Hope everyone is well, and for those in lockdown where-ever that may be, that you are keeping sane.
I’ve completely given up watching tv “Fear News”, when it was ‘Fake News”, it was a bit laughable. Now it seems that the media want to make everyone into a skulking paranoid.
I’ve locked in the Gov and State web sites. I check them and avoid the overworn adjectives that seem to have cluttered modern reporting (having trouble labelling it journalism)
Years ago I was called “anti-social”, for not being a social butterfly, but it seems that the introverts may finally have their moment.
Mr An Onymous always dreams of being a Lighthouse Keeper. Isolation plus.
Melbourne Water have closed all Bird Watching Areas in the Western Treatment Plant. Sadly, I think I felt more secure in the acres at the middle of a sewage treatment works, than negotiating the byways of the local shopping center. 🙂
EE has been following a pair of Black-shouldered Kites since August last year. After a bit of stopping and starting, they eventually nested and managed to fly two healthy young. Then strangely within a few weeks, the male had hunted the young ones off, and refused to feed them, they were soon off on their own.
EE thought that the pair would move on so we only dropped by once a week or so. Then to our surprise, he started to provide mice, and carry sticks, and conduct other more serious relationship activities, (they bonked).
It took a few trips, but eventually EE was able to locate the possible nest site. High in the very tops of a huge pine. Not easy to see, nor to photograph. And by mid-January, it was obvious she was in a nesting cycle.
Then, the weather turned feral. We had 10 days of miserable cold, extremely wet and very gusty weather. No doubt the the nest and its precious cargo would not survive.
After the deluge had passed we called by and again to our surprise, she was still at work on the nest, and was conducting running repairs with a new layer of twigs and sticks.
It says much about the tenacity, and dedication and perseverance that the female had to suffer the rain and wind, and still not abandon the project.
Because of the position and height of the nest, its been next to impossible to follow the growth of the young.
We went out last Friday, figuring it might just about be the final trip we can get in before more travel restrictions catch up with us.
We’d had in previous trips seen glimpses of movement and the occasional little brown head peeking, but had not had any chance to work out their progress.
So here we are. Climbing out on the edge of the nest, surveying the area around. Combine that with a range of wingflap activities and no doubt the next few days will bring both young out in the open. Not sure if we’ll be able to travel out to see them, but no doubt Mum and Dad will bring them on without our help.
So while one part of the world leaves us in despair, another part is doing its best to keep a species going.
Remain.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER - --doesn't mean I'm LOST 
I agree: we can overload on gloom and despair currently. (And I flatly refuse to see how much money my superannuation has lost!) So thank you for this story of resilience and triumph over adversity. I hope you are able to go back and see them again, depending on where they are.
And at last we Introverts are better at doing something than those Extraverts, who can’t cope without lots of socialising!
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Hello Eleanor, funny, I was also going to mention the ‘super’ thing, but decided the blog was already long enough. I’ve not had the nerve to look either.
I might finally get to scan all those slides I said I was going to do 10 years ago!
Remain
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It has not been a great time for birding David, and the weather and current plague have contributed. I agree the media have worn us thin with their sensationalism to the point where we do not want to here their negative report. As the good book says ‘a negative report is an evil one’. I think the enemy uses the media sometimes to fear monger. I do hope your Kite family make it through, it is great to see their endurance. We had a walk last Friday and thought there were no birds in the Nasho but then discovered they were there but all silent. It is that time of year when the forest goes quiet between seasons.How good to see them nesting, prey must be abundant.
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It is normally a very quiet time for us too. The local bushbirds seem to isolate while they take on winter feathers and the migrants are already on the way, and the winter visitors have yet to show up. (We’ve been monitoring a couple of likely places, probably a bit early, but now we’re unlikely to be able to travel far anyway.)
That ‘good book’ has, as a friend of mine pointed out, some very interesting ‘health laws’ in the third book. Things like hand washing, food advice, self-isolating with infections, avoiding groups, border protection, and others, which a few weeks ago, would have sounded to most of us as: Well, archaic, and restrictive. Now, its a daily routine. 🙂
In the days of the Black Death, the Jews it seems didn’t suffer the same mortality rate, and were persecuted for it. Strange world.
Remain
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Lovely to see the young one, David! Always wonderful to see nature continuing in all circumstances!
As to the news reports, I don’t get the choice, I have to edit many of them before they air, sometimes I want to do more editing. A lot of reporters no longer report, they report their opinion (which is the only opinion they respect).
Any-hoo, life continues in some form and hopefully we can all get back on track and on the track soon!
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Hi David, yeah!, it wasn’t a personal tirade against you or your work. Sorry, I did think about it before I wrote.
What niggles me is the need to turn every disaster, it to an entertainment event, with taking heads, who couldn’t tell a scalpel from a bedpan, yet seem to be able to raise questions that put the system and the people working hard in a bad light.
Then they boldfacedly organise a ‘function’ to ‘honour’ said workers and have people send money which never ends up where it was supposed to go.
Rant over! 🙂
Be looking forward to see how the Bronson and Belle go over the next couple of weeks. There does seem to be sufficient food out there at the moment, as I got him bringing in a couple of mice the other evening.
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I never took it as a tirade against me, David. Myself and most who do the editing/backline work agree with you totally. But we are compelled to work with people who have decided they (a) are bigger than the event (b) have the only opinion that is right or matters and (c) everyone must do as they say. Frustrating! There is just one such in Melbourne that I refuse to work with, and, unfortunately, they are with the network I am tied to.
G,day, had edit in as WP does not allow reply to reply
Done my time in hell with such folk, saw a whole profitable business crumble because someone wanted their pet project to work, didn’t understand the market around them, and we were all soon looking for work.
BTW< I think the ABC is just a guilty of making the moment fit the facts.
Keep working at it, sane heads will prevail, best wishes to you and yours in this 'unprecedented time, never seen before" 🙂
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It feels so good to read and see the good news from you David.
My wetlands are not closed (yet?) and I’ll see if I can go again when the sun shines some morning next week but I’ve been contemplating crossing the river (considering so much less traffic) and be in the safety of my car enjoying WTP, so thanks or the bad news too 😉
Stay healthy and safe and greetings to all the Introverts and Lighthouse Keepers!
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Hi Adam, Hope you are able to make the most of your local area. We have to travel to see this pair, so it may not be likely much longer. Also been checking for Flame Robin returnees, a bit early yet, but we were hopeful of seeing some before a lockdown.
I’m not that unhappy about WTP being closed, I think it might be for the welfare of staff as much as anything. No need to be out and about if they don’t need to be. And the last thing wanted down there is dozens of people with no where else to go turning up and driving around in ‘convoy’. 🙂
Saw the lines of cars at Point Addis https://www.bay939.com.au/news/local-news/116110-epidemic-of-stupidity-at-local-beach
I guess its because the social butterflies no longer can congregate in the shopping malls.
Remain
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