SEASONAL CONFUSION AT BLACKHEATH

SEASONAL CONFUSION AT BLACKHEATH

The native Wonga pigeons here at The Gums in Blackheath have already produced two chicks over winter. The third nesting failed due to that three day rain event in July, but they are discussing whether to try again. Unbelievable! Amid all the Covid-19 angst we humans are

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OWNER BUILDER MR S. BOWERBIRD….. A HEARTBREAKING REVERSAL!

OWNER BUILDER MR S. BOWERBIRD..... A HEARTBREAKING REVERSAL!

Isn’t this just the most wonderfully constructed bower? Good, thick walls and a perfectly shaped, oval ‘front door’. You might say Mr. S. has home construction pegged (sorry, I couldn’t resist). He is a builder extraordinaire and a credit to the community of Blackheath. JULY 21 —

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WEEDS, BUT A HAVEN FOR BIRDS

WEEDS,  BUT A HAVEN FOR BIRDS

About 30 metres below the Park Avenue gates in Memorial Park at Blackheath is a huge thicket of invasive weeds; blackberries, ivy, scarlet montbretia, red hot pokers etc. A lone Japanese maple struggles to survive in the centre. The irony is that satin bowerbirds, wattle birds and

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Editor Des and the Wild Cherries of Blackheath

Editor Des and the Wild Cherries of Blackheath

Hello, Well my guardian Pauline Conolly and I  have been documenting the life of a satin bowerbird. It lives in Memorial Park, Blackheath, here in the Blue Mountains. I’ve become quite friendly with him. Sometimes I take him a blue treasure, because he collects them to impress

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HALLOWEEN IN THE MISTY MOUNTAINS

HALLOWEEN IN THE MISTY MOUNTAINS

In the northern hemisphere, Halloween is celebrated during fall, when  landscapes are wreathed in eerie mist. Here in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales we are supposed to be in the full glory of spring, but  there can be some surprisingly  appropriate weather. There are haunting 

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THE GRAND OLD CHERRY TREES OF BLACKHEATH

THE GRAND OLD CHERRY TREES OF BLACKHEATH

The village of Leura in the upper Blue Mountains is famous for its main street avenue of flowering cherry trees. However, even higher up there is Blackheath, with its own, very special ‘cherry walk.’ From the Lithgow Mercury on October 12 1953; In 1953, the women residents

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