Back to Nurragingy Reserve – 16 January 2021

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was keen to return to Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside after my previous recent very good bird photography visits. This visit, for some reason, a lot of the birds I photographed had some blueness to them. I was only the lookout for Kingfishers and Nurragingy often provides good opportunities to observe these beautiful birds. I saw them on this trip, but I also had my best observation session with Blue-faced Honeyeaters.

I was looking at an Azure Kingfisher at one of the ponds, when a family of Blue-faced Honeyeaters turned up. They spent about 15 minutes in that location. Continue reading →

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Pink Flannel Flowers – 14 January 2021

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Dave Noble

Back in 2011 I posted about the Pink Flannel Flower – Actinotus forsythii. I have been fortunate to see this remarkable species quite a few times over the years. When it flowers, it flowers en masse and this is very spectacular to observe. I have previously seen the species at Kanangra Walls, Narrow Neck, the Wollangambe Wilderness and the Newnes Plateau.

The species, unlike the more common species of Flannel Flower needs two conditions for the seeds to be able to germinate. One is a bushfire, the other is good follow-up rain. The seeds seem to be able to stay dormant, yet still viable for many years. When I saw them in flower on Kanangra Walls back in 2011, there had been a bushfire there in 2010 which burnt out part of the plateau east of the Gingra Track. It was in this burnt out section that the Pink Flannel Flowers were present about a year after the fire. I first visited Kanangra Walls as a child back in the 1960’s and cannot recall any bushfire from then to 2010. So it seems the seeds can remain dormant for at least 50 years. Probably a lot longer than that. Continue reading →

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North Wolgan Canyoning 11 – 13 January 2021

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Dave Noble

I headed up the mountains with Bob for four days of canyoning. We first went to the Wolgan Valley. The plan was to camp in the valley and do day trips to various canyons.

On the way to Newnes, we visited a short canyon. This one was easy to get to and did not have any swims. It was a trip up through the canyon and then back the same way. Here are some photos taken in the canyon – Continue reading →

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Centre Mountain Walk 8 – 10 January 2021

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

Don had organised a trip to a campsite near Centre Mountain in the Blue Labyrinth. It was originally going be a weekend trip, but some potential attendees could not make it for Saturday night, but come earlier, so the trip ended up being Friday afternoon to Sunday, with people coming and going at various times.

I went up the mountains with Dave Os, and on the way we picked up Don and his daughter Elata. As we were going to drive out along Kings Tableland Road, I suggested a short trip along the first bit of the Lion Had track to see if any Pink Flannel Flowers could be found. Continue reading →

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Birds at Nurragingy Reserve – 7 January 2021

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

I spent another nice day at Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside photographing some of the resident birds. It was warm weather with the possibility of rain, and I was not sure how many birds would be out and about. I think the Kingfishers dominated the day.

I am always on the lookout for the beautiful Azure Kingfishers when I am at the Reserve, but the last few visits the Sacred Kingfishers have been the ones I have most photographed. When I arrived, I looked around to see if I could spot any Azure Kingfishers at locations I had seen them before – but had no luck. I could hear the call of a Sacred Kingfisher however, and soon spotted it. Continue reading →

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Sassafras Gully – Fungi, Orchids and Waterfalls – 6 January 2021

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

I had been keen to get to Sassafras Gully to check out the early season fungi for a while now – but had been reluctant to commit to a trip because of adverse weather forecasts. For this trip, the forecast was not the best – some showers were possible, but in the end it turned out quite a good day. I saw a lot of interesting things including some beautiful light blue Entolomas.

I started on the track down to the gully from Sassafras Gully Road, and then walk down to the Lagoon at Glenbrook Creek, then along the creek and out via Magdala Creek. Continue reading →

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Birds at Mt Annan and Camden – 5 January 2021

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was keen to return to Mt Annan Botanic Gardens to see what birds were out, and was joined by Sue and Valerie. We had a pleasant day, but we didn’t see tooo many birds – it was perhaps a bit hot.

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

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Lane Cove Valley Walk – 4 January 2021

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was keen to get outside and look for fungi after some good recent rain falls. I did want to head up to Sassafras Gully at Springwood, but the weather forecast was not the best, so I decided to do a shorter trip to the Lane Cove Valley. I caught train to Thornleigh and walked down the river to Browns Waterhole, then up Terrys Creek to Eastwood.

All along the way, I found nice orchids, fungi and birds. Continue reading →

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A Visit to the Whipple Truss – 3 January 2021

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Dave Noble

For many years, while travelling on the Inner West Rail Line between Lewisham and Summer Hill, I had noticed a “spare bridge” sitting low down next to the railway line on the south side. I wondered what it was doing there. Thanks, to Chris from the Greenway Bird Group, I now know. She had given me a copy of Mark Sobolch’s book – “Hawthorne Canal, A History of Long Cove Creek“. It was a very interesting book to read and it also solved the mystery of that bit of bridge. It was a remnant of the Whipple Truss – a bridge built for the railway line that spanned Long Cove Creek at the bottom of Taverners Hill.

When the railway was constructed between Sydney and Parramatta, an impressive sandstone viaduct was built for the line to cross this valley. But, this bridge proved to be too expensive to maintain, so it was replaced with a truss type bridge. Rather than was typical of the times, an American design truss was used instead of a British design. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Birdwood Gully – 2 January 2021

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Dave Noble

I headed up to Springwood with the intention of checking out the fungi in Sassafras Gully. It is very early in the fungi season, but there has been good rain recently and I though thee should be some out. However, when I arrived, it was raining lightly, so I decided to visit Birdwood Gully instead.

Both gullies do offer some shelter – in sandstone overhangs, but Birdwood Gully is a much shorter walk in and out. Continue reading →

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