Mick Angelhere's World

           A HIDDEN PAST Sydney has a history is hidden and by exploring the unbeaten track I uncover one of its secrets in a place called Bantry Bay. An Explosives depot that most people do not know is even there 

              The Dance of the Lyre Bird The Superb Lyrebird courtship ritual is centred around the display mound that is built by the male. The males lyrebird territory could have up to 15 display mounds when courting the male will sing and dance up to twenty to attract the female. The display ritual is from May to August with breeding mainly in June & July males will mate with several females but after that play no part in looking after the nest or the young when they hatch.The females are the ones that build the nests and lay one egg which hatch around six weeks. The young remain in the nest for 6 to 10 weeks then its on its own . I was fortunate to come across a male song and dance ritual in the bush after spotting a water dragon nearby .

Freedom of the Wild Sometimes you just gotta think about what it means for the wild creature to live free without a care in the world. However freedom means being alert to the dangers that abound in the bush and how wildlife deal with threats.

In this video I explore the gun emplacements at Georges Heights in Mosman on Sydneys Lower North Shore. The defences were built in the late 19th century after the British Army left and the colony was left to fend for itself with assistance from British experts they built the gun emplacements overlooking Sydney Harbour . The views of the harbour are quite stunning with views like that it would be a nice place to be a gunner fortunately the guns were never used in action as no invasion fleet materialised to attack Sydney .

Things can get intense during spring as Rainbow Lorikeets compete for nesting spots I have seen them fight before but never anything like this.

 The Goanna  The one thing that goannas love to eat is eggs and not to mention birds as well . Hence the noise from the superb fairy wrens as they re not to happy that this goanna has chosen this spot in the neighbourhood to have a snooze in the sun. So not only do humans have to worry about bad characters hanging around life in the bush can be one of life and death and being alert to their surroundings is a key to survival for many of the creatures of the bush.

This Koala is having his lunch in a tree in the most unexpected location one would think they would live deep in the bush. This one is living in suburbia in the beautiful Port Stephens of New South Wales home to a fair size population of Koalas they do face threats from dogs , cars and other perils that comes with living close to humans.

The Guns Of Sydney When the British Army left the colony of New South Wales in 1870 the colony had to organise its own defence . Bradleys Head became a site for a battery of guns to protect Sydney from invasion and with its views of the harbour it was a site to be. Fortunately the guns were never used in anger and today one can see one of the restored guns in its place to get a feel of what it was like in the 1870s            

Snakes get a bad rep and when people see one they can provoke reactions of fear and terror that sends many running for their lives. People have this misconception that snakes are out to kill us at any opportunity they get but as this video of my encounter with a Red Bellied Black Snake in the bush shows that's not the case.