I haven't been to see the bird, and, being in Tassie, won't be either -
unless it sticks around for some years! However, I've been following
the posts with interest and excitement.
I, too, have been puzzling over why such a bird would turn up here - I
know the area reasonably well, having hailed from North West NSW. IT
really does seem quite bizarre.
However, to me it does not seem nearly so implausible as this purported
explanation!
- How many 'motels' are there in Burren Junction?
- Why would someone perpetrating such a hoax broadcast it in an
Association Newsletter - especially if it involved theft from a zoo?
- Wouldn't al Zoos which hold Grey-headed Lapwings (I wonder how many
of these there are in Australia), have already checked their stock for
'escapees' since the bird turned up?
I think the attempt to explain the birds arrival as a hoax is, in fact,
itself a hoax.
Good birding to all those who get the opportunity to add this most
unusual tick to their lists - I must say, I'm a bit envious!
John Tongue,
Hobart.
On Tuesday, July 4, 2006, at 12:32 PM, Philip Veerman wrote:
How it got there - a SCANDAL reportGreetings All,
Apologies to Nevil for sending this on. I have no idea of the veracity
of the following but I received this and it really is not fair, not to
forward it to the list now. You or anyone else can make their own
conclusions or investigations about this. If true and it seems more
likely to me than that the bird arrived of its own power, this is not
unprecedented. I was not being entirely sarcastic in my earlier
message. If the bird arrived in northern Australia then natural
occurrence makes sense. I recall the stuffed Night-Heron (years ago or
is this a myth) that someone stuck in a tree somewhere in Britain to
attract lots of British birding tourists, before eventually it was
realised that the bird was dead and stuffed and nailed there (or
something like that).
Philip
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