Day 82 of lockdown. Since the day before had been very good for bird encounters, I decided to do a repeat trip. So bay on the bike down to the Cooks River and then along to Barton Park.
I was hoping to see the Osprey and Black-shouldered Kite that I had seen the day before. But they did not make an appearance while I there. I did see the Osprey – but it was perched a very long way away. Continue reading
I had been to Barton Park in the morning, but the day was beautiful, so I headed back out to the Cooks River Boat Harbour at dusk. The day before, on the bird survey, I had seen one of the Tawny Frogmouths sitting on the nest. I was now after some photos of the pair of birds swapping roles at dusk.
When I arrived at the Boat Harbour, I was surprised to see the nest empty. Perhaps one of the birds was trying out the nest to see if it was suitable, or perhaps it was sitting there as it thought there may be some eggs ready to be laid? I am not sure how these birds work. Clutch size for Tawny Frogmouths can range from one to three eggs. Often when birds lay multiple eggs like this, they can be laid a few days apart, and incubation is started when all are laid. But you would also think the birds would be close to the nest to protect any eggs. On this occasion, I could not spot either of the birds near the nest. The closest was perched about ten metres away. Continue reading
Day 81 of lockdown. This turned out to be an amazing day for bird photography. I did my usual exercise break – a bike ride down the Cooks River and then to Barton Park where some nice birds were seen. Then later, and I will put in a separate blog post – I visited the local Tawny Frogmouths at dusk.
I cycled down to Barton Park, without stopping on the way. When I arrived I went down to the small bridge over the Spring St Canal, where I observed a Striated Heron. Continue reading
Day 80 of lockdown. The Mudlarks Bird Group that surveys birds along two section of the Cooks River has not been able to operate because of the lockdown. But that does not stop birds being surveyed by individuals or groups of two. So I joined Simin to survey a section along the Cooks River between the Land Road Bridge and the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands.
We met at 7:30 am and surveyed upstream on the north side of the river to the Boat Harbour, then crossed over, went to the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands and then came back along the south side back to the Land Street Bridge. We saw a lot of nice birds along the way. Continue reading
Here are my latest photos of tiny bugs and the structures they make on the back on leaves.
One leaf I looked at had these very tiny bugs. Probably nymph stages. Continue reading
Day 79 of lockdown. Back on the bike for a morning ride down the Cooks River. Rain was forecast from about 11 am, but when I was down at Cahill Park, the weather still looked reasonable, so I continued on to Barton Park.
As usual, I took a camera, but this time I did not spot very many birds. No Osprey, No Kingfishers. Continue reading
Day 77 of lockdown. A warm and sunny day. I decided to do another walk along the Cooks River rather than take my bike. But I did take my camera.
I walked down to the Cooks River and then followed the path downstream. Unusually, I did not spot any Kingfishers as I walked downstream from Illawarra Road. It was high tide though. Continue reading
On my recent excursions, as well as photographing birds, I had been looking at leaves of trees and collecting interesting ones for a closer look at home. If the leaf has interesting bugs then I take series of photos with the ultra-macro lens.
In the process, I have been observing some fascinating things – small bugs and the structure they build. And it has been a real learning process as well. And this is ongoing. Continue reading
Day 76 of lockdown. I decided to ride down to the Cooks River and then out to Barton Park and back. As usual, I was on the lookout for birds, so packed a camera.
I saw my first Sacred Kingfisher along the Cooks River near Illawarra Road. Continue reading
Day 75 of lockdown. For something different I decided to walk out to and around Callan Park. This seemed a large park like area within my LGA that I had not visited for a long time. A short time before, I had been on a walk with Valerie along the Greenway, and Callan Park was just beyond that. I decided to start by catching the light rail to Taverners Hill, then walking along the Greenway and Hawthorne Canal, then keep on going along the foreshore to Leichhardt Park, then to Callan Park, then back to Hawthorne Light Rail station.
It turned out to be a pleasant outing. Continue reading
