Birding in the Australian National Botanic Gardens
Gang-gang Cockatoo
Our holiday in Canberra
September 2007
One of the main incentives I had for spending a whole day in the Australian National Botanic Gardens was to do some serious birding. The day we spent there was a beautiful sunny day but the birding was rather quiet. You get days like that. Despite that I managed to see a nice range of birds, I added a new species to my life list (the amazing Powerful Owl) and added photos of several species to my growing collection of bird photos, including the beautiful Gang-gang Cockatoo (see my photo gallery here).
Red Wattlebird
It is a pity that we only had one day in these lovely gardens. If we lived in Canberra we would be very frequent visitors. The changing seasons would not only be great to see the ever changing variety of birds, it would also be great to see the different plants flowering at different times of the year.
Further reading:
- Lunch time visitors – birds that came to our picnic lunch
- Pied Currawongs – one of the common birds of the gardens
- Gang-gang Cockatoo -more information about this wonderful parrot
Eastern Spinebill
Reptiles in the Australian National Botanic Gardens
4 Comments »29th December, 2007; Category: Animals, Botanic Gardens, Canberra, Holidays, Parks and Gardens
Eastern Bearded Dragon
Our holiday in Canberra
September 2007
When we went to visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra I went to see the plants and flowers and the bird life. I didn’t expect to be watching reptiles, nor did I expect to be able to get some great shots of them.
Eastern Bearded Dragon
The Eastern Bearded Dragon I had seen many times before. Bearded Dragons are resident in our garden at home.
This was the first time I had seen a Gippsland Water Dragon. It was minding its own business sunning itself on a rock just above a large pool of water, one of the many featured in the botanic gardens.
Gippsland Water Dragon
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Our holiday in Canberra
September 2007
We had a short holiday in Australia’s national capital Canberra earlier this year. It had been many years – over 30 – since our last visit. Consequently there was quite a deal of anticipation in reacquainting ourselves with this beautiful city. One of the main attractions this time around was to visit the floral display at Floriade 2007. I’ve written extensively about this festival of flowers here.
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
The National Botanic Gardens in Canberra are well set out and beautifully maintained. Although some sections are a little hilly, the paths are very easy to negotiate and are extremely wheel-chair friendly, which makes it very easy for the rest of us. The tranquil setting on the slopes of Black Mountain is a great place to relax, watch the birds, study the flowers or just take time out from a busy life.
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Our holiday in Canberra
September 2007
During our visit to Canberra earlier this year we spent a whole day at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. This time was particularly enjoyable to my wife and her interest in Australian native plants. Her camera was kept busy all day taking photos for her reference library. Annoyingly she discovered that the memory card in her camera failed to download the photos that night, so she lost some valuable shots. We have since replaced the card.
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Further reading:
- My first Powerful Owl sighting – a special bird seen in the botanic gardens
- Lazy lizards – photos of several lizards we saw in the botanic gardens in Canberra
- One bird that finally sat still – about getting a good photo of an Eastern Spinebill for the first time
- Close encounters of the bird kind – up close and personal with a Red Wattlebird
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Our holiday in Canberra
September 2007
Our main objective in having a few days’ holiday in Canberra earlier this year was to visit the Floriade display. I’ve written extensively about that visit over recent days.
Our next objective was to spend a whole day in the Australian National Botanic Gardens. We had visited these gardens about thirty years previously when they were in the early stages of development. I still have fond memories of that visit, but it was well before I had a digital camera. I probably have quite a few photos of that visit on slides in my extensive collection of photos from another era. My son is busily scanning these at present, so next year I might be able to share some from that time.
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
When we arrived at the gardens we went into the visitor centre to collect a map. The lady at the desk pointed out the most popular walking trails and commented that most people do the main trail in about an hour and a half. I replied that we’d probably take about six hours – and so it turned out. We do not move quickly through a place like these gardens. My wife has a very passionate interest in Australian plants (see her blog about native plants here) and I have a passionate interest in birds and bird photography (see my birding blog here).
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Further reading:
- Great birding moments #32
- Lazy lizards
- One bird that finally sat still
- A colourful resident of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney
- Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra