Newcastle is so lucky in having such a magnificent area so close for all the people in Newcastle and the Hunter.
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The city council has done such a fantastic job of providing areas for the public and children in the bottom of the reserve.
It also has 450 acres of bushland, nature trails, and walk-through aviary as well as recreational facilities.
The walking trails are very popular, especially in hot weather - it is cool walking through the reserve.
The area consists of bushland as well as rainforest which makes it a haven for bird life.
My main interest this year is a pair of Crimson Rosellas and I have been working on them for weeks now they are nesting in a very large and old tree, and the parents keep flying down to the nest and into the hole to feed the chicks.
This usually takes place with an interval of about one and a half hours.
It is very interesting to note that the chicks in the nest hole start calling when they require food and within minutes the parents arrive.
In the past I have photographed many birds in the reserve, such as the white throated Tree creeper, which is sometimes hard to find, the Rufous Fantails that arrive in our area early November and nest at once, and Diamond Pardalotes which are also very common and can be found along the trails.
Jenny Wrens are in quite big numbers and great birds to photograph as well as Eastern Yellow Robins, usually nesting early in the season. One was caught tossing the grub before eating it.
Coming back to our Crimson Rosellas, I did see an unusual event when an Eastern Rosella came down to the nest hole to investigate and the surprise was the Crimson Rosella sitting in the tree nearby made no move to chase it away.
I should also mention the chicks usually take some five weeks to leave the nest.
Hope the readers enjoy all the images of Blackbutt Reserve.