Another visit to Ku Ring Gai Wildflowers Gardens

Striated Thornbill

Whenever we travel to Sydney to visit family there, my wife and I try to get to the Ku Ring Gai Wildflower Gardens in the northern suburbs. It is about a 25-minute drive from my son's home. 

We enjoy visiting these gardens for three reasons:

• Some of the gardens have been planted and this area interests my wife.
• Much of the rest of this large property is near to how the original forest and scrubland would have looked.
• The whole area is a haven for the local birdlife - and that interests me.

Run by the local council, entrance to the extensive gardens is free. There is a very informative Visitor Centre with a small bookshop and plant nursery, and the staff are very helpful. Guided tours are available to visiting groups. There are many walking and cycling trails throughout the gardens.

On our last visit a few weeks ago, we spent about three hours exploring several areas and walking trails. Although I made a good list of birds seen during our visit, and many of them were calling frequently, I was disappointed that most of the birds were shy about coming out into the open. My camera did not get much a workout. 

The only reasonable photo of a bird is the one above of a Striated Thornbill - and it's not a particularly good photo at that. So instead of trying to spend all day chasing birds hiding in the foliage, I aimed my camera at some of the wildflowers out in bloom. You can see some of those photos below.

And I have added a photo of a butterfly as a bonus.

To read more about Australian birds, visit my other site Trevor's Birding.

Raven about butterflies

Yesterday we sat outside in the beautiful spring sunshine to eat our lunch. The temperature hovered around a very pleasant 20C. The gentle breeze and the deep blue sky contrasted with the frenetic activity of birds all around. Our patch of earth may only measure two hectares, but we have 30 to 35 species of birds resident with another 70 or so occasional visiting species. The constant stream of species keeps us interested in the changing patterns of activity.

Breeding is in full swing, including Australian Magpie (white backed), New Holland Honeyeater, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Crested Pigeon, Red Wattlebird, Little Raven, House Sparrow and Common Starling. And that's only the species I am aware of; there are undoubtedly several others secretly nesting in some tree or bush somewhere.

Little Raven

As we ate I had the digital camera at the ready. I was not disappointed. Several Little Ravens came to visit the "lookout tree", a tall, old mallee tree near the house. This tree is probably the oldest on our property and could be over a century old. Several years ago several Galahs took a liking to a hollow branch. They ring-barked the trunk just below the hollow thus killing the upperhalf of the tree. It now serves as a "lookout" perch for a wide range of species, including the ravens.

As my wife and I finished our lunch my attention was attracted to a butterfly. This conveniently landed on a nearby flowering bush. It, too, stayed for lunch, giving me the opportunity to photograph this beautiful creature. Later in the evening I was able to research Australian butterflies on the internet. I discovered several wonderful web sites on Australian butterflies, including an excellent one specifically on South Australian species.

(check out http://users.chariot.net.au/~rgrund)

Australian Admiral butterfly

I think I've discovered a new love. The species in question is Vanessa itea or the Australian Admiral butterfly. I know this Blog is supposed to be about birds but I can't resist being diverted occasionally. It's my Blog and I'll include what I like. To this end I've included several photos of the butterfly.

Australian Admiral butterfly