the last...!
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And so, it was off to the Hunter Estuary proper with 211 species with still
three hours to go, it was looking good and a buzz was starting to fill the car.
A quick stop-off at the Kooragang Dykes was made and out of great fortune a
Common Sandpiper flushed from the first pond. Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers
were roosting barely 50m away and as a careless fisherman sped past the dykes
further north a large flock of Bar-tailed Godwits took flight, along with
Eastern Curlew. On the other side of Stockton Bridge it was a “Who’s Who” of
the Twitchathon, with at least five teams seen around the base of the bridge,
including one team the Brewers couldn’t identify (team ticking). Amongst these
teams the boys recognised the unmistakable jizz of David, Carol and Clive of
the WoW, clawing their way back to their vehicle, scope-on-shoulders. Needless
to say the lads treated them to a Brewer’s Flash, before ticking off the
Grey-tailed Tattlers and Terek Sandpipers that stood
behind a very cheeky Striated Heron, a bird not twitched since their first
outing in 1999.
A vain effort at trying to pick up Scaly-breasted Lorikeets up at Fern Bay did
gain them Brush Wattlebird and White-cheeked Honeyeater as well as a group of
Whimbrel roosting in the mangroves along the way. Back at the sandspit it was
obvious that bulk waders were not coming to the party, although a pair of
Red-necked Stint made the decision to look closer worthwhile. After picking up
Pacific Golden Plovers at Stockton the gang decided that they were happy with
their haul of waders and set off to Newcastle Baths for the ocean watch,
sitting very pretty on 225 species, just 2 short of last year’s tally, and
still with nearly two hours to go. The 229 record and the 230 target were
looking very shaky, although they knew only one species was a guaranteed tick
at the wetlands centre.
Whilst the baths were a write-off for the standard roosting birds, Wedge-tailed
and Fluttering Shearwaters as well as Gannets were able to be identified out at
sea. Along with Crested Terns, this brought them to 229 and equalling the
record…with the Maggie Geese patiently waiting at the end, it was imminent that
230 would fall. En-route to the wetlands centre a new spot was visited,
well-oiled pre-Twitch by Mick Brew, where New Holland Honeyeaters were seen –
230 it was.
The problem now was that they still had time to spare and so made a dash back
to the baths in an attempt to find an extra ocean species. This proved
fruitless and so onwards they went to the wetlands centre, knowing that had
beaten the record…but was it going to be enough? How had the WoW fared? Had the
Drongo’s pull something out of the fire? Things were looking great in the
Hunter, how did the Thickheads go? What about the ‘dark horse’ Black-necked
Stalkers with their impressive swag of threatened and rare species from the
Clarence? The brewing banter that bounced around the interior of the car was
colourful and the anticipation that swelled within them as they bustled into
the centre was electric.
Magpie Goose took them to 231. They knew there had been Wandering Whistling
Ducks seen there over the past few weeks and before long they had a pair in
their bins – 232. With still a quarter of an hour to go Steve pointed out a
Red-kneed Dotterel which took them to 233. The last 15 minutes were spent
searching in vain for a Crake, a passing Hobby or even for what was to be their
worst dip – a Yellow-billed Spoonbill.
As 4 o’clock approached the teams huddled around the picnic tables for the
wrap-up of scores. Mick Brew could barely contain himself as he read out the
tallies. The Hunter Thickheads had again cracked 200 in the Hunter catchment
with an impressive 202. The Dodgy Drongo’s had notched up a fine 214 in their
first venture over the big hill.
A paused silence as only two teams weren’t accounted for, then …“Whacked Out
Woodswallows…” and at that Steve thrust his fist in the air, the WoW had run in
second …“227”.
Mick Brew was soon on the dog-and-bone to Alan Morris, who confirmed that no
other teams had passed 200. The Brewers had gotten up by six birds and had
beaten last year’s record by four. So once again, the bar had been raised to
another level. David Geering was heard to say at the ensuing BBQ that 233
wouldn’t be a difficult score to beat and Greg Clancy’s later comments
(threats?) on Birding-aus about ‘throwing down the gauntlet’ have certainly set
the scene for 2007. The Brewers are already facing a challenge, with the
probable absence of Mick Brew due to ‘travel commitments’ in 2007. The
temptation to venture further west into unbrewed territory has always been
there for the lads, but as they know that they will almost certainly not be as
competitive if they do, this will be a hard decision for them to make.
Mick Roderick (aka Jacqueline Winter)
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