I was back in Sydney for a brief stay but I did have time to head out to Nielsen Park and then Vaucluse House to see what birds I could find on an overcast Sydney Saturday morning. While the lighting was not great I was really happy to photograph my first Sooty Oystercatchers, and in Sydney Harbour, amazing! Seeing them made me really happy as they are such beautiful birds even though they are simply coloured and they are also so distinct, you cannot confuse them for other birds. I saw some other very typical birds for the area and I practiced some macro photography with an orb weaver. All said, a really great morning for a day which looked so challenging from a photographic perspective. I hope you enjoy the photographs.
A view from the entrance of Nielsen Park towards where Bottle and Glass Rocks are; showing how Sydney can look when nature has its hand
A view to the west, past the swimming enclosure on the left of the picture; Nielsen Park is looking beautiful these days
A view east to Bottle and Glass Rocks
One of the old style drains at Vaucluse House
A fig tree starting to reclaim Vaucluse House, probably unconsciously carried to its lofty plot by a bird
The first bird I saw was a Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) quietly perched on a sign surveying the area. Shortly after I took this photograph it flew to the ground then to another tree out of my sight. I suspect it may have found some food.
A Laughing Kookaburra looking for food
When I arrived at the low bluff overlooking Bottle and Glass Rocks the only “sea bird” I could see was an Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) standing on the rocks. I thought it was let down that this was going to be the only marine avian life I saw.
My first “seabird”, an Australian Magpie
I then noticed two Sooty Oystercatchers (Haematopus fuliginosus) on the rocks immediately below me. I cannot recall seeing these birds here when I was growing up in Sydney, which may be a sign of the re-generation of Sydney Harbour’s biodiversity. They were near the waters edge, with one of them apparently looking for food as the small wavelets washed over the rock platform it was on. That oystercatcher was often wetting its beak in the water and performed the motion in the first photograph. One of the birds took to flight towards the other side of the harbour once it appeared to be concerned about my presence. The other bird kept walking away from me and occasionally looking for food. Eventually it must have become concerned by my presence as well because it flew the short distance to Bottle and Glass Rocks.
One of the birds appearing to splash water around itself
The remaining bird looking for food
The first bird flying off across the harbour
The light was not great, as there were rain clouds over Sydney, but when I saw this male Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) on the vegetation above me, I snapped a shot. The ISO was high and the distance was far, so the image is a bit noisy. This fairy-wren appeared to have its territory at the end of this small peninsula. I also saw at least one female in the area.
A male Superb Fairy-wren
This Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) was on the small beach near where I was, coming close to my position. It was gathering material for its nest, which it was building on somebody’s moored boat. I was not sure how the gull chose the boat, whether it saw the boat did not have much activity on it for a number of days or just saw the boat as a nesting platform to use. I would think some boats would be risky as they would be used occasionally on weekends, therefore presenting a threat to the incubation of eggs, as well as the raising of chicks before they fledge. I suspect some boat owners may not be happy about their pride and joy becoming a nesting spot for seabirds.
The Silver Gull gathering nesting material, it was running to fly to where some flotsam was
The gull returning to the boat
A slightly blurry photo of the gull placing the nesting material down while its possible mate guards the location
Returning to my car there were five Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus) on power lines above the tree in the photograph, but only one bird at a time was eating in the tree. I am unsure if there may have been fledglings learning to eat but they all flew off together when some construction work began at a house site nearby.
A Rainbow Lorikeet enjoying some morning nectar
After Nielsen Park I went to Vaucluse House to see what birdlife was around. As if repeating my entry to Nielsen Park the first bird I saw was this Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae). It was sitting quietly in a tree, occasionally making its laughing call. A couple of Noisy Miners tried to make it move on but the Kookaburra stayed where it was, occasionally snapping at the miners with its beak when they swooped it.
A Laughing Kookaburra being swooped by a Noisy Miner
This Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) started in a tall pine tree where I could hear it but I could not see it. Eventually it flew to the roof of the tea rooms, perching on the gable top of the roof. It was calling while looking around. I did not hear any other butcherbird reply.
A Grey Butcherbird
Opposite Vaucluse House is Vaucluse Bay where I saw this pair of Masked Lapwings (Vanellus miles). They started on the sand but then moved up to the grass. They did not appear to be breeding as they did not appear overly aggressive to the people moving through the grassy area so they may not have had a nest.
This is just a shot of the foreshore life on one exposed rocky surface at Bottle and Glass Point where the oystercatchers were.
I decided to use this Garden Orb Weaver Spider (Eriophora transmarina) to practice my macro photography. This female was still in its web in the morning. It looked like it was finishing off a meal from that night. While I was watching another insect flew into the web but this spider was not fast enough to secure it before the insect could escape. The web was starting to look a bit unkempt with holes appearing in the netting. Later in the day, when I returned past the spot, the web was cut in half with the spider gone. I am unsure if that destruction meant the spider had ended up as a juicy meal for a bird.
The Garden Orb Weaver Spider wrapping up a meal
A close-up of the head