Many Cogites, seriously practising and otherwise, have
visited Mark Clayton’s banding site at Charcoal over the years and these,
or some of them, were remembered at the gathering Mark convened over the weekend
on the 20th anniversary of the site. Altogether there were 25
or so at the party. Apart from an appropriately hearty bushperson’s
cake, Mark was presented with a tasteful commemorative bird plate by Anthony
Overs, and was so overcome he dropped the chops in the campfire about 4
times. Quite a few birds were banded, mainly honeyeaters. I don’t
know how many, because I left about 10-ish, not long after Martyn and Pat who
were heading north (“we’re about a third of the way there”)
to see a certain trendy bird starting and ending with a ‘G’ (and
not a Gang-gang, no prizes for guessing). On the way back I checked out
the woodland near Ariah
Park, where there was a
surprising number of Blue-bonnets. At Ariah Park
itself, by the football field (Australian Rules - home of the Ariah
Park-Mirrool Bombers) I was rewarded by the
sight of, as we have taught ourselves to say when reporting such
matters, 7 Major Mitchells feeding in a Pink Ironbark. This is only about
200k from Canberra,
and while others might have nearer records it is the closest I have seen them,
naturally occurring. This side of Temora I collected a road-killed Barn
Owl, perfectly preserved by the icy conditions.
