Day 74 of lockdown. Another day, another ride along the Cooks River. I was again on the lookout for the Osprey. But as often happens, I did not encounter it.
I cycled down to the Cooks River at the Prices Highway and waited at a couple of spots along the river at Cahill Park, waiting to see if the Osprey would be hunting in the area. Continue reading
Day 73 of lockdown. Another beautiful day. A good day for a ride. I had arranged to meet Valerie at Barton Park, where we would walk around a look for birds.
On the ride down, I stopped off at Gough Whitlam Park and looked for the Striated Heron nest. Continue reading
More macro-photos taken of insects or other small creatures on the back of leaves.
On my previous posts, I had seen these moulted shells on the back of Fig Leaves – Continue reading
Day 72 of lockdown. My intention was to have another attempt to photograph the Rails at Sydney Park. I had the aim of getting photos with more than one Rail in them. I have photographed two Buff-banded Rails before, but had not photographed a pair of Lewin’s Rails or a photo showing both a Lewin’s Rail and a Buff-banded Rail. I knew these would be hard to obtain. Bit if you don’t try? I also wanted to see if the Osprey was out in the afternoon at the Tempe Reserve section of the Cooks River. So I decided to combine both.
I succeeded with the Osprey, although when I spotted it, I was shooting towards the Sun and the photos are not great. Nor did the Osprey dive for fish. It certainly was looking for them. The day was a bit windy – and perhaps the surface made seeing fish difficult? I was less successful with the Rails. Continue reading
Day 71 of lockdown. This was a repeat of the bike ride I had done the day before. And like that day, I was looking out for the Osprey. And like that day, no Osprey was seen, but I did see a Sacred Kingfisher.
I cycled straight down the Cooks River to Waterworth Park without stopping. I did look for Sacred Kingfishers and other birds on my way. Crossing the Cooks River at the bridge near the Prices Highway, I was looking to see if any Sacred Kingfishers were on the rock shelf where I had seen one before. No Kingfisher, but I did spot a Striated Heron. Continue reading
Day 70 of lockdown. Another exercise bike ride down the Cooks River. On another previous trip down the river (a walk), I had been looking out for Kingfishers, and I had seen an Osprey, this time my main aim was to see if I could spot the Osprey again. But as things turned out – no Osprey, but a lot of Kingfisher encounters.
I cycled down to the Cooks River, and made my way to Gough Whitlam Park. I looked out for Kingfishers but didn’t see any. On the island in the Billabong, I spotted two Striated Herons. One was perched and then second was on the nest. Continue reading
Day 69 of lockdown. I decided to do another bike ride down the Cooks River and then to Barton Park.
I didn’t see too much along the first bit of the ride down to Gough Whitlam Park. I sopped one Sacred Kingfisher along the way. Continue reading
My investigation of the ecosystems on the back of various leaves is continuing. With the current lockdown, the zone I can visit tis restricted to my local area or 5 km from my home. But there is a whole world of tiny things to investigate that we usually ignore.
The one photographed above was a live bug. I had to put the leaf in the freezer for a while to reduce ist movement while I took a series of photos. Probably a psyllid. Continue reading
Day 68 of Lockdown. I had seen a link to the Stanmore History Challenge on social media and thought it could be a worthwhile lockdown activity. Valerie was also happy to take part and we both downloaded the workbook with the clues and puzzles.
The activity was devised by Stanmore artist Kristen Watts as a lockdown activity and also as a way for people to learn about some of the amazing history of Stanmore. Before starting, we had already worked out the answers to the first three puzzles, and the first one told us the location we had to be in to start the challenge. Continue reading
Day 67 of Lockdown. On this day, I decided to walk rather than take my bike for an exercise trip on the Cooks River. I walked down to Cahill Park and back. As usual, I took a camera and recorded the birds I saw. It was fortunate that I did as I experience some good opportunities for bird photography.
I didn’t see too much as I started out. But it was a nice spring day – and it was good to be out. Continue reading
