Dramas on the plains

9am

The guys just headed off to the wader tour. It didn't rain, so I got to sleep in but also get to clean stuff. *joy*


Ricki's pre-tour talk was a bit depressing at times. The spoon-billed sandpiper is almost certainly going to be extinct soon due to excessive land reclamation in China and Korea. China once had policy of killing all birds due to the misguided belief that all birds ate grain. The forests there are silent - as are the rainforests of Northern Thailand. Guam's forests are the same due to the loss of birdlife as a consequence of the introduction of the brown tree snake. Bloody heartbreaking stuff.

Now I go to change into my grotty shirt and continue to clean. My clothes are still damp and my room is kinda musty/humid because of it. But it could rain at any time so I'm not going to move them out again. A day or two more and they should be dry.

Both toilets - done.
Mudlab - dusted. There is a radio/cassette/CD player in there. Was nice to listen to the radio for a while. Also had a look at what we needed to do re: the mudlab. Ooh lab work. That should be a nice change from walking around in the heat.
Shadehouse - Cleaned the freezer. Not turned on for 2 reasons. 1. I can't find the plug/switch etc. 2. I wiped it out and discovered the drain hole and figured "I'll open this and chuck a bucket of water in there just to rinse off the sides and it'll drain out." There must be something I'm missing because the water is still there. Hopefully Ricki or Chris are more familiar with freezers.

The flycatchers are cuties today. Ma flycatcher hovers around and grabs bugs and bub flycatcher makes a lot of noise around Ma until he's fed.

Peeps are back. I will return soon.

Sat around for a while dealing with the heat and waiting for orders from Ricki who was on the phone. Eventually went off with our guests on a short walk along the Pindan Botanical Trail. Quite a few fairywrens along there and the highlight, the "Taj Mahal" of bowers. I will get a photo of this bower ASAP to show you, it's quite amazing. Then checked out the bay, Andrew and Nick our guests were suitably impressed with the extent of the mudflats and the abundance of birds feeding far out on the flats.

Then the drama began. The plan was to go out onto the plains again to seek out the yellow wagtails and maybe yellow chats. Before we were about to leave we noticed one of the tires was pretty darn flat. That was a pretty simple affair to replace so we did so and headed out onto the plains. I spotted a raptor sitting in the grass and yelled for a stop. On closer inspection it was an easily confirmed Spotted Harrier - a newie for me. He was an absolutely stunning bird. We watched him for a good ten minutes before all piling back into the troupie... and the damn thing wouldn't start. Luckily one of our guests knows a decent amount about cars and diesel engines and four wheel drives and such. Apparently it was a problem with the battery or starter motor. Ricki and Chris dashed off to grab her ute - a half hour slog through pindan woodland, and the sun was busily setting.

While they were gone we got a red-rumped swallow flitting about - a bit of a rarity for Broome and a newie for me. Some other people driving on the plains came to our assistance but were unable to get the car started. Once Ricki and Chris returned after a bit of trying the jumper leads we decided a tow was the way to go. Luckily after being towed a bit the troupie fired up and we made it home easily.

Hopefully there won't be any trouble with our tour tomorrow. I will get stacks of new birds.

P.s. Explorer socks take forever to dry after being soaked through.

Dramas on the plains

9am

The guys just headed off to the wader tour. It didn't rain, so I got to sleep in but also get to clean stuff. *joy*


Ricki's pre-tour talk was a bit depressing at times. The spoon-billed sandpiper is almost certainly going to be extinct soon due to excessive land reclamation in China and Korea. China once had policy of killing all birds due to the misguided belief that all birds ate grain. The forests there are silent - as are the rainforests of Northern Thailand. Guam's forests are the same due to the loss of birdlife as a consequence of the introduction of the brown tree snake. Bloody heartbreaking stuff.

Now I go to change into my grotty shirt and continue to clean. My clothes are still damp and my room is kinda musty/humid because of it. But it could rain at any time so I'm not going to move them out again. A day or two more and they should be dry.

Both toilets - done.
Mudlab - dusted. There is a radio/cassette/CD player in there. Was nice to listen to the radio for a while. Also had a look at what we needed to do re: the mudlab. Ooh lab work. That should be a nice change from walking around in the heat.
Shadehouse - Cleaned the freezer. Not turned on for 2 reasons. 1. I can't find the plug/switch etc. 2. I wiped it out and discovered the drain hole and figured "I'll open this and chuck a bucket of water in there just to rinse off the sides and it'll drain out." There must be something I'm missing because the water is still there. Hopefully Ricki or Chris are more familiar with freezers.

The flycatchers are cuties today. Ma flycatcher hovers around and grabs bugs and bub flycatcher makes a lot of noise around Ma until he's fed.

Peeps are back. I will return soon.

Sat around for a while dealing with the heat and waiting for orders from Ricki who was on the phone. Eventually went off with our guests on a short walk along the Pindan Botanical Trail. Quite a few fairywrens along there and the highlight, the "Taj Mahal" of bowers. I will get a photo of this bower ASAP to show you, it's quite amazing. Then checked out the bay, Andrew and Nick our guests were suitably impressed with the extent of the mudflats and the abundance of birds feeding far out on the flats.

Then the drama began. The plan was to go out onto the plains again to seek out the yellow wagtails and maybe yellow chats. Before we were about to leave we noticed one of the tires was pretty darn flat. That was a pretty simple affair to replace so we did so and headed out onto the plains. I spotted a raptor sitting in the grass and yelled for a stop. On closer inspection it was an easily confirmed Spotted Harrier - a newie for me. He was an absolutely stunning bird. We watched him for a good ten minutes before all piling back into the troupie... and the damn thing wouldn't start. Luckily one of our guests knows a decent amount about cars and diesel engines and four wheel drives and such. Apparently it was a problem with the battery or starter motor. Ricki and Chris dashed off to grab her ute - a half hour slog through pindan woodland, and the sun was busily setting.

While they were gone we got a red-rumped swallow flitting about - a bit of a rarity for Broome and a newie for me. Some other people driving on the plains came to our assistance but were unable to get the car started. Once Ricki and Chris returned after a bit of trying the jumper leads we decided a tow was the way to go. Luckily after being towed a bit the troupie fired up and we made it home easily.

Hopefully there won't be any trouble with our tour tomorrow. I will get stacks of new birds.

P.s. Explorer socks take forever to dry after being soaked through.