls – 24 February 2022

I was heading up the mountains with Bob and what was forecast to be a wet day. So we had dismissed any ideas for canyoning and then considered some other options. We decided to first visit Murphys Glen in Blue Mountains National Park at Woodford.

This turned out to be a very interesting place to visit. I had been there several times when I as a child, but Bob had never been there. We decided to walk in via the Turpentine Track which leaves the fire road just about the rim of Murphys Glen – which is a diatreme (volcanic crater). Continue reading

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