I had been to Centennial Park a few times recently to observe and photograph the nesting pair of Powerful Owls. On one of these trips, I had seen the parents visiting the nest to feed the chicks inside. Now the owlets had fledged.
It was easy to spot the owlets high in the Paperbark Trees near their nesting hollow. You just had to see where a few other photographers were pointing their lenses. The two parents were nearby. Continue reading
It was time for another visit to Malabar Headland. This time I was accompanied by Gary, Allen, Geoff, Eve and Zik. They were all keen to see the Peregrine Falcons that are nesting on the headland. Before heading off – I had warned them that there are no guarantees that you will see these magnificent birds on any visit – but as it turned out, we were indeed fortunate. The Falcons put on a good display.
On the way out, at Magic Point, we spotted a Sea Eagle perched on the cliffs. As we approached, it flew off and circled around and landed at another spot further away. We were able to get some photos – Continue reading
Another walk with Bob. This time we followed one of my suggestions. I had never been to the lower reaches of Erskine Creek – the so called “Platypus Loops” according to the Land’s Department Blue Labyrinth map of 1963. the plan was to walk down the Jack Evans Track to the saddle at the volcanic area just above the loop, then climb the small peak, which I call “Erskine Knob”, then, hopefully, traverse down the ridge from it to Erskine Creek. Then climb up to a vantage point I had spotted on air photos on the far side and then back down and follow Erskine Creek to the Nepean River junction. The last part would be to climb up to Nepean Lookout.
The plan worked out. We parked at the car park at the end of the fire trail and were soon walking down the Jack Evans Track. At the clifftop, we detoured short way to a fantastic lookout. Continue reading
I spent a very rewarding day of bird photography in the Northern Beaches area. I visited a number of sites on the day, but the photos are from two of those sites.
The first place I visited was Rat Park and Warriewood. I was interested in seeing how the Ospreys were going with their nest. When I arrived there was one bird on the nest. I think it was sitting on eggs. Continue reading
I had seen reports online of Lewin’s Rails been seen at Sydney Park. Three had been seen in the late afternoon – early evening. So I thought I would make a late afternoon visit and see if I could spot any.
I walked into the park at St Peters and walked down to the Island Lake. Two Lewin’s Rails had been seen near the bridge between that lake and the large lower pond. The other had been seen on the north side of the Island Lake. When I arrived there were two other bird watchers there on the bridge. We all started watching. Continue reading
I had been so impressed with the wildflowers that I had seen the week before on the Curra Moors that was happy to return. This time with Brian Everingham and other walkers from the National Parks Association of NSW.
We more or less repeated the walk from the previous week. This time in the party were Brian, Faye, Valerie, Deb, Peter, Helen, Derek, Aurora, Sue W and myself. We left from the Curra Moors carpark and walked along the track to the fire road. Then we made the circuit in a clockwise direction out to Eagle Rock and along the Coastal Track and back along the fire road. At one point we did deviate from the previous route – down to the creek for morning tea and the first junction with along the fire trail. Continue reading
Nurragingy Reserve is always a nice place to visit. I spent a pleasant and relaxing day there wandering around with my camera.
Here are some of the birds I saw – Continue reading
A friend, Dave Os, invited me to join him and some others on a walk along the Caleys Range in the Devils Wilderness. Dave’s plan was to walk along the fire trail to near its end and look for a campsite and then do a few short side trips. He had already contacted the landholder and obtained permission to walk through.
We met up at a cafe on the Bell Road, and then proceeded to the property we would start from. After talking to the landholders, we set off with our packs along the fire road that goes along Caleys Range. It was easy pleasant walking. Continue reading
I made another visit to Centennial Park to see if the owlets had fledged. They had not, but I was able to get some reasonable photos of the parents. They were more visible this visit.
Mots of the time the adult owls are asleep, as they should be, but they are always aware of what is going on around them. If you wait patiently, then you do see them open their eyes – so you can get better photos. Continue reading
I was invited to see some very rare and unusual orchids that had been found in part of greater Sydney. This was a real privilege. I did take some photos, but because these orchids are not often seen, I am not publishing the photos at present. On the same walk, I spotted a lot of common orchids – all Caladenia sp.
I may update this post, in the future. Continue reading
