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This afternoon I was shown an Australian Pipit's nest on private
property near Queanbeyan. It was ensconced beneath a small rock that jutted out
from a steep, grassy slope facing east. I'd assumed pipits, being ground
nesters, built a fairly rudimentary nest. Wrong again, Johnny.
The nest was a neatly woven, cup-shaped affair, seemingly constructed
entirely from grass. It contained two eggs which, while not shiny, were
nonetheless lustrous. The background colour seemed to be a dark grey, but was
hard to discern because it was peppered with a tightly-packed, myriad
of little dots, some about the size of large pin heads, others that of pin
pricks. The dot colours ranged from light grey through dark brown. I was rapt by
those eggs, they reminded me of little polished stones I've seen in lapidary
displays. Seems if nature doesn't overawe you with grandeur, it wows you with
tiny subtleties.
Retreated 30 metres from the nest and watched through our binoculars. Three
minutes later, were rewarded by a pipit landing near the nest. It scuttled
hither and thither for 20 seconds, bobbing its butt in archetypal pipit fashion
- which, I guess, rules out the possibility it was a European Skylark - before
zipping beneath its rock.
Hey, I'd better zip beneath my rock and shut up for a bit before I get
smacked on my raucous, little pipit paws.
John Layton.
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