hike journal - mt keira
The day before of a hike is the 2nd best thing beaten only by the actual hike. There is an air of anticipation and adventure and hopefulness. I had decided what day I was going to go and found a location. Sometimes it's nice taking chances on locations that you've never been to or explored. Bags and supplies packed, and in bed early to set out early. Ebird hotspot checked 🐦.
I chose to do a solo hike at the Mount Keira Summit and Ring Track (Dharawal land). I woke up as early as I could. I forgot to mention, it's Christmas day. The roads are peaceful and empty.
The first adventure started at the start point. The entrance to the parking lot was closed. With some quick thinking I decide to park on a nature strip conveniently able to fit one car safely. I extrapolate the map and figure out I should still be able to do the loop.
As I exit the car, I re-apply sunscreen, strap on my backpack, sling a compact camera, put my binoculars around my neck, and adjust my sunnies and hat. I load up ebird and alltrails and confirm my route. I'm ready to go and feel great. The air feels quite cool, despite it being the middle of summer. I set out to the entrance and travel down the stairs into the forest path that awaits me.
As I start walking down the path, I see the first human around me, they greet me a happy Christmas and a warm smile. I happily oblige and continue onwards.
It's a glorious walk. I had forgotten how being enveloped in a forest feels like being hugged by nature. I can feel the endorphins warmly spread across my body and my mind. I hope you all get to experience this often in your lives and that you do have nature around you that you can bask in.
Dear readers, I want to share with you my highlights of joy and wonder that I experienced on my hike. This will include bird & nature photos, sounds, and a snapshot of what it felt like to be surrounded by forest.
cicadas
There was something intensely special about being surrounded by cicadas in a year where they have absolutely thrived. I love them so much. Their lives are so different to everything else we see. And knowing a lot of them making the sound have been in the ground for multiple years before emerging, morphing, and calling is very beautiful.
It did get very loud in almost all parts of the track. More so in densely wooded areas where they latch onto the surrounding trees. I remember pressing against my ears for some relief at times. Here is the sound in all its glory:
encounter with a noisy pitta
I met a Noisy Pitta! Around the 1/3 mark, I spotted a colourful thing on the ground moving in the distance. Since I caught it by surprise, I must have scared it a bit. Seeing birds with colours you're not used to is so exciting as a birdwatcher. Everything in my head lit up trying to capture as many features and characteristics through my binoculars. I was going to have to wait until it came back out for me to make a positive ID. I chose a respectful distance away and stayed very still. I had no idea if this was going to work or if it would even come back out again. But I MUST try my best to see this bird. Sure enough, it started emerging out. It was checking the forest floor for bugs and grubs by using its beak and legs to move the foliage and dirt around. It felt so nice to meet a Noisy Pitta for the first time. Its colours and mannerisms were fun to observe.
intentional observation
I think this was the most observant I had been on a hike. Other than having no other commitments for the day (having ample time, water, and food prepared helped) watching and hearing for birds AND having a camera with me to find scenes to capture. I would highly recommend this approach if you get a chance. I felt like the only thing going through my head was the plants and trees, the light, the colours, the birds, and the path.
Here are some photos I got developed from the walk :)
staying still
As I continued along the path, I saw a flash of green just scurry along some branches near the ground. Could this be the Green Catbird? This was going to be another one of those patient tests. I walked away to give it a respectful distance and found a good bush to hide behind. I got my binos out and hoped it would come back out again soon. A few minutes passed. I could see its outline hiding below the ground cover. It wasn't moving. It's totally fair of course. Imagine having your breakfast and it's rudely interrupted by a human. They are also notoriously shy birds. I continue to wait. There are some disturbances (see below) that occur which reset the clock. I can still see its outline. I continue to wait. I think I waited in the same spot for around 5 minutes.
It finally emerges. I see the flash of green again. The beautiful feathers. The white speckles amongst the deep, bright green. It's adorable and once again, I see it feed and confirm my ID. I'm pretty sure my face was beaming at this point.
Fun fact: It's probably not a good idea to hide behind a bush near a corner path with binos out and semi-startling a trail runner who just happened to cross the corner and see me seemingly looking at them with my binos 😅
Here is the final checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S206468344
❁