Coastal Walking – Maroubra to La Perouse – 16 August 2019

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Dave Noble

Su Li had a few days off work, so was keen on a mid-week walk. I put forward a number of suggestions and we ended up deciding on a walk along to coast from Maroubra to La Perouse.

I have been many times recently to the first part of the walk – out on Malabar Healdand, but the last time I walked the whole coastline was on a trip from Bronte to La Perouse, and on that trip, Malabar Headland was not open. So this time, the walk started at Malabar Headland National Park and finishes at Kamay-Botany Bay National Park but in the middle there are three golf courses to negotiate. Continue reading →

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Mill Creek Loop – 15 August 2019

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Dave Noble

I have been to Mill Creek a fair bit recently on trip with the Sydney Fungal Studies Group to look at the interesting fungi that can be found there. But its also a great place to start bushwalks. Two walks are popular – the first – a short walk up the creek from the picnic area and then back along a track that features a lot of Grass Trees. The other is a lower walk that is sometimes referred to as the Eleven km Walk or the Mill Creek Loop.

On this day, I was out with Bob, and we did the Mill Creek Loop, and on it did a short side trip to see an interesting Aboriginal Art site. Continue reading →

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More Birds at Malabar Headland – 14 August 2019

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Dave Noble

After taking part in the Greenway bird survey, I caught the Light Rail to Central and then a bus to Maroubra Beach and set off for Malabar Headland.

This was a fairly quiet trip compared to previous visits. I did spot one of the Peregrine Falcons but it was not very active while I there. I managed to photograph one take off sequence – but the direction was away from me. Continue reading →

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Greenway Bird Survey – 14 August 2019

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Dave Noble

Earlier in the month I had joined a local bird group for a survey of the birds along part of the Greenway at Dulwich Hill. This morning I joined the same group for a survey further along the Greenway – from Taverners Hill to Hawthorne Light Rail Station.

New Holland Honeyeater

During the survey, we found an interesting set of birds. Here are some – Continue reading →

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Astrophotography – 13 August 2019

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Dave Noble

Some practice astrophotography. During the evening it was easy to spot Jupiter and the almost full Moon. Between them was Saturn. Three objects to photograph. First Jupiter. Here is a typical shot –

You can easily see some bands on the plant and 4 Moons (from the top – Ganymede, Europa, Io and Callisto). It looks very similar to what my Stellarium, planetarium software shows – Continue reading →

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Birds in Sydney – Centennial Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens – 13 August 2019

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Dave Noble

Another interesting day of bird photography. I started off at Centennial Park.

Pink-eared Ducks

One of the key birds I wanted to photograph there was the Powerful Owl. I had taken nice photo of it on my previous visit. But on the way to where it usually perches, I ran into Steve, a local bird watcher. He has been watching the Powerful Owls in the park for a number of years, and he told me that after recent storms, they seem to have left their nesting area and moved to another location. Continue reading →

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Birds at the Northern Beaches – 12 Aug 2019

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Dave Noble

This was a very full day of bird photography at a number of locations. I caught a B-line Bus to Warriewood, and the first site was a nearby sporting field. This is the nesting site for a pair of Eastern Ospreys.

I was concerned that their nest may bot have survived the recent very windy weather. Their nest is on top of a light post at the field. Their nest seemed to have survived, but perhaps their eggs didn’t or did not hatch. The Ospreys were mating! Continue reading →

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Back to Oatley Park – 11 August 2019

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Dave Noble

It was time to head back to Oatley Park to see what birds were out. The day started off fairly quiet – not that many birds were out, but later in the day,  things got a little better.

I started by visiting the wetlands at Lime Kiln Bay. A few of the usual birds were around. Continue reading →

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Birds at Bicentennial Park – 9 August 2019

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Dave Noble

I spent the afternoon of this day at Bicentennial Park at Homebush Bay photographing birds. Conditions were not the best – it was very windy. This made photography harder and I think a lot less birds were around.

Here are some photos – Continue reading →

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More Peregrine Falcon Photography at Malabar Headland – 8 August 2019

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Dave Noble

It was time to make another visit to Malabar Headland National Park. My main aim was to try and photograph the breeding pair of Peregrine Falcons that are currently nesting on the headland.

It was a reasonable visit. One of the Peregrine falcons was reasonably active and I did manage to get some nice sequences of photos. It was also a chance to look for whales. And there was plenty of time to look for whales as there was a fair bit of waiting around for the Peregrine Falcon to fly. Continue reading →

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