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| out of area - Australian Bustard |
Six years ago I enrolled in a U3A Sunshine Coast
croquet course because having then recently retired from a high pressure media
career I needed a release, something low stress, yet stimulating and refreshing
and individual. Six years later I’m still a very active player with the
Caloundra Croquet Club. Croquet is a beautiful game.
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| Californian Quail in NZ |
Two years ago I enrolled in another U3A activity,
birdwatching, because I love the bush and I love binoculars. Birds are nice,
but that wasn’t my motivation. I just needed an excuse to wander the outdoors
and use my binos more. Birding too, I’ve since discovered, is another beautiful
activity. And I now think birds are more than nice, they’re fascinating.
So what?
I started both activities because I wanted to try
something different, and that has turned out to be highly rewarding for me.
Both activities have similar backbones...done well they demand individual
focus, planning and research; they are low impact, but require enough energy to
spend 3-5 hours and more in the field. I’m writing this because the important
factor in continuing in both pursuits is that, while it’s fine finding your own
way, “newbies” gain from some guidance. Both activities require skills and
wandering around the court or bush or shore-side without some initial direction
can be less than fulfilling.
I soon out that found trying to engage with a random male
birder or even worse a pair of male birders at a bird site was often pointless.
Many were rude and dismissive. Bit sad, but there you go. On the other hand
most ladies I met were helpful and supportive. Interesting.
My 2019 U3A group is a wonderful bunch of people ranging
from total newcomers to the hobby to three or four top-notch birders (known to
most of you) who spread their knowledge as best as possible in a 20+ group
situation. The Sunshine Coast Birding Facebook Group, though, has been the
circuit breaker for me and after a number of faltering posting attempts in late
2018 I’ve spent my time on the page in 2019 watching and learning. I think I’m
now learning birds and their habitats at an exponential rate from the clearly
wide skillsets of the participants in the group. And Carol Popple, I think I’ve
even reduced my double-ups when I do submit a post!! Thank you for your
patience.
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| White throated Treecreeper |
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| Nankeen Night heron |
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| female Koel in a waterfall of fruit |
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| SC mega - croquet playing Banded Lapwing |
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| grasshopper |
In the past two years I’ve been on specialised birding
tours to the NT and FNQ and travelled with my U3A group to the Ballina and Dalby
regions and to Jimna, and all trips have been eye openers to the world of birds
and the wildly diverse nature of folk that are birders. Love it!
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| RTBC |
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| female Red winged Parrot |
I have birding apps on my phone, and books and bird
charts, but to us newcomers male, female, juvenile and breeding plumage
variations, changing names, etc. can be confusing. The Facebook page…the bird
IDs, the photos, good and bad, help the inexperienced. The distances travelled
by our top birders is staggering, and they in my view are the real educators
because they seem to me to be those stretching the boundaries beyond the
easier-to-find birds and locales and genuinely seem to enjoy sharing. Same in
all fields…the top guns are the sharers. I probably, no certainly, won’t see
all the birds and habitats they’ve shared, but I thank them because I’ll keep
looking. I’m sure the birds do, too, because they need all the support they can
get.
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| Variegated Wren |
My kids and grandkids now think I’m a bit OCD birds
and I hear them talking to their friends and whispering “he is a bit odd, he
watches birds AND he plays croquet!!.} I
really must stop sending them photos of the red-bellied blacks and king browns
I meet on my walks, though. And I’ve had to promise them I’ll let someone know
where I go when I head bush. I’ll get around to doing that at some stage.
(Although I’ve upgraded my camera to a nice kit, I
want to be a bird watcher not a photographer, so view my attached photos in
that light please.}
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| local Pacific Baza |
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| Grey Heron, Tokyo |
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| female Riflebird - Atherton Tableland |
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| Cassowary |
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| GS Parrot - Artemis |
Happy birding.
Terry
