The second Saturday of the month is the time for the Tempe Birdos to meet at survey the birds at Tempe Wetlands and Tempe Reserve. The group meets in the open area near the bottom pond of Tempe Wetlands – from 7:30 am and then splits up around 8 am – one subgroup surveys the Reserve and other stays in the Wetlands.
Australasian Grebe
This survey, I was in the group that surveyed the Wetlands. Here are some of the birds we obscured – Continue reading
I was able to spend a few hours at Sydney Park in the afternoon. When I arrived however, I was a bit worried as there was a big storm nearby. I consulted the rain radar ands that it was to the south and should miss where I was. So I started looking around for birds.
In the top pool, at the far end was a Pied Cormorant – Continue reading
A wet day was forecast, so not good weather for canyoning, so Bob and myself decided to do a bushwalk instead. We decided to go to the Clarence area and do a walk where we could find plenty of caves, in case we needed to shelter from the rain. As it turned out, we had not rain on the walk. But it was grea to visit some very interesting scenery – and there was a major bonus – there were plenty of pink Flannel Flowers.
Our access was via the climber’s track to the Freezer and Cosmic County climbing area. These took us down to some service roads for the railway and the railway powerline. This led us to a very interesting area – with lots of pagodas, cliffs, caves and a nice natural arch. Continue reading
In the afternoon, after the Greenway Bird Survey, I headed with my bike to Sydney Olympic Park.
I went by train to Strathfield North and then cycled down to the Mason Park Wetlands. I didn’t see any notable birds there, so continued on. In the concrete creek nearby I spotted a Great Egret. It looked like it was fishing. I stopped to see if it would catch anything. Continue reading
I joined the Greenway Birdos for the monthly bird survey along the Greenway between Taverners Hill and Hawthorne Light Rail Stations. The group meets on the second Wednesday of the month at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station.
This survey, we seemed to see few birds at Taverners Hill Station and along the first part of the Greenway. Continue reading
It was the time for the monthly Mudlarks Bird Survey along the Cooks River. The group meets at the north side of the Land St Bridge on the second Tuesday of the month at 7 am (in summer, 7:30 am in winter). The direction for the survey (upstream or downstream) alternates each month. This month the survey was upstream. On the morning we found good range of birds – I think 43 species were recorded.
Here are some of what we saw – Continue reading
After my early morning visit to Sydney Park, I decide to spend the rest of the day near South Head. I caught a train to the Quay and a ferry to Watsons Bay. Then after fish and chips for lunch, I walked out to the Gap Bluff Lookout.
The views were great as usual, but a high temporary fence makes photography a lot more difficult. Continue reading
I got up early and headed to Sydney Park at St Peters to see what birds were out.
Like some previous visits to this park, I was on the lookout for Crakes and Rails, and wondered if early morning maybe better than the late afternoon? Also, on a recent visit, I ws talking to another birder and he had seen a Little Bittern in the morning a few days before. I didn’t see any of these birds, but I still had an interesting time. Continue reading
I spent a nice day riding my bike along the Cooks River and Botany Bay Cycleways and stopping to look for birds. I went as far as the Karen Point Shorebird Reserve and the nearby Shell Point, and then returned the same way.
My first stop was at the Boat Harbour. I spotted one pair of Tawny Frogmouths. Continue reading
Our bushcare group was heading to West Head to remove weeds near the lookout at the end of the headland. The main weeds we were removing were Mother of Millions. The are easy to pull out – but the entire plant must be bagged and carried out.
We did well during the day, removing many bags of the weeds. Continue reading
