I do like having a good walk in the local national parks, even if I only go a short distance and get busy with my camera. Last weekend, I was back in Lane Cove National Park enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. I had a great time, as always, spending time surrounded by nature is becoming more relaxing for me as time goes by-Sydney is great, but its a busy, tiring place to live, so I appreciate these national parks as a place to go.

Commelina cyanea is a native ground cover/climber well known for its lovely blue flowers. At this time of year (autumn), it is still flowering away happily. I am always happy to see these flowers, especially when there are tiny native bees buzzing around them!

Banksias are really starting to get going with their flowering now and I loved walking through the bush seeing them. The first two photos are of Banksia spinulosa, or the hairpin banksia, which you can read about here.

This next banksia is the heath-leaved banksia, which you can also read about here. This is one of my favourite banksias as the leaves are really nice and quite tidy compared to a lot of other banksia species.

This next plant is in the genus Gahnia, although Im not sure on the specific species. The 40 members of this genus are native to Australia (with 20 endemic species), New Zealand and Asia. I really like these perennials and their inflorescences, even though they are a little brown.

Autumn and winter are my favourite seasons for a few reasons. The weather is cooling down or is cold. The humidity is non-existent unless it’s raining and many wattle (Acacia spp.) are flowering. These flowers have one of the best smells of the Australian bush, only coming second to the gum trees. I got plenty of wattle flower perfume on my walk, which really did put a smile on my face!

Being a member of the pea family, the fruit of any wattle is pods, like those of peas and beans. These pods are from the species Acacia longifolia, or Sydney golden wattle I think-if I have my plant id going correctly this evening.

These capsules are from an Angophora species, although I need to do a bit of research on the exact species (I’ll find out and let you know). The Angophora genus, as well as containing my favourite tree species (Angophora crostata, the Sydney red gum) is closely related to the genera Eucalyptus and Corymbia. All three contain some really nice trees.

Now for the birds I saw on my way. I heard far more than I saw, but that is always the case. The sulphur-crested cockatoos are very common here in Sydney. They also sound like what you would imagine a dinosaur would. They are all white apart from their little crest feathers on their head are yellow (hence the common name). I love watching these birds as they are quite playful, even if they are noisy!

Finally for today are these rainbow lorikeets. These delightful birds are also really common in Sydney, and don’t sound like dinosaurs thankfully! I love their colourful feathers.

That was my most recent walk in Lane Cove National Park. I came away relaxed and with a huge smile on my face-the birds made my day!