Day 33 of lockdown. Another exercise beak along the Cooks River. This time it was a bike ride with Digi Dave. I took a camera with me and took a few photos of the birds we saw along our ride.
We met at the bridge near the old Sugar Mill, and we first rode upstream along the southern bank. We rode up to Canterbury Road, then crossed the river and went downstream on the north bank. Continue reading
Day 32 of lockdown. My exercise for the day was a morning bike ride along the Cooks River to Barton Park and back. As usual, I packed a camera.
No Sacred Kingfishers this time. I wonder if they are still around? They migrate to coastal mangrove areas during winter, and with recent warm weather perhaps they are moving back to the usual territories. But, I think a more likely explanation is they are not out feeding due to the high tide. They may have been out much earlier in the morning. Continue reading
Day 31 of lockdown. A short exercise walk in the afternoon to the Cooks River. This time I walked upstream to the Boat Harbour, then crossed over and walked up to Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands, then back downstream.
Walking upstream, at the Boat Harbour, I soon located the Tawny Frogmouth pair. This time they were in different trees. Continue reading
Day 30 of lockdown. Another exercise bike ride – and again along the Cooks River Cycleway to Tempe and then to Barton Park and back. As usual I took my camera and recorded some of the birds I saw along the way.
And, as usual, I kept a lookout for Sacred Kingfishers. None near Illawarra Road, but at Gough Whitlam Park, I was walking along looking in the mangroves when two flew out all of sudden and took off up the river. I saw where one landed and was able to get a few photos. Continue reading
I have just completed a lockdown project – a slide show of photos taken in Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania. I have selected photos from 21 visits to the park, between 1991 and 2021, and combined them into a Youtube video at 4K resolution. The end result is a photo essay that showcases the beauty, rugged scenery and grandeur of this World Heritage Area. It is one of my favourite places. I selected photos taken in different weather conditions and different seasons. Some photos have been taken on trips along the famous Overland Track but many have been taken away from that track.
Some of the photos have been scanned from colour slides, but I have not used slides from my very early trips to the park.
When I first started bushwalking in Tasmania, the local visitors to the park always referred to is as “The Reserve” and that is still the name I use.
The video runs for nearly half an hour. If you watch the video – please look at the full resolution version, the 4K stream on an ultra high definition TV or computer monitor.
At some time in the future, I will create a similar photo essay of the adjoining Walls of Jerusalem National Park and nearby places on the Central Plateau. Another place of amazing natural and wild beauty.
Day 28 of lockdown. Another exercise bike ride. This time I did make it to Barton Park, but the afternoon was relatively quiet for birds. Perhaps because it was quite a windy day.
I cycled down the Cooks River Cycleway, but didn’t see any birds until I got to Cahill Park. This was where I had seen a Sacred Kingfisher the day before. I was here again. Continue reading
Day 27 of lockdown. I went down to the Cooks River for an exercise bike ride, intending to go as far as Barton Park, but I got distracted all the way by Sacred Kingfishers. My first encounter was on the cycleway just downstream from the Illawarra Road crossing where I spotted three Sacred Kingfishers. Then further downstream after crossing the Cooks River at the Princess Highway, I spotted another Sacred Kingfisher at Cahill Park. It was in a relatively open place, good for photography. By he time I had finished there, it was time to ride home.
This day is unusual in that all my photo are of Sacred Kingfishers. Not far downstream of Illawarra Road was where I spotted the first one. It was perched in a Casuarina. Continue reading
Day 26 of lockdown. It was a nice but cool day, so I decided another walk down to the Cooks River would be good for exercise. I walked downstream as far as the junction with Wolli Ck and then crossed to the north side and with bait of backtrack, I walked on to Tempe Reserve and Wetlands, then made my way back upstream.
This walk started off fairly quiet as far as birds were concerned. At the Illawarra Road Bridge, I saw this Australasian Darter. Continue reading
Day 24 of lockdown. A nice day was forecast, so I had organised with local friend Valerie for another morning walk down the Cooks River to Tempe and back. We met at the Lang Street Bridge and then started walking downstream.
On the way, we were on the lookout for birds. Not far down,we watched a Pied Cormorant fishing. After a few dives, it surfaced with this nice fish – Continue reading
Day 23 of lockdown. I decided on a bike ride to Barton Park and back.
As usual, I took cameras with me and photograph some of the birds I saw along the way. Along the Cooks River, I stopped to photograph a Great Egret through a gap in the mangroves. Continue reading
