BLUE MOUNTAINS AND BEYOND

After leaving the Capertee Valley we headed to Lithgow, to use as a base for exploring the iconic Blue Mountains. Having never visited the area before and thinking it was a bit of a tourist trap and probably over rated, we were blown away by the stunning vistas and sheer size of  this virtually untouched wilderness on Sydney's doorstep.  

Grose Valley

The weather was perfect on our one and only day of exploring. The next three days it turned nasty with a wet, cold, windy change coming through, apparently not unusual in these parts. There was a plethora of walking tracks to choose from and with our limited time we settled for a couple of the shorter ones and even these were quite steep in parts. The bird life wasn't prolific but one of the more colourful ones caught my eye.

Crimson Rosella

The wildflowers were actually more conspicuous than the birds and with the aid of this very helpful website:  http://www.waratahsoftware.com.au/wp_flora_bluemountains.html  I was able to identify some of the specimens I photographed.

Trigger Plant

Mountain Devil

??????

The Blue Mountains is another one of those places that has to be seen to be believed and pictures do not do it justice. A good week here would probably just scratch the surface.

Three Sisters

The weather finally improved on our way to Canberra and driving through the countryside one of the most common birds was the Nankeen Kestrel. I was able to pull up and get a quick shot of this male before he took off to do what they normally do, hover above the paddocks in search of prey.

Nankeen Kestrel

While in Canberra we visited the Australian National Botanic Gardens, a must see for anyone even remotely interested in plants. I could have sworn I was back in Queensland when we walked through the huge rainforest gully section. I was waiting for a Pitta to bounce out across the pathway! 

How they have created this habitat in a climate of extremes defies the imagination.  

"Fir0002/Flagstaffotos".

Rainforest Walk - ANBG 

This juvenile Water Dragon was sunning itself on a rock along the walk.

Eastern Water Dragon

And a Raven was eyeing off our picnic lunch.

Australian Raven

One of the more common plants were these pretty flowers along another of the many walks through the gardens.

Christmas Bells

There was also a single young Wollemi Pine, a critically endangered species with less than one hundred trees growing in the wild not far from the Capertee Valley, in Wollemi National Park. It's a wonder they didn't have an armed guard keeping an eye on this one!

Wollemi Pine

QLD BIRDER HITS THE ROAD

Clare and I had planned on doing some travelling sooner, rather than later, and with that in mind we purchased our van last year and decided to spend 2012 on the road. We left home on the 8th of January and headed south into New South Wales. First stop was at Bigriggen Park near Rathdowney (QLD) a lovely site by the banks of the Logan River. The temperature hit 37 here so we spent a lot of time in the water.

Logan River

Relaxing after our first setup.

The crows were taking it easy in the heat but why they weren't in the shade has got me beat.

I thought they were supposed to be intelligent? 

Torresian Crows

One of the locals was having a good look at the newbies.

Red Necked Wallaby

And this pair seemed to be panting in the heat, perched high up in one of the massive gums around the campground. 

Dollarbirds.

 This little bloke had the right idea hanging round the river on the rocks, in between catching tiny insects flying above the water.

Juvenile Eastern Water Dragon

Our next major stop was Tenterfield NSW, where we had the chance to explore the nearby Bald Rock National Park. We hiked to the top (the biggest granite monolith in Australia apparently) and enjoyed the expansive views from the summit. 

Bald Rock

 Some of the rocks on the walk up were quite impressive too.

Balancing Rock

 This skink got a good feed out of the apple core we left for it.

Okay, don't feed the animals etc. but I don't think we were going to make a serial pest out of this fella.  

Cunningham's Skink

The scenery was stunning and we were overawed by the sheer size of some of the rocks around the park. 

Clare dwarfed by the massive boulders.

 This King Parrot spent a lot of time hanging around our van waiting for a handout (we didn't oblige).

  

King Parrot - male.

And another of the locals was looking totally bored while waiting for his owner to come back.

SNAKES ALIVE

These friendly neighbourhood reptiles have been very active over the last month, with this tree snake showing its aggressive streak when being photographed (through a glass door!) on the back verandah.

Brown Tree Snake

A pair of Common Tree Snakes have taken up residence in the shed, but they are quite shy and will disappear behind the peg board when approached too closely.  

Common Tree Snake

This whip snake was basking on the front porch and quickly moved on after posing for a couple of shots.

Yellow-faced Whip Snake

Besides the plethora of scaly visitors some over-wintering birds have been visiting the garden including Grey (pictured) and Rufous Fantails and Striated Pardalotes.

Grey Fantail

I went for a walk with my daughter and her fiance a couple of weeks ago to our local waterfall. The birds were scarce but it was a gorgeous day and the falls were flowing well after the recent rain.

Kureelpa Falls

Johnny (walker) on the rocks. 

We also had the chance to do a walk again through Petrie Park in Nambour, where the Water Dragons were relaxing and fungi were growing well in the moist conditions left over from our wet autumn.

  

Eastern Water Dragon

I also got some great views of the Barred Cuckoo-Shrikes that were active in the fruiting figs that flourish in the park, and a not so great photo of an individual high up. 

Barred Cuckoo-Shrike

PETRIE PARK WALK

A couple of weekends ago I did an early morning walk through one of Nambours parks, Petrie Park, right in the heart of town. On this occasion I didn't spot any platypuses but was able to get close to a couple of other local residents.

Petrie Creek

Pacific Black Duck

There is a volunteer group doing re-vegetation and cleanups, and the park is a real credit to them and the local council. A green oasis in the heart of a busy regional town.

Petrie Creek

This pair were having a dabble and didn't seem concerned by the discarded tyre nearby, probably deposited by the recent flooding. It was disappointing to see the shopping trolleys that had been dumped in the creek.

This character was sun bathing on the warm concrete of the footpath and wasn't moving for anyone. They are quite common along the creek and this was a male, close to the 80cm length these lizards can grow to.

Eastern Water Dragon

While visiting the park I was hoping to see some Barred Cuckoo-Shrikes, which are regularly seen in the area, but I have always missed. While taking the dragon pics I heard an unfamiliar call and was able to observe and identify two of my target birds in the trees beside the creek. I was pretty chuffed, after having dipped on this species on numerous occasions.

.

The photo below was sent by a friend who had seen this bird not far from his place last year.

Barred Cuckoo-Shrike