On 4th April a packed meeting much enjoyed Part II of Chris Ward’s
excellent illustrated talk “Birds and Wildlife of
Australia”.
Chris and his wife Caroline
spent 3 months down under during (our) summer in 2016 having cleverly arranged
a house and car swap with a couple in Brisbane, who happily spent three months
in Milton Keynes for the duration!
Having covered most of their time in Brisbane and it’s
surroundings in Part I a few months ago, we were treated first to very close
views of Humpback Whales in Hervey Bay where the females gather in the warmer
water there to give birth every winter and guide boats guarantee close
sightings due to the inquisitiveness of these whales when the boats approach.
Next the illustrated tour moved on to Sydney, where
after a brief spell in the city they moved out to the western edge of the Blue
Mountains, staying at a couple of the more rural sites recommended for their
wildlife interest, particularly catching up with Kangaroos, Wallabies and
Wallaroos, Duck-billed Platypus and the tiny shrew-sized marsupial the
Yellow-footed Antechinus. Slides of
these mammals were complimented by lovely shots of the birds of the area, some
looking a little drab in their winter plumage, some of everything from Eagles
to Honeyeaters.
The scenery here was stunning, the amazing sandstone cliffs
of the Capertee Canyon – said to be the widest canyon in the world – framing
the scenic shots of the wilderness on the valley floor with some welcome slides
throughout the talk showing us the accommodation and surroundings in the areas
where they had enjoyed their driving and walks.
Next we saw views and animals and birds in and around
Darwin. The monsoons visit this area
every year from October to April, but in July when they were there conditions
were ideal, although that year some of the dams were on the dry side and some
of the most intimate photographs were taken of birds taking advantage of a
puddle under a standpipe in a camp site.
They also enjoyed a visit to the famous rock art sites in the Kakadu
National Park although somewhat disappointed that some of them have been so obviously
embellished in recent times.
Like most places in the natural world, visiting water
bodies is key to finding the birds and animals – here around Pine Creek and
Bird Billabong. Similarly, as in UK road
accidents take their toll too, but an Agile Wallaby that had met with an
accident had attracted a Dingo briefly which Chris was quick enough to snap
before it retreated back into the roadside bushes. Rare Hooded Parrots were spied here despite having
a very restricted range and the magical Bower Birds. And like true tourists they took a boat trip
on the Yellow River to take shots of the Crocodiles and maybe one of the best
shots of the whole presentation – a beautiful pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles
flying across a perfect blue sky in tandem!
Lastly, Chris closed this thoroughly enjoyable and
informative narrative with the “must do” shot standing beside a 7ft giant
termite mound and an iconic sunset shot over the lagoon back at Laguna Lookout
at Noosa outside Brisbane.
Helen Franklin
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