Last laugh for Aldi's toy telescope!

 

Checking out last week's Aldi specials, I came across their $40 'spotting scope'. Surely just a toy, I thought, at that price. But I needed a new toy, so I gave it a go and bought one. 

And you get to see owls and kookaburras, going by the pictures on the box!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No owls or koalas so far, but when I tried it out at Crosslands Reserve, a convenient kookaburra was lurking. And the pictures I got, just holding my phone camera up to the eyepiece aren't that bad at all!

The Great North Walk part 3: Hornsby to Berowra

The stages are getting a bit bigger and hillier now, but we're still going (fairly) strong. Nine brave souls at the start.

Here we are having morning tea at the scenic waterfall on the Great North Walk's recently-designated 'upper diversion' around the Hornsby Rifle Range. I'm still a bit peeved at having the easier under-the-rifle-range route stolen off us allegedly for safety.

 

 

 

 

 Down those steps into Galston Gorge

 

 

Probably better to be facing inwards

 

 

 

This bushwalker's done it all before

 

 

An unexpected challenge at the creek crossing under the Galston Gorge bridge. They've put concrete 'stepping cylinders' there, but they're not stuck properly to the boulders beneath, and they wobble horribly!

 

 

 

Now is this a snake I see, around a tree? (Actually it's not!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch at the Crosslands Reserve. Some are feeling a bit sore, and checking out the Uber option.

 

 

 

And then there were seven.

Photo courtesy Elaine W

Away with the birdos

I had an excellent morning excursion yesterday with the Cumberland Bird Observers' Club. We went to Crosslands Reserve, and during a three hour stroll I counted a very respectable 21 bird species.

I'm not entirely new to bird observing, but I am to the club, and appreciated leader Trevor's introductory talk, on field guides, binocular use, observer etiquette, and lots more.


Trevor has travelled the world pursuing his passion, and he knows his stuff.


We'd hardly started when somebody spotted a white-bellied sea eagle perched in a tree. Out came the binoculars and the 1000mm long lenses. (And out came my $150 Aldi camera too! It did a respectable job as ever.)

Two tawny frogmouths now. No way I'd have noticed them without the trained eyes of the old hands in the group. They look like bits of tree.

Ditto a Lewin's Honeyeater. The regulars had been hearing him and his friends for a while and recognising his call.




My day's 21-species list:
Australian Wood Duck, Noisy Miner, White-bellied Sea Eagle, White-faced Heron, Eastern Spinebill, Crimson Rosella, Australian Raven, Dusky Moorhen, Magpie-Lark, Lewin's Honeyeater, Golden Whistler, Australian Magpie, Grey Butcherbird, Masked Lapwing, Chestnut Teal, Tawny Frogmouth, Superb Lyrebird, Striated Thornbill, Brown Gerygone, Australian Brush-turkey, and Superb Fairy Wren.