My brother has a house at Dalmeny, near Narooma, and I was delayed in having chemotherapy treatment, and was told to "go on a holiday" (I was definitely not in the mood for a holiday, I can tell you). Anyway, Brendan and Betty put their coast house at my disposal, for which I was grateful.
Brendan also told me that there was a Bush Stone Curlew (Burhinus grallarius) which had made its home behind the Health Centre at Narooma. This was an unusual record, as the bird is regarded as threatened in NSW, especially on the far south coast.
This is one block from the lake shore, and just a row of shops from the highway. But it seems quiet enough for this bird. But with lots of cats and dogs in this typical coastal township, I marvel that it survived there at all.As is typical of this species, it is very "aware" of danger, and adopts a "freeze" posture, to try and make itself invisible. Its camouflage is close to perfect. At this point, I was about 50 metres away from the bird.
In this next image, I have "adjusted" the dark settings, to make the bird more easily seen by our eyes. You will see that the bird has very large eyes, which are checking me out very closely indeed.
In this last frame, the bird has decided that I was taking far too much interest in it, and it was "off and away".
I have not been back to Narooma in the last two years, and so I do not know if that bird is still alive and well. I do hope so, but I somehow doubt it.
4 comments:
What an unusual place to find a Stone Curlew. It shows why you should always have a camera nearby even when visiting the local health centre :-)
Hi Mosura
Aaah, that old issue. I have posted before on the theme: "Never leave home without your camera". Its simple - every time you do - even for good reason, you will guarantee that you see something you need to photograph.
You wrote something similar, but more elegantly expressed the other day.
In this case, I was pre-warned, fortunately.
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Cheers
Denis
The golf course at Tin Can Bay seems an equally strange place for these birds but they have been there for some time and are doing very well.
Welcome Mick from Sandy Straits and beyond.
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Interestingly, the BiBY site I linked to says that they like to hang out at Golf Courses, and Cemeteries. Presumably visitors to both places are preoccupied with going about their business, not wandering around in the quiet corners disturbing the Stone Curlews. (Unless you are a very bad golfer, Mick). :-))
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These birds are apparently still relatively common north of the Tropic of Capricorn, supposedly because of the alleged absence of foxes that far north. This is hearsay on both counts, on my part, as I have not been there. But a quick Google Search tells me Tin Can Bay is just north of Fraser Island (well south of that Tropic). Maybe not many foxes there. Good luck to you and the birds, anyway.
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I really like to see these birds, as I recall them from southern NSW (Riverina) when I was a kid, but one seldom hears them there now.
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Their call is the archetypical "sound of the wild" to me. I love the sound. I figure that as long as they are surviving, there is still some hope for native animals.
Cheers
Denis
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