No-one yet has mentioned Lithgow STW which is a great place to see a
range of ducks. Just be careful you don't get locked in (see below).
Species normally there include Pink-eared Ducks, Australian
Shovelers, Hardheads, Musk Duck, Grey Teal, many Hoary-headed Grebes,
etc. and in the last few years you'll often find half a dozen
Blue-billed Ducks there. (Is this the closest point to Sydney where
Blue-billeds are regularly found?) Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos are
common there and a range of bush birds can be found on the hillside
across the road.
Access into the actual STW area is not allowed but you can get great
views over the ponds from the road to the tip, accessed from Geordie
Street. It's best in the morning with the sun behind you. Remember
too that the gate is locked each day at 4.45pm. A few years ago I was
walking around one afternoon inside the area (this was before I was
told access isn't allowed) - it was in the days when there were good
swampy sections with Lewin's Rails etc - and forgot about the gates
being locked in the evenings. When I returned to my car I found I had
been locked in! Not particularly wanting to spend the night at either
the sewage ponds or the rubbish tip, I climbed the gate and walked in
the dark across a rocky creek and a paddock to the nearest building,
which turned out to be the factory where they make Tic Tacs. The very
helpful manager there allowed me to use his office phone until I
finally tracked down the person who holds the key to the gate. I bet
they're still chuckling about the strange woman who got locked in the
sewage works.
Lithgow is in the NSW Central Tablelands, west of the Blue Mountains
and about 2 hours drive from Sydney.
cheers
Carol
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