This was a pleasant day in the Blue Mountains visiting some canyons. In the party was Bob, Doug and myself.
With the bushfires, a very small number of canyons were open. So our choices were severely limited. Grand Canyon had recently reopened – so that was our number once choice. But Bob was keen to check out the “Whores Bed” near the Devils Hole at Katoomba. And that was where we stopped off first. Continue reading
I was keen to return to the Northern Beaches. I was interested to see what migratory birds would be on the rock platform at Long Reef. There had recently been rough seas and high tides during the middle of the day, so I had to be patient. On this visit, the low tide would be a bit after 1 pm. That would give me a chance to visit Warriewood Wetlands first.
I caught a B-line bus to Warriewood and walked out towards the wetlands. On the way, I detoured and had a look down Mullet Creek. No sign on any Kingfishers or Bitterns. I then made my way into the wetlands. It was fairly quiet. Here are some of the birds I saw – Continue reading
I had a pleasant and interesting walk down the Lane Cove valley following the Great North Walk track from Thornleigh Oval to Browns Waterhole, and then I went up the track along Terrys Creek to Eastwood.
A reasonable amount of fungi was out. Here are some of the more interesting things that I found. Continue reading
On my way home from Nurragingy Reserve, I stopped off again at Sydney Park at St Peters. Like on previous visits I was on the lookout for Rails, Crakes and Snipes. And like on those visits, I ended up taking lots of photos of Welcome Swallows.
Here are some sequences – Continue reading
When I visit Nurragingy Reserve I always look out for the resident Azure Kingfishers. I don’t always spot them. On this visit I as lucky, spotting one of the Azure Kingfishers perched above one of the pools and also a Sacred Kingfisher made a brief appearance.
When I arrived I looked around the main duckpond, and then headed to the ponds in the bush areas. I dint see too many birds of interest. Here is a Little Pied Cormorant. Continue reading
This was an interesting trip down to Sassafras Gully at Springwood. Like the week before, I was joined by Liz Kabanoff and on that occasion we had visited Birdwood Gully on the other side of the town.
Mycena mamaku
We set off down the track at the end of Sassafras Gully Road. We did not find that much out higher up, nor that much out lower down, but we did find some interesting species. One highlight was found by Liz. It was Mycena mamaku. This very distinctive shaped species was surprisingly tiny. I think it has seldom been seen locally, and that could be on account of its small size. It is probably often ignored. Here are some more photos – Continue reading
This was another interesting day spent at these wetlands at Wyong. Like my earlier visit, I caught a train to Wyong, and from the station, it is short walk to the wetlands. As I walked in, I spotted a White-bellied Sea Eagle perched in a dead tree a fair way off. It was a nice start.
There was a lot more water around tham my previous visit. Another bird photographer at the wetlands, pointed out a Musk Duck, way out in the ponds. But it was too far away for a reasonable photos, and it didn’t come along closer while I was there. Here are some of the other birds in the ponds – Continue reading
I made a cycle trip to Barton Park to check out the local birdlife. It was a warm day, so I only expected to stay the morning. I arrived and first visited Landing Lights Wetland.
It was fairly quiet. I ddi see a number of Pied Stilts and a few Herons and Cormorants. Overhead there were some Welcome Swallows seeking insects. Here are some photos – Continue reading
This was a trip to visit Birdwood Gully at Springwood with Liz Kabanoff to see what fungi was out. We did not find a real lot out but what we did find was quite interesting.
The photo above shows a single specimen of a polypore growing on a dirt bank. It was only about 1 cm tall, so quite small. The cap was depressed and a bit rough. It looked like a small gilled fungus and we were surprised to see it had gills. It is hard to work out what it could be. Continue reading
On this day I went along the Two Valleys Track at Wolli Creek from near Bexley North to Turrella looking for fungi. There was not a real lot out despite the heavy falls of rain a few days before. Perhaps too early in the season and not long enough after the rain?
Here are some more photos – Continue reading
