Organ Pipes |
Roseate Rock, Organ Pipes National Park |
Red Wattlebirds played overhead and Red-browed Finches amused themselves in the grass. Jacksons Creek bubbled along happily. A couple of kangaroos looked at me curiously, and were happy to sit still watching me until they saw my camera. Then they were gone. The sun came out at last, and I thought the birds would follow. It was very pleasant walking beside the creek, listening to the White-plumed Honeyeaters call to each other, while magpies carolled from the hillside.
I figured that I'd got out of bed and driven through the morning peak traffic, so I deserved some good birds. That was only fair. One and a half more kangaroos came to inspect me. Again, they were quite happy looking at me until I extracted my camera. Shame I wasn't a little quicker. They were off before I could take a shot. I saw some very sick rabbits and wondered if that's what calicivirus looked like. Not a pretty sight.
By the time I returned up the steep hill to the car park, I knew I'd wasted my time. Then I did what dissatisfied birders always do. I started wondering 'what if.' What if I'd gone to Banyule? There's a Little Egret and a Freckled Duck there. What if I'd gone back to Badger's Weir? Would I have seen my Superb Lyrebird this time? What if I'd gone to Fern Tree Gully or Sherbrooke? Certainly, my trip to the Organ Pipes had been a waste of time. What was I thinking? The Organ Pipes is not in my top 100 Australian birding sites. I should have visited all the Melbourne sites on that list before I ventured elsewhere. When will I learn?
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