Local Catch-up

This entry is a bit of a catch-up because while I have been on several walks around the College Walks, I have not had time to write up my observations.

The Masked Lapwings at the corner of Crawford Road and Glenrose Crescent are looking as though they have a nest somewhere. They appear aggressive and evasive. I will have to observe them quietly from a distance to see where thy have stashed their eggs. Masked Lapwings have a habit of laying their eggs just about anywhere.

I noticed this White-faced Heron sitting on a stump in Dora Creek near the swing bridge. The light was lighting up the bird but the rest of the creek in that area was in darkness.

Several times in the last few days I have noticed small flocks of about 30 Straw-necked Ibis overhead. They are quite high and fly in a circular motion but are moving continually to the southwest.

 There are always White-cheeked Honeyeaters in the Sandy Creek area but they are a bit hard to get close to. This one was in the scrub right near the creek and stayed still for long enough to be photographed. I have managed to get quite close to them up at Sawtell (The trees are shorter up there!) but this is the first reasonably close one here.

The Variegated Fairy-wrens are starting to show up regularly on the Sandy Creek walk now. The males are still not fully coloured but over a couple of weeks I have observed them becoming more blue. This one is beating a caterpillar before eating it.

I don't think this is the same male as in the previous picture. When the Variegated Fairy-wrens turn up there are about ten of them altogether in the flock. There are at least two coloured males and a number in eclipse.

The Rose Robin has turned up again; this time letting me get a few photographs of it. It did not respond to call-back as much as the one in Budgewoi. It was by itself so i don't know that it will stay around. I have been told that they go back to the hills in the spring.

 Today I walked the Sandy Creek area with John Doubikin Jr. We found a Varied Sittella nest high up in one of the Casuarina trees (about 10m). It was not long after that we saw the little Sittellas carrying building materials to the nest. It is quite well hidden in the fork of the tree and I am surprised that we found it at all.

The birds themselves were quite contented to stay up in the canopy and I only managed a couple of distant shots. Th nest is near the bent bridge so I will be stopping there from now on to see if they bring up a family. (If I can find the nest again. I know which tree the nest is in but there are a number of forked branches so fining it again is not a sure thing!)

I have been hearing Scarlet Honeyeaters in the canopy for quite a while now but today was the first time that one came close enough to photograph. They are often in the canopy on Boys Walk too. Neither spot is a good place to photograph them. I find it best to wait till they feed on the Bottlebrush in or front yard in October. I can get close to them then.

There are nearly always Little Wattlebirds near the creek on the northern part of the Sandy Creek track. I think they nest there. They are in a constant battle with the Bell Miners. It is interesting that in this particular area the Bell Miners often come down into the bracken in the morning - I think to get a drink of water from the wet leaves.