G'day All,
I too simply wish to share some thoughts on a 'late' mate and wish too pass
on deepest condolences to Barry's wife, family and others friends.
I only met Barry four years ago (at O'Reilly's Guesthouse where I had been
working) but in that time I regarded him not only as a mate but also as a
mentor and whenever I had a birding or business question inevitably I would
seek out his wisdom. Later when living and working at Ayers Rock I too like
many others was the recipient of his generosity and had a place to stay
whenever in Alice. One early occasion after a great meal and a couple of drinks
he asked me that fateful question, "So how many birds have you seen in
Australia?". I being pretty new 'to the game' had not actually ever counted my
hard earnt ticks scribled with pride in a much dog-eared Slater & Slater. Also
I wanted to get my total up there a little bit more before the first
calculation. However this response did not satisfy a clearly excited Barry as
he grabbed my birdbook out of my desperate hands. Ticks where counted and
numbers projected into the balmy Alice night and finally a total of bird species
seen - mid 300's - not too bad but embarassing next to Barry's 700! Bird talk
continued very late into the night and quite a few extra drinks were exhausted.
There was only ever one bird that I could tease Barry about (and I loved to
bring it up at the best of occasions) - Sooty Owl was on my list for a little
while before finally finding its way onto Barry's colossal list.
In the time since that fateful night the 'lifers' have trickled in and
through birdwatching with Barry or due to great information supplied by him I
can say that he supplied 24 new birds including a lot of the difficult birds of
Central Australia. I can also say that I was fortunate to also go birding with
Barry in Kakadu where I now work and also on Kangaroo Island where he also had
a home.
Today was Barry's funeral and not being able to get there I did the next best
thing - I went searching for a special bird - one that has avoided me on dozens
of occasions - this thing is a MAJOR 'bogey bird' - it has avoided me so badly
that in the past I have even refused to say its name, actually all I will say
now is that it has a white throat and lives above Gunlom Falls in Kakadu. I
chose to resume my search today because on a previous occasion Barry and I
searched for this bird and the 'birding gods' were particularly cruel that day
- Barry SAW it and I only HEARD it. What do you think happened today? Did the
gods deliver me from my birding anquish? It would be really nice to finish this
story by saying yes but unfortunatey I DIPPED again! Barry though would be
having a laugh about it and I can almost hear him even from this distance
calling me all kinds of nasty names.
Barry was a special bloke. His birding knowledge and expertise was
extraordinary. But above all this his generosity of spirit in sharing his life,
house, car, food, drink and information was (as agreed in many other peoples'
recollections) his defining trait. Mate, you will be sorely missed.
Thoughts go out particularly to Julie and the boys.
---------------------------------
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