After a morning bird activity with the Mudlarks, I caught a train to Central and then a bus to Maroubra Beach. I wanted to see how the nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons were going and see what else was happening.
It was a good session. On the way out I spotted a distant Kestrel, and a girl pointed out some distant Dolphins. Continue reading
This was a day with two bird activities. It began, early in the morning with the Mudlarks monthly bird survey along the Cooks River.
Striated Heron
Here are some of the birds that we saw – Continue reading
The October Long weekend is a traditional time to visit the beautiful Kowmung River which flows through the heart of the Southern Blue Mountains Wilderness. It is also the time for the PBT – the “President’s Bludge Trip” organised by Sydney University Bushwalkers. This year, I had planned to do a walk with Roger along part of the Kowmung River and meet up with the PBT party on the second night.
Roger and myself travelled up on the Friday evening to camp with the SUBW party on the Boyd Plateau. Next morning, we set of early for the short drive to Kanangra Walls. The weather was not the best – rain and mist. Our plan was to walk down Gingra Creek to the Kowmung River on our first day, then on the second day – walk upstream to join the PBT party and their camp at Orange Bluff. The join them for the walk out via Brumby Ridge on the last day. Continue reading
Another full day of bird photography. Another very interesting and rewarding day. I caught a B-line bus to Warriewood and after a quick look along part of Mullt Creek, I headed to Warriewood Wetlands.
I first visited the Settling Ponds on the northern side. Here I encountered quite a few birds. Here are some – Continue reading
Another day photographing birds and shales out on Malabar Headland. This time I was joined by Jan, a bushwalker and photographer that I had met recently on a bushwalk. He is well known for his orchid photos, and bird photography is a recent new direction.
Jan was keen to see the Peregrine Falcons. On the day – we saw both of the pair and were able to get some good sequences. But, near the carpark, we photographed a Black-faced Cuckooshrike – Continue reading
I spent a very enjoyable day wandering around Oatley Park looking at the plants and animals. The wildflowers were nice, some lizards were out and the birds were chirping.
This time I started from Oatley Station, and walked down to the park and entered via the track that goes towards the swimming area. I the continued on the track around the point, and then down the road to Lime Kiln Bay. I then crossed the bridge and followed the track on the west side of Lime Kiln Bay to the wetlands – then back up the road, to Websters Lookout and then across the top to the new kids park and then back to Oatley Station. Continue reading
Another very full day of bird photography at a number of locations in the Northern Beaches region.
I started by catching a train to Wynyard and hen a B-line bus to Manly Vale. I then walked to a local sporting field to where a pair of Eastern Ospreys have their nest. On the way I observed a Cattle Egret. I have only once before seen these birds in Sydney. Continue reading
This was a very pleasant weekend spent in the Blue Mountains. The main purpose was to celebrate a friend’s significant birthday – and the campsite at Asgard Swamp was a good place for that.
Dawn – Grose Valley from Thor Head
I had joined Digi Dave, travelling up the mountains on Friday afternoon. This allowed us to visit the lookout at Boars Head at Katoomba. It was windy and cloud obscured the Sun when we arrived, but later, it appeared out of a gap in the clouds just before sunset. Nice. Continue reading
Digi Dave suggested a trip to visit the Australian Botanic Gardens at Mt Annan. He had to pick up some equipment nearby, and thought a visit to the gardens would be nice. It was. The flowers were magnificent and there was a lot of interesting birds to see.
I was keen to look for the Swift Parrots which have been living in the gardens during winter. They are just about to migrate to Tasmania – their summer home. We first visited the Banksia Garden where they were seen before, but we could not spot any. Another birdwatcher suggested we come back in the late afternoon. There were plenty of other nice birds to observe in that area. Here are some – Continue reading
I joined another National Parks Association walk, again led by Brian Everingham, this time to Wentworth Falls. The plan was to walk down the Chrales Darwin track to the falls then do a bit more walking – but that last part was closed due to helicopter operations, so we did a shorter walk near Rocket Point, before walking back the same way via the Charles Darwin track.
It was a very pleasant day – the wildflowers were stunning, and there were quite a few birds out enjoying the sunshine. In the party were Brian, Eva, Derek, Paul and myself. Continue reading
