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Tuesday April 18, 2006 5:30 am Bagotville NSW 2477
A. Morning Musings
B. Plan5:30 am I just heard a kookaburra - they are like a rooster, laughing at the first sign of dawn. It is still dark outside. Now for a cuppa while I review my photos to see if I should add a few more images of birds we have seen in the last few days.
Chores: none
History: continue reading and making notes for "In Search of the Dark Ages"
Birds: regular monitoring of Alison's bird baths, perhaps visit Victoria Park rainforest to look for a catbird and an Eastern Whipbird.
C. Actual
5:00 PM We visited Victoria Park but didn't see any birds. This was quite a surprise to us as when we were there last year the bird sounds were tremendous, particularly the Catbird and the Eastern Whipbird.
We then went to Alstonville for a very nice cappuccino and quiche lunch. Sitting on the verandah with a nice glass of wine we waited for the birds to arrive. Usually it is very active between 3 and 5 PM. However today was quite quiet with only a few Grey Fantails and Silvereyes. Phyllis spotted some Scarlet Honeyeaters on one of the high eculypt trees. She then noticed an Eastern Whipbird (lifer 144) in the trees beside the house. I just failed to see it before it returned to the dense underbrush.
I have now read chapters 6 and 7 of "In Search of the Dark Ages". It is a good book. I am learning much about England, particularly the role of the Vikings, in the early history of the island. Offa, Alfred and Athelstan are now people whose place in the chronology of England in the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries are clear (I cannot recall ever hearing of Offa or Athelstan before). I am now reading about the fall of the Anglo-Saxon kings and the return of the Danes who are then overthrown for the last time by Harold who is then immediately defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
D. Reflection