My day off in 3 parts
Apr. 11th, 2005 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gemfyreMy first day off in 9 days. The course had us flat out. A quick discussion with Chris had us decide that I would take today off and he'd take tomorrow and we'd both be happy (he wants Tuesday's tides to sit in the Tattler Rocks hide, I just wanted a day off ASAP. There was also something to do with going on the tour yesterday, when I was informed it was a 6am departure I let Chris know he could have it. All in all it was win-win.)
Part 1 - A Successful Twitch
This morning I headed out at 8am to visit a place called "Sheep Camp". Pretty much it's part of Roebuck Plains off the Port Headland road (Gt Northern Hwy). At the moment there is a lot of water there. Yesterday the tour was to there and I was told afterwards they'd seen Brolga and Painted Finch. I badly wanted to see a wild brolga and the paint finches are a rarity, only here due to the lack of rain. I pretty much went on a twitch.
As I arrived and opened the gate I looked over to where the small pond was and saw.. Hoorah hooray! A Brolga! Ka-tick. I scanned the wetland with a scope and saw 3 more brolga among various other birds. A female rufous whistler came close by and checked me out. There were also a few magpies there, it was lovely to hear them carolling again - they're not very common up here.
It was pretty humid so I decided to get back in the troupie and drive to next to the "Finch pond" and wait a bit in the air-con. I watched 3 diamond doves, a few variegated fairy-wrens and a couple of willie-wagtails hanging around the pond. Then after a while 4 small birds flew into a bush right by the fence a few metres in front of the car. I got out my binos and sure enough - 4 lovely painted finches. After looking at them for a bit and just sitting I left satisfied and headed back to the obs to prepare for part 2 of my day.
Part 2 - The Screwy Bit
The plan was to head off again around midday to drop David (one of our course members) off at the airport. Then Ricki was to get her car back from Tropical Motors and do her errands while I took the troupie and had mud crab for lunch, possibly swam at the rec. centre and just bummed around in town. However there were so many cheques to be signed Ricki took longer than expected and we got going a little later than hoped. David was dropped off in time however, but I then discovered Ricki had changed the plans on me. She figured I just wanted to do some shopping so we'd just do the shopping, get the post done, get Helen (commitee chair) to sign the cheques and head back to the Obs and she wouldn't pick up her car today. I explained how I'd planned to visit a few places and look around so Ricki comprimised and said she would pick up her car today, but while we were in town we should do the cheques and she still needed to do a bit of shopping.
I waited in the carpark while Ricki went in to get Helen to sign the cheques. She wasn't planning to spend long. I sat in the troupie a while and flicked through the field guide. Then I got out the book I'm reading and read a bit. Then it started to get stifling so I got out of the car to get a bit of breeze. I ended up sitting on the kerb by the car and reading just to get some breeze. Eventually Ricki returned. Helen apparently took ages to see her, no fault of Ricki's. We were both famished but Ricki's birding instinct got the better of her and she decided we should go to the sewer ponds. I really wanted to eat and just have my afternoon off but I didn't complain and off we went.
We parked near the golf course and Ricki ran off across the drainage culvert. I stayed with the troupie, having only worn my sandals - I hadn't planned to go birding. It didn't take long until I heard Ricki say "Melithreptus" or something and insist I just come over the culvert because I didn't want to miss this. Indeed, I didn't want to miss the chance to see the white-throated honeyeater, which would be a new bird for my list, so I braced myself and crashed through the grass and undergrowth in my sandals. It wasn't as bad as I expected and worth it once I got to the other side. The honeyeaters were abundant and very close. One sat on a branch not more than 2 metres away, beautiful view! Oh yeah, and somewhere a yellow wagtail flew by. So we left there satisfied. We went back into town and did the post and Ricki did her shopping then she went and got her poor car and I took the troupie back into town.
First up I went to the Shell House just to see what it was like. I understand why entry is free, no-one would pay for it. The collection is one small room's worth, sure some of the shells are funky but I've seen more spectacular shell houses. Some of the jewellery and mother-of-pearl trinkets were lovely however and I have a feeling I may buy something from there someday.
Then I went to the Wharf Restaurant seeking lunch. A few days ago they'd had a sign saying "Kimberly Mud Crabs" which got my attention and I hoped they were still available. I discovered that they were only available in chilli or curry, and cost $62. The guy that informed me of this however said that if I was ever able to get the time off to go to Derby he'd take me crabbing - I may take him up on the offer yet. I went to the seafood shop and found they they too didn't sell mud crabs - there is simply no commercial market out of Broome. Overfishing is pretty much to blame for that. You want mud crabs you pretty much have to catch your own, which is cool, at least it costs less.
