Some Birds at Sydney Park – 22 March 2020

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Dave Noble

In the morning I had visited Ferndale Park and Chatswood. After that I went home, but I headed out in the late afternoon to Sydney Park for a session of bird photography.

When I arrived, about 5:30 pm, there were a lot of people there. It was a Sunday afternoon. There was plenty of room for social distancing – and I was never close to anyone while I was there. But others were close to each other. There seemed to be a lot of people having picnics or parties – groups of ten or more. A bit worrying at present. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Ferndale Park – 22 March 2020

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Dave Noble

Another trip to check out the fungi at Ferndale Park at Chatswood. Its interesting to see how the fungi has changed – more of some species and less of others.

I was keen to see if any Waxcaps were out. A few seemed to be just starting out – Continue reading →

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Fungi and Birds – Terrys Creek and the Lane Cove River – 21 March 2020

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was an interesting walk from Eastwood Station to Macquarie Park Metro Station via Terrys Creek and the Lane Cove River. I was on the lookout for fungi and all any birds I saw along the way.

Here is some fungi from along Terrys Creek – Continue reading →

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Fortress Creek Canyon – 19 March 2020

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Dave Noble

A few more canyons were being reopened after the bushfires and the later floods. One of these was Fortress Creek. I headed up the mountains with Bob, and we set off from the carpark for the canyon.

The way in was badly burnt out. The first bit along the fire road was easy to follow. But the last bit – along a rough track was a lot more difficult. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Hazelbrook and Lawson – 18 March 2020

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

After finding a lot of good fungi and slime moulds out at Springwood the previous day, I thought it may be worthwhile visiting the waterfall tracks south of Hazelbrook and Lawson a but higher up the mountains.

I found some interesting species, but not as may as I would have expected based on how much I found nearby at Springwood one day earlier. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Sassafras Gully – 17 March 2020

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was a long and interesting day looking for and photographing fungi and slime moulds at Springwood. It was quite rewarding – I found a fair bit of fungi out. If anything my trip was a bit ambitious. I walked from Springwood down Fairy Dell and Magdala Creek to Glenbrook Creek and then walked up Sassafras Gully to Sassafras Gully Road. It would have been better concentrate in one part – eg Magdala Creek or just Sassafras Gull down to Glenbrook Creek. Those options would have allowed me to search more thoroughly. I would have spent more time looking and photographing rather than the time spent walking that I had to do to complete the distance. However its a nice walk and this did give me a good overview of what is currently out.

A few weeks earlier, I had been on a trip to Sassafras Gully with Liz. That trip had to be cut short due to a big storm that hit us on the day. But we also found a lot of flood damage along Sassafras Gully. This made walking along the track difficult. I had to traverse the same section this walk – and I was pleased to find a lot of the fallen tress and been cleared. Nice. However, there was an awful lot of very bad storm damage along Glenbrook Creek and the lower part of Magdala Creek. Glenbrook Creek just upstream from the Magdala Creek junction is particularly hard hit. Continue reading →

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Birds and Fungi at Sydney Olympic Park – 16 March 2020

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

I spent a a day at Sydney Olympic Park, mainly photographing birds. It was fairly quiet when I arrived. There were not too many interesting birds in the large pond at Bicentennial Park, and not much happening at the Wreck Lookout.

Here are some of the birds at the ponds – Continue reading →

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Wolli Creek Nature Walk – 15 March 2020

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Dave Noble

The weather was again forecast to be poor, so I decided a local walk could be the best plan. I caught a bus to earl wood and then walked down to Wolli Creek Regional Park. I first walked upstream along the Two Valleys Track towards Bexley North, but didn’t go all the way – stopping at Illoura – the grassy clearing. Then I walked back downstream, all the way to Tempe.

I was mainly on the lookout for fungi, but also stopped to photograph birds that I saw. The best encounter with birds was at Illoura. There I noticed a hovering Black-shouldered Kite. It soon flew to perch on an overhead cable near the railway tracks. On my previous trip, I had seen two Brown Goshawks at this spot. Continue reading →

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Birdwood Gully Fungi – 13 March 2020

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Dave Noble

I was able to join Liz for another day hunting for fungi at Birdwood Gully at Springwood. We were on the lookout for some special fungi we had seen last year – in particular a beautiful pink coral fungus, and an interesting gomphus.

We had a very good day and found a lot of interesting fungi – and also some slime moulds and quite a few orchids. It was also great to see quite a few waxcaps. Here are some – Continue reading →

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Why Don’t We Do It In The Road Canyon – 12 March 2020

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Dave Noble

A few more canyons have been opened. This included some near Mt Wilson, so Bob and myself headed up the Mountains with the intention to visit Why Don’t We Do It In The Road Canyon, and then continue down part of Wollangambe Canyon.

We arrived at Mt Wilson and parked at the Cathedral of Ferns. We were soon on our way, along the fire road to the track leading down to the start of the canyon. Recent rain had  resulted in a lot of regrowth after the bushfires. Continue reading →

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