Western Australia, Day 11
Townsville: There are mornings when you step out your door to greet the day and life hands you a platter of gifts. Such was this morning. Dew formed shimmering silver velour on the lawns of Bicentennial Park, the gleaming scene interrupted at regular intervals by stately columns of broad-crowned fig trees mulched thickly at their bases. Rainbow bee-eaters soared over the lawns, their vivid plumages flashing greens, blues, gold, and shades of cinnamon as they banked and dove in pursuit of insects. Simply to walk in the presence of their beauty seemed a privilege. A pair of peaceful doves bowed to each other in a courtship display, and a flirtatious willie wagtail – little charmer that it was – wagged its long, black tail coquettishly at me. I spotted a rufous-throated honeyeater I’d never seen before and knew instantly what it was, the dividend of frequently browsing through my bird guide. And all this came along with the cool freshness of a Townsvillian winter morning lit by angled, golden light. In that moment, the swamping heat and humidity of Townsville’s tropical summer belonged to another life.
Western Australia: Because Cunyu had received 10 millimetres of rain a couple weeks ago and one of the station roads was wet, the manager suggested that the research crew use two of his station vehicles, which were lighter than the rented trucks. However, they were also much older and more dilapidated. The truck Vilis drove overheated because all the water had drained out of the radiator. He refilled the radiator with water and made it safely back to camp. Thankfully, the season was winter, not mid-summer when temperatures regularly soar above 40° C.
Gus, Vilis, and Janis with Cunyu Station Trucks (Euan Ritchie photo)
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Janis and Overheated Truck in the Desert (© Vilis Nams)
An intriguing and efficient ‘lift gate’ simply lifted the fence into the air, allowing vehicles to pass beneath.
Janis and Lift Gate on Cunyu (© Vilis Nams)
Today’s bird list: *rufous-throated honeyeater, masked lapwings, peaceful doves, brown honeyeaters, crested pigeons, mynas, rainbow bee-eaters, nutmeg mannikins, yellow honeyeater, white-gaped honeyeater, varied triller, white-bellied cuckoo-shrike, green figbirds, sacred kingfisher, zebra finches, house sparrows, little corellas, Australian magpie, sulphur-crested cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets. (*denotes lifelist sighting)
