Two friends, Dave Os and Don, had organised an easy bushwalk out along the fire trail that leaves Queens Road at Lawson. The plan was to walk out a few kilometres, then look for a campsite on a high point, then spend some time exploring the area. They were joined by Rik, Digi Dave and myself.
On the walk out, we were on the lookout for wildflowers and birds. Here are some birds we spotted – Continue reading
I travelled by train to Wyong and spent a nice day at the Central Coast Wetlands at the old Pioneer Dairy. I had been a fair while since my previous visit – in late February.
Southern Emu-wren
I had a full day of bird photography. Here are some of the birds I saw – Continue reading
Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) has put on a very good show in the Northern hemisphere. It was however briefly visible in Australia – but it was when the comet was moving away from the Sun and rapidly fading. Could it be seen from Sydney? The location of the comet was shown in Stellarium, so I knew where to look.
The evening of the 29th July was fairly clear of clouds around dusk, so I started scanning the sky in the comet’s location area with binoculars. I could not see anything. So I set up camera on a tripod and took some photos. By looking at a magnified image on the rear LCD screen I could clearly see a tiny green dot – it was the comet. I centre the camera at that spot and took some more photos. My view was hindered a bit by some overhead cables, and I was hoping that as the comet lower in the sky, the view would improve. Also, it would then be a bit darker – so the comet may show up better. But no. A bank of clouds rolled in and that was that. Continue reading
This was a walk of the National Parks Association of NSW. It was organised by Brian Everingham, but at last minute he was unable to attend. But we still completed the walk and had a very interesting and enjoyable outing. In the party was – Deb, Sue, Pam, Jitka and myself.
We met at Waterfall Station and then travelled to the start of the walk at the south end of Lady Carrington Drive by two cars. We then set off around the loop walk of the Forest Path in the clockwise direction. Continue reading
During a period of wet weather where I was confined indoors, I completed a project on the Grose Valley. This is one of my favourite places in the Greater Blue Mountains. It is a place I have photographed many times. So I hunted through my photo library and compiled a selection taken in the Grose Valley into a 4K resolution slide show. The completed project is now available for viewing on YouTube.
The video slide show features the massive sandstone cliffs that flank the upper part of the valley and the waterfalls around its rim. Some of the plants, animals and fungi that can be found are shown. Blue Gum Forest and the Grose River are featured. Continue reading
It had been a very wet three days. Not worth venturing outside. But during the time, I was distracted by the calls of some birds outside. I went out to my balcony and noticed a small flock of Australasian Figbirds in a tree nearby.
There were about a dozen of them. All looking very wet. They seemed to be eating the fruit in the tree. Earlier in the year, this same tree attracted Flying Foxes when the fruit was ripening. Now the fruit seemed old, hard and dry. Continue reading
I had been looking forward to a fungal survey of Wolli Ck with the Sydney Fungal Studies Group, but that had been called off due to hardly any fungi being out along the valley. This cancellation enabled me to join the monthly Greenway bird survey near Waratah Mills.
The weather remained fine, and we found quite a few birds out. The highlight was a White-headed pigeon that flew past at speed, too fast for me to see or photograph. They are rarely seen in the inner west. But some of the other birds were easier to photograph. Continue reading
This was a pleasant day, spent mostly sitting in the sun enjoying the view, as the birds and whales were relatively quiet.
When I reached the Peregrine Falcon nesting site, I spotted one of the birds perched on a high ledge, and only partly visible. Continue reading
This was a walk to look for some heritage sites near Uloola Falls in Royal National Park. Bob and myself started from Waterfall and walked out along the fire road to Uloola Falls, then after a few short side trips, we next walked to the Karloo Pool for lunch, and then out to Heathcote.
One of the Blue Pools
As we walked out along the fire road, we could not help noticing some nice wild flowers. Continue reading
I had not been down Sassafras Gully to check out the fungi for a while, and thought another visit would be good. I was hoping the fungi would be better than what I had seen the day before in Wolli Ck. With a lot of looking I did find a reasonable amount out, but very little fresh fungi, and what I found was drying out and falling to bits.
Hygrocybe anomala var. anomala
on this trip, I went in via the track from Sassafras Gully Road and walked down to the Lagoon at Glenbrook Ck, then I walked back out via the Wiggins Track.
The first fungi I found were both Cordyceps – Continue reading
