Lammington Reserve

I persuaded Ally and Kerry to stop off at Lamingston National Park near the NSW / QLD border on the way up. Famous it is for Regent Bowerbird- but the weather was rather awful and they chose to hide away. We had a pleasant walk in the fog (it's a beautiful place with lush green forest and deep valleys) and I got to see my first ever Spotted Pardolote. . 



Magpie Lark
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Laughing dove
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Lewin's honeyeater.

Spotted Pardalote (new species)  
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Weekend at Capertee Valley

We spent a relaxing weekend at the Capertee Valley, situated three hours from Sydney at the far end of the beautiful Blue Mountains. My explicit reason for visiting was the scenery and some time away with Ally. Of course, the fact that Capertee enjoys some of the best bird life in New South Whales may have also have been an influencing factor.

The weather was not on our side unfortuntely and the grey skies were not particularly condusive for stunning landscape shots, but the valley was very scenic nevertheless as you can see from the shots below..



Who would have thought a thistle could make a nice photo...
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Lots of flowers were out, being the tail end of spring...
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We stayed in a cosy cabin on a farm on Longridge Farm. We were thinking of camping; given the weather, it was good we didn't. Not that living in a cabin protected us from all the elements. Look at who shared our bathroom. Rather freaky he was!
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A Satin bowerbird had built his bower just a few metres from our cabin. These amazing birds build ornate "boudoirs" out of all sorts of odds and sodds that catch their fancy. This particular bowerbird had a penchant for blue clothes pegs.
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Once happy with his masterpiece, the bowerbird calls out stridently in the hope that a lady will come and check out his " shag pad" and be so impressed that she will stay for the night. When she arrives, he dances like crazy to woo her. Not too different from modern dating in the human world.
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The bowerbird is extremely particular about his bower and when Ally put a pink petal amongst his things (while he was away), he returned and immediately removed the offending item. It evidently did not meet his very exacting colour scheme!!
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And here he is - the peg loving, romantic Satin Bowerbird. In the sunshine, he has a blue sheen (same shade as the pegs he steals), but the sun didn't make an appearance. By the way, if you want to see an amazingly impressive bower, check it out here (prepare to be blown away!)
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Apart from the fascinating Bowerbird, the undoubted birding highlight for me was the beautiful finches in the valley. They birds are like tiny jewels; absolutely beautiful.
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Diamond Firefinch (new species)
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Double-barred finch
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Zebra Finch (Male and female) - new species
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And lots of other birds too...
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Yellow robin

White-plumed honeyeater (new species)
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Splendid fairywren (beautiful!)
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White-browed babbler

New Holland Honeyeater
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White-eyed duck (new species)
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To be identified   
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Nankeen kestrel
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Eastern Rosella (new species)
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To be identified
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Australian Pelican
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We spent most of our time walking and exploring the valley from the little town of Glen Davis. This was a thriving town of over 2500 until 1952 when its oil plant suddenly closed down due to lack of government support. The town almost became a ghost town overnight and all the houses and cars were abandoned.

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The town is now occupied by a few famers but it is tiny and quiet and strewn with old rusting cars and old caved in houses. A very strange place - and a bit sad. But good too, that it has been reclaimed to a large extent by nature.




An old, abandoned house...
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..

New birds

• Eastern Rosella
• Zebra Finch
• Diamond Finch
• White-eyed Duck
• White-plumed Honeyeater

Fireworks over the Opera House

Australian Idol enjoyed its final tonight (filmed from the Opera House) but I did not watch it on TV. Was too busy out on the harbour catching the show's fireworks show. Ally and Kerry watched the fireworks on TV and out of the window - a weird experience to be sure!
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Royal National Park revisited

Wattamolla Beach and Lagoon






Little Wattlebird (new species)
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Eastern Whipbird
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Eastern Yellow Robin (new species)
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Flycatcher
.Yellow-faced Honeyeater (new species)
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Crimson Rosella
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Black-faced Monarch (new species)
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Lyre Bird (a photo at last!)
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New Holland Honeyeater
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Brown Gerygone (new species)
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Heathland Plants
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New birds seen

• Yellow-faced honeyeater
• Eastern yellow robin
• Black-faced monarch
• Little Black cormorant
• Little wattlebird
• Brown Gerygone