I have been sitting quietly for the past 10 days waiting for the news to
break on this site of John Young's latest achievement.
Over the past years I have been highly privileged to accompany Lloyd Neilsen
and Del Richards on unsuccessful attempts to lure a BBBQ into the open. My
only qualification to be part of this exalted company is the doubtful fact
that I know how to point a camera, am patient enough to sit down and shut up
when commanded and trustworthy enough to keep silent about a few matters.
In late 2014 Del and I went off on a boys week away to a location in FNQ to
follow up on research done by he an Lloyd. That research was right on the
mark, the bird was there, it called to us but we failed to get it into the
open. That event came at the end of a week of searching for that and other
birds, the limit of our time. Had Del not been indulging me in searches for
lifers we may have had other opportunities. I have cursed the dip and have
been unable to make it back to the North since that time. In failing to do
so I have felt that I had time to get back and achieve a first with Lloyd
and Del before any other blighter lucked upon the bird. My wife Jean and I
will be back in FNQ in a couple of months on a long planned trip where we
will be joined by our elder son Matt. He and I will resume the hunt.
I have followed John Young's Night Parrot adventures like the rest of the
birding world and am aware that he would be at a loose end, relatively
speaking, over recent months and suspected he may be up to "no good". When
news broke I was both excited and bloody envious. I was not envious when
John located the Night Parrot because I knew that was beyond my ability. I
have been cursing him under my breath for every one of the last 10 days.
John still hasn't (to my knowledge) achieved a good photograph but I think
it's a mother-loving certainty that he won't wait for us to beat him to it!!
I wouldn't want him to fail. Not much anyway!! Ah well, if we ever get it
we might be able to say we were the first mortals . . . . . .
It has taken great birders like Neilsen, Richards and Young to successfully
research this bird and to get closer to it than any others. Lloyd Neilsen
in particular has worked on the BBBQ for countless years and is renowned for
his knowledge. I know that Young will credit him accordingly if he succeeds
in getting an image.
Paul Newman (the Queensland Paul Newman, not the southern Paul Newman)
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