Lunch time by the beach
No Comments »13th October, 2007; Category: Flowers, Magpies and Currawongs, Thornbills, Trip reports
After our walk down Lady Carrington Drive we drove south through Royal National Park. This drive took us up to the top of the ranges in this part of the park. The change in vegetation over a very short distance was very interesting. From towering gum trees we suddenly found ourselves in gum trees not much more than head high with a very interesting under-story of low heath type plants. There were very few stopping points and my wife was disappointed we didn’t really have the time to spend exploring some of the walking tracks leading off the main road. We are already planning our next trip here.
Wattamoola, Royal National Park, Sydney
At one point along this road we took a detour to a locality known as Wattamoola. This road terminates at a picnic ground where we had a delightful lunch looking out over the beach below and the Pacific Ocean out to sea. I didn’t do much birding here but did check out the large number of Pied Currawongs fussing around in nearby bushes. There seemed to an unusual congregation of them, probably twenty or more and calling incessantly. I assume this could have been mating behaviour, but, being relatively unfamiliar with the species I’m not sure.
Wattamoola, Royal National Park, Sydney
Several Australian Magpies paraded the picnic grounds and about eight Silver Gulls were on the beach. No other water or sea birds were seen which is disappointing. I really haven’t concentrated on sea birds at all this trip because views of the sea have been very infrequent. As we left a Crested Pigeon flew past.
Black-backed Magpie, Royal National Park
On the road back out I did make a concession to my plant loving wife. We stopped in a safe roadside spot fro ten minutes to photograph some of the wildflowers. The only extra species added to this locality during the stop was a single New Holland Honeyeater.
Wildflowers at Royal National Park, Sydney
Flat Rock Creeek to Middle Harbour, Sydney
2007 New South Wales trip report #25
While we were staying with our son in Sydney he decided to take an afternoon off from work (he works at home) and take us on a walk from Artarmon along Flat Rock Creek to Middle Harbour. This harbour is a small part of the greater Sydney Harbour.
The walking track took us through nearby suburbs and we enjoyed looking over people’s back fences into their gardens. The track also took us under several major roads and a freeway. Most of the first part was a sealed or concrete walking path shared with cyclists. This first part didn’t yield many interesting birds but it was a very enjoyable walk anyway.
Flat Rock Creek, Northbridge, Sydney
The track then changes to a narrow dirt track and plunges quickly 50 or 60 metres down into Flat Rock Creek. When we reached the creek bed the path then follows the creek along to the harbour. I was not surprised to see Laughing Kookaburras along this part, and observed on flying in a hollow. This could indicate nesting but the hollow was too far away over the creek to investigate further. Pied Currawongs were seen and heard frequently as were Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. Superb Fairy-wrens flitted in and out of the bushes along the path, but never stopping long enough for a photo.
At one stage I saw several Red-whiskered Bulbuls but couldn’t get a clear shot of one. I did manage to get a nice shot on the return walk. This was a new bird for the trip list and a nice one to see despite it being an introduced species. I’ve only ever seen it about three times in total.
Red-whiskered Bulbul
I was also delighted to see two Chestnut Teal, a male and a female, swimming in the creek which at that point seemed rather polluted. Nearby several Red-browed Finches caught our attention and White-browed Scrubwrens called from nearby bushes. Noisy Miners were everywhere and we heard several Striated Pardalotes, a Grey Butcherbird, several Australian Magpies and the occasional Australian Raven flew overhead.
I haven’t seen too many pigeons and doves in this part of Sydney, but on our walk I saw Crested Pigeons, Rock Doves and Spotted Turtledoves. Thankfully not too many Indian Mynas were seen in this part of the city. I saw no House Sparrows; they seem to be absent from around here. At the harbour we saw Welcome Swallows and Silver Gulls.
Rock Doves, Northbridge, Sydney
On the return walk I only added Common Koel to the list. As this was another “lifer” for the trip I was pleased. This species has just arrived from its spring migration south. The whole walk took just a few minutes short of four hours, the return part being largely uphill with some very steep parts. We were pleased that we achieved this as both of us are not as fit as we should be. Our son thought it was just a pleasant stroll, but then he walks the area nearly every day.
Bathurst to Lithgow
No Comments »3rd October, 2007; Category: Trip reports
2007 New South Wales trip report #20
The bird life along the road to Bathurst turned up nothing new. We saw plenty of Australian Magpies, Australian Ravens, Crested Pigeons, Galahs and a large flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos feeding in a paddock. We stopped briefly at Bathurst to refuel before heading off to Lithgow. We had hoped to take an alternative route but must have missed the turnoff.
