Chris Lamb
Getting away from the Derbyshire winter at the end of 2017, my wife Nicole and I enjoyed a fabulous trip to Australia, sightseeing, visiting family and friends and of course birding. It was our first time there, so everything was new and amazing – the spectacular scenery, the iconic sites such as Uluru (Ayers Rock), Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House and the fabulous variety of birdlife.
It is difficult to pick out highlights of the birds we saw, but among the most memorable must be the Southern Cassowary (Australia’s largest and allegedly the world’s most dangerous bird!), the Bush and Beach Stone-curlews, the Bowerbirds of the Queensland rainforest, the Whipbird with its cracking whip-like call, the laughing of the Kookaburras, the tiny colourful Fairy-wrens and the constant noise of the Cockatoos and Parrots. One interesting challenge always was trying to distinguish between all the different types of Honeyeaters.
