I started the day off with a quick trip to a bower of a Golden Bowerbird with Alan Gillanders and it turned into a morning of birding and I didn't leave his house until early afternoon. Spending time with Alan in the field is simply a joy. Not only does he know the nocturnal mammals of his nocturnal tours which he has built a reputation, but he is more than a wealth of knowledge on pretty much all natural history. We talked about anything from birds to plants to weather patterns and even a bit of philosophy. It was one of the most enjoyable mornings I have spent so far this year and I am grateful to Alan for his time. I can heartily recommend him as a guide either for a day or night and you can find more information on his website, Alan's Wildlife Tours.
After leaving Alan's home I spent early afternoon planning some of the details of my upcoming trip through the Queensland Outback and beyond. There is a lot of information to try and sort through, but in short it is going to be an amazing month. More details on that coming soon.
I ended the afternoon with a few spots trying to track down a Bower's Shrike-Thrush, the only bird endemic to this area that I haven't seen except for the Lesser Sooty Owl which no one is seeing right now. I came up empty handed but did have a nice time photographing Sarus Cranes in a local field before I returned to town. The evening was spent listening to a lecture given by a researcher from James Cook University in Cairns on the effects of Cyclone Larry that came through this area in March of this year. It was quite an interesting talk and gave some me an idea of the extent of impact of this extremely intense but small cyclone.
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