Working where others go on holidays
Sometimes we have to remind ourselves how lucky we are to be living and working in such a beautiful part of the world. To me this is most apparent when out in the field searching for the elusive Orange-bellied Parrot.
This is my third season of coordinating the winter surveys, and we have not found a single OBP during all the hours in the field scanning wetland edges, fence lines, and flocks of Blue-winged Parrots; constantly living in hope that one day we will again find an OBP in the south-west of Victoria. One could get frustrated and disappointed. However, it is really hard to not enjoy yourself when you spend a day on the Great Ocean Road checking out coastal wetlands and meeting enthusiastic landowners who care about our environment, and are keen to learn how they can improve and restore natural habitat. This is exactly what happened during the last count weekend.
What an amazing place to have a work lunch. The coastline near Peterborough.
On that same count weekend we also came across a traffic jam only to realise that a whole convoy of cars has stopped because of an echidna on the side of the road. Amazed by the car loads of city-escapees who have never crossed path with an echidna before, we realised again how privileged we are to have such amazing and versatile wildlife at our door step.
We have yet again spent a weekend out in the field with no success in finding the endangered species we are looking for. However, as always, nature and a great group of volunteers provided us with adventure, stunning views and many laughs.
If you are interested in joining the last OBP adventure for this season on the 14th and 15th of September please email Nicole.
I would also like to thank all the volunteers who participated during the count weekend and all the land owners who, throughout the season, allow us access to some potential habitat.
The OBP winter monitoring program in south-west Victoria is undertaken by Nature Glenelg Trust in close partnership with BirdLife Australia and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. This project is supported by Glenelg Hopkins CMA and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