I went back to Chinatown and deposited my $300 food cheque (backlog of payments there). My bank account now looks nice and healthy and I'm not even a third of the way through my stint up here.
So I figured maybe I'll get dinner at the Town Beach cafe, but it was closed. I did my typical nostalgic wander around Town Beach and watched the pair of Osprey on their nest a while before checking out Pindan Blue. Dinner doesn't start there until 6. It had just gone 5 and I was starving. So I decided to just get fish and chips at Corke's in Chinatown and head to Cable Beach to watch the sunset.
Part 3 - Perfection
At Corke's they had Get Born by Jet playing loudly. Both the woman serving me and myself were busy bopping along and mouthing the words to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" while I ordered a seafood basket. I dashed into Coles while that was being made to get a Red Eye. They were out of Platinum so I got Gold, which I haven't had for ages, it's a bit too sweet for me these days.
I arrived at Cable Beach, surprised at the number of people who turn up there just to watch the sunset. From the grassed area I spotted a comfy looking rock on the beach and wandered down there to eat dinner. The rock was shaped into a perfect little chair and I sat, ate wonderful seafood (the scallops were very good) and chips and remembered my first Red Eye as I drank the Gold - it IS too sweet for me really but it brought back memories. When the sun appeared directly in front of me I read for a bit to avoid being blinded. I did watch most of the sunset however and it was gorgeous, seeing the sun's rays through the clouds - you certainly believe in some kind of God. It even started to spit rain. I just didn't want to leave.
Eventually it started to get dark so I took off my sandals, got up and paddled in a nearby tidal pool. Cool sand and water around my feet. Again I didn't want to leave but somehow made my way up the stairs onto the grassed area.
Up there there was music playing in the Cable Beach Club bar. So I wandered towards it and sat down under a palm tree to listen for a bit while my feet dried. The breeze was balmy, my belly was full, the music was good. Then the camel train went past! Gosh, the evening couldn't get any more perfect and tropical and dreamlike. Again, I couldn't bear leaving and returning to reality. But unfortunately there was shopping to be done. But I was now in a fantastic mood.
I chatted with the woman at Action, who is getting to know me quite well because I've done 3 shopping runs in the last week, and spread the cheer. It was only slightly disappointing that I didn't see any boobook owls or tawny frogmouths on the way home. In the shadehouse we discovered that Kenneth the King Brown was residing in the roof. If he's there tomorrow a snake handler will be called out.
Part 4 - Birdlist
I've decided to keep daily lists of what I see in the whole day - this will probably be kept more accurately than trying to remember where I saw every bird.
Pelican
Australasian Grebe
Black Swan
Chestnut Teal
Pacific Black Duck
White-Faced Heron
Australian White Ibis
Straw-Necked Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
Brolga
Whimbrel
Common Greenshank
Masked Lapwing
Pacific Golden Plover
Red-Kneed Dotterel
Black-Fronted Dotterel
Black-Winged Stilt
Silver Gull
Caspian Tern
Whiskered Tern
Osprey
Black Kite
Whistling Kite
Brahminy Kite
White-Bellied Sea Eagle
Brown Goshawk
Swamp Harrier
Brown Falcon
Nankeen Kestrel
Peaceful Dove
Bar-Shouldered Dove
Diamond Dove
Crested Pigeon
Little Corella
Red-Collared Lorikeet
Red-Winged Parrot
Sacred Kingfisher
Rainbow Bee-Eater
Variegated Fairy-Wren
Little Friarbird
Singing Honeyeater
White-Gaped Honeyeater
White-Throated Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
Grey-Crowned Babbler
Rufous Whistler
Willie Wagtail
Paperbark Flycatcher
Magpie Lark
Great Bowerbird
Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrike
White-Breasted Woodswallow
Magpie
Pied Butcherbird
Torresian Crow
Barn Swallow
Yellow Wagtail
Singing Bushlark
Double-Barred Finch
Long-Tailed Finch
Painted Finch
Mistletoebird
Part 1 - A Successful Twitch
This morning I headed out at 8am to visit a place called "Sheep Camp". Pretty much it's part of Roebuck Plains off the Port Headland road (Gt Northern Hwy). At the moment there is a lot of water there. Yesterday the tour was to there and I was told afterwards they'd seen Brolga and Painted Finch. I badly wanted to see a wild brolga and the paint finches are a rarity, only here due to the lack of rain. I pretty much went on a twitch.
