Fungi in the Lane Cove Valley – 12 July 2019

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Dave Noble

This was an excellent fungi spotting trip. I caught the metro to Macquarie Park and then walked to Lane Cove National Park. I followed the Riverside Path to the weir near the Park Visitor Centre. I crossed on the weir and then started up the track up Blue Gum Creek. I followed the creek to the scout hall, then walked a a short bit of road that took me to Ferndale Park for a lot more fungi. Then I finished by walking the short distance to Chatswood Station.

Gliophorus psittacinus var. psittacinus

I had been on the lookout for a particular fungus, that only seems to grown in one small area near the Lane Cove River – this is Gliophorus psittacinus var. psittacinus – the Parrot Waxcap. This trip I was lucky – it was out. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Wolli Creek – 11 July 2019

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Dave Noble

It had been a while since I had walked along the track at Wolli Creek to check out the fungi. I had hopes there may be some out after recent rain. I started at Bexley North and then walked down the Two Valleys Track to Tempe with a number of side trips.

I did not find huge amount of fungi out, but I did spot some interesting species. Along the upper part, before Bardwell Park, the fungi was fairly poor. I spotted a few mycena growing on logs, and a few little brown mushrooms growing in the soil but not much more. Continue reading →

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Camping in the Gardens of Stone 9 – 10 July 2019

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Dave Noble

I spent a pleasant two days on a camping trip in the Gardens of Stone with a group of friends. The party was Don, Elata, Rik, Digi Dave and Myself.

We drove out onto the Newnes Plateau to our intended camping spot, parked and set up our tents and then set off down a fire trail to a nearby lookout. It was a good spot overlooking the gorge of Carne Creek. We climbed various pagodas to get different views. Continue reading →

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Whales and Peregrine Falcons at Malabar Headland – 8 July 2019

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Dave Noble

I spent a very rewarding day out on Malabar Headland. It was the whale season so I hoped to observe a few whales, and I also hoped to see the pair of Peregrine Falcons that are nesting in the sea cliffs.

The birds started off even before I entered the National Park. Near the fence, a Fan-tailed Cuckoo was in full call. A beautiful bird. Continue reading →

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Powerful Owl at Cheltenham – 7 July 2019

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Dave Noble

I was fortunate to be able to photograph a magnificent Powerful Owl at Cheltenham recently. It is the male of a nesting pair. The female was not visible at the time, it was sitting on eggs in a nest hole in a tree nearby.

I did not find this owl. I was grateful to Steve for showing me where it was. He regularly observes the owls.

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More Fungi at Bola Creek – 6 July 2019

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Dave Noble

Digi Dave suggested another visit to Bola Creek in Royal National Park to see how the fungi was going. It sounded like a good idea.

Around the picnic area, we did not find a lot out. We did find plenty of fish Mycena and a few waxcaps. We then explored up the creek. Again there was a fair bit out – but not a huge amount. I had expected more given the rain that has fallen in the area recently. But later Digi Dave ventured off the track in a few places and located some wonderful fresh fungi – especially corals. Continue reading →

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More Ferndale Park Fungi and Lane Cove River Ospreys – 5 July 2019

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Dave Noble

This was another interesting day looking for fungi at Ferndale Park at Chatswood and then continuing down Swaines Creek to the Lane Cove River and some more photography of Ospreys. It was really the repeat of a trip I had done on 27 June. But this time conditions were different. When I started looking for fungi at Ferndale Park the weather was OK, but it became gloomier and then here was a major storm. Heavy rain fell for about 30 minutes – so much fell that the creek went up and I could not get across it. I needed to cross to eventually walk down to the river. I ended up walking out another track, then along some roads, then down a track that led to the far side.

Anyway, sone nice fungi was out. This included some nice waxcaps and some very fresh Cortinarius. I’ll start with the waxcaps – Continue reading →

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The Emerald Pool Loop and Ironbark Falls – 4 July 2019

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Dave Noble

I was back from Tasmania and Bob was keen on a mid-week bushwalk. The weather forecast was not looking too good – showers. So we decided not to go up the mountains, and instead chose to visit a place neither of us had been before – Popran National Park. We intended to do circuit walk in the park and visit the Emerald Pool.

Bob drove up the northern motorway and turned off and headed for Mangrove Mountain. We were soon on Ironbark Road. I had also wanted to visit Ironbark Falls, which don’t seem to be marked on any map, but not far along the road, we noticed a sign for Ironbark Falls Reserve. We would investigate the falls on the way back if we had time. Continue reading →

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Fungi in Sassafras Gully – 3 July 2019

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Dave Noble

It had been a while since I had visited Sassafras Gully at Springwood looking for fungi. It is one of the places I have been visiting regularly, but it had been fairly dry in the lower Blue Mountains compared to the coast, so I was not that hopeful. On this trip, I was accompanied by Liz Kabanoff. She is very good at spotting fungi and it was good to have her along.

We entered the valley via the Wiggins Track which leaves from near Bee Farm Road. The track has just reopened after it had been closed for a year or more due to asbestos being dumped near the start of the track. Straight away, we found quite a few Cortinarius out. Here are some – Continue reading →

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Fungi Along the Lane Cove Valley – 2 July 2019

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Dave Noble

Here is a selection of fungi that I found along the Lane Cove Valley – on a walk from Thornleigh to Macquarie Park. I followed the Great North Walk track from Thornleigh Oval as far as the De burghs Bridge, then followed the Riverside Track to Porters Creek, then back up the road to the Lane Cove National Park entrance.

A reasonable amount of fungi was out. In particular there were a lot of Cortinarius out. Here are some – Continue reading →

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