Dispatches 24.5
At the end of last year I vowed to report via blog on each field trip I conducted for work. Usually, I try to write these little trip reports up quickly, but not this time. What if the field trip was just a bit… boring? About a month ago I ran smack bang into this dilemma and am only trying to address it now. Another trip to central Qld, another agricultural hellscape… a week of average sleep and poor food. Standard issue really. For most of the trip I was alone also, due to my poor pal PEBR’s proclivity for poor immune response.
As usual, I was happy to see some of the friends of the blog holding on in their little pockets of habitat. Speckled Warblers in particular put on a good show… but there really wasn’t much else on offer during this trip due to the cold (it was -3ºC most mornings). If it wasn’t for a MEGA bovine, the trip may have been a total bust!
The Speckle Park cow is a rare cattle breed (Endangered under DAD-IS) which, until this field trip, I was completely unaware of. I am now happy to report that it is a very attractive animal! The individuals I encountered were all small little beasts (a website I found states that they are ‘moderately sized’) accompanied by some drop-dead gorgeous calves. They had a long shaggy coat and attractive colouration. With only a few thousand head in Australia it was a real treat to see them! One day soon I think I am going to need to compile a list of the cattle breeds I have come across. It seems like a good listing challenge, and I know of at least one highly regarded birder who is also interested… it could be the next big thing.
While sitting around counting birds I had several friendly interactions with cows on this trip. They really are lovely (and curious) animals. PEBR was even sniffed and kissed by a cow! We were accepted into that particular herd with open arms… it was very very nice.
The rest of the trip passed by without incident and before too long I was homeward bound, stopping only to take some pics of a Nankeen Kestrel munching on a Rock Dove. This is an absolutely massive meal for a Kestrel – I’m not sure if the RODO had been compromised beforehand or if the Kestrel killed it. Either way the bird would have been stoked!
Continuing with the theme of MEGA cattles, a short time later I was out in the field for a mini-trip south of Toowoomba and ran into some old favourites – Belted Galloways. I remember seeing a brown BG recently as well but unfortunately didn’t get a photo of the ULTRA… ‘Woomba was very foggy in the night-time and mornings, as shown in the title pic… ’tis a lovely place.
To close this blog out I’ll offer short tale of a recent twitch. My dad had told me that the B-2 Spirits were back in Aus. Having looked for them (and dipped) last time they were in-country I thought I’d have another crack. Firstly, I staked out the runway for about an hour in hopes of some airborne action – but this proved fruitless. I found an old thread on Reddit showing them parked up on the tarmac way out the back of the base and decided to try to find them perched… in the gathering dusk I climbed a tree and there they were in all their glory! GREAT success! I managed to get out of there without any drama but a bloke I met on the twitch was bailed up the next day by the security guards, poor fella.
Housekeeping notice – I have started to populate the libraries page with some recommendations so go check that out… pools might get a guernsey soon too if this bloody heat persists!
