Bundeena to Marley Walk – 18 June 2021

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was time to go on a walk with Brian Everingham and others from the National Parks Association of NSW. Brian was leading walk from Bundeena along the coast track to Marley and back. As well as taking in the magnificent coast cliffs of Royal National Park, we would have the chance to see whales and birds.

It started out a pleasant sunny day, but later became a bit windy. I travelled by train to Cronulla and travelled to Bundeena on the ferry with Valerie and Sue. At Bundeena we met up with others on the walk and got a lift to the start of the track. Continue reading →

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Ridge Walking Near Bell – 17 June 2021

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

Bob suggested a walk near Bell out to Wollangambe Crater and back via a circuit that would take in some interesting pagodas, that I had long wanted to visit. But it turned out to be a quite trying excursion. It was a very cold and windy day. I walked all the time in long pants and a fleece. The cold wind made it difficult to enjoy the views – as climbing high on a pagoda brought you into the full force of the icy blast as well as bringing you into danger of being blown off.

Nevertheless, it was nice to be outdoors, and the scenery was very pleasant. Continue reading →

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Fungi along Wolli Creek – 16 June 2021

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

After seeing some amazing fungi at Chatswood the day before, I used the afternoon of this day to walk down Wolli Creek from Bexley North to Tempe looking for fungi. I found a reasonable amount out – certainly a lot more than what I had seen on my previous visit, a fungal survey with the Sydney Fungal Studies Group on 29 May. But it looks like I may have left my visit a bit late as some fo the fungi was a bit worse for wear.

Gliophorus chromolimoneus

I will start with waxcaps. In a spot, upstream, where I had seen good waxcaps before, I found a few this visit. Continue reading →

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More Fungi Near Chatswood – 15 June 2021

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

Recent rain and cold weather meant it was a good time to look for waxcaps. I headed up to Chatswood and then walked down to Ferndale Park. The fungi was better then I had hoped for – a lot was out, and I spent more time there than I intended. I then walked to Blue Gum Reserve and found the fungi there very good as well. After that I walked down the track to the Lane Cove River and after a late lunch walked upstream along the river to check out another site.

The third site was not as good for waxcaps, but it was quite good for coral fungi. Continue reading →

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Gardens of Stone Walk 12 – 14 June 2021

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was fortunate to be able to join friends for three days of bushwalking in the Gardens of Stone. We walked on the Wolgan – Capertee Divide. Part of the walk is within the Gardens of Stone National Park and the rest of it is in the proposed extensions to the park. This is an amazing area to walk in – whether to do a long distance walk or a shorter walk.

The party was John and Chuin Nee and their two young sons Jasper and Sebastian, Keith and myself. We had fine weather on the walk, but the first two days were quite cold and windy. Continue reading →

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More Raptors at the Northern Beaches – 11 June 2021

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Dave Noble

I spent another interesting day photographing the raptors on the Northern Beaches. Like the previous trip, I visited a number of sites – ending up at Long Reef.

First at the sea cliffs, I was on the lookout for Peregrine Falcons. I didn’t see any at first, but I did see a distant raptor. From its hovering, I thought it was a Nankeen Kestrel. I walked along the coastal path to close to where I thought it was, but could not spot it. I did photograph a Crested Tern diving for a fish (unsuccessfully) – Continue reading →

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Aboriginal Heritage Walk – 10 June 2021

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Dave Noble

A wet day was forecast for Sydney, and snow was forecast for the mountains. I met up with Bob for our weekly bushwalk, and we contemplated travelling to the Blue Mountains to see the snow, but ended up deciding on a Sydney walk – to look for some Aboriginal engravings.

During the day it was wet and cold. In fact, it turned out to be Sydney’s coldest day for 25 years. But, despite conditions we had a very interesting day. We first visited a major Aboriginal art site. Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 9 June 2021

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Dave Noble

Another day, another bird survey. This time with the Inner West Environment Group for their monthly  survey along the Greenway between Taverners Hill and Hawthorne.

The meeting place is the platform at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station and after looking around for birds from the platform we descended to the path and walked towards Marion Street and then Hawthorne. Continue reading →

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Mudlarks Bird Survey – 8 June 2021

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Dave Noble

I got up early in the morning and walked down to the Cooks River at the Lang Street Bridge to take part in the monthly bird survey with the Mudlarks.

It was a cold morning, but we still spotted a reasonable number of birds. This months survey we downstream to Wave Rock at the Gold Club and then returned on the far side of the river. Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading →

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More Birds on the Northern Beaches – 7 June 2021

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was pleased with my trip of a few days earlier when I had seen a lot of Ospreys seeming to catch plenty of fish from the sea at Long Reef. I was now after action photos of them diving into the sea and grabbing a fish with their talons. I know these are difficult to get – the birds need to be around, the sea needs to be right, and the birds need to be hunting. Then there are other factors – will the birds catch their fish relatively close by (within the range of a telephoto lens)? Will the light be good? But if you don’t try, then you certainly won’t get any photos.

So I set off again for the Northern Beaches. Low tide was around Noon, and the Ospreys seem to be active during the afternoon, so I fist visited a spot on the sea cliffs where I had seen Peregrine Falcons in past years. Sure enough there were two Peregrine Falcons around. Here are some photos – Continue reading →

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