Hawthorne Canal Birds – 20 April 2022

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

I spent an hour or so in the afternoon along the Hawthorne Canal photographing some of the resident birds. I was on the lookout for the Sacred Kingfisher and the Brown Goshawk. The Goshawk was probably in a nearby tree, judging by all the other birds flying over and trying to dislodge something from the tree. I was poised ready with my camera in case it shot out, but it must have headed off in the opposite direction, away from me, as the cacophony of alarm calls headed that way.

The Sacred Kingfisher was easier. I spotted it as soon as I arrived at the footbridge near Hawthorne Light Rail Station. It was perched in a Casuarina watching the water. Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Sydney | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lane Cove Valley Walk – 19 April 2022

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

It had been a while since I had visited the Lane Cove Valley, so I caught a train to Thornleigh and then set off for the Oval and the Great North Walk track.

I was surprised however to find sign saying the track there was closed due to landslide danger. I had come a long way, so I decided  to ignore the sign – as there were a lot of fresh footprints on the track. At the bottom of Lorna Pass, there was another sign – so the closed section was not very long. Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Bushwalking, Nature, Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Birds at the Northern Beaches – 18 April 2022

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

I spent a full day at the Northern Beaches photographing birds. I caught a B-line bus to Warriewood then walked down to the nearby wetlands and Irrawong Reserve. Then had lunch, walked down Muddy Creek to Pittwater Road, caught a bus to Long Reef and spent the afternoon there.

Warriewood Wetlands was reasonably quiet. Here are some birds – Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kings Tableland Weekend 16 – 17 April 2022

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

Wendy had organised a camping weekend on Kings Tableland. A lot of the Blue Mountains – council reserves and the National Park were party closed due to geological instabilities after the very wet period (and a double fatality following a cliff collapse at Wentworth Falls). One area that had just been re-opened was Kings Tableland. On the trip were Wendy, Rui and myself, and we were later joined by Steph.

We first visited McMahons Lookout. On the track from the carpark to the lookout, we spotted some nice fungi out – Continue reading →

Posted in Aboriginal Sites, Blue Mountains, Bushwalking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wolli Creek and Cooks River Walk – 16 Apr 2022

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Dave Noble

It had been a while since I had walked down the Two Valleys Track along Wolli Creek and I thought it would be good to see what fungi was out. So I caught a bus to Bexley North and set off along the track.

The fungi turned out to be quite poor. I was carrying a camera and tripod to photograph any interesting fungi that I spotted, but did not use it. So I instead concentrated on birds. Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Bushwalking, Sydney | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Refuge Bay Walk – 14 April 2022

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Dave Noble

Bob and myself had decided on a walk to visit Refuge Bay on West Head, in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. Rain was forecast on the day – but it was more likely very early in the morning. But when we arrived at the carpark for the Salvation Loop Trail it was raining quite heavily.

The rain didn’t last long, and had stopped by the time we were at the turn off for the Wallaroo Trail. We turned off and walked for about 350 m and then looked for the track to Refuge Bay. It was not too hard to find – marked by a cairn. Continue reading →

Posted in Aboriginal Sites, Bushwalking, Sydney | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Greenway Bird Survey – 13 April 2022

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Dave Noble

It was the morning for the bird survey along the Hawthorne Canal section of the Greenway. The group met at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station at 7:30 am.

The survey went very well. We observed quite a few interesting birds. Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Sydney | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sydney Park Birds – 12 April 2022

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Dave Noble

After the Mudlarks survey, I joined Sue, who had joined us at the Mudlarks,  for a visit to Sydney Park. It was such a beautiful day that it would be shame to be indoors! At Sydney Park I was hoping to see some Quails and Rails. We had no luck with the Quails, but the Rails were very good.

When we arrived at the park, we first looked for the Tawny Frogmouths, but had no luck. They do move around and are hard to spot. Then we headed to the ponds. Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Sydney | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mudlarks Bird Survey – 12 April 2022

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Dave Noble

Early in the morning I joined the Mudlarks, for their monthly bird survey along the Cooks River. This month we surveyed downstream from the Lang St Bridge to the footbridge that crosses to the Golf Clubhouse and then we head upstream on that bank. We found a good variety of birds.

At the Lang Street Bridge, we started the survey and recorded a large group of Welcome Swallows. Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Sydney | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Birdwood Gully – Mainly Fungi – 11 April 2022

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Dave Noble

I spent an enjoyable day wandering around Birdwood Gully at Springwood. The fungi is starting to pick up at last.

On this trip, I entered the gully from Boland Avenue, near the Station, as usual and walked all the way to Lucinda Avenue and back. And, as usual, I explored areas a bit away from the track. Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Blue Mountains, Bushwalking, Wildflowers | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment