I’ve updated the Sydney temperature and rainfall pages with the latest data from the BOM, we’re pretty much right up to date now, thanks BOM. Something has happened to their sea level pages though, their Fort Denison measurements have not been updated since the end of 2012.
It’s the long term trends that are of most interest so nothing mind blowing in these updates, temperature continues to rise on almost all average time periods. I found it interesting that even after the “August of rain” most rainfall averages are still low when you look back over time.
I found out about Muogamarra nature reserve from a friend a few years ago and have been meaning to visit for a while. Muogamarra is located near Cowan just north of Sydney. Due to the sensitive nature of the local environment and cultural sites it’s only open to the public for 6 weekends every year during August – September.
I made it out there with the family last weekend. Even though it was pouring with rain we managed to have a good time.
To get there you take the old Pacific Highway and turn off a bit past Cowan, there’s a short drive on a fire trail and you’re there. Maybe the rain scared away the casual visitors, the place was a bush enthusiasts paradise, there was a photographic display of local plants and wildflowers, a small army of National Parks volunteers and a large supply of information sheets on what to see.
After talking to the volunteers we decided to do the 2km point loop trail, an easy flat walk along the ridge top. Chris, one of the volunteers offered to come on the walk with us. Chris provided commentary on what we were seeing and what to look out for, he was very knowledgeable and made the walk fun for the kids. Thanks Chris!
I learnt a few new plants, and the proper pronunciations of a few old ones ( It’s hard when you only ready the names in a book )
We only saw a very small section of the reserve, it was clear there was so much more, we will be back again.
The lookout on the point loop trail at Muogamurra Nature Reserve. Peats Bight on the Hawkesbury River is in the background.Red Triangle Slug spotted on the trail. Identified by Chris, it was the first time he’d seen one, first time for me too.A Waratah just about to flower. Such an iconic plant, and our state flower, the first time I’ve seen one in the wild.
Last Sunday the two boys and I walked down to the Cascades to meet Mat and some of his friends who were doing the 100km Oxfam walk. We did the salmon thing and headed against traffic from Bungaroo. We were on the Oxfam course between about midday and 2pm, the people we were passing were at the 75km or so mark and had been walking though the night without sleep, some people really showed it, most seemed pretty happy though.
Will did very well and walked the whole distance, Tom refused to walk and sat in the backpack until he got too uncomfortable then demanded to be carried!
We had lunch and a bit of a play at the cascades, Mat arrived at about 2:30pm, he was fine.
I finished dad! Lunch at the Cascades
Just after leaving the Cascades I spotted this small bird with bright red coloring in the bush just off the fire trail. It was on a Mountain Devil plant flying from flower to flower drinking the nectar. It moved fast and it was difficult to get a good photo, it let me get within a few meters before flying away. Another one I’ll have to return for to try and get a clearer picture.
It turns out to be a male Myzomela sanguinolenta. It’s also known by a number of different common names, Birds in Backyards goes with Scarlet Honeyeater so that’s good enough for me.
The male Scarlet Honeyeater has a bright red head and body, it’s upper wings and tail are dark grey with lighter grey colouring underneath. The females are dull brown with dull white underparts. They are small birds, the adults being 10 – 11cm long.
Male Scarlet Honeyeater on a Mountain Devil plant. Another pretty boy.
Scarlet Honeyeaters are found from Cape York all the way down the east coast of Australia, but are less common south of Sydney where it’s a summer migrant. They’re also found in New Caledonia, Indonesia and surrounding islands.
Cockies are a very common bird around here, it can be easy to become a bit indifferent but when you step back and look they really are remarkable. They are are a large bird measuring 44 – 55cm in length, their whole body is snow white, except for the bright yellow “sulfur” crest on the tops of their head. They have a large powerful parrot beak that they use for crushing food and also as an extra grip when climbing. The sound they make can only be described as a loud piercing screech. Like many parrots they can learn to talk a few words.
We have a bird feeder hanging just outside the window out the back. The cockies have become quite aggressive with it, scaring the other smaller birds away and often fighting each other for a perch. When the seed has run out they sit in the feeder and tap on the window, if we don’t feed them they sometime start tearing away at the side of the house. They are not afraid, often when I fill the feeder with new seed they will hold their ground and grab the spoon in their beak before I get a chance to empty the seed into the tray. Their beaks look like they would do a lot of damage to a finger!
Sulfur Crested Cockatoo – feathers all puffed up, probably because it was coldOut on the dog walk, a flock ( are they called that when they are on the ground ?) of cockies having a feed. There was one up in the tree behind them keeping a look out for threats.I got too close and they flew away screeching with annoyance
