Hi Denise,
When I was in the Top End last year I visited the Adelaide River and did the
croc cruises.
I was amazed (like most people on the boat) at how high the 4 metre plus
crocodiles could jump to get the chickens attached to the rope.
After seeing crocodiles behave in this manner, I personally would never fish
(or bird watch) in a tinny in any parts of northern Australia.
After the croc cruise we stopped at other parts of the Adelaide River and saw
many crocodiles.....
Two weeks ago Dad and I saw a 4m plus croc in one of the permanent water holes
in Lakefield N.P. (Queensland).
At Iron Range N.P. a couple of days later the Ranger told us to be very careful
bird watching close to the deep pools in the rivers and streams due to crocs
(even in the dry season).
Cheers,
Charles
On Tuesday, 19 August 2014 1:39 PM, Denise Goodfellow via Birding-Aus
<> wrote:
Since the early 1980s I’ve been taking birders to this area of the Adelaide
River, mainly looking for Mangrove Golden Whistler.
Having more experience with crocodiles than most, I’m very careful with
clients. Firstly I scout the area to ensure no crocs are lying under the
trees, and then I keep clients keep several metres away from banks.
Occasionally twitchers behave stupidly, one of the reasons why I’m not very
keen on taking some of them. Jim Zimmer of San Diego made me tell his birding
club what I say to such people!
My Aboriginal son, Reverend P. Nganjmirra, a traditional Kunwinjku man, said
there were more big crocodiles around now that in his grandfather's time,
probably because of the introduction of stock. Whether there is now a
reduction of cattle, buffalo and horses I don’t know. But from the attack on
the South Alligator River recently, where a man was dragged out of his dinghy
it seems that some crocodiles may be targeting the next biggest item in the
food chain.
Anyway, I suggest that birders be very careful when around Top End waterways.
Avoid hiring small dinghies for a start, and no matter what the twitch don’t go
near the water!
Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
PO Box 71
Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841
PhD candidate
Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia
Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory
043 8650 835
<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>
<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>
|
