Day 62 of Lockdown. This was an afternoon walk down the Cooks River to Tempe and back. As usual I took a camera with me.
Compared to other trips (and there have been a lot lately), I didn’t see too many birds. And no Kingfishers this time. But some of the other birds were nice. Here are some – Continue reading
Day 61 of Lockdown. For exercise, I went on a bike ride down the Cooks River to Tempe and then to Barton Park. As usual, I took a camera.
On the way, I stopped off, just downstream of Illawarra Road, to photograph a Sacred Kingfisher. Continue reading
Another lockdown project completed. This one is a slide show made up of photos of the Central Plateau of Tasmania. The photos were taken in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park and the Central Plateau Conservation Area – both part of the World Heritage Area. The photos were selected from those I took on 17 trips to the Plateau between 1991 and 2020.
In the photos I trying illustrate the wild beauty of the area. The labyrinth of lakes and tarns, the amazing vegetation – including the Pencil Pines, Cushion Plants and Richea scoparia when in flower – creating a truly stunning alpine garden. It is an area that should be cherished. Unfortunately climate change may result in irreversible damage. These alpine plants have no where to go to if it gets hotter. In recent years, bushfires have destroyed a large chunk of Pencil Pine habitat.
If you watch the video – please look at it full screen on a high definition monitor or TV – and at the 4K resolution.
This is the third in a series of slide show videos I have put together recently that showcase wild areas of Tasmania.
Day 60 of Lockdown. There had been spell of wet and windy weather – not nice for outdoor exercise. On this day, the weather had improved in the afternoon, so I got my bike out and cycled upstream along the Cooks River Cycleway.
One of my aims was also to look for some Tawny Frogmouths in the Croydon Park – Campsie area. I had recently seen a photo of a pair perched in a tree in Federation Reserve. I had never been to this reserve as it is on the opposite side of the river to the cycleway. When I checked on the map – it was just within my 5 km radius for exercise and recreation. Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
