Hi all,
This year started wih an extreme birding weekend camping at Hattah in 50 degree
temperatures with a Banded Lapwing outside the door of the tent when we woke on
1 January.
In the exact middle of the year we drove to Burren Junction and found the
Grey-headed lapwing.
For the last bird of the year therefore we decided we needed to make it a
Masked Lapwing and, with a minimum amont of stage management we achieved this
on a back road out of Cann River, Vic, at about 6:00 pm on 31 December.
But what a wonderful year. Rarities all over the country, including many visits
to see the Grass Owl at Werribee, and a Victorian total for both Joy and I off
302 species. It was a year that passed way too fast and left us wondering what
would come up this year. And isn't that the bliss of bird watching, what's next?
Bird of the year for me? Well it has to be one of the Grasswrens. Maybe the
Kalkadoon that Helen spotted for us; or perhaps the Grey that the Ramsey's
found for us; or the Short-tailed that we found in a gale in the Flinders
Ranges; or the Striated that "ran all over our toes" at Gluepot?
No, I think that it was the Eyreans that led us a merry dance all over a sand
dune just east of "Big Red" outside Birdsville. They were so beautiful and
elusive and lived in a remote spot that I had dreamed of visiting ever since I
was about 16. Yes, bird of the year for me was the Eyrean Grasswren.
Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful 2006 and I wash you all an even better
2007
Cheers
Jen
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www.birding-aus.org
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