As I arrived and opened the gate I looked over to where the small pond was and saw.. Hoorah hooray! A Brolga! Ka-tick. I scanned the wetland with a scope and saw 3 more brolga among various other birds. A female rufous whistler came close by and checked me out. There were also a few magpies there, it was lovely to hear them carolling again - they're not very common up here.
It was pretty humid so I decided to get back in the troupie and drive to next to the "Finch pond" and wait a bit in the air-con. I watched 3 diamond doves, a few variegated fairy-wrens and a couple of willie-wagtails hanging around the pond. Then after a while 4 small birds flew into a bush right by the fence a few metres in front of the car. I got out my binos and sure enough - 4 lovely painted finches. After looking at them for a bit and just sitting I left satisfied and headed back to the obs to prepare for part 2 of my day.
Part 2 - The Screwy Bit
The plan was to head off again around midday to drop David (one of our course members) off at the airport. Then Ricki was to get her car back from Tropical Motors and do her errands while I took the troupie and had mud crab for lunch, possibly swam at the rec. centre and just bummed around in town. However there were so many cheques to be signed Ricki took longer than expected and we got going a little later than hoped. David was dropped off in time however, but I then discovered Ricki had changed the plans on me. She figured I just wanted to do some shopping so we'd just do the shopping, get the post done, get Helen (commitee chair) to sign the cheques and head back to the Obs and she wouldn't pick up her car today. I explained how I'd planned to visit a few places and look around so Ricki comprimised and said she would pick up her car today, but while we were in town we should do the cheques and she still needed to do a bit of shopping.
I waited in the carpark while Ricki went in to get Helen to sign the cheques. She wasn't planning to spend long. I sat in the troupie a while and flicked through the field guide. Then I got out the book I'm reading and read a bit. Then it started to get stifling so I got out of the car to get a bit of breeze. I ended up sitting on the kerb by the car and reading just to get some breeze. Eventually Ricki returned. Helen apparently took ages to see her, no fault of Ricki's. We were both famished but Ricki's birding instinct got the better of her and she decided we should go to the sewer ponds. I really wanted to eat and just have my afternoon off but I didn't complain and off we went.
We parked near the golf course and Ricki ran off across the drainage culvert. I stayed with the troupie, having only worn my sandals - I hadn't planned to go birding. It didn't take long until I heard Ricki say "Melithreptus" or something and insist I just come over the culvert because I didn't want to miss this. Indeed, I didn't want to miss the chance to see the white-throated honeyeater, which would be a new bird for my list, so I braced myself and crashed through the grass and undergrowth in my sandals. It wasn't as bad as I expected and worth it once I got to the other side. The honeyeaters were abundant and very close. One sat on a branch not more than 2 metres away, beautiful view! Oh yeah, and somewhere a yellow wagtail flew by. So we left there satisfied. We went back into town and did the post and Ricki did her shopping then she went and got her poor car and I took the troupie back into town.
First up I went to the Shell House just to see what it was like. I understand why entry is free, no-one would pay for it. The collection is one small room's worth, sure some of the shells are funky but I've seen more spectacular shell houses. Some of the jewellery and mother-of-pearl trinkets were lovely however and I have a feeling I may buy something from there someday.
Then I went to the Wharf Restaurant seeking lunch. A few days ago they'd had a sign saying "Kimberly Mud Crabs" which got my attention and I hoped they were still available. I discovered that they were only available in chilli or curry, and cost $62. The guy that informed me of this however said that if I was ever able to get the time off to go to Derby he'd take me crabbing - I may take him up on the offer yet. I went to the seafood shop and found they they too didn't sell mud crabs - there is simply no commercial market out of Broome. Overfishing is pretty much to blame for that. You want mud crabs you pretty much have to catch your own, which is cool, at least it costs less.
I went back to Chinatown and deposited my $300 food cheque (backlog of payments there). My bank account now looks nice and healthy and I'm not even a third of the way through my stint up here.
