I went up to Koorangang wetlands up near Newcastle NSW (Hexam/Kooragang to be precise) Then to Hunter Wetland Centre at Sandgate (also known as the Shortland Wetland Centre on the map) they could use some rain but I still saw a few birds around, Lot's of Kingfishers. Saw a Wedgetail and Sea Eagles, Hobbies and Kites as well as your wood and wetland bird varieties.
Richard, I'm green with envy
I can just see you walking, do you carry a back pack? Any photos of the scenery? Please put some up, I'd love to get the feel of the area you walked
How great to see your photos, makes me so wanting to go somewhere.
M-L
Great pictures .... love them all. The kite is a very beautiful bird and you have got the red eye well. Always love the kingfishers too ... Must be good to find a spot with a lot of them about.
This area is not pretty. The Kooragang wetlands is also known as Ash island. I think it is so named as it is where they dumped all the ash from the Newcastle steelworks. It is a flat and mostly featureless area between the two arms of the Hunter River when they split. Have a look at google earth. It is partially reclaimed and some parts are reclaimed flat farmland (there still some farms)
The managed Hunter Wetland Centre is quite nice though. It is setup to highlight the birdlife and ponds, etc.
I have some landscapes of some nice places like Berowra, Cowan, Brooklyn/Hawkesbury River and West Head.
You can view some birds, bushflowers and scenery on my flickr feed. http://www.flickr.com/photos/96644456@N03/
I have added some shots with some of the local nice spots.