Banded Lapwings have been absent for some years now from several former
breeding sites on top of the range in and around Toowoomba. But we came
across a pair with young in the Lockyer Valley the other day, as well as a
magnificent Black Bittern right by the roadside at a nearby creek crossing.
The bittern waited for just a little while before decamping - just precisely
the time it took to raise the camera, but not that much-needed second more,
and I have a shot of a vacant log to prove it.
Unlike the Squatter Pigeon that continued to squat on a dirt road near
Inglewood until the car was about two metres away with the driver hanging
out of the window. That photograph is better - it has a bird in it.
I've just updated the Abberton website, for those that like to know, and
some of these images are there now under the "Latest Photographs" link.
I too have dropped into the park at Sherwood a few times recently, but
haven't been lucky enough to spot the Little Bittern. The water level there
seems pretty high just now following all the rain in the Brisbane region.
About 20 years ago, a friend brought me a Little Bittern in a small bird
cage! It had been found in the middle of a school playing field in
Toowoomba, in torrential rain, under bombardment from a pair of Magpies. We
released it into the reeds around a small lagoon at my place, whereupon it
froze, beak up, and all but disappeared without so much as moving an inch!
But, we knew it was there, so we watched closely until it made off shortly
after with a speedy skulk.
Bill Jolly
"Abberton",
Lockyer Valley, Queensland.
Visit our website at http://www.abberton.org
Email:
Ph: (+61) 7 4697 6111 Fax: (+61) 7 4697 6056
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