Photographing Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS – 16 October 2024

I had previously photographed Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as an early morning object. It was then quite bright. It had now been around the Sun and was visible as an evening object. I had looked a few nights earlier and had no luck spotting it. There were some clouds and it was probably still too close to the Sun. This afternoon had stated cloudy, but the clouds seemed to be lifting as evening approached. I made my way to Dulwich Hill Station – a place that gives a reasonable view to the west.

It took a long while to spot the comet (forgetting to bring binoculars didn’t hep). I eventually spotted it on the back screen of my camera, and then centred the camera on it and took more exposures. Here are two photos –

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Local Tawny Frogmouths – Update – 16 October 2024

I visited some of the local Tawny Frogmouths during the afternoon.

I stared at Morton Park on Canterbury Road. I spotted both adult Tawny Frogmouths perched close to each other in a tree. Previously, I had seen on on a nest, so I assume their nest has failed.

Next, I caught a bus to Canterbury, and then started walking down the Cooks River. Continue reading →

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Birds at Sydney Park – 16 October 2024

I met up with Sue and we spent an enjoyable morning at Sydney Park wandering around looking for birds. We spotted a wide range of interesting birds during our visit.

Here are some that we saw – Continue reading →

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Taronga Zoo – 14 October 2024

I joined Sue for an excellent day visiting Taronga Park Zoo. Here are some of the animals we saw –

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Birds at Warriewood – 13 October 2024

I made another visit to the Northern Beaches, with the intention of first having a look at some sites at Warriewood, then spending the rest of the day at Long Reef. But there was enough to keep me busy at Warriewood, so that was where I spent my time.

I first visited Rat Park to check out the Osprey nest. Both adult birds were present, and I noticed they have relocated their nest to a different light pole. Continue reading →

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Birds at Sydney Park – 12 October 2024

After the Tempe Bird Survey, and then morning tea, I caught a bus up the Princes Highway to Sydney Park for some more bird photography. Here are some of the birds I saw.

The highlight was this Bailon’s Crake –

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Birds at Tempe Wetlands – 12 October 2024

I joined there Tempe Birdos for their monthly bird survey, and this month I was in the group surveying at the wetlands.

Here are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading →

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An Aurora in Sydney? – 11 October 2024

On the previous evening, I had an alert appear on my phone saying an Aurora Australis may be visible in your location. I checked the app and saw that the level was not that high, and the map indicated that it would be unlikely to be visible from my location (Sydney). I checked later in the evening a few times and went to bed around midnight, then awoke to some amazing photos from people that had stayed up, and eventually, around 4:30 am there was an amazing Aurora visible. I was photographed as far north as Queensland. I had missed out!

But would the geomagnetic activity continue during the next evening? Perhaps. I checked the app as soon as it got dark, and conditions seemed reasonable, so I grabbed a camera and tripod and headed to a nearby park where I could get a reasonable view south.

The photos were taken around 8:30 pm. Is there an Aurora or just air glow or perhaps even a glow caused by the lights? I think it is likely to be an Aurora – since there are purple and green hues. Continue reading →

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Visit to Nurragingy Reserve – 11 October 2024

Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside is one of the places I like to visit regularly, but it had been a while since my last visit. So I thought it about time to see what was there.

I had a very good visit. The highlight was probably some noisy Sacred Kingfishers. Here are some of the birds I photographed – Continue reading →

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Kangaroo Creek Walk – 10 October 2024

I had never walked down the lower section of Kangaroo Creek in Royal National Park. I am talking about the section below The Olympic Pool to where water banks up from Audley Weir. I had suggested it as place to visit to Bob, and we had talked about it over the years, but the weather had been unsuitable or something else sounded better. But we finally got around to doing it.

We traveled down the Heathcote by train and then started off along the track to The Karloo Pool. Continue reading →

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