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Went to Acacia Inlet early today to look for Little Lorikeets before
the sun began to bite. Cast about for 20 minutes to no avail. Some highlights: A
male Grey Shrike-thrush singing its mating song. Almost as good as
listening to my new Dixie Chicks CD. At least three more were in the vicinity. A
charm of eight European Goldfinches including five immatures. An alabaster
sculpture in the shallows morphed into a Great Egret as I approached.
A mature-age hippie came by wearing a St Vinnies Boutique T-shirt that read
Soledad Prison, probably his alma mater. "Good morning," he chirped,
"are you a birdwatcher?" Just what I didn't need.
"Yeah," I said sans enthusiasm.
"Oh, good. Have you seen the Little Lorikeets?"
"The what? Where?!
"Down there."
"Down damn where?"
He patiently directed me to a scrawny Eucalypt right on the water's edge,
within 8m of the old earthen boat ramp. Five minutes later I located three L'il
L'keets in the upper branches, one was scrambling about in the foliage, the
others sat still. They were still present when I left after ten minutes.
To roughly paraphrase the Cinderella character in Slaughter House
5, "Alackaday and bless my bless my luck." Fancy a John
Lennon reincarnate knowing about L'il L'keets.
John Layton.
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