Access to Leanyer Ponds (Grey Phalarope)
By Birding-Aus, on January 22nd, 2014
Hi everyone If you are considering going to Darwin for the Grey Phalarope, please note that you need to do a site induction before you can enter the area. John Rawsthorne asked me to pass on the following information: >Only people who have undertaken the induction with PAWC can enter >Leanyer Ponds. This is not an instant process, so birders should make >arrangements before leaving for Darwin. >The link to commence the induction process is: https://www.rapidinduct.com.au/powerwater/waterservices/login.aspx >Also, while the power and water website says the ponds are closed >due to construction work, this message is out of date. Please do not jeopardise access for all by trying to circumvent these regulations. Russell Woodford Birding-Aus Owner _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Just heard an ABC radio correspondent from the NT talk about the Grey Phalarope and the Leanyer Sewage Ponds to Richard Glover, radio host of ABC 702 (local ABC radio station in Sydney), just a few minutes ago. He said that Leanyer SP was currently closed to bird-watchers because there was a crocodile in there. I suppose ABC Sydney radio thought it was worth broadcasting from a human interest point of view – Twitchers (who are arriving from around the country to see the phalarope) versus Saltwater Crocodile. Regards, Stephen Stephen Ambrose Ryde NSW —–Original Message—– Denise Goodfellow Sent: Thursday, 23 January 2014 3:34 PM Cc: birding-aus@birding-aus.org Hi all For decades myself and other birders visited the Ponds at all times of the year (I first went there in the early 1980s). Most of us knew enough to modify our behaviour re sewage overflow or crocodiles. And there’ve been crocodiles there as long as I can remember. Then Power and Water discovered that some birders were copying their keys and handing them out to visiting friends and clients. They were not happy, and on one occasion staff ordered my then husband Hilary to leave the ponds with his international clients. I was able to smooth things over to the extent where I was invited to PAWA Christmas parties, and some senior staff at PAWA asked me to accompany them to the Ponds re siting a bird hide. I got permission to run some birding soirees for national television with PAWA providing champagne and live music. We all wore evening dress. Our present Administrator wrote an “ode to a sewage pond”, and read it on television, to the consternation of some of her southern colleagues. However, a few years later it all began to fall apart. One driver was the heightened awareness of public liability, and that appeared in part to be brought about by birders breaking the rules. The manager threatened to have anyone found in the Ponds without a permit arrested, and asked me to spread the word. A ruling was brought in that only those familiar with the Ponds could take visitors in, to ensure that they were safe. Then the induction course was introduced but it only covers basic safety. The last person I took into Leanyer was an American, Jon Franzen, and because there was some construction we only got in because the workers there knew me. It was a great morning. But with ongoing construction it’s problematic for clients even if they do complete an induction course. Happy birding Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71, Darwin River, NT 0841 043 8650 835 PhD candidate, SCU Vice-chair, Wildlife Tourism Australia On 23/1/14 12:24 PM, “Jeremy O’Wheel” < owheelj@gmail.com> wrote: _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Hi all For decades myself and other birders visited the Ponds at all times of the year (I first went there in the early 1980s). Most of us knew enough to modify our behaviour re sewage overflow or crocodiles. And there’ve been crocodiles there as long as I can remember. Then Power and Water discovered that some birders were copying their keys and handing them out to visiting friends and clients. They were not happy, and on one occasion staff ordered my then husband Hilary to leave the ponds with his international clients. I was able to smooth things over to the extent where I was invited to PAWA Christmas parties, and some senior staff at PAWA asked me to accompany them to the Ponds re siting a bird hide. I got permission to run some birding soirees for national television with PAWA providing champagne and live music. We all wore evening dress. Our present Administrator wrote an “ode to a sewage pond”, and read it on television, to the consternation of some of her southern colleagues. However, a few years later it all began to fall apart. One driver was the heightened awareness of public liability, and that appeared in part to be brought about by birders breaking the rules. The manager threatened to have anyone found in the Ponds without a permit arrested, and asked me to spread the word. A ruling was brought in that only those familiar with the Ponds could take visitors in, to ensure that they were safe. Then the induction course was introduced but it only covers basic safety. The last person I took into Leanyer was an American, Jon Franzen, and because there was some construction we only got in because the workers there knew me. It was a great morning. But with ongoing construction it’s problematic for clients even if they do complete an induction course. Happy birding Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71, Darwin River, NT 0841 043 8650 835 PhD candidate, SCU Vice-chair, Wildlife Tourism Australia On 23/1/14 12:24 PM, “Jeremy O’Wheel” < owheelj@gmail.com> wrote: _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
And a crocodile apparently; http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-23/sewerage-ponds-twitcher-feathers-ruffled-crocodile-leanyer/5214928 Jeremy On 23 January 2014 10:17, Helen Larson < gobywan2001@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
And the ponds are presently closed due to high rainfall. Not good to wade in raw sewage. The NTBirds mailing list has uptodate info. Helen Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org