Sunning it in Sydney

"Well thank God that's over" was the first thought that came into my head as we finally touched down in Sydney after the ridiculously long flight to Australia via Beijing, made all the longer by me not sleeping at all well on the plane. Once through the airport we headed into Sydney and following a slight sleep-deprived mishap with leaving my credit card in a railway ticket machine, which thankfully had been handed in to the office, we finally headed to Circular Quay to meet up with a mate of mine and a quick bite to eat.  Here we saw our first birds of the trip, with Australian White Ibis, Silver Gulls and Noisy Miners pestering people for scraps of food and a posing Australian Darter in the harbour.

Australian Darter

After lunch, we went to the Botanical Gardens next to the Opera House for some gentle introductory birding.  Thankfully the temperature was bearable, having left England in -6 degrees, I was a little concerned when we heard it was 45 degrees in Sydney the day before, and being overcast, the light wan't too harsh either.
When people have told me the birds in Australia are tame, I don't think I really understood just how tame, with stunning Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Miners, Australian White Ibis, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Dusky Moorhen, Masked Lapwing and bird of the day by far, a cracking Buff-banded Rail all wandering round our feet.

Buff-banded Rail

Masked Lapwing

Australian Wood Duck