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Went to McDermott Place, Lake Ginnindera, this afternoon when the rain
stopped. Walked past a big, leather-clad dude sitting on an immaculate
Harley Davidson eating a Macdonald's take-away.
"You a birdwatcher? he said, pointing at my binos. I grunted the
affirmative. "There's three Cattle Egrets up near the little beach," he advised.
I went up there and saw the egret trio. Not many other birds, so I returned to
McDermott Place and there was the wild-looking man, replete in his leathers,
chains and bikie badges, squatting by the water feeding the duckies. "How cute!"
I thought.
Struck up a yarn with him. He was a fisherman from Eden and told me about
all the pelagic birds and whales he'd seen offshore. We returned to the carpark
and he produced a Simpson & Day from his saddle bag. "I've seen
three-hundred-and-eighteen different birds. See, I tick them off in my
book."
Wonderful stuff! You meet some surprising characters.
John K. Layton
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