A few minutes out of Bathurst we took a side road through some farming country and found a nice spot for morning tea well away from the noise of the traffic. We saw several Australian Wood Ducks, Masked Lapwings, Red-rumped Parrots and more Galahs. Several Striated Pardalotes called from the nearby gum trees.
Near Bathurst, New South Wales
Further along we saw more Crimson Rosellas, Crested Pigeons and saw Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos for the first time on the trip. Also added for the first time was a Myna. I wasn’t aware this pest introduced species had spread so far from Sydney.
Probably the most distressing sight along this stretch of road was a dead Wombat on the side of the road. Another sad victim of road kill.
Just out of Lithgow we stopped at the railway station of the unique Zig – Zig railway. This railway was built by early convicts to take the railway line over a very steep mountain range. We would have liked a ride on the train but were running out of time. We found a spot nearby for lunch. During our lunch break I added White-eared Honeyeater to the trip list.
Cheeky finches and a lifer
2 Comments »2nd October, 2007; Category: Trip reports
2007 New South Wales trip report #19
For the fifth day in a row on our trip the day dawned sunny and clear of clouds. We had breakfast and packed the car. We were just about to leave when we struck up a conversation with a permanent resident of the caravan park in Cowra. She occupied the cabin next to us and had lived there for several years since the death of her husband.
She had established a small native plant garden around her cabin and she was quite knowledgeable about the birds of the area as well. On the front porch she had two pet Cockatiels that had been injured and rescued some years before. We were amused by the Red-browed Finches that would come in, land on the cage of the parrots and then proceed straight through the bars, into the cage and help themselves to a free feed. This was another new species to add to my trip list.
Red-browed Finch
This friendly woman also commented that Double-barred Finches also came into her little garden. I’ve only ever seen this species once before so I was keen to hang around for a while. Alas, they didn’t show up. Nor did the Crested Shrike-tits and the Azure Kingfishers she said were regular visitors. [Postscript: I didn’t see any of these three species on the rest of the trip. You get that. It merely illustrates the sometimes hit and miss aspect of birding.]
But there were several major bonuses to spending about a half hour talking to her. Two Superb Parrots flew overhead. This was a lifer* for me and one of the species I was keen to see on this trip. I also added Noisy Friarbird in the trees in the caravan park. Yet another Brown Songlark was calling nearby and Eastern Rosellas flew through the park. Crested Pigeons came into to drink from the bird bath and White-plumed Honeyeaters were busy feeding in the tree foliage overhead.
Earlier in the morning I was delighted to hear a Peaceful Dove calling nearby. I tired a little with its call as it went on and on while I was trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep.
*Lifer: a bird seen for the first time in my life. (For a better explanation click here).
A small accident
No Comments »27th September, 2007; Category: Trip reports
2007 New South Wales Trip report #14
The next day we were on our way bright and early – for us that is. It was another bright, sunny day with a few clouds and a cool, gentle breeze. Corinne drove for the first leg to Condobolin, seeing I’d done most of the driving yesterday.
The wheat farming district from Lake Cargelligo to Condobolin is largely open, lightly timbered with some remnant vegetation on the roadside. Despite the general sparsity of trees and bushes the birdlife is still quite interesting. Because my wife was driving I could keep a detailed list of species seen as we went along.
Apostlebirds were very numerous, small groups of four to ten were seen every kilometre or so. So were the Australian Magpies, though these were more often encountered singly or in twos and threes. Australian Ravens seem more interested in walking the roadside verges than in flying. This is also true of the many White-winged Choughs seen along this stretch of road. They also seem unafraid of traffic, barely moving out of way of oncoming vehicles.
Apostlebird
Crested Pigeons do very well in this district, indicating they have reliable seed producing plants. We also saw small flocks of Galahs and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos along the way. Two Blue Bonnet Parrots flew in front of the car at one point. Magpie Larks feed along the edges of the road too, along with Noisy Miners and Willie Wagtails.
The only raptors we saw on this leg of our journey were several Nankeen Kestrels. More than once I saw one dive from a height of five or more metres into the grass. It was hard to see what each one caught for lunch as we hurtled along the highway at 100kph. It was probably a small reptile, grasshopper or mouse.
Just a short distance from Condobolin we had a small accident. A small flock of four Galahs feeding on the edge of the road was a little slow taking off. One unfortunately hit the passenger-side corner of the windscreen. I didn’t look back, but there is no way it could have survived. The impact even took a small chip out of the glass but it did not crack the glass. If it had shattered – highly unlikely – I would have received a face full of glass, feathers and blood.
Road kills are a frequent occurrence here in Australia unfortunately. Our own record is lower than most; this was only the fourth bird I can recall either of us hitting in nearly forty years of driving.