Over Christmas 2018 I was up in Sydney visiting some of the locations I grew up in; many, many years ago. So, yes, this post is a little delayed. Indeed, even though I was only there for three days, I have three lots of photographs. Initially, I was planning on doing just one large post, to get this out of the way. However, as I was looking through the photos it brought back the good memories of both my youthful days as well as the lazy, family-oriented Christmas I had just enjoyed. None of these photographs are particularly earth shattering but this post, along with the next two (plus one more of the animals around my parents’ house) did let me see a side of Sydney I have not seen in any detail for a number of decades. The various places also allowed me to see how the wildlife I grew up with in Sydney has endured and, in some cases, has changed. This first post is about a lovely Christmas Eve morning I spent walking around the tip of South Head in Sydney, from Camp Cove out to the actual headland itself. I did not expect to see a New Holland Honeyeater out on this bit of headland that marks the entry to Sydney Harbour. I was also thrilled to get some pictures of a Little Pied Cormorant, a bird I see in Canberra but is also happy to fish in saltwater as well. I hope you enjoy the pictures below.
A view from Camp Cove to the harbour-facing side of South Head
Looking towards the city of Sydney from where the photo above this picture was taken
Fig Trees. are getting everywhere, probably thanks to birds
Arriving at Camp Cove there were already some people at the beach even as the sun was still clearing the headland. At the north-east corner of the beach, past the little kiiosk,, are a set of wooden stairs that take you to the public toilets but also allow you to access the furthest point of South Head. The path is sealed, with an easy gradient to the ridge of the headland. It is a lovely walk with some wonderful views back up Sydney Harbour towards the city. As I started the climb up the stairs I saw this lone Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) in the shadow from the headland. What drew me to this very common bird was the way it was gathering food in such a natural way. So many people see Silver Gulls, or Sea Gulls as they are commonly called, as the birds that raid bins or demand chips, it is easy to forget these birds are native birds to Australia that have been sourcing food around Sydney well before any people turned up. Even though this bird was in the shade I enjoyed the opportunity to photograph a bird feeding “in the wild”.
A Silver Gull feeding at Camp Cove
I remember as child see Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) in our garden. I have a vivid memory of a male Superb Fairy-wren perching not far from the hide I had built out of an old bedsheet my mother had given me. Possibly the success of Noisy Miners, as well as other birds, coupled with the number of cats prowling in gardens my mother no longer sees these birds in her garden. Because of that, I was so happy when I saw these birds in such abundance on South Head. Because of the way the sun was hitting the blue of the males it really made for a beautiful sight. I saw several family groups along my walk. In looking at my photographs it appears the fairy-wrens were stretching out their legs when they were foraging thought the grass. I wondered if that made it easier to move through the grass or whether it was a way to better see the surroundings.
One of the male Superb Fairy-wrens I saw
A female Superb Fairy-wren, standing very tall among the dew-laden grass
One of my memories from my childhood was once seeing a Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) in our garden. I had no idea what this “exotic” bird was but my father identified it without hesitation. When I saw my first one in Canberra I still thought of it as a unique bird. After seeing them so regularly I realised they were only unique in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in the 1980s. I saw a number of them on South Head where the regeneration work appears to be going well with the proliferation of banksias and bottle-brushes, great plants for native honeyeaters.
A Red Wattlebird catching the morning sun
I saw a black bird fly from the cliff face under where I was standing to land among some pants on a less vertical part of the headland. I followed it by walking along the cliff top, having not had a good view of it. When I saw it clearly, I was amazed to see a New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae); a bird I never saw as a child growing up in Sydney. The plants it was in faced directly out to the Pacific Ocean. I was happy the photograph I took as a reflex, posted immediately below, also showed the pollen on the bird’s face. I was only able to get a single photograph before it was off and I knew the settings were not ideal. Fortunately, I saw this bird, or another bird, in a few locations so I was able to get some other shots towards the end of my walk. Indeed, I had made a silent pact with myself I would not conclude my walk until I took a better shot, just to be safe I had a decent photograph.
My first shot a New Holland Honeyeater, in the shadow of the cliff
My final shot of a New Holland Honeyeater that morning
Also at the very tip of South Head I saw a number of Silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis). I remember these birds as a child visiting our garden. I also recall my father telling me what their name was and I thinking how apt. I have never forgotten their name. Although, like Superb Fairy-wrens, they no longer come to my parents’ garden.
I suppose technically this should have been my 100th bird species I photographed not the Black-shouldered Kite I was able to caveat as my 100th listed bird I photographed. Although, I am glad it was the kite as that was a completely new bird to me while the Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) was a bird I grew up with as they regularly visited our garden. Even though these are an introduced bird they are comforting to see because I have seen them since I was a boy. These natives of India and Southeast Asia were introduced into Australia in the 1860s, although they have not spread far from large cities where they excel at co-existing with humans.
Spotted Dove
It is always nice to see an Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) family. The immature bird was in between the adult. It looked as though it was searching for its own food but was constantly pleading for a meal from its parents. The immature birds are so funny. They keep pleading loudly, and even if I am not watching, I know when they are eating. The pleading gets slightly faster, then is muffled as the food goes in before staring up again like it has never been fed. Occasionally, parents seem to get annoyed and will peck at the youngster, which can go on to its back in a submissive pose as a response. Then hop up again, look slightly indignant before running after the parent while making the pleading noise again.
Feeding an immature magpie
No surprises there were Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala) all over the headland. I liked the photograph below as it serves as a reminder that Noisy Miners are honeyeaters.
Noisy Miner eating nectar
Getting back almost to Camp Cove I saw this Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) fishing just off the rocks. I waited for it to dive before I walked quickly to a nearby vantage spot to photograph it. I am not sure if it had finished fishing or if it had seen me but it snapped some water off itself, the photograph at the top of the post. It then started to run across the water to build up speed over its wings, that were still wet. It could not fly far with water-logged feathers so it flew low to a nearby post where it spread its wings to dry its feathers. This bird does not have waterproof feathers as they would make it hard to dive. I always enjoy photographing cormorants and I enjoyed being able to follow this bird from fishing, through take-off to drying.
Drying its wings