Hi all,
I feel that with all the criticism thrown at the birders on the
pelagic I must have my say. My wife & I with two other Pom. friends booked
on the February Wollongong Pelagic via e:mail to Tony & Pete. They responded
immediately to confirm the booking and sent us information on where to find
the Sandra K , what to wear , how to avoid travel sickness, advice on what
to eat etc. We asked what species we could reasonably expect to see &
received helpful lists and also the web page address so that we could access
any relevant trip report that we wanted.We did a lot of homework - there is
no point going on these trips unless you do.
On getting on the boat Tony made us most welcome & introduced us to
the other birders that were around us. All took time to help us to get on to
the different species. I had difficulty with Great - winged Petrel and had
several pointed out to me and the diagnostic features shown until I was sure
of what I was looking at. It must have been unbelievable to these birders
that I couldn't get on to this bird but by the time they had finished I had
no problems. They were (are ) a great bunch of birders. For all 4 of us it
was the highlight of our Aus trip.
I think it is great that these people put themselves out to organise
these pelagics - after all many of them have seen most of the species
hundreds of times - yet they still are prepared to go out in what are often
poor weather conditions. I am sure that there are times when they would
rather stay at home. If you are not prepared to do your homework and need a
nursemaid don't go on these trips .
Thanks folks - keep up the good work. I am green with envy!!!
Cheers,
Chris Padley
Chris & Helen Padley
The Old Bakehouse,
Little Walsingham,
Norfolk.
England.
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