What a fabulous and well written report Andrew. Thanks for sharing your
experience and insights in such a beautiful way. A fitting end perhaps to the
Princess Parrot discussion.
Thank you.
Dave
On 03/12/2010, at 11:42 PM, wrote:
Early today five birders (myself, Chris Gladwin, Ian Puckrin, Barbara Harvey
and Peter Marsh) were the last group for the immediate future to be accompanied
into the traditional lands of Haast's Bluff by Luritja elder Douglas Multa and
his wife Kathleen in the hope of seeing Princess Parrots. We were joined also
by the CLC's tourism development officer Peter Allsop, his wife Gail and two
other traditional owners. I'll start by saying that for me personally seeing
this species, which I believe to be the most exquisitely beautiful Australian
bird, was close to a lifelong dream, and one I seriously doubted I might ever
achieve. To be able to do so in this way - regardless of cost, an issue I have
already commented on - was an enormous privilege, and not one any of us took
lightly.
The road west of Mereenie Loop gas field passes through extensive Desert Oak
country before changing quite abruptly to large and graceful stands of Marbled
Gum, with an understorey of mallee and spinifex. The main flowering plant here,
and it was flowering in profusion, was the gorgeous Honey Grevillea (it's also
quite delicious). It is, as most now know, the Marbled Gums in which these
birds have been nesting. However, groups of birders have been reporting
progressively fewer numbers as the months have passed, and we are now right at
the tail end of this incredible breeding event. The vast majority of the
parrots have already dispersed.
So it was with no small amount of anxiety that we began our search at the main
site, Douglas leading us as we fanned out across the dunes. The area was still
alive with birds, with cockatiels and Budgerigars in abundance. This made for a
huge amount of parrot chatter, but no PPs were immediately apparent. After
about 20-25 minutes, however, Chris was picking up some harsher calls ahead of
us - and then, like a dream, the first few Princess Parrots hove into view,
briefly alighting on a high bare branch. They were quickly followed by a group
of 10 cartwheeling past at high speed, and it seemed none were keen on staying
put. The birds were wary, and our initial elation was tempered by the fact that
it appeared they might choose to remain elusive.
Much as reported last week, though, the parrots soon relaxed and we all enjoyed
two of the best birding hours of our lives in their company. Maximum numbers
were estimated at between 25 and 28 birds, but a completely accurate count was
difficult as they were mostly split into separate smaller parties. Almost all
were females with fully grown but still dependent juveniles, with females more
than once being observed feeding their begging chicks - an amazing sight.
At this point Chris returned to the car to fetch his telescope and was
handsomely rewarded, as he approached what he thought were two birds feeding
quietly on a Honey Grevillea, only to be stunned when a total of 16 birds
exploded from the bush and on the ground in front of him when he took one step
too close! For all of us, the sight of the lime-green shoulder panels of the
parrots flashing against the bright sky on a warm, still morning as they
circled around and over our heads was something never to be forgotten.
Douglas was a pleasure to meet and talk to. He had never seen Princess Parrots
on his land, another indication of just what a rare occurrence this is. I
couldn't help but ask him about a certain other rare and mysterious parrot
which very few people have encountered - and Douglas instantly claimed he had
seen one only last month, approaching a waterhole in Desert Oak country at
dusk! He said he had only ever seen a couple in his life. I checked with him
about Bourke's Parrot and he shook his head firmly, indicating again the image
of Night Parrot in Slater's field guide. Make of that what you will, but it
makes sense that Night Parrots should also be present and probably breeding in
such a spectacular season.
However, I also feel obliged to report that Douglas made his feelings
abundantly clear - trespassers on his land had been noted, had caused anger and
distress, and were unwelcome. I don't say this to appear in any way
holier-than-thou after the fact: I can certainly understand the temptation, and
indeed had another earlier opportunity presented itself to go for these birds
with or without permits, the birder in me would have been sorely tempted.
However, in the end I am extremely grateful to have had this chance to go about
all this with the correct permissions, and for me the considerable presence and
authority of Douglas and Kathleen added massively to the experience.
Like it or not, the land is private property and Douglas, along with a few
others, is regarded as the elder and owner with the authority to permit entry.
If you ask the first blackfella you encounter on the road whether it's OK to
have a look around, then in his words, "You asking the wrong guys." This entire
episode has proven an awkward clash of cultures and competing priorities. In
the long run, I believe it will be of benefit to everybody if goodwill can be
maintained, so that in the future other arrangements like this are more likely
to be made (and, moreover, made more quickly than was the case on this
occasion).
In summary, I can only speak for ourselves in saying it was worth every last
cent to take advantage of this opportunity. You could spend that sort of money,
we noted, on helicopter rides around the local gorges, or whatever takes your
fancy, really. This was our fancy, and if it was slightly over the odds, it was
worth the gamble on something that might well not happen again in our lifetimes.
Cheers
Andrew
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
==============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
=============================
|
