Leaf sprite and bark whisper

Jan-Feb 2011 Notes

A few grasstree spikes flowering with numbers of butterflies attracted Sugarloaf Point Hill track.

One dead tree Sugarloaf Point – family of dollarbirds with adult catching insects and feeding juveniles; same tree same time almost channel-billed cuckoo being fed by a currawong; same tree almost same time a sacred kingfisher calling with family answering calls coming back.

Southern Boobook owl flying about near sand track in FOM early morning.  This is the first time I have seen a southern boobook in FOM but have heard them at night regularly.

Spider time: the daily process of carrying a twig to clear the spiderwebs as I walk since I am usually the first along the track in the morning.  When meeting a walker coming the other direction once in a while the usual greeting “Oh I have cleared the spiderwebs for you.”

Anyway this is spidertime it seems since the dewdrops gather and the sunshine highlights them there seems to be thousands of webs about in the bush and the fashion is a curled leaf shelter at the centre of the web. The slightest movement and they disappear inside the leaf.

 

Week 31 Jan-6 Feb – heatwave territory:  so hot 41 degrees on Sat. so humid, so dry, some mornings a good dew, so many dead leaves about – flows of leaves; but still so much new growth everywhere – more wattle blossoms set to open soon, etce etc

Lane Cove River early morning sunlight.

 

Wonderfully delicate color looking into the sunlight through dead leaves – an early morning delight in Field of Mars Wildlife Refuge.

dewdrops in a head of grass FOM

Sunlight early, dewy morning FOM

Mangroves Field of Mars area

Late Nov/ Early Dec 2010 notes

Quite a few sacred kingfishers – its nesting time for them; lots of red-browed finch nests around;  the two collared sparrowhawks have left the nest and I have seen one near nest on a number of occasions sometimes flying awkwardly around; had a great time watching a family of whipbirds a few metres away from me up Ryde end interacting in the bush, feeding and calling to each other with different calls than the well-known whipbird calls; lots a new wildflowers, lots of new growth everywhere, lots of seedpods around; group of five stormbirds (channel-billed cuckoos) flying around loudly calling; dollar birds; family of six young black ducks and their parents always there; flowering geebungs, fascinating peeling bark and so many spiders-----

 

Some Field of Mars Magic – spirit of the bush

 

--poetry of life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOM is full of seedpods at the moment – remarkable sights

Seedpods of all sorts – so many extraordinary seedpods – green, open, closed, eaten, growing – remarkable sight

This one from my walk this morning.

Collared sparrowhawks – note size difference in the young

also this morning – sacred kingfishers calling  lots at various places along Buffalo Creek – nesting time; red-browed finch nests around; silver gulls fishing in Lane Cove River for small fish jumping – saw a gull take a fish jumping two days ago.

Collared Sparrowhawk young Field of Mars

Last couple of days – kookaburra have left nest,  good glimpses of a number of whipbirds,

watched a silver gull fishing successfully in Lane Cove River, Dollar birds around, lots of small bird activity – brown thornbills, spotted paradottes, red-browed finches, white browed scrubwrens; the bush is full of seed pods ripening –opening so lots of good seed food around, thousands of actinotus minor ( tiny flannel flowers)

Sparrowhawk 2010 nesting in FOM

Essential Guide for areas around Sydney

This book is marvelous: covers Flora and Fauna - common birds, reptiles, plants, weeds, habitats - is color coded for quick finding of things - eg. pink area for pink bush flowers, etc. all good photographs, all done by experts. It is a great size and weight for your pocket.

Wonga Wetlands Albury - a set on Flickr--this is where I am at the moment

Wonga Wetlands Albury - a set on Flickr

Field of Mars this morning

early morning sunlight and mist

lorikeet at home – the bush has a quietness and you feel the brooding going on all around you – the brooding of warm eggs and the warmth of hope

so many of these tiny peaflowers emerging – the life forces bursting forth

 

At home in Field of Mars this morning

Fish mobile, bees and yellowness in FOM this morning

Possum at home this morning in Field of Mars

This possum was being pestered by a mob of little bush birds this morning – brown thornbills, white-browed scrub wrens especially.

Crimson rozellas at home also.

Collared Sparrowhawk in dense bush

 

 

Amazed to encounter a young collared sparrowhawk this morning in dense bush on the ground near my end of FOM.  I was only a few metres away. It immediately flew to a few other perches on its way out of the bush giving me a chance to get a blurry photo.  I was so surprised to see it in such a place.

Two brown goshawks flying around FOM this morning.

Rose Robin up my end of FOM with a feeding group incl.  variegated fairy wrens – the blue of the male so bright – brighter than the superb I think, grey fantails, brown thornbills, white-browed scrub wrens.

Adult Golden Whistler and calling young one following it around Sugarloaf Point.  The young one was also catching insects itself I noticed.

Crimson Rozella nest hole.

Birds courting and nest building

 

Wattle seedpods – flowers finish seeds emerge as life cycles continue in the bush.

This morning watched currawong collecting materials for nesting, grey fantails courting rituals, fairy wrens courting, kookaburra nesting in termite mound in tree, crimson rozellas near chosen nest hollow.

Family album of the urban eagle | The Daily Telegraph

Family album of the urban eagle | The Daily Telegraph

Frog rock

Sugarloaf Point mangrove area Lane Cove National Park

Does this look like a frog to you or am I ----

Test: can you draw a frog outline and does this rock fit it?