It was the Spring of 1962 and I was still a school kid of 13, when I
first met Fred Smith at Cheery Swamp, Altona. I was out looking for
birds eggs and Fred was photographing a Black-fronted Dotterel near its
nest and he explained to me the damage that could be caused by
collecting eggs of rare birds and suggested instead that I have a look
through his Zeiss 10x50 binoculars at some migrating waders that had
just arrived in Australia from their breeding grounds in Siberia. It
was my first ever look through binoculars and I was amazed when he
showed me Curlew Sandpipers while describing that they have a white rump
and down curved bill that can be separated from Sharp-tailed Sandpipers
that have a straight bill and chestnut crown with a dark centerline
through their rump. He told me that the eggs of Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
had never been found.. And later he pointed out some Pink-eared Ducks
that were not considered common visitors to that area then. After an
hour or two of this I decided observing waders was more fun than
collecting eggs and for the next three or four years I was fortunate to
have the opportunity to watch waders with Fred nearly every weekend when
we would regularly walk from Altona Railway station via Cherry swamp,
Dairy Farm swamp, golf Links swamp, the Explosive Reserve, the Point
Cook Salt works to Spectacle ponds to Point Cook and return along the
beach across mouth of Kororoit Creek and return to the railway station
and occasionally to Werribee.
And I remember also the many days of howling gales and storms at Cape
Schank with Fred and Mike Carter watching seabirds, crouching behind
anything that would offer shelter from the souwesterlies while
attempting to hold still 10 x 50 binoculars and watching a moving spot
out at sea. I used to revel in listening to Fred and Mike discussing
points of bird identification. These were the days before adequate
field guides, digital cameras and the internet not that Fred and Mike
ever needed any of that. And our bush trips to Hattah and to Canopus.
All great memories
I remember wishing that my school teachers should have Fred's remarkable
ability to teach. He was patient, considerate and respectful and it
was his influence that encouraged me to work harder at school and pusue
an outdoor career in Forestry and later in National Park management.
In 1966 I moved to South Australia and after that we lost touch but in
about 1990 while working at Innaminka I drove across a sandhill near
Coongie Lake and came across a bird watcher with binoculars. As I
approached I recognised him and said gday Fred, how are you going? He
said, Good, how are you going Ian?" there is a small group of Eyrean
Grasswrens in those canegrass clumps.. We spent a few hours together and
thats the last time I saw him
He will be sadly missed.
Mike Carter wrote:
Fred was world famous for his observations on waders (which we now
call shorebirds) when I moved to Victoria from the UK with my family
in 1964. Within days of arriving I gained employment in Kew where Fred
lived so immediately took advantage of that proximity to call on him
at home. And so started an enduring friendship. Fred was his own, and
rather a private man, so it was difficult to get close. He had no car
and couldn't drive (never learnt) and so relied on others for
transport. In those early days I would pick him up and he would show
me around the swamps around the mouth of the Yarra and then west of
Melbourne further afield to the Werribee Sewage Farm and the
salt-works at Altona and around Geelong. We made several camping trips
to northern Victoria and into NSW. He also introduced me to the swamps
SE of Melbourne where I still conduct regular surveys. His renowned
expertise was with waders, being instrumental in finding and
publishing several firsts for Australia and Victoria. Without
checking, those that come to mind include Lesser Yellowlegs,
White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Stilt
Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope and Grey
Phalarope. I was with Fred and others at Lake Murdeduke in the Western
District of Victoria when a Ruff was found. At the time we thought
that it too was a first but we later learned that one was seen a week
previously on a wetland along the Murray. We co-authored that
observation. In my case, I think I learned more from Fred about crakes
and rails than any other group of birds. As my interests turned to
centre more on seabirds and so to the Mornington Peninsula, eastern
Victoria and south-eastern NSW our physical association faded but we
still shared our experiences via the telephone.
Thanks Fred, I'll miss you!
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mount Eliza VIC 3930
Tel (03) 9787 7136
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