17 September 2013
In
the Botanic Gardens I met a group of bird watchers, carrying binoculars and
camera lenses twice as long as your arm. They were from down south and heading
back watching birds all the way.
‘Seen
anything interesting?’
‘That
depends on what you think is interesting;’ they said, ’A rufous owl would be
interesting’
I
had heard of rufous owls. A victim of cane toads I had been told. Last news of
the Botanic Gardens population was there had been two, but the tree they nested
in died, one had been killed by a car and the last one was seen flying away in
search of a mate. No one has seen one around here for three years.
The
bird watchers from down south trained their binoculars on the empty sky, the empty
trees. No rufuos owls today.
How
quietly a species slips out of sight.
Listen on Wednesday 18 September to the I will be chatting to Brendon on the Arvo Show 105.7 ABC Darwin.
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