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Younger Brat, Samantha, accompanied by her friend Emily, dropped in
unexpectedly this arvo to spend the weekend in what they seem to regard as
Daddyo's Drop-in Canberra Youth Hostel. Emily's from Sri Lanka on a study visa,
and the birds this charming young lady's seen in her lifetime make me
envious.
They dragged me off to Shepherds Lookout for a spot of late afternoon
birding. I was about to settle down to watch a DVD of MASH episodes I'd
hired, but they can be persuasive little pinafores. We came upon a mixed feeding
flock of eight species including Southern Whitefaces, Speckled
Warblers, four Double-barred Finches and a couple of House Sparrows (!).
Saw some six Yellow Thornbills in a wattle shrub, two of them were calling and
wing-quivering, semi-dependent youngsters?
Other highlights: Grey Butcherbird, Nankeen Kestrel, two Peregrine Falcons,
a soaring Little Eagle which afforded us wonderful views of it's under-wing
areas so no mistaking it for a Whistling Kite. Also, ten Varied Sitellas and,
perched on dead branches, 16 Red-rumped Parrots accompanied by a yellow
Cockatiel. I wonder how long that mellow-yellow-escapee chic's gonna last in
what we call Raptor City.
So, during our birdwalk (about an hour), we ticked, checked-off, noted but
didn't twitch (hate that
_expression_) twenty-seven species. Tomorrow evening, we're off to the Yacht Club
for dinner before going to the movies to see Capote. I hope the little
pinafores have brought plenty of pin money. Come Sunday, it's off to Tidbinbilla
Nature Nature Reserve. Gawd knows what my busy little Audubons will
discover there. Come Monday, they're off back to Wagga Wagga. The silence will
be deafening. So me and my cat can sit back, relax and watch our MASH
movies.
John Layton.
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