Visit to North West Sydney – 27 October 2020

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Dave Noble

I joined Valerie and Sue for a pleasant and interesting day spent at three locations in North West Sydney. We visited Bushells Lagoon, Pitt Town Lagoon and then Scheyville National Park.

Our first stop at Buchells Lagoon proved to be a bit of a disappointment. It had been a while since my last visit to the normally grea birding spot, and since that time, and with recent rain it was very full of  water. Much higher than normal. This may not have suited some of the birds as a lot of the reeds were covered. Continue reading →

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A Wet Day on Malabar Headland – 26 October 2020

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Dave Noble

It was forecast to be a wet day, but turned out to be wetter than I had expected. After a late start, I decided to visit Malabar Headland National Park. But my visit turned out to be quite short. It was wet, cold and windy.

I walked out, expecting to see high seas, and there were, but the usual sheltered spots I know, where quite exposed to the wind and rain this visit. I had lunch, and then walked back. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Tawnies – 25 October 2020

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

Its been a bit wet lately, so I have not gone fair from home during breaks between showers.  During one drier spell, I cycled along the Cooks River to check out some of the local birds and in particular the nesting Tawny Frogmouths.

I first visited the nesting Tawny Frogmouth at the Boat Harbour. I could not see either the second Tawny Frogmouth, nor the chick. I guess the chick is snug sitting under dad on the nest during quite a cold windy day. Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 24 October 2020

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

I spent a pleasant morning with the Greenway Bird Group (part of the Inner West Environment Group) surveying the birds along the Greenway in the area near Waratah Mills.

It had been raining overnight but the rain held off while we were surveying. One feature of this survey was the number of Red Wattlebirds we spotted. Here are some – Continue reading →

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Oatley Park – Visit on 23 October 2020

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

I joined Digi Dave for a visit to Oatley Park. My previous visit was cut a bit short due to rain, so I was keen to go back. On that trip, I had seen a lot of orchids, but they don’t last long, so probably would not be out still. But perhaps some new ones will have appeared? And there are always plenty of nice birds to be seen.

From Websters Lookout, we looked at the distant Osprey nest, on the far side of the Georges River. With binoculars  we could see at least one Osprey perched near the nest. It looked like another head was visible at the nest. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Tawnies – 22 October 2020

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

Thanks to a comment made on this blog, after getting back from the Blue Mountains, I cycled down to the Cooks River to see if I could spot a new Tawny Frogmouth chick.

I soon located the nest at the Boat Harbour, but could not see any chick. But I waited a while and eventually I saw small white head appear. You can just see the chick in the photo above. Continue reading →

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Warrimoo to Blaxland Walk – 22 October 2020

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

Last week Bob suggested and planned a very nice Central Coast Walk. This week, I suggested and planned a walk to visit Kanuka Brook in the Blue Labyrinth. I was keen on the idea of a through walk – and the plan was to park at Glenbrook, catch a train to Warrimoo, then walk out along the fire trail at the end of Greens Road. Then we would descend to Glenbrook Creek, up the other side and then along the Bullant Track towards St Helena. We would then walk down the track towards the Duckhole, and turn off part way along for Kanuka Brook.

The walk started off well. It was a pleasant walk out along the Greens Road Firetrail. There were great views at the end. I had seen cliffs there when I was on the other side at Bunyan Lookout. I thought those cliffs should provide a great view – and they certainly did. Continue reading →

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Birds at Tempe and the Cooks River – 21 October 2020

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

I made a visit to Tempe Wetlands and Tempe Reserve, and at each place I took part in The Aussie Backyard Bird Count. I went to those places because I had made counts there on the previous two years. Then when I had finished I walked home via the Cooks River.

At Tempe I did not record any special birds. It was nice to see a lot of breeding going on – adults feeding the chicks, birds sitting on nests etc. Here are some photos from Tempe – Continue reading →

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Back to Malabar Headland – 20 October 2020

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

This trip to check the status of the Peregrine Falcons was with Valerie and Sue.

On the walk out, near he carpark at Maroubra Beach we spotted pair of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Continue reading →

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Emu-wrens at Emu Green – 19 Oct 2020

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Dave Noble

I finally succeeded in photographing at least one of the Southern Emu-wrens that can be found at Emu Green Reserve at Emu Plains. I have seen Emu-wrens before, at various places, but had not been able to get good photographs of them. This time, at Emu Green had had better luck. This was after several trips that I had made recently to Emu Green where spotting them had been a principal aim.

The photos I took of the Emu-wrens were not great, but significantly better than any of my previous photos. And I also had some good observing time which should help in the future. Continue reading →

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