After spending the morning at Westleigh, I thought it would be nice to break my journey home by stopping off at Concord West and having a wander through Bicentennial Park.
It was smoky and fairy quiet at the main bird pond. There were lots of Pied Stilts and Red-necked Avocets around and some if the usual ducks. But I could see no migratory birds. Continue reading
I had seen photos published online of a Boobook Owl and its chick that had been taken in one of the gullies at Westleigh. A friend who had also seen it sent me some location information.
So I set off for the spot, but after a lot of searching around I could not locate either owl. So I continued along the track looking to see what else was out. The track continued through a really nice forest of Blue Gums (Eucalyptus saligna) – I think it possibly the best stand of these trees I have seen. Then I ran into Elizabeth, another bird watcher. She was a local, and was the person who had first spotted the Boobook Owls. So we went back up the track and started looking again. Continue reading
A relatively cool day was forecast, and I used it to complete the last stage for me of the Great West Walk. Last year I had walked from Parramatta to Toongabbie, and then later, with Bob, the stage from Toongabbie to Mt Druitt. So one bit remained – from Mt Druitt to Penrith.
When I originally heard about the Great West Walk, the website recommended doing it over five days. I found the section to Toongabbie really only took half a day. From there to Mt Druitt took longer but was still a comfortable day’s walk. From Mt Druitt to Penrith looked a little longer, but it features no big climbs like the ascent of Rooty Hill. Another motivation for doing this part was that it included the newly opened Wianamatta Regional Park. Continue reading
I joined the Tempe Birdos for their monthly bird survey at Tempe Wetlands and Tempe Reserve. As usual, I was in the group that surveyed Tempe Wetlands. It was a bit of shock to me – the wetlands were completely dry! All three of the ponds. On previous occasions I have seen the top pond dry, but not the lower ones. This meant that a lot of the resident birds had left. There were no ducks or wading birds.
We did see some birds. Willie Wagtails seemed to be doing OK. We saw quite a few. Continue reading
I was home from Tasmania, and was able to join the Greenway Bird Group for one of their monthly bird surveys. This was the one along the Hawthorne Canal between Taverners Hill and Hawthorne light rail stations.
It was a smokey morning, and this may have resulted in it being fairly quiet bird wise. But we did observe some interesting species. Continue reading
As well as doing the bushwalking outlined in earlier posts, I also spent a bit of time doing some Nature photography. Most of this was based on or near my sister and brother in law’s place close to the coast near Ulverstone where I was enjoying their hospitality. But there were some visits to nearby places that provided some great opportunities. Some of these were in the company of my other sister and brother in law that were also visiting during the Christmas period.
I headed up onto the Central Plateau for a very pleasant walk in one of my favourite environments. I was walking by myself and wanted a relaxing walk that would give me a lot of time to explore the environment.
My sister and brother in law dropped me off at the start of Higgs Track near Deloraine. It was forecast to be a hot day, so I only intended to walk up onto the plateau and stay in or camp near the Lady Lake Hut. This is a climb of around 550 m, but only takes about 90 minutes or so with a few photo breaks. Continue reading
This was another pleasant walk in Tasmania with my sister and her husband. Our plan was to visit Black Bluff which is the highest point between Cradle Mountain and the north coast of Tasmania. It also lies just off the Penguin to Cradle Track.
For our day trip to the bluff, we walked via different route via Winterbrook Falls. This had the advantage of being largely in shade, which would be much more pleasant on a hot day. Continue reading
I was visiting Tasmania for a few weeks, the plan being to spend Christmas at my sister and brother in law’s near Ulverstone. I was able to do a few bushwalks while I was there. The first was a nice walk to Turrana Bluff in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.
This was being led by my brother in law, Shane, for the North West Walking Club and he invited me along as a visitor. In the party were Shane and my sister, Alicson, and Cathie, Sonia, Joshua and myself. We set off from the Walls of Jerusalem car park. Continue reading
I have recently returned from a few weeks in Tasmania. Before I write up some trips there, I need to comment about the bushfires.
I spent my childhood in the Blue Mountains, so grew up familiar with bushfires. One summer a fire burnt out the gully behind our house. Another time, a very large fire had been burning way out in the Grose Valley but was slowly getting closer. It eventually approached the street where we lived – and was successfully fought and no houses were lost. Then a day or two later things changed. I can remember being at school, and the day finished early with a special assembly. Our headmaster advised us that the bushfire had suddenly become much worse. It had jumped the railway line and in one day had burnt out a huge area. A lot of houses had been burnt down, and consequently, students living in some towns would not be going home. Instead, their school bus would take them to the local civic centre which would provide emergency accomodation. Quite a number of students at the school found their homes had been burnt.
Continue reading
