Both Sue and Valerie were keen for another day out on Malabar Headland. It was the Monday of the long weekend, so there were a lot of other visitors walking past while we were sitting on the cliffs, but it turned out to be a very pleasant day.
When we reached the cliffs, we met two other bird watchers – Biggles and Deborah. No sign of the Peregrine Falcons, but quite a few Humpback Whales were passing on their journey south. Continue reading
I travelled up to the cliffs of the Northern Beaches again, to photograph a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons. The day was a bit mixed. The parents seemed a bit unsettled by my presence, even when I was a fair way from their nest area, so I did not stay too long. Perhaps there were feeding young chicks at the time?
Here are some photos from my visit – Continue reading
The whole of the October Long Weekend was a Transport Heritage event. I took part in some of the Saturday activities, including a steam train ride from Central to Hurstsville and return.
The whole day was very interesting.
I started by catching a bus to Sydenham. And then I got in a good position to watch and photograph the first steam train journey of the day.
I did not have to wait long for Locomotive 3526 “Nanny” to come along. It would be the one I would also travel in later. Continue reading
I was with great sadness that I learnt of the passing of Jennifer Newman. She was a highly respected member of the Cooks River community. She worked as an academic and was a proud of her background as a Wiradjuri woman.
I got to know Jennifer and her partner Barney though our mutual love of the Cooks River Tawny Frogmouths. Jen and Barney lived close to the Cooks River and each season, the local pair of Tawny Frogmouths would choose to nest in a tree very close to the back of their house. I would often come to photograph the birds – especially after their chicks had fledged. If Jennifer or Barney were nearby, they would often take time for a chat. Continue reading
About a year ago, I had been on a walk with Valerie to the Cape Baily area of Kamay Botany Bay National Park and been amazed by the magnificent flannel flowers that were out. I suggested to Valerie and Sue another visit to see how they were going this season. We all had an amazing day in the full splendour of Nature.
It was a day with a lot of highlights! The Flannel Flowers were magnificent. The sandstone patterns and the cliffs were great. We had very good experiences observing raptors, especially a pair of Nankeen Kestrels and an amazing flying display from a Peregrine Falcon. And then a pod of Dolphins appeared just below us, and appeared to be rounding up fish. Continue reading
After a morning at Barton Park, I ventured out again in the afternoon when the weather improved a lot. I went to Sydney Park.
Here are some photos – Continue reading
I made a morning visit to Barton Park and Landing Lights Wetland. It was probably mistake, as it was raining on and off while I was there and this made photography difficult and probably made it less likely that birds would appear.
Here are some of the birds I saw – Continue reading
I once again made a morning trip to Rookwood Necropolis to photograph birds. Last year, around this time, I made a number of trips there to photograph a nesting pair of Brown Goshawks and then later, their chicks. It was a very interesting experience. This season, I have made two earlier trips to the Necropolis, and on the first, I spotted a single Brown Goshawk, and on the second, I could hear one calling, but not see it. This visit, I did not see or hear one. Nor did I see any possible newly built nests.
But there were some other nice birds there. Not long after I arrived at the bushy part of the Necropolis – near Serpentine Creek, I spotted a large grown bird flying amongst the trees. Was it a Brown Goshawk? No, it turned out to be a pair of Channel-billed Cuckoos. Surprisingly they were not making their raucous call. They seemed to be on the lookout for Currawong nests, and the local Currawongs and Magpies were swopping down at them. Continue reading
There was an opportunity to photograph the Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in recent days. The comet was briefly visible in the eastern morning sky just before dawn. I had set my alarm for 4 am, but when I looked outside it was cloudy. The next morning was also forecast to be cloudy, so I didn’t even look outside. But on the first of October conditions were a lot better. I walked to nearby Marrickville Park, where I hoped I would get a good view of the sky near the eastern horizon. Would I be able to spot the comet in the light pollution of Sydney?
It was easy to spot the comet. I could not see it with the naked eye, but I could with binoculars. It also was visible in the screen on the back of the camera. The time was about 4:30 am. Continue reading
I travelled up to the Northern Beaches and walked out onto the sea cliffs to photograph a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons.
I would appear that the Peregrine Falcon’s nesting is going well. We may see young in a few weeks. Continue reading
