Delia,
I remember reading your posts about your holiday Down Under soon after you were there, and have just read them all again, from start to finish! I was on La Palma in the Canaries on 18th March 2020, the day that you posted your account of your visit to Kings Park in Perth. I managed to get away from La Palma on the afternoon of the 19th, and next day I reached home in the Isle of Man for a fortnight self-isolation.
I was also in Australia in 2019, for 8 weeks, arriving in Redcliffe, which is on the shore of Moreton Bay north-east of Brisbane, on 22nd July, and I flew back to Europe from Perth on 15th September which was, of course, 6 days before you flew into Brisbane and joined Ken and Judy for the start of your great journey.
Australia is an amazing country. I have had 6 holidays there, totalling rather more than 6 months. My total number of species in Australia, calculated by eBird, stands at 387. Australia is, therefore, my best country for the number of species of birds observed. Thus, what you wrote about your time in Australia resonated greatly with me.
Timewise, most of my birding in Australia has been ‘self-guided’. However, as shown by the size of my Aussie ‘life list’, I have had a lot of help by birders in Australia, just like you. I had two great birding days with guides arranged by Sue Gregory at Cassowary House, near Cairns (2008 and 2010), and Bird Week on Lord House Island (2008). One of the other birders on Lord Howe Island was Tony Bischoff, from Port Macquarie. Tony invited me to join him for parts of my 4 subsequent holidays in Australia, showing me amazing birds and giving me wise advice about, for example, not turning over sheets of metal lying on the ground lest snakes are lurking under there!
Sadly, after a long illness, Tony died in August last year. He was born in Brisbane, and used to go back there quite a lot, as well as visiting more distant parts of Queensland, including Bowra. Indeed, I remember Tony recommending a visit there to me. There was never enough time.
A long time before that, I graduated with a Pharmacy degree in 1979, and then I worked in the hospital here in the Isle of Man for more than 32 years before taking early retirement. During my time at the hospital, some of the people I worked with emigrated to Australia, and subsequently asked: “When are you coming to visit us, Allen?” In 2006 I did, and I haven’t looked back!
When I arrived in Redcliffe early on 22nd July 2019, I was fortunate to get my room early and was able to gaze across Moreton Bay to Moreton and Bribie Islands. I stayed in Redcliffe for 8 days and travelled extensively, as far south-west as Oxley Creek Common and north to Maroochy Botanic Gardens on the Sunshine Coast. On my way north, I enjoyed the amazing views of the Glass House Mountains.
I have never been to South Australia. Sadly, and to state the obvious, I am finding that life is too short to go everywhere. I have never been to Albany, although the next road opposite my house is called Albany Road. However, I went to Lake Claremont on 27th August 2019. I, too, did a lap around the lake, and, moreover, enjoyed the excellent restaurant when I had almost completed my walk.
You saw Pink-eared Duck at Lake Claremont, and so did I. Tony had introduced me to the species in NSW on previous holidays, but in 2019 I only saw them in WA. My count of 55 on Lake Claremont was more than all my other sightings put together.
That was my only ever visit to Lake Claremont. I decided to get off the train on my way to Fremantle for a look and was glad that I did, of course. I have never been to Herdsman Lake, but my favourite waterfowl site near the centre of Perth is Lake Monger, which is a fairly short walk from Leederville Train Station. That is a much larger lake than Lake Claremont, so I have never even attempted to do a complete lap. However, there is always a lot to see from the south-eastern shore. I have even witnessed the display of the Musk Duck there. I have also seen a Willie Wagtail attacking an Australian Raven there, presumably to defend its nest.
Like you, I am a great fan of Willie Wagtails. I had the following experience which I included in my BF thread Good Birds seen from Restaurants:
'(In Busselton, WA) I had my lunch every day in the Zen Coffee Lounge, which is on the main drag in town. On each of the three occasions that I ate there, a Willie wagtail came into the café and wandered around, not eating much if that is what it was looking for. I like to think that it was just checking part of its territory. The lasses behind the counter told me that the bird comes in quite a lot. On the last day, when I was about to leave the town, the Willie wagtail came in, stood next to me and started singing. "He doesn't do that very often," I was told. A friend in Perth told me that some of the Aboriginal people think of Willie wagtails as spirit birds. I had been thinking that there is something very special about them!'
Fairywrens are one of my favourite groups of birds in Australia, as are all of the other types of wren. I caught up with Western Grasswren at Monkey Mia in 2019, but the Splendid Fairywrens are the best of the lot in my opinion! I had some very close approaches by Splendid Fairywrens at Busselton and Dunsborough in the far south-west in 2019, and by Superb Fairywrens at O’Reilly’s.
Of course, we have all gone through a lot since our holidays in 2019 and (in my case) early 2020. I hope that you and all your friends in Australia have come through the Pandemic well.
Allen
