Stunning Pink Flannel Flower Display – 18 February 2021

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was due to do a bushwalk or canyon with Bob. Since the forecast for the Mountains was for a maximum of only 17°C and some showers, we decided that a walk may be more appropriate. I suggested visiting Ikara Head on the Asgard Plateau at Mt Victoria. Neither of us had visited this part of the Blue Mountains and it would allows us to see some more pink Flannel Flowers.

So, we set out on the walk, and though we had both seen great displays of the pink Flannel Flowers recently, we were both amazed by what we saw on Ikara Ridge. Their proliferation was incredible. Continue reading →

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Taronga Zoo Visit – 17 February 2021

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

I spent a nice day at Taronga Zoo. I had chosen a quiet time to make my visit – a day with a forecast for some rain, and not on a weekend or school holidays. And it certainly was quiet there – very few visitors. But the animals were great.

Here are some animals – Continue reading →

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Royal Botanic Gardens Visit – 16 February 2021

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

I had just visited the Australian Museum and had some spare time in the afternoon, so I walked into the nearby Royal Botanic Gardens for a look. There are plenty of photographic subjects in these gardens, and on my last visit, I had not been able to spot the Powerful Owls. This time I found one early on.

As soon as I walked under the tree it was roosting in, to opened its eyes and observed me. Continue reading →

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Australian Museum Visit – 16 February 2021

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

It had been a while since I had visited the Australian Museum in Sydney. It had just been refurbished, so I thought it was about time to make a visit. It was well worth seeing even though not all the collections were open.

Here are a variety of things that I saw – Continue reading →

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Birds at Sydney Olympic Park – 14 February 2021

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Dave Noble

After visit Nurragingy, on the way home, I detoured to Concord West, and then walked into Sydney Olympic Park. I visited the Waterbird Refuge at Bicentennial Park and then the ponds of Wentworth Common. I also visited the Brickpit and the Woo-la-ra hill. This was late afternoon, and I wanted to see what birds were out during those hours.

Dollarbird

In the Waterbird Refuge, I saw the usual birds. But didn’t see any raptors at Woo-la-ra. Other birds that I was after were Crakes and Rails at Wentworth Common – I had no luck. Continue reading →

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Birds and Reptiles at Nurragingy Reserve – 14 February 2021

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

I spent another  nice day out at Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside. Like previous visits, I was hoping to see more of the Kingfishers – the Azure and Sacred, but as it turned out, I didn’t see any of the Azure Kingfishers. I only saw a single Sacred Kingfisher just before I left the Reserve in the early afternoon. But there were a lot of other nice birds to see – as well as some reptiles (some in the beaks of birds).

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

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Birds at Tempe – 13 February 2021

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

It was a wet morning for the monthly bird survey with the Tempe Birdos. This made photography challenging. Not that many birds were out in the rain, the thick clouds made the lighting very poor for bird photography, and its not good to get your camera too wet.

Despite these challenges, we saw some interesting birds and fascinating behaviour. Continue reading →

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Birds at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens – 12 February 2021

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

I thought it about time to make another visit to Mt Annan Botanic Gardens. I was particularly after photos of an Australian Owlet-nightjar that had been roosting there for a while. On a previous trip, we had been to the right tree but had not been able to see the bird. This time I had more success.

Like on a previous visit. I caught a train to Cambelltown and then a bus from there to just outside the Gardens. This worked out well. On the way home, I changed from bus to train at Macarthur, and that seemed a better interchange.

The success was  due to five other bird photographers being present and all of us scanning possible hollows that the bird may be roosting in. As well, one of them, Cary, had photographed the Owlet-nightjar quite a few times previously and knew the likely places. Continue reading →

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Birds at Sydney Park – 12 February 2021

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

I made an early morning trip to Sydney Park – arriving before 7 am to see what was out and about.

It was nice being there early – but I didn’t see any of the less common birds that I was hoping for. Sometimes it can take many visits to see the birds I was after. Continue reading →

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Canyoning in the Northern Blue Mountains – 11 February 2021

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Dave Noble

This was another nice day of canyoning with Bob and Nipper in the Northern Blue Mountains. On the day we visited three canyons that were close to each other and this enabled us to complete an interesting loop.

The first canyon, was reached after a fairly short walk. This canyon was not very long but it featured a number of short waterfalls into deep pools. In a few places we used a rope to assist us on the drops. Other parties may choose to jump all of them. Continue reading →

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