I spent a very interesting morning observing and photographing some of the birds in my local area.
I started down at Gough Whitlam Park on the Cooks River. I was looking for a Striated Heron nest – which I saw, but did not seem to be occupied. I did photograph some Willie Wagtail Wagtail fledglings being fed by a parent. Continue reading
I enjoyed another nice day wandering around the tracks at Oatley Park. This turned out to be a very similar trip, both in route and with what I observed to my previous trip a few weeks earlier.
I started out along the track that traverses the west side of Lime Kiln Bay. On the way I spotted some nice Hyacinth Orchids and some other wildflowers – Continue reading
I headed to Tempe Wetlands early in the morning to join the Tempe Birdos for their monthly bird survey.
Superb Fairy Wren
Early on one of the members noticed a Willie Wagtail sitting on a nest fairly close to one of the tracks. We had to be very careful watching the bird as we did not want to disturb the bird. Continue reading
I headed down to Minnamurra with David Hufton for some photography and a walk along the coast to Kiama.
We started from the park where the Minnamurra River joins the sea. This is a beautiful spot. The path climbs up a hill to a bluff with great views of the Minnamurra River and you can see north up the coast to Stack Island and beyond. Continue reading
I caught a ferry to Watsons Bay and then walked out to The Gap on the afternoon. My aim was to look for the raptors I had seen earlier. It was stormy when the ferry left the Quay and the rain radar revealed a storm was about to pass over The Gap area soon.
When I arrived at The Gap Bluff, I could see the storm approaching. I took a few photos and the headed south to a rocky bluff that I hope would offer some shelter. It did. I found a small overhang under a sandstone block – it provided refuge – just as the storm hit. Sharing the cave were (what sounded like) some Russian girls. It rained and I had to be careful – pools of water were entering the cave. But the storm did not last long and I was soon out and on my way. Continue reading
Another pleasant day at the Zoo. I had heard about a new baby Chimpanzee – that was something to look out for. But on the day was being able to get some reasonable photos of a playful Platypus in the Blue Mountains section.
The platypus in that section are normally shy and hide from visitors. On my visit there was a Platypus in the large lower pool – and it was active – swimming about and climbing out the sides a bit from time to time. Here are a few of my photos – Continue reading
A wet day was forecast for our walk from Garrawarra to Burning Palms and around the loop through the Palm Jungle and along the Coastal Track and then back along Garrawarra Ridge.
Brian Everingham had organised the walk for the National Parks Association of NSW. The party was Brian, Esther, Allen, Sheila and myself. The weather forecast prove to be correct, but the bulk of the rain held off till we had almost finished the walk. Continue reading
I had seen some photos posted on social media of raptors in the Northern Beaches area and thought it may be worth going up to see if I could get my own photos.
I caught one of the new B Line double decker buses up to Manley Vale and then headed to a reserve to look for a family of Eastern Osprey. Continue reading
This was a very pleasant day spent in Royal National Park accompanied by David Hufton. We walked from Wattamolla to Little Marley and then headed back the same way after lunch.
Lots of birds, insects and wildflowers were out. Nice. And a few lizards. Continue reading
I spent a very enjoyable day in Royal National Park with Digi Dave paddling up the South West Arm of Port Hacking.
We started from Warumbul Picnic Area, which is reached from a side road from the road between Audley and Bundeena. Using this road you can drive down very close to the water. Continue reading
