More Birds at the Central Coast Wetlands – 16 February 2020

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Dave Noble

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 →

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Birds at Barton Park – 15 February 2020

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Dave Noble

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 →

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Birdwood Gully Fungi and Slime Moulds – 14 February 2020

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Dave Noble

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 →

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Wolli Creek Fungi – 13 February 2020

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Dave Noble

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 →

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Swallows at Sydney Park – 12 February 2020

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Dave Noble

On my way home from Sydney Olympic Park, I stopped off for a while at Sydney Park for an hour or two. Like on previous recent visits, I was on the lookout for Crakes, Rails and Snipes. And like on the visits, I had no success. So I ended up taking photos of some of the many Welcome Swallows.

It was challenging to try and get a photo of them as they dived into the water and interesting to see what they  were doing. Continue reading →

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Birds at Sydney Olympic Park – 12 February 2020

Posted on March 1, 2020 by Dave Noble

After visiting the Greenway, I was undecided where to head to for the rest of the day. Storms seemed to be approaching, so I made my way to Central on the light rail and on the way consulted the weather radar. I ended up deciding on a visit to Sydney Olympic Park.

I first visit the ponds at Bicentennial Park. Not that many birds were around. Here are some – Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 12 February 2020

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was the first of three bird activities I did on the day. I arrived at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station to join the Greenway Bird Group for the ir monthly survey along the Greenway to Hawthorne.

Taverners Hill Station is always a good place to start.Being high up it gives a good view into the trees and often a lot of birds are observed. This time we spotted some New Holland Honeyeaters, White-plumed Honeyeaters, Bulbuls Silvereyes. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Ferndale Park – 11 February 2020

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Dave Noble

I spent a few hours at Ferndale Park, in the company of Philip, a fellow bird photographer, who was keen to explore the world of fungi. Despite a lot of recent rain, there was not a huge amount of fungi out. But we did find some nice fungi and some slime moulds.

Here are some photos – Continue reading →

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Out with the Mudlarks – 11 February 2020

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Dave Noble

It had been a while since I had been able to join the Mudlarks for their monthly bird survey along the Cooks River. The group meets at 7 am on the second Tuesday of the month, at the rickety bridge over the Cooks River at Lang Road.

While were meeting up, we noticed a lot of Welcome Swallows flying around near the bridge, and also high overhead there were some larger birds flying around too. They were White-throated Needletails. Continue reading →

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Back to Sydney Park – 10 February 2020

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Dave Noble

On my way home from Malabar Headland, I stopped off and spent an hour or two at Sydney Park. I was on the lookout for some rare birds – but like previous visits did not spot any.

A day or two before, a Lewin’s Rail had been heard (but not seen). On this visit, I too heard the Lewin’s Rail, and did spot it a couple of times. But it was far too fast and elusive for any photos. It was making its call in a small area alongside one of the ponds, and moved perhaps 20 m along the shore and then back, but all the time remained hidden in the reeds. This was between 5 pm and 5:30 pm. It would call every few minutes. Continue reading →

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