Sap Lace from this morning

BEYOND THE SANDSTONE CURTAIN: water, wetlands and woodlands - an illustrated presentation by Bev Smiles

THE RYDE HUNTER’S HILL FLORA AND FAUNA PRESERVATION SOCIETY

invites you to our next special Saturday event:

BEYOND THE SANDSTONE CURTAIN:

water, wetlands and woodlands - an illustrated presentation by Bev Smiles

Saturday 5th November 2.30pm

Field of Mars Reserve and Wildlife Refuge, East Ryde.

West of the Great Dividing Range, away from the major population centres, NSW faces some of its biggest environmental challenges: will the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan provide water for our wetlands? who owns the water anyway? are our agricultural lands secure or are they fast becoming gas fields? will there be any woodlands left in the central west of NSW? what happens to the birds that depend on these woodlands and wetlands? will they, like the ibis and white cockatoo adapt to urban life or will they disappear?

Bev is President of the Inland Rivers Network, a coalition of environment groups and individuals concerned about the degradation of the water systems of the Murray-Darling Basin. She is the western representative on the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, western networker for National Parks Association and represents conservation interests on a number of NSW Government advisory committees in western NSW.

We invite you to go "beyond the sandstone curtain" and join us at the Field of Mars Reserve on Saturday 5th November to hear about these challenging, sometimes contentious issues from someone who is directly concerned with them.

The Field of Mars is along Pittwater Rd, between East Ryde and Boronia Park. Local access is via a number of streets, nearest bus route is the 506 service between the city and Macquarie Centre. Parking at Pittwater Rd entrance.

For bookings and further information, including about access for people with walking difficulties, please contact:

Cathy on ph. 9817 4935 or email the Society on rhhffps@gmail.com.

Brush Turkey mound building this morning

Sap reflections

A very wet Field of Mars

Many toadstools about in FOM at the moment – white, orange, pink lots of different sizes.

Of course, so many varieties/ constructions/ configurations of spider webs.

And so much rain this last week or so – many parts of tracks running with water making fascinating reflections and routes among the rocks and leaves, etc.

 

 

After the ball emerges new life

whipbirds –stand still when they are close and you will see them

 

 

never never enough banksia passion food

Banksia bud light

Lots of these banksia flowers used so much by the eastern spinebills.

Watching a grey butcherbird hunting, catching a lizard, hanging prey in forked branch.

Family of young golden whistlers.

Two grey goshawks gliding over, around and around FOM.

At least four nesting sites for collared sparrowhawks located in FOM.

Regular black-faced cuckoo-shrikes around on dead trees and in the bush calling, hunting.

Autumn sunlight

natural bonsai on rockface ledge

 

common sight in FOM but special in this light

 

That same tree – today with silvereyes, spinebills, new holland, yellow-faced honeyeaters

Same tree --update

Eastern Spinebill tree edge clearing Pidding Rd end FOM - still Spinebills but now Yellow-faced Honeyeaters (unusual in FOM) and BulBuls and Brown Thornbills and still this small tree gives its blossoms!!!

The world's longest non-stop flight: Sydney's Migratory Shorebirds - Events Calendar - The Big Diary - ABC Online

The world's longest non-stop flight: Sydney's Migratory Shorebirds - Events Calendar - The Big Diary - ABC Online

Monday 4 April 2011 early morn walk in FOM—Powerful Owl

Powerful Owl about 3 mtrs away – we spent some time eyeing each other off.

Lots of eastern spinebills in blossoms Pidding Rd end of FOM together with a lot of New Holland Honeyeaters.  This tree has been a mecca over the last week.  Rainbow Lorikeets there also this morning. By about 8.30am they are gone.

Spinebills also love these banksias – lots coming into flower now.

Notes from March 2011

Last week of March lots of Eastern Spinebill Honeyeaters racing around as they do, in eucalyptus blossoms this time, together with Silver-eyes and some Brown Thornbills with large number of Red-browed firetails nearby in the open area Pidding Rd end of FOM. Of course, the eastern Spinebills loving the banksia flowers on the low shrubs in the bush as usual.

Pair of rainbow lorikeets seem to be nesting on edge of clearing Pittwater Rd end.

Flock of pardalottes Sugarloaf point.

Plus all the usuals – Grey Butcherbird,grey fantail, Collared Sparrowhawk, the odd New Holland, Treecreepers, east Yellow Robin, Welcome Swallows, White-face Herns, White-browed Scrubwrens, feeding groups, and so on----

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