I spent a day at Bola Creek in Royal National Park observing and photographing fungi and slime moulds. I was accompanied by Digi Dave.
Conditions were a bit dry, but nevertheless, a number of species were out. This included the Toothed Jellies (Pseudohydnum gelatinosum) – Continue reading
This was another walk led by Brian Everingham for the National Parks Association (and The Bush Club). It was to a place in the lower Blue Mountains that I had mostly never visited before – the Lapstone Monocline.
As well as walking through interesting bush with a lot of wildlife – particularly birds, there was a lot of history – old roads, railways and bridges associate with them. In the party, as well as Brian and myself, were Sue, Helen, Jacqui, Kevin, Paul, Jenny, Neville and Stuart. Continue reading
It had been a while since I had visited the Zoo, and I had recently heard that there were three new Sumatran Tigers Cubs and also three Red Panda Cubs to see. So the main focus of my visit was to photograph these new arrivals.
I entered the Zoo via the bottom entrance and walked the short distance to the red Panda enclosures. I could see the triplets sleeping behind a bush. I could get some photos of them – but they didn’t get active the whole day. Continue reading
I spent a few hours down on the Cooks River with the Mudlarks – the newly formed group that surveys the birdlife along the Cooks River. It is a subgroup of the Cooks River Valley Association. We met up at 7am near the bridge at Lang Road. This was their second meeting. Their first survey had been upstream, this time we would be slowly walk downstream and recorded what birds we observed.
We continued down to the bridge at the golf course, then crossed to the north side and walked slowly back to Ewan Park for morning tea. Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading
This was another interesting trip to Sassafras Gully to observe and photograph the fungi. This time I started first down Fairy Dell and Magdala Creek and returned via Glenbrook Creek and Sassafras Gully Creek and the track to Sassafras Gully Road.
All the way down Magdala Creek, I found a fair bit of fungi out. This included the light blue Entolomas – Entoloma visiscens (or Inocephalus virescens). I found a number of small clusters and individuals all the way along the creek. Here are some – Continue reading
I spent an enjoyable afternoon, cycling along the Cooks River to Tempe and then towards Botany Bay with a long stop at Barton Park. I had my camera with me to photograph birds.
At The Boat Harbour, I spotted one of the resident Tawny Frogmouths, but it was too obscured by branches in the tree for a good photo. At the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetland, I noticed the lower of the three pools was very green due to algae. Continue reading
This was an interesting morning spent at Wolli Creek, surveying the fungi, with the Sydney Fungal Studies Group, and also the Wolli Creek Preservation Society.
We met at Girrahween Park, at Earlwood, and then divided into two groups. One heading upstream and one downstream, both surveying along the Two Valleys Track. I was in the group that walked upstream. We found quite a range of fungi. Including some waxcaps – Continue reading
It was forecast to be a wet day. More “occasional showers” rather then heavy rain. I thought a morning visit to Tempe Wetlands and Tempe Reserve to photograph the birdlife could be good.
A fair number of birds were out at the Wetlands. I spotted some honeyeaters, but not as many as I was hoping for. Here is a White-plumed honeyeater and a New Holland Honeyeater. Continue reading
Coachwood Glen is probably one of the best locations in the Greater Sydney area to observe fungi. It is located near Blackheath, under the escarpment on the road to Megalong. Its sheltered location means that is retains moisture pretty well.
On this visit, I was invited by Liz to join her, Gemma and Atli. Thanks to four people looking, we found quite a lot of amazing fungi. Here are some of what we found – Continue reading
I spent a pleasant morning at Oatley Park on a photographic walk led by Brian Everingham for the National Parks Association of NSW. We were also fortunate to have Melina from the Oatley Flora and Flora Conservation Society join us as she was very willing to share her knowledge and love of the Park with us.
We started on one of the tracks that led to the beach and swimming area. Along the way, we spotted quite a bit of fungi and some Bonnet Orchids, as well as plenty of birds and spiders. Continue reading
