Bowens Creek Canyon – South Branch, Upper Section – 3 December 2020

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Dave Noble

Bowens Creek offers some great canyoning opportunities. There are good section of canyon in both the north and south branches of the creek, and the canyon continues for a fair way downstream from the junction of these two branches. On this trip, we visited the canyon in the upper section of the south branch.

Many parties visit this canyon by abseiling down a small southern tributary, but that entrance misses at least half the canyon in the upper section. It is much better to start very high up. On this trip, there was Bob, Nipper and myself. We drove a short way out along the Mt Wilson Road and parked at where a power line access fire road turns off. Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland – 2 December 2020

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Dave Noble

Another day spent out on Malabar Headland. I think things are starting to quieten down in regard to the juvenile Peregrine Falcons. They can now fly a lot further and seem a lot harder to locate when perched on the cliffs.

On this trip, I could hear one of the juvenile Peregrine Falcons calling out, from somewhere in Dead Man’s Gulch. I could not see it until it moved. Continue reading →

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Birds at Landing Lights Wetland and the Cooks River – 1 December 2020

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Dave Noble

Brian Everingham had organised a bird acting activity with the National Parks Association of NSW to look at birds at Landing Lights Wetland at Barton Park. In the party were Brian, Sue W, Sue B, Valerie, Deb, Ute, Janine, Vivienne, Allen and myself. We spent a nice morning wandering around looking at the birds, then I joined two of the participants Valerie and Sue B and Sue W for lunch at Gough Whitlam Park, and after that we checked out the Tawny Frogmouths.

At Landing Lights Wetland, there was not a huge abundance of birds. The main waders were a pair of Pied Stilts and their three chicks – Continue reading →

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Cooks River Birds Update – 30 November 2020

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Dave Noble

This is just an update on the status of some of the Tawny Frogmouths and other birds along the Cooks River.

First stop was to see how a Willie Wagtail nest was going.  One parent was squashed into the nest with its two chicks. Continue reading →

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Blue Mountains Canyoning – Ranon, Twister and Rocky Creek Canyons 28 – 29 November 2020

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Dave Noble

Two very hot days of weather were forecast over the weekend, so Enmoore had suggested some Blue Mountains canyoning. The plan was to visit Ranon Canyon on Saturday, and then some of us may so some more canyoning on Sunday. As it turned out – there was Enmoore, Dave W, Rossco, Su Li, Brent and myself for rain on Saturday. And then Enmoore and myself visited Twister and Rocky Creek on Sunday.

It was ideal weather for canyoning. As we headed up the mountains, the temperature near Richmond was already 37° C. We had planned a latish start for Ranon as we wanted to walk out in the cooler late afternoon. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Birds – 27 November 2020

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was my next visit to check the status of some local birds. I cycled down to the Cooks River, and  went upstream to the Boat Harbour, then went downstream to Gough Whitlam Park, then back upstream again.

I first stopped off to check the status of a Willie Wagtail nest we had seen recently. There are now chicks, and the parents are busy supplying them with food. Continue reading →

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Hole in the Wall Canyon – 26 November 2020

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Dave Noble

With the coming of hot weather, it was time for some canyoning. This week, Bob and myself planned to visit Hole in the Wall Canyon. We were joined by another old friend, Nipper.

We travelled up the Bell and Chifley Roads and turned off at the Zig Zag Railway turnoff and headed out onto the Newnes Plateau. Not far past Bungleboori Picnic Area, we turned off along the Waratah Ridge Fire Trail and drove to the car park at the end. Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland – 25 November 2020

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Dave Noble

The juvenile Peregrine Falcons on Malabar Headland are growing fast, and I was worried they would soon leave the area, so I decided to make another visit. This one was a lot better in terms of getting photos of the two juveniles flying together.

Like the previous visit, it started off quiet. I did not see any Falcons for the first hour or so, and was getting a bit anxious, thinking they may have left the area. Continue reading →

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More Nice Birds at Emu Green – 24 November 2020

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Dave Noble

As bird photography trip go, this one was pretty good. I was fortunate to get some reasonable photos of a Mistletoebird and a Southern Emu-wren.

The Southern Emu-wrens have been one bird I was after at this reserve for a long time. Two trips back, I had been able to get some reasonable photos of one. This trip, I only saw one Emu-wren, and in the same location I had seen one previously. And again, it did not show itself for very long, but it chose a better perch for photography than before, and I was ready. Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland – 23 November 2020

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was the next in a series of trips to the Headland to photograph the developing Juvenile Peregrine Falcons.

One of my aims is to photograph the two chicks flying together, and this trip was not very successful for that. But it was still very interesting. When I arrived, on this visit I walked into the park from the Malabar side. I did not spot any of the Falcons near Boora Point, nor at the their nesting area. I continued on towards Dead Man’s Gulch, without any success despite scanning the cliffs with binoculars. Continue reading →

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