I had seen a photo posted on Facebook of a green waxcap taken at Ferndale Park a few days before. I decided to make a visit to see if I could spot any. I travelled to Chatswood by bus, 2 trains and then another bus (yes, there was track work), and then walked down to the park on Swaines Creek.
There was not that much fungi out along the creek. Here is some that I spotted as I walked downstream. Continue reading
I had been planning on going on a fungi survey in the Blue Mountains at Coachwood Glen. But the road had been washed out due to recent storms and was still closed. So I was now able to join the Tempe Birdos on their monthly bird survey.
This time, I joined the group surveying Tempe Reserve. As usual, the survey ended with morning tea. After that, I walked home via the Cooks River. Continue reading
I travelled up to Springwood with Sue and we visited Birdwood Gully to see what the fungi would be like after the recent rain. After good falls of rain, you expect the fungi to be abundant a few days later. But – with massive fall of rain, the fungi is often not as good as you expect. There had been over 300 mm of rain fall in the area about a week earlier, and a further 11 mm two days before our visit.
The fungi turned out to be reasonable but not brilliant. And we had to hunt for what we saw. We also saw some nice birds. Continue reading
Bob was back from a New Zealand holiday, and suggested a walk to visit Goochs Crater. We were hoping to see it still full of water after the recent heavy rain event. I had seen some photos taken recently on Facebook.
So Bob drove to Bell and we then set off along the track to the Crater. It was pleasant walking along the easy ridge. Continue reading
I took part in the Greenway Bird Survey along the Hawthorne Canal between Taverners Hill and Hawthorne Light Rail Stations. The weather had turned quite cold – and this resulted in not that many birds being active. Particularly at Taverners Hill Light Rail Station.
Perhaps one reason, the birds were quiet at Taverners Hill could be that a Brown Goshawk flew over – Continue reading
Back in March, I gave a presentation on “The Magic of Fungi” via Zoom to the Southern Sydney Branch of the National Parks Association of NSW. The talk was recorded and is now online on YouTube –
I was able to take part in the Mudlarks monthly bird survey along a section of the Cooks River. With then end of daylight saving, the group now meets at 7:30 am on the Lang Street Footbridge. This month, the group were surveying downstream.
Here are some of the birds we spotted – Continue reading
I joined Brian Everingham and others from the National Parks Association of NSW for a visit to two heritage sites in Sydney Harbour – Cockatoo Island and Newington Armory. In the party was Brian, Valerie, Sue, Vivienne, Suzanne and myself.
I had never visited Cockatoo Island before and it certainly is a most interesting place. It is easy to reach via ferry and visitors are free to wander around most of the Island. It has many levels of heritage. It was first a meeting place for first Australians. Then with arrival of Europeans, the Island has a deep convict heritage – anda lot of convict era buildings remain. Then it later became a major shipyard – and it has a lot of industrial heritage. Continue reading
I spent another day at Long Reef Aquatic Reserve on the Northern Beaches. I was after more photos of raptors. In particular Ospreys. They turned out to be the only raptors I saw. There were no Sea Eagles, or Kestrels of Black-shouldered Kites this time. With the Ospreys, I did mange to get some reasonable shots, but no good action shots of them diving for fish.
When I arrived, the tide was low, so I ventured out onto the rock platform looking for the migratory birds. There were still lots around. Here are some – Continue reading
The day and evening before had been very wet. But I woke up to fine morning – so I headed down to the Cooks River for a walk, and to see what birds were out. The path along the river was very muddy and under water in spots. Many of the mangroves were garnished in plastic carried down by floodwaters.
It was very quiet at first – not many birds were out. A lot of the rocks and the lower parts of trees were covered in mud. Continue reading
