Mudlarks – Cooks River Bird Survey – 11 June 2024

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Dave Noble

I joined the Mudlarks for their monthly bird survey along the Cooks River. This month the group were surveying downstream.

Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading →

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Birdwood Gully Fungi – 10 June 2024

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Dave Noble

The day before, I had visited Sassafras Gully on the north side of Springwood. This time I was with my two sisters, and we did a bushwalk down Birdwood Gully, which is on the south side of the town. I pointed out some of the fungi that was there, and then stayed a bit longer to take photos.

Hygrocybe aurantipes

Gliophorus psittacinus group Continue reading →

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Sassafras Gully Fungi – 9 June 2024

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Dave Noble

I was heading up the Mountains to visit my sister at Hazelbrook (while my sister from Tasmania was visiting). On the way up, I broke any journey at Springwood and visited Sassafras Gully to see how the fungi was going. I entered the valley via the track at Sassafras Gully Road and exited via the Wiggins Track.

I found a reasonable amount of fungi, including some interesting and rare species. Here is some – Continue reading →

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Fungi at Bola Creek – 8 June 2024

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Dave Noble

I attended the field study of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group at Bola Creek in Royal National Park.  Over twenty people attended and this included members of the group, visitors and also members of the Friends of Royal National Park.

In the lead up, there had been a lot of rain, and Bola Creek itself was quite high – so we did not attempt to cross over to the other side along the track, a place where we often find very good fungi. But despite this, we still managed to find a good amount of fungi on the day. Here is a selection of what we found – Continue reading →

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Looking for Aboriginal Art on West Head – 7 June 2024

Posted on June 15, 2024 by Dave Noble

It was a wet day, so Bob and myself decided to do a walk on West Head in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park to continue our quest looking for Aboriginal engravings. Many of these engravings are very faint – and easier to see when the rock platforms are wet.

On the day we visited five art sites. Continue reading →

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Quarantine Station Walk – 6 June 2024

Posted on June 15, 2024 by Dave Noble

I had recently heard a talk on the history of the Quarantine Station on North Head by archeologists Greg Jackson and Pam Forbes. They gave this presentation to the South Sydney Branch of the National Parks Association of NSW, and it is available online on YouTube (see link below). So when Brian Everingham put on a followup walk to see the Quarantine Station on there NPA Walks Program, I took the opportunity of joining him. I turned out to be a very interesting place to visit.

The Quarantine Station is at present a ‘hotel” of sorts – with accomodation for paying guests in a unique part of Sydney. But the land is owned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and there is full public access to the site. Continue reading →

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Lane Cove River Fungi – 5 June 2024

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Dave Noble

This was a return visit to spot I had already been twice previously to look for Parrot Waxcaps (members of the Gliophorus psittacinus group). On the last visit, I had seen  one, but had found six on the first visit. Would more be out?

After a lot of searching, I spotted one of the Gliophorus psittacinus group. See the photo above and below. Continue reading →

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Fungi, Orchids and More at Wolli Creek – 4 June 2024

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Dave Noble

After more recent rain, I decided to check the status of fungi along Wolli Creek. I checked out areas near Bray Avenue, and then walked all the way downstream to Jackson Place, then walked over the hill and down the steps to Illawarra Road, and caught two buses to get home.

Here are some of my photos I took along the way. First I looked off the track in a section upstream from Paperbark Creek. In past years I have seen good fungi here, but so far this year, there had been very little. Now things were at last starting to improve. Continue reading →

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Fungi and Orchids at Birdwood Gully – 3 June 2024

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Dave Noble

I had a very pleasant day with Sue and Valerie at Birdwood Gully at Springwood. We travelled up together by train and after a coffee stop, we were soon walking down the track. The rain at Springwood in the recent storm had been a lot less than in Sydney. The rain gauges at Faulconbridge had recorded about 25 mm on Saturday (compared to over 100 mm for many places closer to the coast).

We had good weather, and found a good amount of fungi. Here is a selection – Continue reading →

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Fungi at Sydney Park – 2 June 2024

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Dave Noble

On my way back from Ferndale Park, I decided to stop off at Sydney Park and see if any new stinkhorns had appeared after the recent big fall of rain. I had visited the park a few weeks earlier and found an amazing number of stinkhorns in some of the new garden beds. These beds had fresh wood chips – and for a year or two, leech out nutrients favoured  by certain fungi like stinkhorns. My previous visit had been a few days after a big fall of rain, and a lot of the stinkhorns I saw there were well past their best. This time, the rain had been the night before, so I was hopeful more would have popped up.

I did find a lot of stinkhorns, but a lot of them were still in pretty poor condition. I now think that it’s due, not them drying out, but rather due to too much rain falling and water logging them.The stinkhorns were of two species. Continue reading →

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