in the late afternoon, I cycle down to the Cooks River with the intention of some exercise and photographing the Tawny Frogmouth pair that roost near Younger Avenue. A few days earlier, I had noticed one of them sitting on a nest.
I wanted to photograph the Tawny Frogmouth leaving the nest and then the second of the pair taking over the brooding duty. I was only partly successful. Continue reading
Day 47 of lockdown. I enjoyed a nice morning walk accompanied by Valerie. We met at Dulwich Hill High Rail Station, and then walked along the Greenway to the end of Hawthorne Canal and then back to Hawthorne Light Rail Station, where we caught a tram back home.
Not far from the station, we saw new cycleway development – Continue reading
Day 46 of lockdown. Another pleasant late afternoon trip – cycling to Sydney Park, and then once there, walking around looking for birds.
Here are some of the birds I saw at the park – Continue reading
Day 45 of lockdown. For my exercise break, I felt like a good walk. So I set off for the Cooks River. My intention was to walk up to the Boat Harbour, then up Cup and Saucer Creek, across the hill to Wolli Creek at Illoura Reserve. Then walk down the Two Valleys Track, all the way along Wolli Ck to the junction with the Cooks River at Waterworth Park, then walk home via the Cooks River.
This was a nice loop walk of about 18 km. The weather was beautiful. A warm winter day. Continue reading
Day 44 of lockdown. Another bike ride down to Barton Park and back via the Cooks River Cycleway.
On the ride down the Cooks River, I stopped to photograph a Sacred Kingfisher near Illawarra Road. Continue reading
Day 43 of lockdown. It was a bit of a wet day, but the afternoon looked better, so I walked down to the Cooks River for some exercise. I walked downstream to the junction with Wolli Ck at Waterworth Park.
As usual, while I walked I was on the lookout for birds, and in particular for Sacred Kingfishers. I soon spotted one in one of the usual locations – near the path below Illawarra Road (on the true right bank). It posed for a few photos. Continue reading
Day 42 of lockdown. I had checked the limit of the area I could exercise in – my Local Government Area or within a 10 km radius. The western limit was Rookwood Necropolis, which I had already visited, and to the north west the limit was the Waterbird Refuge at Bicentennial Park (part of Sydney Olympic Park). I could go as far as the bird hide, but not any further to the Shipwreck Lookout or to Wentworth Common.
So I cycled out along the Cooks River Cycleway to Homebush then along the cycleway into Sydney Olympic Park. On the way I stopped off at the Cooks River Boat Harbour and soon spotted the Tawny Frogmouths. They were in separate trees. Continue reading
Day 41 of lockdown. My friend Valerie, that I have been exercising with during the lockdown, had seen my photos of the birds at Barton Park, and had accepted an invitation to meet at the park and then walk around seeing what birds we could find.
I cycled to the park, and met Valerie there. We then spent about three hours walking around the large park. During the lockdown, I have visited Barton Park a lot – which is understandable being a good location for bird watching and it is also a nice bike ride to get there. This results in many similar photos – but the species I observe does change somewhat between visits. On my previous visit, I had seen large flocks of Nutmeg Mannikins and I had thought that there should also be the native Chestnut-breasted Mannikins around too. This time we saw a fair few Chestnut-breasted Mannikins in two places. Continue reading
Day 40 of lockdown. I decided for my exercise for the day to ride in the afternoon to Sydney Park and back. Taking a bike rather than walking would allow me to check out some of the new cycleways. Also – it would give me another opportunity to photograph some of the birds at the park.
I was able to photograph a good variety of birds, including an elusive Lewin’s Rail. Here are some – Continue reading
Day 39 of lockdown. I set off down the Cooks River on my bike for an exercise ride to Barton Park and back. It was a windy day and this made riding hard and also a lot of the smaller birds were seeing to their shelter. Nevertheless, I still manage to spot some nice birds along the way.
Here are some. Continue reading
