Hi all...this is the last installment from Jacqueline....
Mick
...(sitting
on 219 spp.) Pambalong was the next stop?yet it did not live up to expectations,
with Pacific Heron being the only worthy addition. No Latham?s Snipe and
no Sea-eagle yet on their list, and a brutal blow was dealt as an Eagle
was spied soaring above the ponds where a resident Sea Eagle often soars,
alas another Wedgey to their dismay.
There was enough time for a quick run to
a virgin Brewer-patch in coastal heath. They mopped up the Variegated Wren
as well as White-cheeked and New Holland Honeyeaters. The last good chance
for Sea-eagle disappeared in the rear mirror as they headed for the SWC,
via a brief stop for the legendary ?Geoffrey.
Upon
arrival at the SWC, still raining, and with 225 they knew they had 227
guaranteed. The final two species were ticked (Maggie Geese and Night Heron)
with minutes remaining. The last throw of the dice was to stand in the
rain and hope for an Azure Kf to fly by over Ironbark Creek. This was to
no avail, and with 227 species, the sodden gang made their way back to
the finish line. They were confident?nervous?but understandably
confident. A quiet mutter came over the teams that assembled ? The Thickheads,
The Drongo?s and the nemesis?The Woodswallows?they were all there?and nothing
was given away through any of the dampened, exhausted facial expressions.
Steve
Brew was charged with the responsibility of relaying the scores to the
fatigued audience. The Drongoes got 196, whilst the Thickheads had tied
with the Black-necked Stalkers on 201. Steve stumbled as only two teams
remained?
??the
Hunter Home Brewers??
And
there it was?that meant they had come second.
?227!???Whacked
Out Woodswallows?229!?
And
so it was. Beaten by two species after breaking the previous record by
five. The Brew crew hung their heads in disbelief! ?beaten with that score,
how high can this bar be lifted? What lengths do they have to go? Such
a good run too. The first thoughts (as always) were of birds missed ? like
the Coucal and Monarch that only one team member had heard, the two Robins
out west that are usually consistent, the Sea-eagle, Latham?s Snipe, Pallid
Cuckoo and (as it turned out) two Shearwater species missed from the baths.
There
were mixed feelings amongst the Brewers. The Thickheads offered commiserations
as the Woodswallows paraded triumphantly ? what an effort they had made.
Soon the Brewers learnt that the Woods were on 104 at the start of Sun!
day, a full 21 species behind them. The customary post-mortems then went
even rifer.
But all in a years work and
taken in their stride, the loss by two species has confirmed to them that
there is no room for even a smidge of complacency on the Twitchathon ?
evident from the level of competition that now appears to surround the
event. No doubt they will find that extra gear and be right up there again
in 2006.
Jacqueline
Winter
