John Young’s Cape York and Iron Range Tour of Nov 2008.
Written by Burnice Starkey
Being a new member of Birds Queensland and only a fledgling to the bird
fraternity, I was interested to gain more knowledge about the birding tours
advertised in Birds Queensland Newsletters. After asking a few people in the
club, I received a mixed bag of reactions. Some think you should do it yourself
without a guide, others had reservations about John Young calling birds that
weren’t positively identified and others who had actually gone one his trip(s)
said very positive things.
In making my own decision factored that I had no means (4X drive) or knowledge
of the Cape endemics and yearned to see Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfishers,
Palm Cockatoos, Double-eyed Fig Parrots and Golden–shouldered and Eclectus
Parrots to name but a few. Nevertheless, I’m a little hesitant to throw good
money at a “group” situation were a holiday could be spoilt by certain
personality types. As it turned out this was a fantastic trip!! The group,
though diverse, was very fun-loving and dynamic and the longer we were together
the better the bonds. John is quite the master of ceremonies and ensured that
everyone felt comfortable within the group and displayed very good HR skills in
“reading” the various characters.
The group helped each other to see those difficult to focus birds and many
contributed their knowledge to identify a call, the direction or location. The
whole time, John was moving through the group ensuring everyone saw the latest
beauty. His vast knowledge of habit, feeding, breeding and bird haunts had some
of us calling him “The Master” with a respectful bow. We learnt the bird calls
from his mimicry and were exhilarated by his owl impersonations as for example,
a male Rufous Owl which came to confront John’s territory dispute call.
Not only did we see all the birds I had on my wish list but also 11 Spotted
Whistling Ducks, Black-Breasted Buzzard on a nest with Chick, Red-necked Crake,
a pair of Oriental Plover at Musgrave, the Oriental Cuckoo and many more.
He never tired of our questions, even if oft repeated and always had a funny
anecdote. He shared his knowledge of birds, trees, mammals and butterflies (in
both lay and Latin terminology). He shared his knowledge of cameras and how to
care for them and our Binos after the trip. The Oz Safari crew were tireless,
professional and delightfully friendly while caring for all our needs and also
sharing their knowledge of the region. Many thanks to all their hard work and
again to John who also helped with packing tents and loading equipment. The
food was exceptionally good and since I consider myself a good cook, I was
humbled by the care taken to prepare hot meals over a open fire frizzing the
hairs on their arms. The heat and humidity was often challenging but the
birding outings were planned in the (slightly) cooler parts of the day and the
bus was refrigerator cold.
There were also some adrenalizing encounters with a Taipan (in a tree?!) and
the large salt water crocs which were seen both by day and then by night.
While the Tree Kangaroo proved too shy the Spotted Cuscus visited our camp as
did various bats.
Evenings were spent with one of the most entertaining examples of Bird Call, I
have ever encountered. I may have contributed to the banter but there were many
players which were full of hilarity. The verbal tennis matches continued with
jokes and tales. Other nights we were able to coax John to show us some of his
photos and sound recordings of our wonderful and sometimes rare birds.
He will and does share his knowledge if he can trust the recipient.
To those of you considering going on a trip in the future, I highly recommend
it. To those sceptics who still doubt, don’t come we don’t want you on these
trips anyway. Cos I’m booked to go again.
_________________________________________________________________
Net yourself a bargain. Find great deals on eBay.
http://a.ninemsn.com.au/b.aspx?URL=http%3A%2F%2Frover%2Eebay%2Ecom%2Frover%2F1%2F705%2D10129%2D5668%2D323%2F4%3Fid%3D10&_t=763807330&_r=hotmailTAGLINES&_m=EXT==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
=============================
|
