Greenway Bird Survey – 23 May 2020

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was a pleasant morning spent with the Greenway Birdos doing a survey along a section of the Greenway near Waratah Mills Light Rail  Station.

Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading →

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More Canyon Slide Show Videos

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Dave Noble

I completed two more projects during the lockdowns. Both were videos composed of photos from sandstone canyons in the Blue Mountains.

The first consists of photos from the beautiful Hole in the Wall Canyon.

The second is photos of Wollangambe Canyon and some of its canyon tributaries.

Like my previous videos of this format, they were created in 4K format, and best viewed on an ultra high definition TV or monitor. If you are viewing on a Macintosh computer then you need to use the Chrome browser to see the 4K stream.

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Lapstone Monocline Walk – 21 May 2020

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Dave Noble

With the easing of the lockdown, I was able to resume by midweek bushwalks with Bob. We headed up the mountains with several trips in mind, but the weather looked bad higher up – rain, so we thought it wise to stop at Glenbrook and walk there. Bob hadn’t done the walk around the Lapstone Monocline that I had been on the year before and I was happy to repeat it. In the conditions it turned out to be a good walk.

Bob parked near the Visitor Information centre, and we soon crossed the highway and walked around the oval. Continue reading →

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Fungi in Sassafras Gully – 20 May 2020

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was my next trip to Sassafras Gully at Springwood to check out the fungi. This time i started down Fairy Dell and continued down Magdala Creek to Glenbrook Creek, then I walked upstream to the Lagoon, and out via the track at Sassafras Gully Road. I saw a reasonable amount of fungi out, and also got some good exercise.

A friend Liz, had recently seen a lot of Hygrocybe Reesiae out in Fairy Dell. They were still out and easy to spot. There were large troupes of them along the creek in the moss. Continue reading →

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Basket Fungi at Rhodes and Birds at Bicentennial Park – 19 May 2020

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Dave Noble

I was planning another day of bird photography at Sydney Olympic Park combined with some bike riding for exercise, and then I heard from Irene abut some Basket Fungi she had seen at Rhodes. I thought the two could be combined.

I took my bike on the train to Rhodes and then rode the short distance to Kokoda Park. Nearby, I found the Basket Fungi. This is the first time I have seen these amazing organisms. These ones are Ileodictyon gracile. They are a type of stinkhorn. And like stinkhorn they emerge from “egg” shaped structures. Continue reading →

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Curra Moors Walk – 18 May 2020

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

With the easing of the lockdown, it was nice to join Brian Everingham and some friends in the National Parks Association of NSW for a walk. Thanks to Brian for organising the walk. He had chosen a walk, that was mainly along fire  roads – so plenty of space for social distancing.

Bird of Paradise Fly

In the party were Brian, Faye, Valerie, Helen, Ross, Ian, Allen, Peter and myself. Continue reading →

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Some Nice Fungi at Bola Creek – 17 May 2020

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

I decided to have another look at Bola Creek to see how the fungi was going. Since my last visit, there had not been much rain, but the area had received a fair bit of rain in April (more than other parts of Sydney), and cooler weather should have kept the rainforest floor moist.

It turned out to be an excellent trip. I enjoyed the walk down from Waterfall Station to The Forest Path. And this time I could cross the Hacking River on stepping stones rather that taking off my shoes and socks and wading across. I then made my way to the rainforest section near Bola Creek as spent some time wandering around with my camera and tripod. Continue reading →

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Back to Barton Park and Tempe – 16 May 2020

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

After two previous very good trips to Barton Park where on each I had seen two raptors, I thought I would go again to Barton Park and see if any where still around.

Not long after I arrived I did spot the Brown Goshawk. But it flew off very quickly. I got a few shots. Continue reading →

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Royal National Park Slide Show

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was a short lockdown project. I had already picked out a selection of my better Royal National Park photographs from the past five or six years and put them into a Quicktime Video that I posted on YouTube. The slide show video has the photographs placed into certain themes – The Coast, Life, Rocks, Water, Patterns and finally Moods.

Like my earlier canyon slide shows, it is best watched at full 4K resolution on a ultra high definition TV or monitor. If playing on a Macintosh Computer, you should use the Chrome browser to access the 4K stream which is not available if using Safari.

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More Birds at Barton Park – 14 May 2020

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

Two days earlier I had seen two good raptors at Barton Park – a Brown Goshawk and a Grey Goshawk. I wondered if they were still around, so decided to make another visit. The Brown Goshawk seems to live in the area. The Grey Goshawk is rarer. its the first time I have seen one in my local area. As it turned out – I sae neither of these birds, but I did see two different raptors – a Nankeen Kestrel and a Black-shouldered Kite.

I spotted the Nankeen Kestrel through binoculars when I arrived in the early afternoon. It was perched on one of the lights at the old sports ground. I made my way up there. Unfortunately it was on the most remote light – the one you cannot walk to the base of from outside the ground. So I had to make so with some distant shots. It was hunting in the sports ground.

Continue reading →

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