This week I went back to the Australian Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan, I started out stopping at the very first lake as a lone spoonbill was patrolling the bank, by the time I stopped the car and walked back the spoonbill had gone no sign of it, but still the lake was full of other wild life so I got this Hoary‑headed Grebe.

There was the usual swallows darting along the edge of the lake so I had a few practice shots at panning, most didn’t; turn out at all and a lot of frames empty entirely so clearly more practice needed here.

From there I headed up to the Wolomi pine Walk where there are usually a few mushrooms to spot,  no Mushrooms but there was an Echidna in the undergrown, I saw him but he eventually went under a small low timber bridge and I didn’t get another chance of a shot of him I waited there about 15 minutes but he was happy to wait me out, this time he won so no shots of the Echidnas this week.

Form there I when around the gardens and went back to the connections gardens, last week the white Waratah was just starting to come out in bloom and this week it was fully out in flower.

I set up my camera on the tripod and hand held the speedlite in a small soft box and went about capturing a few shots. The White Waratah are native to the southern highlands of NSW the common red ones also grew wild down this part of NSW, but the white ones are unusual.

As I was packing up form the Waratah I noticed a few flannel flowers glowing in the afternoon sunlight.

I was looking for mushrooms to shoot for Shootmushroom Saturday, but was not having any luck finding any even after a few days rain here in Sydney this week. I had given up and was heading back to the car when the very last garden bed had this unusual mushroom, love the colours of this one reminds me of an Antique piece of furniture, so all up a few decent shots today so happy with the results of the afternoon.

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