Burning Palms Walk – 4 February 2020

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dave Noble

I had the pleasure to join Brian Everingham and others from the National Parks Association for a walk to Burning Palms in Royal National Park. We started at Garawarra and walked along the ridge towards Otford, and then turned off and descended down the track through the Palm Jungle to Burning Palms. The surf was far to rough to consider a side trip to the Figure Eight Pool (even though it was low tide). Then after lunch, we climbed back up to Garawarra.

In the party as well as Brian, was Sue, Bandula, Deb, Esther, Lydia and myself. We had pleasant walking weather. Continue reading →

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More Birds at Sydney Park – 3 February 2020

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dave Noble

Again I was on the lookout for Bitterns, Crakes and Snipes, and again I had no luck spotting any. The birds I did see where very similar to what I had seen three days before, which is probably not surprising.

Australian Reed-Warbler

It was a good day for Reed-Warblers. I watched quite a few finding food and then feeding there young. Continue reading →

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Birds at Sydney Park – 31 January 2020

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dave Noble

Sydney Park, at St Peters, is relatively close to where I live, and its a great place to observe and photograph birds. It is one place that I have neglected a bit however. I had been looking at some recent bird sightings, and it looked like the following relatively rare birds had been seen –  Little Bittern, Bailon’s Crake and Latham’s Snipe. Of these, I have only photographed the Snipe, so it would be good to visit the park and see what was around.

Welcome Swallow

I spent most of the morning at the Park. As it turned out, I did not see any of these target species. But there quite a few other nice birds. Here are some – Continue reading →

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Macquarie Rivulet – 30 January 2020

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dave Noble

Bob and myself were keen for some canyoning, but choices were somewhat limited. One canyon that was open that neither of us had visited was Macquarie Rivulet near Albion Park.

So we travelled down to Albion Park in Bob’s car, stopped there for a break, then continued on to Macquarie Pass and stopped at the carpark at the start of Clover Hill Road. Continue reading →

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Birds at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens – 29 January 2020

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dave Noble

I had seen some photos recently taken of an Owlet Nightjar that was living in a tree hollow at the Botanic Gardens at Mt Annan. I knew that these gardens were a good to observe and photograph birds, so decided to pay a visit.

Red-capped Robin

I caught a train to Cambelltown and then a bus to the stop just past the park entrance. From there it was a short walk to the lake with the bird hide. I spent most of the day in this one small area and was rewarded with a variety of birds. Continue reading →

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Great North Walk – Girrakool to Berowra 24 – 27 January 2020

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dave Noble

Wendy was keen on a multi-day walk over the long weekend and she also had a few extra days off. Options were limited by national park closures. She decided on part of the Great North Walk as it had not been burnt by bushfires nor was the track closed. She invited me to join her.

The forecast for the first day was for very hot weather, so we spent that day at the Reptile Park at Gosford. From there, it was a short walk to the Girrakool Picnic Area in Brisbane Waters National Park. This was where we started our walk. Continue reading →

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Australian Reptile Park – Gosford – 23 January 2020

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Dave Noble

I was heading off on a bushwalk with Wendy. However, the weather forecast for the first day was fr a heatwave – temperatures above 40°C. Far too hot for walking in the bush. Our plan was to walk along a section of the Great North Walk from near Gosford towards Sydney. So we decided to spend the first day at the Reptile Park near Gosford. From there, it would only a be short walk to where we could start on the Great North Walk.

I had been to the Reptile Park previously and had a great day. Wendy had never visited it and was keen to see the animals. We caught a train to Gosford, then caught a taxi to the park. The staff were very friendly and stored our packs for us while we spent the day at the park. Continue reading →

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Coachwood Glen – Fungi and Slime Moulds – 22 January 2020

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Dave Noble

Liz invited me to join her on a trip to Coachwood Glen at Blackheath to see if any fungi was out after recent rain. Coachwood Glen is a council reserve on the road down to Megalong. It is situated in a moist rainforest  and often is one of the better places to observe fungi in the greater Sydney region.

Slime Mould – Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa

We were perhaps a little premature with this visit. The ground was quite moist, but not that much fungi was out. It seems to be still too early in the season and also perhaps not enough soaking rain has fallen recently. We did observe quite an abundance of slime moulds – but like on other recent trips, they were only examples of two species. Continue reading →

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Birds at Bicentennial Park – 21 January 2020

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was another visit to Bicentennial Park at Homebush Bay. This time I was with the National Parks Association of NSW on an activity led and organised by Brian Everingham.

White-winged Triller

We met at the start of the boardwalk into the mangroves. In the party was Brian, Ken, Sue B, Sue W, Esther, John, Allen, Gary, Erden and one of his friends, and myself. Most of the party had brought along cameras with telephotos lenses. Continue reading →

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A Quick Visit to Sydney Park – 20 January 2020

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Dave Noble

On my way back from the Mountains, I stopped off and spent some time at Sydney Park at St Peters. I was on the lookout for certain birds – but had no luck spotting them.

The weather was threatening with thunderstorms. And a times the sky grew ominously black. But I checked the rain radar a few times and it appeared the storms were going around Sydney Park. Continue reading →

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