This was a very pleasant day of canyoning and photography in Rocky Creek Canyon. This trip was with David Hufton.
The lighting in the canyon was very similar to that of my previous trip – quite harsh and contrasty. So photography was difficult. But spending quite a few hours in the canyon, meant that if one section was no good for photography at one time, then a few hours later it may be better. Continue reading
I had been down to Royal National earlier in the day, and it had been quite hot, but later in the afternoon it was quite pleasant so, around 5 pm, I cycled down to the Cooks River to see how the birdlife was going.
It was very pleasant with a cool breeze coming up the valley. The tide was low exposing muddy flats, so quite a few birds were feeding.
I noticed a Darter fly down the river and land on a post to dry its wings. I have not seen too many darters at the Cooks River, so I got a few photos. Continue reading
This was a nice walk in Royal National Park organised by Brian Everingham for the National Parks Association of NSW. On the walk were Brian, Esther, Julie, Allen, John, Ken, Erden, Sue and myself.
Crested Tern
We started at Wattamolla where we found a few Water Dragons and spent time watching a White Faced Heron looking for food. Continue reading
I spent a pleasant day up at Springwood – walking down to Sassafras Gully and back.
Rufous Fantail
I was looking to see what orchids were out and what birds I could photograph. I did not expect any fungi – as I thought it had been too dry. Continue reading
Powerful surf conditions were forecast, so I thought it would be nice to do coastal walk. So I caught a bus to Maroubra and set off along the new track into Malabar National Park.
Nankeen Kestrel
It was quite windy and some light train was falling. But the impressive waves pounding the beach and cliffs made up for any discomfort. Continue reading
I headed down to the Cooks river with my camera mainly to check on the progress with the Tawny Frogmouth chicks.
Great Egret
But on my visit, it was quite windy and one of the parent birds was sitting on top of the chicks to stop them being blown away – Continue reading
This was a pleasant trip down Claustral Canyon with a group of friends – Wendy (who organised the trip), Michael and Colin and his daughter Sam. I did not take any photos on the day, but instead shot some video. Here is the result on YouTube –
The day of our visit was quite cool. The air temperature was low, but the water temperature in the canyon was not that cold (by Claustral standards). I would have shot more video, but our party, and others just behind us were held up by a party that moved very slowly through the abseils. They were a party of four, and only had one rope – and that was a long rope which didn’t help with their speed. They also seemed to lack basic skills at setting up and retrieving their ropes quickly and efficiently. Claustral Canyon is not a good place to learn these skills. They should have been mastered! Our group was held up about an hour and so were groups behind us. Continue reading
It was the second Saturday on the month so I joined the Tempe Birdos for their monthly bird survey at Tempe Wetlands and Reserve. I then headed up the Cooks River to look for the tawny Frogmouth chicks one again.
We soon spotted an Oriole fly to a tree and grab a cicada and then fly back with it to another tree to eat it – Continue reading
I spent a pleasant afternoon wandering around the pools and foreshore at Bicentennial Park with my camera.
Superb Fairy Wren
I was mainly looking for birds, but the overwhelming noise was from cicadas. Continue reading
Thanks to Jennifer, who lives along the Cooks River, I had heard that the Tawny Frogmouth pair that live near the Dog Area were raising a new set of chicks. I had seen these birds in October last year with two chicks, so this is their second brood for the season.
When I visited, I spotted their nest straight away – it was in the same place as their last one, and was again a very flimsy structure – just a few sticks resting in a fork of a gum tree. But I could not see any chicks. All I could see was one parent sitting on the nest. Jennifer’s photo had shown two small chicks, so I assumed that the parent had covered them up. Continue reading
