The Royal National Park, just south of Sydney is the oldest national park in Australian and the second oldest national park in the world behind Yellowstone National Park in the US. My son and I had been planning to visit the park so we could walk the trail to the Figure 8 Pools. The day of our visit was one of the windiest days in Sydney. The sky was reasonably clear but the wind was blustering through the area. At one stage on the rock platform, I almost felt I was going to be blown over by the wind. When we were able to get out of the wind the weather was actually very nice. Despite the gusting conditions I was able to see some birds. The strong wind made it challenging to take photographs as I was always being buffeted, hence why I have a number of iPhone shots below. The photographs are not the best but it was a very beautiful day. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
A signboard explaining about the figure 8 Pools
(Apple iPhone SE)
Looking towards the headlands we had to walk around
(Apple iPhone SE)
Looking towards the first headland from Burning Palms Beach
(Apple iPhone SE)
An interesting erosion pattern
(Apple iPhone SE)
The wind whipping the spray off the waves caused a rainbow just off the rock platform
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/1000 SEC])
A Figure 8 Pool
(Apple iPhone SE)
A female White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea) was making its way up a tree as my son and I were walking to the beach. We were under the trees so the light was not great and she stayed on the side of the tree away from the sun. Still it was nice to see her to know there were birds around.
A somewhat blurry female White-throated Treecreeper
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1000 SEC])
A Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera) was calling as we approached Burning Palms Beach. I had trouble tracking the source of the call before I finally saw it in the canopy of a tree. The wind was blowing the tree backwards and forwards but the bird appeared to be un-phased by the situation. These birds are honeyeaters but this bird did not appear to be looking for food, possibly because of the very strong wind.
A Little Wattlebird in a tree that was swinging violently in the wind
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
There was a single Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) flying just off the beach. The bird was not too far above the water surface. Despite the strong wind it was still able to hover and manoeuvre in one location. A couple of times the bird dived into the rough see but I could not see if it was successful in catching food. The bird did not dive deep into the water, more striking at the surface. Despite the waves the bird was able to take-off from the surface. Eventually it flew further away from the coast and I lost sight of it.
The Crested Tern plunging into the waves
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1250 SEC])
The Crested Tern aloft again; please note the seaspray in the background from the wind
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1250 SEC])
A lone Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) flew in to the bay before circling around to land on the beach. Not surprisingly, when we were walking back along the beach, we saw the gull nearby a family who were trying to enjoy some food on the windy beach.
A Silver Gull flying above Burning Palm Beach
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1250 SEC])
An Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) was soaring high above the headland as we climbed the path along the ridge back to where I had parked the car. The bird was so high I did not think it was looking for food, it may have been preparing to fly further along the coast and was using the winds to lift it higher to where it could soar along its journey. Pelicans tend to be social hunters of fish, normally forming groups to either trap fish or drive them towards an easier location to catch them.
An Australian Pelican soaring above the coast
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/14 and 1/1000 SEC])