Apologies
2 Comments »11th January, 2009; Category: General
Apologies to my regular readers.
I have been a little slow at responding to comments over the last week or so. This is because I was on a road trip with my family and had limited (or no) internet access on some days. Over the next day or so I should catch up with all comments.
We travelled from home in Murray Bridge in South Australia for two days so that we could be in Sydney for Christmas with family. After New Year we travelled to Canberra and then along the south coast of NSW and Victoria, staying with friends for a few days just north of Melbourne. Over the coming weeks I will share my birding experiences while on this trip. You can also read about non-birding experiences on Trevor’s Travels.
Late last week we also had a problem with this blog, with no posts since April 2008 showing. Sorry if this confused you. My son Simon maintains my blogs and was doing an upgrade and inadvertently configured this blog to point to an older database. That’s why you couldn’t read all those recent posts for a few hours.
Sorry if this caused you any inconvenience. All is now fixed, thanks to my son.
Birds in the Sydney CBD
6 Comments »6th January, 2009; Category: General
The Rocks area, Sydney
While on our recent holiday in Sydney we went into the CBD on several occasions. One of those occasions was to visit the markets in The Rocks area.
My prime reason for going there was as a tourist, not as a birder. Not matter where I go I have to see what birds are around. That’s just me. I simply cannot ignore the birds. (I’ve even been known to keep a tally of birds seen through the windows at church! Go figure.)
The Rocks area is in the heart of the Sydney CBD, an area rich in history with most buildings being of some historic value. It attracts hoards of tourists and local visitors on a daily basis. Despite the numbers of humans, the bird population flourishes.
Rock Doves (Feral Pigeons) are everywhere. They thrive on food scraps from careless people dropping parts of their lunch in the many eateries in the area. I noticed that some are reluctant to even get out of the way as I walked along.
Silver Gulls likewise are in great numbers and also thrive on human food. Circular Quay with its hundreds of thousands of travellers daily on the ferries on Sydney Harbour is only a few steps away.
Pied Currawongs are also present in the treed areas within The Rocks. This is a species that has adapted to an urban environment and also feeds on human throwaways.
The introduced Common Myna (see photo below) is another species that has become a pest in urban zones and can be found in large numbers throughout Sydney.
Common Myna
Happy New Year
No Comments »1st January, 2009; Category: General
Happy New Year to all of my loyal readers. You all make it so worthwhile by coming back here time after time. I love all of your comments – keep them coming folks.
Posts will be a little sporadic over the next week or so. I will be travelling in NSW and Victoria for few days – and hopefully getting some great photos and wonderful encounters with birds to share here.
Some favorite photos of 2008
Meanwhile, enjoy a few favourite photos of the last year.
New Holland Honeyeater
Golden Whistler (male)
Red Wattlebird
Christmas Greetings
6 Comments »25th December, 2008; Category: General
Christmas Greetings to all my loyal readers.
I trust that you will all have a great and blessed Christmas.
Don’t eat TOO much and drive safely on the roads.
Articles will appear sporadically here over the next two weeks. I am visiting family in Sydney then travelling home via Melbourne. I will not have internet access for some of that time.
King Parrot at Adelaide Zoo
Woodswallows
I’m not sure if this makes any sense – but it is the silly season after all.
How much wood would a woodswallow swallow if a woodswallow could swallow wood?
Dusky Woodswallow