*Another ‘Rare Bird for Australia’ Twitch*
By Laurie Living
The year 2006 has been witness to one of the most extraordinary ‘rare
bird’ stories in Australian orthinology. In June two birdwatchers, were
passing through a small town, Burren Junction, about 300 kms north of
Dubbo in New South Wales. A magpie sized bird on the side of the road
drew their attention. But it wasn’t black and white!
The bird was foraging in the grass and damp areas along the roadside
verge near the wheat silos and railhead that gave the town of 50 its
existence. A little bigger than an Australian masked or banded lapwing
this red-eyed avian had a grey head and neck, brownish back and wings,
white body, dark breast and a yellow bill tipped black. Its stance was
tall and elegant, slightly apprehensive and nervous but also wanting to
display an air of confidence, befitting its position in the bird
world…at least in the bird world from where it originated.
The ‘twitch’ started when these first observers reported their find on
‘birding-aus’, the internet. An Australian twitch [not unlike ones in
England, Europe or America] is a 21^st century version of a 19^th
century ‘gold rush’! Every genuine birder must stop their work, their
family obligations and their ‘life’ activities and go find the rarity. A
bonus for the life list! A great personal moment in birding!
Exhilaration! The ultimate pilgrimage. A ‘tick’!
Birding parties[ cars full of birders] [at the last count 378 car loads
it is surmised] converged on the small hamlet of Burren Junction from
all over Australia. The ‘rush’ was on. To see the rarity before it flew
on or off to another destination, or disappeared from view or as once
happened in England, crushed by overeager birders or…just perished! The
roadhouse and café ran out of ice creams, ice, take aways, mineral
water….the PO sold out of Burren Junction Caps and then the BRATS caps
[BJ Bachelor and Spinster party til your’re silly hats]. But no maps and
no post cards! A missed economic opportunity.
A thousand people were known to go to Burren Junction [2400kms round
trip from Melbourne, 2600kms from Adelaide, hundreds of kilometers from
Sydney and Brisbane] by September. It had become the biggest twitch in
Australian birding history. Everyone was ‘twitchy’. Would they see it?
Was the long, expensive journey worth it? Had the bird cheated them? Had
the trip been worthwhile? Could I find it in the time available?
Only the lapwing was ‘trying’ to remain calm. After all, it was
thousands of kilometres away from its breeding grounds, in an alien
land, with no familiar species in sight. Even the food supply was a
little strange. Why are all these strangers bothering me? Coming so
close? Flashing my eyes with cameras? Forcing me to fly off to safety.
How do I get back to Japan? Which way do I go? How far is it? Where’s
the flyway? Why is one of my legs swollen? Why am I being harassed by
other birds?
A little time ago the ‘northern’ lapwing was still in Burren Junction
waiting, waiting, waiting.
Pics supplied by subscribers to birding-aus are acknowledged as well as
Rohan for logging the event.
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