I had heard a recent report by Mark Mallone, of the Tempe Birdos, of a Satin Bowerbird that he had seen at Gough Whitlam Park on the Cooks River at Tempe. I had been home most of the day, but thought a bike ride along the river may be worthwhile to see if I could spot the bird.
I enjoyed a nice ride along the river and passed through Gough Whitlam Park but could not spot any Bowerbirds. On my ride, I did spot a few Australasian Darters – Continue reading
I had another fun day of bird photography in the Northern Beaches region at three different sites. I had two aims – to photograph raptors and also to photograph migratory birds. The migratory birds dictated my timetable. I wanted to go to far end of Long Reef and this is tide dependent. The low tide was at about 3:30 pm, so I delayed my visit there till after 2 pm.
I started at the sea cliffs and the nest site for Peregrine Falcons. I think this pair of Falcons have two surviving chicks (out of three) but I only saw one of them flying. Perhaps only one has fledged? Anyway, this chick and its parents put on an amazing air show for me. Continue reading
Last year, Bob and myself had visited some of the beaches and sea caves of the Central Coast. It was a very interesting area, and soon after Bob had suggested that we could do a walk that would link up a number of interesting places along this coast. He looked at maps, timetables and tide charts and soon had a trip worked out.
We finally got to complete the walk – and it turned out to be very worthwhile. We drove up to park just off the Old Pacific Highway at the Kanangra Drive. I think the locality is called Crangan Bay. Just around the corner on the old highway was a bus stop, and we only had to wait about ten minutes for a bus (at 9:47 am) that took us (by a quite circuitous route) to Swansea. We got off at the library, and then walked out to Caves Beach. Continue reading
This was another visit to Malabar Headland National Park to check on the status of the Peregrine Falcons. For the past two years I have been able to see the Falcon’s chicks at about this time of the year.
I saw a lot of one of the Peregrine Falcons, but perhaps did not see the second one, nor any chicks. Continue reading
I joined the Greenway Bird Group for their monthly early morning bird survey along the Greenway between Taverners Hill and Hawthorne Light Rain Stations.
We spotted some interesting birds. Here are some – Continue reading
It had been a while since I had walked down the Two Valleys Track along Wolli Creek. I had recently heard some reports of Scarlet Honeyeaters and Variegated Fairy-wrens being seen at two spots along the creek, so that provided a good excuse to make this afternoon visit.
In the end, I failed to see both of these species, but still had an interesting walk and enjoyed the exercise. Continue reading
I spent an interesting and enjoyable morning with the Mudlarks – the Cooks River Bird Group. This month we surveyed the birds downstream of the Lang Street Bridge, as far as the footbridge to the Golf Course, then headed back upstream on the northern side.
Here are some of the birds that we saw – Continue reading
I decided to head back to Emu Green for some more bird photography. This visit, my main aim was to try and photograph some Emu-wrens. In this, I failed – not even seeing any. But there were plenty of other nice birds there.
On the walk to Emu Green from Emu Plains station, I didn’t see any birds at the Whistling Kite nest. But on arriving at the barrier to the lane, I spotted a Nankeen Kestrel flying quite high overhead. Continue reading
Another visit to the headland to check the status of the Peregrine Falcons. Both the male and female falcons were visible at the nest area, but no sign of any chicks so far. However, after a slow start, the Peregrine Falcons were quite active and I was able to photograph a number of their take-offs.
On the walk out, from Malabar, I spotted this Red Wattlebird – Continue reading
It was the day for the Tempe Birdos to have their monthly survey. I joined them and helped survey the wetlands. After the group finished with morning tea, I cycled to Barton Park and had a look at the Landing Lights Wetland and the hinterland. I finished by riding home along the Cooks River and checking a few spots.
It was relatively quiet at the Tempe Wetlands. Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading
