Birding with Simon & Nicky

Outside of bird training, surfing and playing the guitar – birdwatching is quickly becoming my most consuming passion. Whilst down at the AVES Convention last week I met Simon Brusland-Jensen, curator of the famous Walsrode Bird Park in Germany. Simon ventured north to the Sunshine Coast with his girlfriend Nicky after AVES and stayed at El Rancho Jimbo for a few days to take in some of the great birding opportunities on offer here on the Sunshine Coast.

Birdwatching can be pretty hit and miss, and it’s always a little daunting when you take people out from overseas who are keen birders and kinda relying on you to get them to the `spot’ where they will be able to add some new species to their lists. I always find really hardcore birders a little intimidating and I had a disastrous day last year taking Don Brightsmith out birding and having him, an American on his first trip to Australia, identify more native birds than me that day – soooo embarrassing! This was a little different and Simon and Nicky seemed as happy to get a look at the ubiquitous Lewin’s Honeyeater as they were seeing a White-bellied Sea Eagle fishing on the wing over Lake MacDonald. It was certainly the first time I had ever seen anyone actually stop to take a photo of a Noisy Miner nest but hey, I guess you don’t have Noisy Miners in every suburban backyard in Germany? :-) 

As it turned out we had the most unbelievable day of Silvereye spotting, Osprey observing, Honeyeater hunting, Wren wrangling, Pardolote purving, Wagtail watching, Galah gazing... (alright, I know – enough alliteration already). All up we counted 73 species on our list later that night, including three newbies for my personal Noosa list. As much as I’d like to take credit and big note my `Bird Guide’ abilities, I’m about as amateur as you get and it was just a darn lucky day in the field (but you gotta agree, getting 15 Glossy Black Cockatoos drinking at the end of the day right where I said they would be should justify a little quiet satisfaction in one’s skills – there’s a pair in the pic above). That night we rested the binoculars and field guides and soaked up some good Aussie amber ale – still debating if it was an Oriental Pratincole we saw darting over the Lake, but damn happy with the experience.  Always keen to impress, I thought we might add some nocturnal birds to our list before the stroke of midnight so I took Simon out for some spotlighting. Didn’t see a damn thing, despite my assurances of a resident Tawny Frogmouth and regular Boobook Owl visitations on our block. Should have quit with the `Bird Guide’ thing while I was ahead!

Simon and Nicky – if you read this, thanks for an awesome day! Hopefully we’ll meet again on your side of the equator ;-)