Australian Raven Sydney — Birdlife on the Royal National Park Coastal Walk

Australian Raven and New Holland Honeyeater — Birdlife on the Royal National Park Coastal Track

Two birds appear reliably on the coastal walk to Eagle Rock and Wedding Cake Rock. Neither is rare, but both reward attention.

Australian Raven

The bird you see in Sydney that looks like a crow is almost certainly a raven. The two are closely related and visually similar — ravens are slightly larger, with longer feathers around the throat known as hackles, but the easiest way to tell them apart is the call.

The Australian Raven calls in a distinctive sequence: a few notes separated by silence, with the final note either matching the others or extending into a longer, drawn-out wail. Once you know it, the sound is unmistakable in the bush.

Ravens have a white iris with a black pupil. Younger birds may show a faint blue inner ring, giving the eye a lighter appearance until they mature.

A pair of Australian Ravens have established themselves at Eagle Rock and are comfortable with visitors at a respectful distance — four or five metres. They are unhurried and observant in the way ravens tend to be.

New Holland Honeyeater

The New Holland Honeyeater is smaller and considerably faster. Black and white with a bold streak of yellow on the wing — attractive and immediately recognisable when one holds still long enough to look at properly.

They rarely do. Honeyeaters move between bushes in small flocks, darting in for nectar and gone before most cameras are ready. The brush-tipped tongue can collect nectar in under a second. The practical advice from experience: keep the camera out and ready over the shoulder rather than in the bag.

Both birds are reliably present along the coastal track between Wedding Cake Rock and Eagle Rock, particularly in the heath and coastal scrub sections where flowering plants are dense.

glossy black feathers

inquisitive New Holland Honeyeater