I had a function to attend at lunchtime at Bardwell Park and I thought it would make a good day if I did some walking along the Two Valleys Track, before and after the function.
Flying Fox mother and pup
I caught a bus to Earlwood and walked down through Girrahween Park to the Two Valleys Track. On the way I passed a nice grove of Hyacinth Orchids. Continue reading
I spent a pleasant half day on the Coastal Path between The Gap and Dover Heights trying to spot and photograph some of the raptors that I had seen on my previous trip. In this I was at least partly successful.
Peregrine Falcon
I caught a ferry to Watsons Bay and then walked the short distance to The Gap, and then set of south along the Coastal Path. It was a nice day and a lot of other walkers were enjoying the path. Continue reading
I spent an enjoyable few hours at Bicentennial Park at Homebush Bay observing and photographing birds.
Australasian Darter
Here are some of my photos. First, a White Headed Stilt with chicks – Continue reading
I made a short trip to the Tempe Wetlands looking for birds to photograph.
Australasian Figbird
As well as birds, I could not help noticing the large number of lizards (skinks) active in the area. Continue reading
I had been hoping to return to Tahmoor Gorge for a while now to get photos of the gorge below the Mermaids Pool. This is very beautiful and quite wild area and certainly deserves to be in a National Park.
To get good photos, you need to have a reasonable water level in the Bargo River and also have fairly subdued lighting. The forecast for the day was for it to be at least a bit cloudy and also it had been raining during the days before. David Hufton was keen to do the walk and we headed down there. Continue reading
I made a quick visit to Tempe Wetlands during the late afternoon. My main aim was to watch out for Rails, especially to look for a possible Lewin’s Rail. Earlier, a pair of Buff-banded Rails had been observed at the top pool of the wetlands.
Fairy Martin
It was a fairly dull day, but it is always interesting to see the huge number of skinks lurking around the wetland surrounds. The path has a retaining wall on its upper side made from large rocks and the gas between them provide very good refuges for the skinks. I have also seen Blue Tongue Lizards in the area. Continue reading
During the morning I saw a picture on Facebook of the Tawny Frogmouth family at the Boat Harbour posted by Jennifer, a resident who lives close to the Boat Harbour. So that afternoon I cycled down to the Cooks River to see if I could spot them.
On the way, I saw a Great Egret hunting for food in a shallow part of the river. It seemed to catch a few small things. Then flew off upstream. Continue reading
I decided I would make another trip down to Tempe Wetlands and have a look for more Rails. After that, I would make my way along the Cooks River and look for Tawnies.
Olive-backed Oriole
At the Tempe Wetlands I had no luck spotting any Rails. I spent a bit of time photographing the Fairy Martins and Welcome Swallows darting close to the surface of the pools. Here is a Fairy Martin – Continue reading
I spent a pleasant day wandering around Oatley Park and the neighbouring Lime Kiln Bay area. Lots of Nature was on display.
Blotched Hyacinth Orchid (Dipodium variegatum)
I walked from Mortdale Station for about 20 minutes to the tracks that head down to Dairy Creek at Lime Kiln Bay. Continue reading
David Hufton was keen on a photo trip to Crawfords Lookout above the junction of the Colo River and Wollemi Creek in Wollemi National Park. He talked me into joining him.
We headed up the Putty Road and turned off along the Culoul Range. This fire road is in quite good condition and we had no trouble driving all the way out to the end of the road at Hollow Rock in David’s small 2WD car. I think this is about 12 – 13 km. On the way out we stopped at Jonathans Knob – a small basalt cap on the range (one of two) – an area that used to have cattle on it. It is a grassy area with a lot of nice tall trees. Continue reading
