Two Valleys Walk – Wolli Ck and Cooks River – 22 August 2021

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 57 of Lockdown. My friend Valerie lives close to the Cooks River in Earlwood. This places her in a LGA of Concern, and from Monday 23 August, her time allowed outside for exercise is a maximum of one hour. So I suggested to her that we do a long walk on the last day she could.

White-headed Pigeon

She agreed and she joined me on a repeat of a walk I did about two weeks ago – along most of the Two Valleys Track which runs along Wolli Ck and the Cooks River. We did the walk and it was both interesting and enjoyable. Great exercise in the closest bit of bush to both of us (Wolli Ck Regional Park). Continue reading →

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Back to the Cooks River – 21 August 2021

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 56 of lockdown. I decided to do another bike ride along the Cooks River. My main aim was to try and spot the Osprey that I had seen the day before, along with the usual aim of spotting and photographing Sacred Kingfishers.

I had no luck finding an Osprey, but I did do well with the Kingfishers. And in particular, getting photos of them in flight. But I had to go fair way to find one, and it was probably the only one I saw – several times. Continue reading →

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Cooks River and Barton Park Bike Ride – 20 August 2021

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 55 of lockdown. I decided on another bike ride along the Cooks River to Tempe and then to Barton Park and back. The tide would be low in the morning, so that should be good time to look out for Sacred Kingfishers.

I was also on the lookout for Ospreys. The day before, while I had been at Sydney Park, a friend Michael had seen an osprey at Wolli Creek near Waterworth Park. Another friend Ben, from the Tempe Birdos, had been seeing one quite regularly near Tempe Reserve for the past month or so. Continue reading →

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More Rails at Sydney Park – 19 August 2021

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 54 of lockdown. I was keen to observe the Rails again at Sydney Park and organised an afternoon there for exercise and recreation with Sue. The previous week we had met up at Centennial Park for some bird observing, but with my exercise and recreation area being reduced to 25% that park was out of bounds for me.

Lewin’s Rail

So we met up near the big chimneys and then walked around the park seeing what birds we could spot. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Walk – 18 August 2021

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 53 of lockdown. For exercise – I joined Valerie for a walk down the Cooks River to Tempe Reserve and back. We had a very pleasant morning, that extended to early afternoon.

We met at 9 am on the Lang Street Bridge and then proceeded downstream. Along the first section we saw the usual Cormorants. Here is a Little Pied Cormorant – Continue reading →

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Rails at Sydney Park – 17 August 2021

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 52 of lockdown. I had visited Sydney Park at St Peters a few times recently for exercise and some bird photography, and one of my aims had been to photograph the elusive Lewin’s Rail. It is always challenge to spot and photograph these birds. This time I had reasonable success.

Lewin’s Rail

I cycled to Sydney Park and arrived in the mid afternoon. I walked around some of the pools looking at the Grebes and other birds. At 3:45 pm I spotted a Buff-banded Rail at a location I had seen one before. I was able to get some photos before it vanished into the tall grass tussocks. Continue reading →

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Cooks River and Barton Park Bike Ride – 16 August 2021

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 51 of lockdown. The rules have changed. My area for exercise and recreation has been reduced to roughly one quarter. I can still go anywhere in my Local Government Area (Inner West) or a distance 5 km from my residence. This radius was earlier 10 km which allowed me to reach the Waterbird Refuge at Bicentennial Park and also Centennial Park. A 5km radius will still allow me to reach Wolli Creek Regional Park – the only bushland remnant close by, and also I can still visit Barton Park and Sydney Park. But there seemed to be some confusion about whether I could visit places within LGA’s of concern even if they were within the 5 km radius. It turned out I can. I can certainly exercise in those locations, like Wolli Ck (walking) but could I also undertake recreation (eg bird photography)? I am still not sure. People that live in those LGA’s of concern are restricted to exercise only.

So, on the first day of the reduced area, I decided to ride out to Barton Park and back as a morning bike ride. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Birds – 15 August 2021

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 50 of lockdown. In the mid afternoon, I walked down to the Cooks River for some exercise. Once there, I walked upstream, eventually to Cup and Saucer Creek and then back downstream and home.

I looked out for the pairs of Tawny Frogmouths as I made my way along the river. Continue reading →

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Cooks River and Barton Park Bike Ride – 14 August 2021

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 49 of lockdown. A repeat of an exercise bike ride down the Cooks River to Tempe then further along to Barton Park and back. Again – a few bird photos on the way.

On the way down the Cooks River, I spotted a Sacred Kingfisher perched on a tree overlooking the River a short way downstream of Illawarra Road. So I stopped for a few photos – Continue reading →

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Birds at Centennial Park – 13 August 2021

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Dave Noble

Day 48 of lockdown. I was worried that the radius for exercise might change from 10 km, so I thought it may be good to visit Centennial Park which is close to my limit in the north east direction. I arranged to meet up with Sue and we would walk around the park looking for birds.

So I cycled over to the park, and met up with Sue at the location where a pair of Powerful Owls have been nesting. Both the adult owls are out of the nest hollow. By the time I arrived, Sue had already spotted both the adult owls – perched quite high in a tree. Continue reading →

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