Visit to Tasmania – 21 December 2021 – 4 January 2022

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Dave Noble

I was fortunate to be able to visit North West Tasmania for the Christmas – New year period. I spent this time enjoying the hospitality of my sister at brother in law that live near Ulverstone, and also travelled down with my other sister and her husband. During the visit, I went on a number of daywalks and other outings which I will describe in separate blog posts. This post will feature mainly some of the birds I spotted  in the Ulverstone area.

My sister and Brother in law that live in Tasmania live on a hill overlooking the coast near Goat Island Reserve between Ulverstone and Penguin.  Their property and the nearby coast attract a lot of birds. Here are some – Continue reading →

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Photographing Comet Leonard – 20 December 2021

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Dave Noble

It was a  clear evening, the first for a while, and I was keen to see if I could spot and photograph Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard. It would have been nice to be out of Sydney and have some dark skies, but I did not have time for this. To get a clear view of the western horizon, I went to above the cutting at Dulwich Hill Station.

I soon spotted the comet using binoculars. I could not spot it just with naked eyes. It was perhaps easiest to see using the camera mounted on a tripod. Continue reading →

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Taronga Zoo – 20 December 2021

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Dave Noble

I had been a while since I had been able to visit Taronga Zoo. This was my first visit since the lockdown and there was a lot to see including some new baby animals.

One highlight was seeing the five new Lion cubs. They were all visible, bit not active while I was at the Zoo (and I did visit their enclosure a number of times). Continue reading →

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Dulwich Hill and Greenway Birds – 19 December 2021

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Dave Noble

Here are a few photos taken on a walk from my place to Leichhardt via the Greenway.

Along the way, I deviated to Morton Park to see the Tawny Frogmouth family. I cold one spot two birds – a juvenile and an adult. Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 18 December 2021

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

With a change of plans, I was able to join the local Greenway Bird Survey. This one was the loop from Waratah Mills Station.

Brush Turkey

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

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Woodford to Springwood Walk via Glenbrook Creek – 16 December 2021

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Dave Noble

This was a most interesting walk with Bob. I had never visited the upper parts of Glenbrook Creek above The Lagoon – the large pool at the junction of Glenbrook Creek with Sassafras Gully. On a Sassafras Gully walk, I had walked a short distance upstream on a rough track and the country looks quite reasonable for walking. I had also heard of bushwalkers that had came downstream from well above – eg Linden.

Bob had recently spotted a newly marked track on Open Street Maps that started a short way along the Oaks Fire Road at Woodford, and led into an upper tributary of Glenbrook Creek near Linden. This seemed a good way of getting into the creek. Continue reading →

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Long Reef Birds – 15 December 2021

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Dave Noble

After a taste of raptors the day before at Malabar Headland, I thought I would visit another of Sydney’s headlands – Long Reef, for some more raptor photography.

I had a great day. The day before, at Malabar Headland, I had been after Peregrine Falcons, but had seen more of a Nankeen Kestrel. This day, I was after photos of the local Ospreys but I saw more of Nankeen Kestrels. I also saw a range of migratory birds out on the rock platform. Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland – 14 December 2021

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Dave Noble

After the Mudlarks Cooks River Bird Survey, I walked up to Hursltone Park and caught a train to Central, then light rail to Kingsford and then a bus to Malabar and walked out onto Malabar Headland. I wanted to have a last look to see if the juvenile Peregrine Falcon was still around.

During my visit, I did see a Peregrine Falcon. It was an adult and it was perched on one the usual ledges. It remained there after I spotted it. But I did have several fly pasts of a Nankeen Kestrel. Continue reading →

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Mudlarks Cooks River Bird Survey – 14 December 2021

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Dave Noble

Another early morning start to meet the Mudlarks at 7 am at the Lang Street Bridge on the Cooks River for the monthly birds survey. This month the group surveyed downstream to Marrickville Golf Club and Wave Rock and back.

Early on, while on the bridge we watched a Great Cormorant struggling to eat an eel it had caught – Continue reading →

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Birds at Barton Park and Morton Park – 13 December 2021

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Dave Noble

I first visited Barton Park to see what birds were out, then later visited Morton Park at Dulwich Hill where I met Valerie and Sue to look at the Tawny Frogmouth Family.

First Barton Park. This was a relatively short afternoon visit. Here’re some of the birds at Landing Lights Wetland – Continue reading →

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