I had wanted to visit some of the wetlands near Windsor for a while now. The logistics of getting there via public transport was not too difficult – train to Windsor, and from there I could cycle to the locations.
Whistling Kite
I first visited Bushells Lagoon from the Wilberforce side – and there were quite a few birds around. Some were ones I had not seen a lot of before – like Straw-necked Ibis. There were also a few raptors flying around. Continue reading
This was my next trip to Sassafras Gully to record the fungi. This time I started by going down to Fairy Dell and then to Glenbrook Creek via Magdala Creek, and then along Glenbrook Creek to the Lagoon, then up Sassafras Gully Creek and out via the track to Sassafras Gully Road.
It was a full day with a lot of fungi found. In particular, it was very pleasing to see quite a few waxcaps out. Here are some – Continue reading
I had an interesting day in my local area taking photos of birds. I spent about two hours at Tempe Wetlands (and Tempe Reserve) in the morning. I was looking out for honeyeaters, but things were a bit quiet. Perhaps not enough trees are flowering? Lots of them are in bud, so things should improve soon.
I did spot a few New Holland Honeyeaters and a White-naped Honeyeater. Continue reading
I had visited the Lane Cove Valley not long before looking for fungi. On that occasion I had found some interesting species and want to make another visit to see how they had changed with time.
In particular, I had observed a species of Helvella. It was then small and quite hairy. What would it look like now? This trip, I entered the valley from Cheltenham – walking down Devlins Creek. The Helvella was just a short way upstream of the junction with the Lane Cove River (and on the Great North Walk track). I soon found the fungi, and could see they had grown, and now looked more familiar. They were Helvella aff. macropus. I had seen this species at Ferndale Park a few years before. Continue reading
Bob had been keen to explore the coast near Cave Beach for a while. This time, the tide was going to be low, so we set off up to the Central Coast.
When we arrived at the carpark at Caves Beach, I noticed a Black-shouldered Kite sitting at the to of a nearby tree, so out came the camera. Continue reading
I spent an interesting day in the Eastern Suburbs photographing birds. I started at Centennial Park and then in the afternoon headed out to Dover Heights and walked along the Coastal Track to Watsons Bay.
At Centennial Park, a lot of birds were out and active. Here are some – Continue reading
I made a visit to Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside. I was intending to look for honeyeaters, but instead concentrated on photographing a pair of Azure Kingfishers. But there were also a lot of other interesting birds to see.
I arrived fairly early, about 8:15 am, and first headed to where I had seen an Azure Kingfisher on some previous visits. I spotted it straight away, and managed to get some reasonable photos of it perched and also hunting for fish. Continue reading
I headed up to the Chiltern Trail at Ingleside to see how many honeyeaters had returned for winter. Things were a bit quiet and I didn’t see too many, and those I did see where a bit elusive for photos.
There seemed to be a fair number of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. Continue reading
This was one of my regular walks along the Lane Cove Valley looking for and photographing fungi. On this trip, I started from Thornleigh, and walked down Lorna Pass via the Great North Walk track and continued down the river to the DeBurgh Bridge which I crossed, then a loop along the Riverside Track to Porters Creek and back along the road to Lane Cove Road, and out to Macquarie Park Station.
Perhaps Hydnellum fraudulentum
There was not a super abundance of fungi, but what I did find was most interesting. Higher up were quite a few boletes. Here is one – Continue reading
I spent a nice day at Oatley Park. My main aim was to try and find the Collared Sparrowhawk that had been seen in the area. I did see it, but had no luck photographing it. But quite a few other birds were around.
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
I also spotted the Ospreys. They roost on trees on the far side of Lime Kiln Bay and are a long way off for photography. One of then was eating a fish. Continue reading
