Campfire stories

Hi All,

Roasted parsnips & carrots glazed with honey & mustard, in the camp oven,
being watched by an Owlet-nightjar calling from a Bloodwood tree.

Years ago I was walking through Lane Cove National Park in Sydney, it was a
warm Saturday, with families playing by the barbeques and walking the
tracks. People very politely ignored me standing around pointing binoculars
at the juvenile Powerful Owl, which was watching all the pedestrians walk
below its perch.

I took a few photos of the bird, and walked to the Nat Parks office,
presenting my photos. They were surprised as they had no idea that Powerful
Owls had bred in the park in recent years, and they had a scheduled hazard
reduction burn planned for that area, adjacent to houses, for that very
evening. It didn’t happen.

I still don’t know how much my birding stuffed up some carefully planned
government work, but they didn’t burn that night. There were a lot of
“missing cat” signs posted in the following weeks.

I guess the moral of the story is that anyone can make some sort of
difference with birding,

Cheers,

Simon Clayton

Manager

Birdrangers, Gibraltar Reserve

Cangai, NSW, 2460

www.birdrangers.com