Sydney Ferries? (1 Viewer)

[mtar925]

I will be in Sydney on 21 October and again on 4-6 November, at the beginning and end of my first visit to Australia. When traveling in the past, from New York to Hong Kong I have always found a ride on the public ferries to be a fun and inexpensive way to obtain a different perspective on a city. I see that Sydney has an extensive network of ferries...can anyone recommend a particular route to take, that might offer good opportunities for spotting birds that might not be seen from Sydney city parks, and also for general sightseeing? Both the destination and the view from the ferry itself would be of interest.
With my limited time in Sydney on this first visit I'm hoping to make a ferry excursion of just a few hours, leaving plenty of time to bird Sydney's parks and to see other sights as well.

Thanks!

 

[MKinHK]

Hi Matt.

Sydney's ferries are fun in themselves, and can take you to some nice destinations, but are not much value for birding. However they can deliver you to some good birding spots. I'm a relative newcomer to the city but have the ferries to get to or from Manly on the Pacific Ocean coast, to Sydney Olympic Park, which is a bit further away, but has a nice variety of habitats and some iconic Australian species (Black Swan, Red-headed Avocet, Red-rumped Parrot) and my local patch Cremorne Point which offers a nice range of parkland species.

Could I suggest you take a look at my thread on birding in Sydney, which includes a number of posts on these sites, and have a think about which might be your biggest targets and let me know if you have any questions. It would also help to know where you're staying as the choice of destinations will of course vary.

Cheers
Mike

 

[mtar925]

Thanks for the info, Mike. I'll take a look at your Sydney thread.
Matt