Birds at Nurragingy Reserve – 12 April 2026

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Dave Noble

I visited Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside by myself, and had a pleasant day wandering around photographing some of the birdlife.

When I go to Nurragingy, I always have a few goals – birds I would particularly like to photograph, even if they are birds I have photographed many times before. Some of them favourites that are often found at Nurragingy are the Kingfishers (especially Azure Kingfishers) and Pacific Bazas.  On this visit, I had a very quick glimpse of an Azure Kingfisher as it flew past, but I did have better luck with the Pacific Bazas.

However, things started off very quietly, and few birds were observed. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Bola Creek – 11 April 2026

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Dave Noble

I attended the field study of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group held at Bola Creek in Royal National Park. The group met at the south end of Lady Carrington Drive ready to set off to the Bola Creek area at 10 am.

Conditions were fairly dry, but a reasonable amount of fungi was observed. Continue reading →

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Birdwood Gully Fungi – 10 April 2026

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Dave Noble

It was time for another visit to Birdwood Gully at Springwood to see how the fungi was going. Sue joined me for the trip.

We found a fair amount of nice fungi, although much of it was looking  bit dried out. Continue reading →

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Box Head Walk – 9 April 2026

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Dave Noble

I had been been on a walk to Box Head ,on the north side of Broken Bay, with Bob back in 2022. It is well worth visiting. On this trip, the plan was to walk out towards Box Head, then turn off and take a track down to Ladder Beach and then walk right around on the rocks and rock platforms at sea level, around the headland to Tallow Beach. in the party was Bob, Doug and Nipper.

When we arrived at Kilcare, we found the fire trail closed due to road work, so this meant a longer walk in along another fire road. Due to this, I decided to only walk out to Box Head and back rather than take the lower route, which the others followed. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Birds – 8 April 2026

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Dave Noble

After the Greenway Bird Survey, I travelled to Tempe Station, where I met Sue, and then we walked slowly up the Cooks River to Canterbury Road. We stopped at Gough Whitlam Park where we had lunch.

Here are some of the birds we saw along the way. Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 8 April 2026

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Dave Noble

I took part in the survey along the Hawthorne Canal section of The Greenway. This survey starts at 7:30 am at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station and goes to Hawthorne Light Rail Station.

We were lucky to observe a number of unusual birds on this survey.

It was relatively quiet at Taverners Hill. Here is a New Holland Honeyeater – Continue reading →

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Fungi at Ferndale Park – 7 April 2026

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Dave Noble

I made a decision to visit Ferndale Park at Chatswood in the afternoon, but I really did not allow enough time to have a good look around for the fungi that was there. Also the light was getting a bit gloomy in the rainforest.

Neosarcodon sp.  An interesting spine fungus.

Continue reading →

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Ospreys at Long Reef – 6 April 2026

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Dave Noble

I spent a pleasant, but somewhat frustrating day at Long Reef on the Northern Beaches. My main aim (as usual lately) was to photograph the local Ospreys. In particular, I wanted some good photos of them diving for fish.

When I arrived, I looked down from the top, and spotted an Osprey perched on some roots. So I descended to get into a better position for photos. There were four other bird photographers nearby waiting for the Osprey to take off. I knew one of them – Adam.

The Osprey showed signs it was about to fly – Continue reading →

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Cooks River Birds – 4 April 2026

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Dave Noble

I went by myself for a short walk along part of the Cooks River – from Illawarra Road to Gough Whitlam Park and back. I was particularly after photos of the local Sacred Kingfishers. And this trip I was quite successful.

I had been along the River, three days earlier on a walk with Sue and Valerie, and we had seen some grea birds, including two Satin Bower Birds, but we had not seen and Kingfishers.

Walking down the River, there were the usual birds drying their wings. Continue reading →

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The Victory Track – Sassafras Gully – 2 April 2026

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Dave Noble

I joined Bob, Doug, Nipper and Airdrie on a very nice walk from Faulconbridge to Springwood via the Victory Track which takes you through the upper parts of Sassafras Gully. The others did a side trip up to Numantia Falls, while I spent time finding fungi to photograph.

The Victory Track has recently been reopened after suffering from major  storm damage a few years ago Its nice to walk this beautiful track again.

We caught the train to Faulconbridge and were soon on the track. A short way down, you encounter the Rocklily Cave. This was used by former owner of the land, Sir Henry Parkes, to host parties. It would have once had a picnic table or two. Continue reading →

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