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Yesterday, Elder Brat and her friend Emily, had a day free from work
and studies so we went to Shepherds Lookout, walked upstream along the
Murrumbidgee and along the Molonglo for a while. Spent a wonderful few
hours' birding and bushwalking including morning tea taken deep in a patch
of scrub which seemed very laid-back and Arcadian, until the
%*#!, agro ants terminated the tea party. We packed up hurriedly, stomping boots
and slapping legs while dancing a formicidae fandango. We recorded 31
bird species. Here's the highlights:
Three Superb Parrots flying west to east. Twenty Red-browed Finches
combing through a casaurina tree. A pair of Nankeen Kestrels hovering in
close proximity to each other. Over the years, I've somehow come to suspect
this may indicate they have dependent young. On the opposite bank of the Bidgee
we saw two Whistling Kites tugging remnant macaroni from the
eviscerated carcass of a kangaroo.
A soaring Little Eagle displaying diagnostic under-wing pattern quite
clearly. Five Yellow Thornbills. A Red-bellied Black Snake resplendent in new
skin. Also resplendent, a male Mistletoe Bird perched on dead mistletoe.
Every Yellow-rumped Thornbill in the ACT was present. We know this
because we conducted a roll call.
Now, back to being serious: A Magpie carrying what appeared to be a
tattered hankie. Two Sacred Kingfishers, Eastern Yellow Robin, two Grey
Butcherbirds, pair of Crested Shrike-tits, two Australasian Pipits, seven
Varied Sittellas and a Red-necked Wallaby that stood and looked at us for a
minute before hopping away. We found a nest in a thickly foliaged shrub, stood
on tip-toe, peeked in and saw a female Common Blackbird. We resisted the
impulse to reach into the nest and pat her.
Finally, as we perched at the foot of the "Golden Stairs", leading back to
the lookout (after checking area for rampant ants), drinking tea
and eating Tim-Tams, we nearly fell off our perches as a Pied Butcherbird
hopped down the stairs towards us. Disappointingly, as we uttered the name of
the Savior, the butcherbird flew away. Like I said, we had a wonderful
outing.
John, Linda & Emily
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