I was keen to see the Kingfishers again, so headed out to Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside for some more bird photography.
I was on the lookout for Azure Kingfishers and wanted photos of them diving for and retrieving fish. As it turned out – although I did see at least one of the them – it was too fast for me to get any photos of it diving. I did see some Sacred Kingfishers – but they remained static. Continue reading
I said a few weeks back that the current display of pink Flannel Flowers (Actinotus forsythii) will probably be the best we will ever see them in our lifetimes. One of the reasons is that these flowers only appear after fire – and the bushfires of last summer were so catastrophically huge in extent. I have seen the flowers before, but only at individual sites. Now all these locations have very good displays. These include Narrow Neck, Mt Hay area, Kanangra Walls Plateau and the Newnes Plateau.
A friend, Roger, who undertakes vegetation studies near Goochs Crater in the Wollangambe Wilderness, had sent a message saying that he had heard that the pink Flannel Flowers at Goochs Crater were at or near their zenith. So a trip was organised with Digi Dave. We decided to visit Goochs Crater and on the way up inspect Narrow Neck. Later, if we had time, we would look on other sites on the Newnes Plateau. Continue reading
I was shocked to hear of the serious illness and then passing of a good friend – Vanessa Haverd on 19 January 2021. She died far too young – at the age of 43 after a battle with cancer. She leaves a daughter, Erica, and her husband Matthew Hole.
I did a lot of bushwalking with Vanessa in the period – 1996 to 2000, when we were both very active in Sydney University Bushwalkers. Vanessa was a great walking companion – capable of doing long hard walks with ease and never complaining of conditions. She was fit and strong. Continue reading
Thursday was the usual day for a walk with Bob. With an adverse weather forecast – he suggested a walk along part of the Manly to Bondi Coastal Path. We had long planned to walk north from Bondi, and this seemed like a good opportunity.
We met up at the north end of Bondi Beach. We then headed out towards Ben Buckler and to an Aboriginal engraving – Continue reading
I was keen to return to Nurragingy Reserve to try and get some better photos of the local Kingfishers. On this trip – I had no trouble finding them – but had less luck with the photos. It was easy to get photos of them perched on branches and rocks, but I was after photos of them in flight and in particular fishing. It turned out to be a very dull overcast day – and the light was far too poor to get action shots.
I think I saw four Azure Kingfishers – probably two parents and their two chicks. The chicks however only appeared very briefly and I was not able to get photos of them. But the adult birds were hunting a lot of time, perched looking for fish to prey on. Continue reading
Enmoore had suggested a canyoning trip on Australia/Invasion Day. A few of us were interested in coming along and some canyons were suggested. Enmoore had suggested Koombanda Canyon near Bell, and I then suggested that we could visit the nearby Kangaroo Corner Canyon as well.
This turned out to be a good choice. It was forecast to be a very hot day – and both of these canyons have a short walk in and out. In the party were Enmoore, Wendy, Grant and myself. Continue reading
Another day of bird photography at the Central Coast wetlands at the old Pioneer Dairy at Wyong.
As I walking into the wetlands, I spotted two Sea Eagles perched in a distant tree. Continue reading
I had not been along the Cooks River checking out my local birdlife since the start of the month. A very hot day was forecast, but I wanted to get out and do something not too strenuous, and though a gentle walk along the Cooks River with my camera would fit the bill.
I started out from the new bridge at Lang Road and walked upstream on the north bank. Not far along, I spotted the outline of a Sacred Kingfisher perched on a mangrove. I carefully moved closer and unpacked my camera. Continue reading
It was good to be able to join the bird survey held by the Inner West Environment Group along the Greenway near Waratah Mills Light Rail Station.
Near the station, we spotted our first birds – a pair of roosting Tawny Frogmouths. Continue reading
Another great day spent canyoning in the Blue Mountains. I was with Bob and Nipper. We first visited hat Hill Canyon at Blackheath.
It was an easy short walk to the start of the canyon – the first of three constrictions. Continue reading