So I figured maybe I'll get dinner at the Town Beach cafe, but it was closed. I did my typical nostalgic wander around Town Beach and watched the pair of Osprey on their nest a while before checking out Pindan Blue. Dinner doesn't start there until 6. It had just gone 5 and I was starving. So I decided to just get fish and chips at Corke's in Chinatown and head to Cable Beach to watch the sunset.
Part 3 - Perfection
At Corke's they had Get Born by Jet playing loudly. Both the woman serving me and myself were busy bopping along and mouthing the words to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" while I ordered a seafood basket. I dashed into Coles while that was being made to get a Red Eye. They were out of Platinum so I got Gold, which I haven't had for ages, it's a bit too sweet for me these days.
I arrived at Cable Beach, surprised at the number of people who turn up there just to watch the sunset. From the grassed area I spotted a comfy looking rock on the beach and wandered down there to eat dinner. The rock was shaped into a perfect little chair and I sat, ate wonderful seafood (the scallops were very good) and chips and remembered my first Red Eye as I drank the Gold - it IS too sweet for me really but it brought back memories. When the sun appeared directly in front of me I read for a bit to avoid being blinded. I did watch most of the sunset however and it was gorgeous, seeing the sun's rays through the clouds - you certainly believe in some kind of God. It even started to spit rain. I just didn't want to leave.
Eventually it started to get dark so I took off my sandals, got up and paddled in a nearby tidal pool. Cool sand and water around my feet. Again I didn't want to leave but somehow made my way up the stairs onto the grassed area.
Up there there was music playing in the Cable Beach Club bar. So I wandered towards it and sat down under a palm tree to listen for a bit while my feet dried. The breeze was balmy, my belly was full, the music was good. Then the camel train went past! Gosh, the evening couldn't get any more perfect and tropical and dreamlike. Again, I couldn't bear leaving and returning to reality. But unfortunately there was shopping to be done. But I was now in a fantastic mood.
I chatted with the woman at Action, who is getting to know me quite well because I've done 3 shopping runs in the last week, and spread the cheer. It was only slightly disappointing that I didn't see any boobook owls or tawny frogmouths on the way home. In the shadehouse we discovered that Kenneth the King Brown was residing in the roof. If he's there tomorrow a snake handler will be called out.
Part 4 - Birdlist
I've decided to keep daily lists of what I see in the whole day - this will probably be kept more accurately than trying to remember where I saw every bird.
Pelican
Australasian Grebe
Black Swan
Chestnut Teal
Pacific Black Duck
White-Faced Heron
Australian White Ibis
Straw-Necked Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
Brolga
Whimbrel
Common Greenshank
Masked Lapwing
Pacific Golden Plover
Red-Kneed Dotterel
Black-Fronted Dotterel
Black-Winged Stilt
Silver Gull
Caspian Tern
Whiskered Tern
Osprey
Black Kite
Whistling Kite
Brahminy Kite
White-Bellied Sea Eagle
Brown Goshawk
Swamp Harrier
Brown Falcon
Nankeen Kestrel
Peaceful Dove
Bar-Shouldered Dove
Diamond Dove
Crested Pigeon
Little Corella
Red-Collared Lorikeet
Red-Winged Parrot
Sacred Kingfisher
Rainbow Bee-Eater
Variegated Fairy-Wren
Little Friarbird
Singing Honeyeater
White-Gaped Honeyeater
White-Throated Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
Grey-Crowned Babbler
Rufous Whistler
Willie Wagtail
Paperbark Flycatcher
Magpie Lark
Great Bowerbird
Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrike
White-Breasted Woodswallow
Magpie
Pied Butcherbird
Torresian Crow
Barn Swallow
Yellow Wagtail
Singing Bushlark
Double-Barred Finch
Long-Tailed Finch
Painted Finch
Mistletoebird
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-11 01:04 pm (UTC)If I had lots of money I'd be up there nowish as i'm on 2 week 'break', however I'm just going to have to wait till June/July.
I can come up a bit earlier so it isn't in the holidays themselves if that will be better to get some time with you. This is because i don't have any exams, so have (or should have) 3 extra weeks of holidays :)
no subject
Date: 2005-04-11 01:13 pm (UTC)Just let me know when you've managed to get a flight and I'll clear off the bed and stuff. ;)
If needs be I may be able to afford to hire a small car for at least one day. Most hire companies don't like you driving on dirt roads but some may be reasonable if I explain my plans, not like the roads will require 4WD anyway. Heck, if I can get a work car I will, but if not, we'll work something out.
*mwah*